2026 Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition *Site Under Construction*
Entries
Judging
Entry Registration
Account Registration
Judge Registration
Steward Registration
Entry Drop-Off
Entry Shipping
Rules
If you are willing to judge or steward, please return to register on or after Monday, June 8, 2026 8:00 AM, CDT.
2026 Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition rules (please read carefully)
The Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition is open ONLY TO MINNESOTA RESIDENTS. There is a $15.00 fee per entry. Paid entries from non-residents will be judged, however, they will not be eligible for placing or prizes. NO REFUNDS. NO EXCUSES. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Entries are limited to 400 paid entries. We may consider increasing the number of allowed entries depending on demand AND number of available judges and stewards who volunteer.
The competition committee will determine the final award categories based on the number and styles of entries received. All entries will be judged according to the style in which they were originally entered according to the BJCP Style Guidelines.
A Best Of Show Beer, Best Of Show Mead, and Best Of Show Cider will be determined by a second judging of the winners of each award category.
The Minn-kasi Award will be awarded to the brewer racking up the most points for beer, mead, and cider placing in this year’s competition. The winner will receive a custom-engraved, handcrafted wooden chalice with your name. Do you have what it takes???
Questions? Contact us at homebrewcompmnstatefair@gmail.com for more information before submitting -- and paying for! -- your entries.
PLEASE support our past sponsors as well as your local homebrew supply shops, favorite bars, bottle shops, local breweries, and restaurants! They helped make this competition possible when we needed their support in the past – let’s return the favor and help them now when they need our support.
Minnesota residents of legal age may enter.
Entries must be entered under the name of all brewers who helped.
Entries brewed in commercial facilities are ineligible. This includes AHA Wort Day rallies, free wort or wort shares from commercial breweries, etc.
We will only accept online entries and online payment.
Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations found here:
Entry bottles will be accepted at our shipping location found here:
No refunds.
The Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition accepts no responsibility for entries that are damaged during shipping or do not arrive at an approved shipping destination within the time limits. Late entries will not be accepted. Should only 1 bottle survive shipping then that entry will not be judged at best of show should the entry make it to that level.
All other entries will be disqualified!
The organizers reserve the right to make a final decision about an entry's eligibility in cases of a dispute.
All entries become the property of the Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition. No entries will be returned for any reason.
Questions? Contact us at homebrewcompmnstatefair@gmail.com for more information before submitting (and paying for!) your entries. Sorry, no refunds.
Entry Acceptance Rules
There is a PER ENTRANT limit of 10 entries. Each entrant is limited to one (1) entry in each subcategory.
Each entry should be entered according to the appropriate Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) guideline:
- BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines
- BJCP 2015 Mead Style Guidelines
- BJCP 2025 Cider Style Guidelines
Additional information regarding the BJCP guidelines can be found at www.bjcp.org
Two (2) bottles are required for each entry. All entries must be bottled in 12 oz. (or less) standard-sized brown or clear bottles. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Non-standard bottles (e.g. 20 oz. "bombers", 750ml corked bottles, swing-top, and yes- even the ones we get every year that are wax-topped) will NOT be judged. No refunds will be given for entries that arrive in anything other than 12-oz. (or less) bottles with crown caps. Bottles must be free of labels or other identifying marks. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Print your labels prior to the end of the entry deadline. Bottles must have the official entry labels printed as part of the online entry process attached to them with a rubber band. (The printed labels will say to use tape. PLEASE DO NOT USE TAPE.)
Questions? Contact us at homebrewcompmnstatefair@gmail.com for more information before submitting (and paying for!) your entries.
Entry Info
Entry Limits
- Entry Limit – Paid:
- 400
Entry Limits Per Participant
- Entry Limit Per Participant:
- 10
- Per Style Entry Limit:
- 1
Pay Entry Fees
After creating your account and adding your entries to the system, you must pay your entry fee(s). Accepted payment methods are:
- Credit/debit card and e-check, via PayPal
BJCP 2015 / 2021 Styles Accepted
Indicates that the style's entry limit has been reached and no more entries of that style will be accepted.
| 1A American Light Lager | 1B American Lager | 1C Cream Ale |
| 1D American Wheat Beer | 2A International Pale Lager | 2B International Amber Lager |
| 2C International Dark Lager | 3A Czech Pale Lager | 3B Czech Premium Pale Lager |
| 3C Czech Amber Lager | 3D Czech Dark Lager | 4A Munich Helles |
| 4B Festbier | 4C Helles Bock | 5A German Leichtbier |
| 5B Kölsch | 5C German Helles Exportbier | 5D German Pils |
| 6A Märzen | 6B Rauchbier | 6C Dunkels Bock |
| 7A Vienna Lager | 7B Altbier | 8A Munich Dunkel |
| 8B Schwarzbier | 9A Doppelbock | 9B Eisbock |
| 9C Baltic Porter | 10A Weissbier | 10B Dunkels Weissbier |
| 10C Weizenbock | 11A Ordinary Bitter | 11B Best Bitter |
| 11C Strong Bitter | 12A British Golden Ale | 12B Australian Sparkling Ale |
| 12C English IPA | 13A Dark Mild | 13B British Brown Ale |
| 13C English Porter | 14A Scottish Light | 14B Scottish Heavy |
| 14C Scottish Export | 15A Irish Red Ale | 15B Irish Stout |
| 15C Irish Extra Stout | 16A Sweet Stout | 16B Oatmeal Stout |
| 16C Tropical Stout | 16D Foreign Extra Stout | 17A British Strong Ale |
| 17A1 Burton Ale | 17B Old Ale | 17C Wee Heavy |
| 17D English Barley Wine | 18A Blonde Ale | 18B American Pale Ale |
| 19A American Amber Ale | 19B California Common | 19C American Brown Ale |
| 20A American Porter | 20B American Stout | 20C Imperial Stout |
| 21A American IPA | 21B Specialty IPA | 21B1 Belgian IPA |
| 21B2 Black IPA | 21B3 Brown IPA | 21B4 Red IPA |
| 21B5 Rye IPA | 21B6 White IPA | 21B7 Brut IPA |
| 21C Hazy IPA | 22A Double IPA | 22B American Strong Ale |
| 22C American Barleywine | 22D Wheatwine | 23A Berliner Weisse |
| 23B Flanders Red Ale | 23C Oud Bruin | 23D Lambic |
| 23E Gueuze | 23F Fruit Lambic | 23G Gose |
| 24A Witbier | 24B Belgian Pale Ale | 24C Bière de Garde |
| 25A Belgian Blond Ale | 25B Saison | 25C Belgian Golden Strong Ale |
| 26A Belgian Single | 26B Belgian Dubbel | 26C Belgian Tripel |
| 26D Belgian Dark Strong Ale | 27A Historical Beer | 27A1 Kellerbier |
| 27A2 Kentucky Common | 27A3 Lichtenhainer | 27A4 London Brown Ale |
| 27A5 Piwo Grodziskie | 27A6 Pre-Prohibition Lager | 27A7 Pre-Prohibition Porter |
| 27A8 Roggenbier | 27A9 Sahti | 28A Brett Beer |
| 28B Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer | 28C Wild Specialty Beer | 28D Straight Sour Beer |
| 29A Fruit Beer | 29B Fruit and Spice Beer | 29C Specialty Fruit Beer |
| 29D Grape Ale | 30A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | 30B Autumn Seasonal Beer |
| 30C Winter Seasonal Beer | 30D Specialty Spice Beer | 31A Alternative Grain Beer |
| 31B Alternative Sugar Beer | 32A Classic Style Smoked Beer | 32B Specialty Smoked Beer |
| 33A Wood-Aged Beer | 33B Specialty Wood-Aged Beer | 34A Commercial Specialty Beer |
| 34B Mixed-Style Beer | 34C Experimental Beer | C1A New World Cider |
| C1B English Cider | C1C French Cider | C1D New World Perry |
| C1E Traditional Perry | C2A New England Cider | C2B Cider with Other Fruit |
| C2C Applewine | C2D Ice Cider | C2E Cider with Herbs/Spices |
| C2F Specialty Cider/Perry | M1A Dry Mead | M1B Semi-Sweet Mead |
| M1C Sweet Mead | M2A Cyser | M2B Pyment |
| M2C Berry Mead | M2D Stone Fruit Mead | M2E Melomel |
| M3A Fruit and Spice Mead | M3B Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Mead | M4A Braggot |
| M4B Historical Mead | M4C Experimental Mead |
Drop-Off Locations
Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Monday, July 6, 2026 12:00 PM, CDT — Friday, August 14, 2026 12:00 PM, CDT.
Please pay attention to the notes provided for each drop-off location. There could be earlier deadlines for some drop-off locations listed, particular hours when entries are accepted, certain individuals to leave your entries with, etc. All entrants are responsible for reading the information provided by the organizers for each drop-off location.
Beer Meister, LLC (Northstar Mattress Building) ATTN: State Fair Competition 3795 Pinto Drive, Medina, MN 55340
763-479-2739
*Please verify current store hours (website or phone call) prior to heading to the Beer Meister store.
22043 Industrial Blvd, ste 3 Rogers, MN 55374
763-209-3973
*Please verify current store hours (website or phone call) prior to heading to the MN Homebrew supply store.
Shipping Info
Entry bottles accepted at our shipping location Monday, July 6, 2026 12:00 PM, CDT — Monday, August 10, 2026 12:00 PM, CDT.
Ship entries to:
Minnesota Homebrew Attn: MN State Fair Homebrew Comp
22043 Industrial Blvd, ste 3 Rogers, MN 55374
Packing and Shipping
Carefully pack your entries in a sturdy box. Line the inside of your carton with a plastic trash bag. Partition and pack each bottle with adequate packaging material. Please do not over pack!Write clearly: Fragile. This Side Up. on the package. Please only use bubble wrap as your packing material.
Enclose each of your bottle labels in a small zip-top bag before attaching to their respective bottles. This way it makes it possible for the organizer to identify specifically which entry has broken if there is damage during shipment.
Every reasonable effort will be made to contact entrants whose bottles have broken to make arrangements for sending replacement bottles.
Judging Sessions
Session 0: Distributed Judging Session (aka Pre-judging if necessary)
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 5:00 PM, CDT through Thursday, August 13, 2026 11:00 PM, CDT
TBD
Session 1: Afternoon - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Friday, August 14, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT
Session 2: Evening - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Friday, August 14, 2026 5:00 PM, CDT
Session 3: Morning - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 9:00 AM, CDT
Session 4: Afternoon - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 12:00 PM, CDT
Beer Best In Show - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT
Cider Best In Show - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT
Mead Best In Show - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT
Session 5: Evening - Summit Brewing Co. - Admin & Training Bldg.
Saturday, August 15, 2026 2:00 PM, CDT
Awards
Ribbons will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category.
Best of Show Ribbons will be awarded to the best of show beer, best of show mead, and best of show cider selected by a panel of special judges.
The Minn-kasi winner will be awarded to the brewer accumulating the most points for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place entries (beer, mead, and cider) in the competition, and will receive a goblet engraved with their name.
Entrants will be able to download their scoresheets from the competition site shortly after the conclusion of the awards ceremony.
PLEASE support our past sponsors as well as your local homebrew supply shops, favorite bars, bottle shops, local breweries, and restaurants! They helped make this competition possible when we needed their support in the past – let’s return the favor and help them now when they need our support.
Awards Ceremony
MN State Fairgrounds, Horticulture Building
Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Area in the Horticulture Building
Sunday, August 30, 2026 1:00 PM, CDT
Volunteers
Judges and Stewards
If you are willing to judge or steward, please return to register on or after Monday, June 8, 2026 8:00 AM, CDT.
Staff
If you would like to volunteer to be a competition staff member, please register or update your account to indicate that you wish to be a part of the competition staff.
Staff can indicate their availability for the following non-judging sessions:
- Bottle Sort – Sunday, August 16, 2026 12:00 PM, CDT
Other Volunteer Info
Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of this competition and the goal is to have at least one BJCP qualified judge for each flight. This year's judging sessions are planned as in-person judging at Summit Brewing using electronic scoresheets.
Please be sure to bring a fully charged laptop, tablet, or Ipad to use for scoring. You'll regret the decision to use your phone.
**
Please consider volunteering to judge and/or steward or to help sort and box entries for judges.
It's a big competition and we will all the help we can get. We hope to be able to provide judges and volunteers with some small gift of appreciation as our operating budget allows.
Sponsors
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Contact
Use the form below to contact a competition official. All fields with a star are required.