We’re excited to announce the details for the 4th Annual Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge! We’ve had a great amount of support from both the homebrewing community and our sponsors over the past three years and we’re impatiently looking forward to another year of tasty Belgian style beers. Read on for more info..

Competition Format
The format for entering and judging beers in this competition is the same as in previous years. Rather than judging Singles against Dubbel’s, Tripel’s and Dark Strongs, our competition judges each subcategory as if it were a category of its own. We want each subcategory to have a chance to compete in the best of show round against all other Belgian styles so that we can truly crown the Best Belgian Brew of the year!

You are required to submit 2 bottles per entry. The cost per entry for this competition is $8. For more details on the rules of the competition check out the RULES page.

To enter this competition, click HERE or click “Register” in the lefthand menu.

Important Dates
Online Entry Submission Window Start: 2/23/2018 @ 9am
Entry Submission Window Deadline: 3/29/2018 @ 6pm
Drop off Window – 3/12/2018 – 3/29/2017 at closing time for any of our drop off locations listed below.
Judging Date: 4/8/2018 @ 9am

Drop Off Locations
LA Ale Works
Culver City Homebrew Supply
South Bay Brewing Supply
The Home Wine, Beer and Cheesemaking Shop
Eagle Rock Homebrew Supply
Steinfillers

Shipping Location
Culver City Homebrew Supply
4234 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
CCHBS@yahoo.com

Judging Location
LA Ale Works
12918 Cerise Ave, Hawthorne, CA 90250

9am sharp. Please show up between 8am and 9am so you can check in and we can make any last minute assignment changes. Breakfast and Lunch will be served to all volunteers.

FAQ
Q: To enter into this competition, do I have to live in Los Angeles?
A: No, living in Los Angeles is not a requirement.

Q: Can I enter more than one beer in a subcategory.
A: No, with one exception. We have a Belgian Specialty beer category that you may enter more than one beer into. This beer will need to be noticeably different from your other submission.

Q: Will this competition use the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines?
A: Yes. Those guidelines are published on the BJCP website and we have also copied the specific style guidelines for our competition under our STYLES page to make it more convenient for you to browse. The one exception is our additional Belgian Specialty category. The Belgian Specialty category is for wood aged, smoked, fruit, spice herb vegetable beers that do not fall within the other style guidelines. Entries into this category will be required to describe the underlying style along with modifications that would define their entry as a Belgian Specialty. Judges who are assigned this category will be instructed to mark down entries that should have been submitted into a different category.

Q: Will this competition have a ProAm award?
A: Yes! We are proud to be working with LA Ale Works in Hawthorne for the Pro-Am again this year. The LAAW team will brew the best of show recipe and serve it in their taproom!

Q: Is there a limit on entries?
A: Yes. We cap this competition at 150 entries. Our intention with this competition is to celebrate the diverse nature of Belgian Beers while also giving our club – Pacific Gravity – the opportunity to host a homebrew competition every year.

Q: Is there a limit on the number of entries per subcategory?
A: No. While we do not anticipate this being an issue, if we receive 150 entries for Saison we are fine with that.

If you have any questions about this competition that has not been explained in this post or via our Rules page please send an email to labbc@pacificgravity.com and someone will respond to you promptly. Thanks for entering/participating in our new competition!

Cheers

Pacific Gravity