.jpg "Competition Logo"){kind=logo}
U.S.Open
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.
The Carolina Brewmasters are again hosting the US Open this year, allowing all BJCP styles, along with Cider and Mead, but limiting total paid entries to 250 to keep judging quality high. We will be using the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines for beer and 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines for Mead and Cider.
On July 5 at 12:00 noon,registration will open with and the entry limit will be six (6) entries per person with an overall entry limit of 250 paid entries for the competition. This means that you need to pay for your entries if you want to guarantee participation in the competition.
There will be two judging sessions held at Noda Brewing Company this year on Saturday, September 12. We will also be organizing distributed judging sessions in the two weeks leading up to the Saturday judging sessions.
The Gambrinus Cup will be the Best of Show winner.
Gambrinus Cup - Carolina Renaissance Festival and Foothills Brewing - 1st Place Best of Show
- VIP experience at the Renaissance Festival which includes: admission for the winner and friends and family, an award ceremony at the Joust, and the giant Artisan crafted beer mug / trophy!
- Overnight stay in Winston-Salem for you and your family, a private tour of the commercial brewery, and a complimentary dinner!
Specifics for the Competition:
- US Open Date: September 12, 2026
- Entry Receiving window: July 20 - August 21
- Entry limit per brewer: 6
- Bottles per entry: 2
- Fee per entry: $10
- Total USO Paid Entry Limit: 250
- Registration Window Opens: 7/5/2026 at 12:00 PM EST
This competition is AHA sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older.
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. Each flight will have at least one BJCP judge.
Brewers may enter each subcategory only once.
The competition committee reserves the right to combine overall style 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 of the flight winners will be performed by a panel of very experienced judges.
Bottles will not be returned to entrants.
We will not be issuing refunds for entries that are paid for but not received.
Entry Acceptance Rules
Each entry will consist of capped or corked bottles that are void of all identifying information, including labels and embossing. Printed caps are allowed, but must be blacked out completely.
12oz brown glass bottles are preferred; however, 12 oz green and clear glass will be accepted. Swing top 12 oz bottles will likewise be accepted as well as 12 oz corked bottles. 12oz and 16oz cans will also be accepted. No bottles other than 12 oz size, or cans other than 12 & 16 oz sizes, 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, for judges' tasting and allergy awareness. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.
Entry Info
BJCP 2015 / 2021 Judging Styles
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 | LSX5 New Zealand Pilsner |
| 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 |
Entry Delivery
Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Monday, July 20, 2026 10:00 AM, EDT — Friday, August 21, 2026 5:00 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.
1500 River Dr #104, Belmont, NC 28012
(800) 365-2739 ext. 0
Shipping Info
Entry bottles accepted at our shipping location Monday, July 20, 2026 10:00 AM, EDT — Friday, August 21, 2026 5:00 PM, EDT.
Ship entries to:
Alternative Beverage Attn: US Open
1500 River Dr #104, Belmont, NC 28012
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
US Open Saturday Morning Judging Session
Saturday, September 12, 2026 8:00 AM, EDT
US Open Saturday Afternoon Judging Session
Saturday, September 12, 2026 1:00 PM, EDT
Awards
The awards ceremony will take place once judging is completed.
Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category/table.
Score sheets will be uploaded for participants to download from the competition website. Results will be posted to the competition web site after the ceremony concludes.
Awards Ceremony
Noda Brewing Company
150 W 32nd St, Charlotte, NC 28206
Saturday, September 12, 2026 5:00 PM, EDT
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
Volunteer information coming soon!
Sponsors
Contact
Use the form below to contact a competition official. All fields with a star are required.