13th Annual O’Connor’s West Michigan Brew Off
Entries
Judging
Entry Registration
Judge Registration
Steward Registration
Entry Drop-Off
Entry Shipping
Rules
Judge and Steward Registration is Open
If you have not registered and are willing to be a volunteer, please register.
If you have registered, log in and then choose Edit Account from the My Account menu indicated by the icon on the top menu.
Entry Registration is Open
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West Michigan Brew Off
Competition information has been updated for the 13th Annual West Michigan Brew Off! Awards ceremony details will be added in the near future.
This competition is BJCP sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older.
Mini-BOS guidlines will be used for this competition. Mini-BOS guidelines
Max 2 entries per person
Each entry will require 2 bottles or cans (12oz) to be submitted for judging.
All mailed entries must be received at the mailing location by the shipping deadline - please allow for shipping time.
All entries will be picked up from drop-off locations the day of the drop-off deadline.
All entries must be handcrafted products, containing ingredients available to the general public, and made using private equipment by hobbyist brewers (i.e., no use of commercial facilities or Brew on Premises operations, supplies, etc.).
The competition organizers are not responsible for mis-categorized entries, mailed entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrived damaged.
The competition organizers reserve the right to combine styles for judging and to restructure awards as needed depending upon the quantity and quality of entries.
Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of our event. Judges will evaluate and score each entry. The average of the scores will rank each entry in its category. Each flight will have at least one BJCP judge.
Brewers are not limited to one entry in each category but may only enter each subcategory once.
The competition committee reserves the right to combine categories based on number of entries. All possible effort will be made to combine similar styles. All brews in combined categories will be judged according to the style they were originally entered in.
The Best of Show judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the top winners.
Bottles will not be returned to entrants.
Entry Acceptance Rules
Each entry will require 2 bottles or cans (12oz) to be submitted for judging. Must be 12 oz amber/brown capped bottles or corked bottles that are void of all identifying information, including labels and embossing are recommended. Printed caps are allowed, but must be blacked out completely. Plain unmarked (brite) aluminum cans will also be allowed.
12 oz brown glass bottles are preferred; however, green and clear glass will be accepted. Swing top bottles will likewise be accepted as well as corked bottles.
12 oz plain unmarked (brite) aluminum cans are preferred; however, 16 oz will be accepted.
Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.
All requisite paperwork must be submitted with each entry and can be printed directly from this website. Entry paperwork should be attached to bottles by the method specified on the bottle label.
Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges’ scoring of your entry.
Entry Info
Entry Limits
- Entry Limit:
- 150
- Entry Limit – Paid:
- 150
Entry Limits Per Participant
- Entry Limit Per Participant:
- 2
- 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:
- Cash
- 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 | LSX3 Italian Grape Ale |
| LSX4 Catharina Sour | LSX5 New Zealand Pilsner |
Entry Delivery
Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Friday, September 25, 2026 8:00 AM, EDT — Sunday, October 11, 2026 8:00 PM, EDT.
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.
3880 Lake Michigan Dr NW, Walker, MI 49534
(616) 551-2076
Shipping Info
Entry bottles accepted at our shipping location Friday, September 25, 2026 8:00 AM, EDT — Sunday, October 11, 2026 8:00 PM, EDT.
Ship entries to:
Sicilianos Specialty Beverage & Supply, ATTN: WMBO
3880 Lake Michigan Dr NW, Walker, MI 49534
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
Judging Session One
Saturday, October 24, 2026 9:00 AM, EDT
Judging Session Two
Saturday, October 24, 2026 12:00 PM, EDT
BOS Judging (Best of Show)
Saturday, October 24, 2026 2:30 PM, EDT
Best of Show
The Best of Show winner as well as all the style winners will receive a prize pack and Medal.
Awards
We will present medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each table. (18 total tables). After that, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for Best of Show will be announced. Prize packs will be given to 1st place winners, as well as Best of Show medalists.
Awards Ceremony
TBD
Sunday, November 1, 2026 2:00 PM, EST
Circuit Qualification
This competition is a qualifying event for the Beer City Brewers Guild Pro-Am Competition.
To participate in the Pro-Am, homebrewers must have a primary residence that is within the the geographic footprint of the Beer City Brewers Guild, which includes Kent County and all townships that directly border Kent County. The number of total qualifiers will be based on their competition scores and the number of breweries participating in 2027.
Volunteers
Judges and Stewards
If you have registered, log in and then choose Edit Account from the My Account menu indicated by the icon on the top menu.
If you have not registered and are willing to be a judge or steward, please register.
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.
Other Volunteer Info
Any knowledgeble beer person or anyone willing to learn about home brew competitions is encouraged to volunteer. We are looking for experienced BJCP judges as well as stewards or anyone willing to help with competition organization. Please contact Matt Bair by email at wmbrewoff@gmail.com
Sponsors
Contact
Use the form below to contact a competition official. All fields with a star are required.