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.

1. All samples submitted become property of the Brewing Education Trust and will not be returned. It is the entrant’s sole responsibility to ensure entries reach us safely. The competition organisers are not responsible for any entries damaged in transit or handling.

2. To be eligible all entries must reach the shipping location by the Entry Shipping close date, or a designated drop-off point by the Entry Drop-off close date.

3. No requests for day-of-competition entries or special handling will be accepted, except for in-style pouring instructions for stewards.

4. Each entry requires 2 bottles containing at least 500ml volume. Other vessels (e.g. cans, plastic bottles) may be used instead of glass bottles providing the volume requirements are met. Larger bottles (e.g. 2 x 750ml) are fine to enter. Entries consisting of equivalent volumes in different numbers of bottles (e.g. 3 x 330ml, 1 x 1000ml) WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Due to issues with leaks in previous years FLIPTOP BOTTLES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Additionally, we strongly recommend using PET bottles. Some dropoff points will only accept PET bottles this year, please check carefully.

5. Entries will be sorted into award/judging categories by style family according to appendix A(3) of the 2021 BJCP guidelines. Ciders, meads and other non-beer beverages are not part of this competition.

6. Entrants are restricted to a maximum of 5 entries initially. Entrants may enter 2 beers per judging category, but only one per sub-style. e.g. you may enter an Irish Stout and an Imperial Stout, but not 2 Irish Stouts.

7. If necessary, the competition organisers reserve the right to cap entry numbers to a manageable number without notice. Currently the competition is capped at 300 entries.

8. Commercial beer, or any entry containing commercial beer as an ingredient is not eligible for entry. A commercial beer is one that has been produced with intent to be sold, regardless of any other factors such as brewer, premises or whether any sale has actually occurred.

9. The same beer may not be entered more than once per competition.

10. The competition organisers will not reassign entries into different styles, all entries will be judged as the style it was entered. For advice on the most appropriate styles, contact the competition coordinators.

11. Prizes involving brewing a commercial batch are subject to recipe, process, and scheduling approval by the commercial brewer. If a suitable recipe cannot be derived from the original homebrew, another may be negotiated.

12. All co-brewers must be registered for every entry, with one person designated as the main brewer. Any prizes will be awarded/delivered to the main brewer only. Teams of brewers are subject to the same entry restrictions as individuals.

13. Entries/entrants found breaching the rules may be disqualified at the organiser’s discretion. No disqualified entries will be returned or refunded.

14. Commercial brewers may enter, however the beer must be made entirely at home using commonly available home-brewing ingredients and processes (e.g. no producing wort at work, then taking it home). Kit beers, fresh wort kits and brew on premises beers are fine to enter. Commercial brewers and competition staff/organisers may enter and win awards, but are ineligible for any award prizes or spot prizes. Prizes will be given to the runner-up in these cases. Judges may enter and may win awards and prizes.

15. Entry fees must be paid in advance for an entry to be eligible for judging. Available payment methods are debit/credit card via Paypal, or Paypal account.

Entry Acceptance Rules

Entries are open to all New Zealand residents aged 18 or over. Minimum volume for entry; 2 bottles, each with a minimum volume of 500ml. Two bottles are required in case of breakage, single bottle infections, or Best Of Show taste-offs.

Due to issues with leaks in previous years FLIPTOP BOTTLES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Additionally, we strongly recommend using PET bottles. Some dropoff points will only accept PET bottles this year, please check carefully.

Entry Fee: $15 per entry. Entry fees must be paid before the start of the competition to be eligible for judging. Each bottle must be labelled with the label generated by the registration software.

Each entry will receive 2 or 3 BJCP-style judge scoresheets. Beers will be judged according to the BJCP 2021 guidelines. The competition covers styles 1-34 and the local style X5 - NZ Pilsner.

Entry Fees

$15.00 (NZD) per entry.

Entry Limits

Entry Limit:

300

Entry Limits Per Participant

Entry Limit Per Participant:

5

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.

Drop-Off Locations

Entry bottles accepted at our drop-off locations Monday 10 August, 2026 09:00, +12 — Friday 4 September, 2026 16:30, +12.

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.

Aylward Accountants
63 Bourke Street, Palmerston North 4410
06 3532259
*Please check opening hours before dropoff.

Hauraki Home Brew
11D Piermark Drive, Rosedale, Albany 0632
09 442 5070
*Entries must be in PET bottles. Please check opening hours before dropoff.

League Of Brewers
14 Vivian Place, Annesbrook, Nelson 7011
02041331383
*Please bag your entries for ease of handling.

Punky Brewster
22B Tyne Street, Addington, Christchurch
03 662 9943
*Please check opening hours before dropoff.

Regional Wines & Spirits
15 Ellice Street, Mt Victoria, Wellington 6011
04 385 6952
*Ask for Ryan or Stefan, please bag your entries for ease of handling.

The Brewstore
3/51 Kenepuru Drive, Porirua 5022
042370483
*9am til 4pm Tuesday to Friday and 9am til 2pm Saturday.

Shipping Info

Entry bottles accepted at our shipping location Monday 10 August, 2026 09:00, +12 — Friday 4 September, 2026 16:30, +12.

Ship entries to:

Brewing Education Trust - AHBC
Aylward Accountants Ltd, 63 Bourke Street, Palmerston North, 4410

Packing and Shipping

Tape the labels onto the bottles using clear packing tape, covering the label completely to prevent it being ripped. Let your bottles come up to room temperature to help the tape stick.

Pack your bottles tightly in a sturdy box, line the box with a plastic bag to prevent leaks. Roll each bottle in bubble wrap, fold the ends over and tape them down. Put good padding between the bottles, and fill in the gaps at the top and bottom with crumpled paper or extra bubble wrap. Tape the box along each edge, and that should do it.

Every reasonable effort will be made to contact entrants whose bottles have broken to make arrangements for sending replacement bottles.

Allow plenty of time for shipping, entries must be received by the Shipping Closed date to be eligible.

Judging Sessions

Session 1 - Squashgym - Morning
Saturday 19 September, 2026 09:00, +12

Session 2 - Squashgym - Afternoon
Saturday 19 September, 2026 13:00, +12

Best of Show

The Best Of Show winner will be decided by a taste-off between the top-ranked beers from each category.  The best available judges will taste all the beers without re-scoring them and pick a single winner.

Awards

The awards ceremony will take place once judging is completed.

Entries will be sorted into tables/judging categories by style family according to appendix A(3) of the 2021 BJCP guidelines.  Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category. A minimum score of 30 points will be required for an entry to be eligible for a place.

The 1st place entry in each category will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round with a single, overall Best of Show beer selected.

Additional prizes may be awarded to those winners present at the awards ceremony at the discretion of the competition organizers.

The Champion Brewer award will be presented to the brewer with the most Champion Brewer points. 3 points will be awarded for a 1st place in a judging category, 2 points for 2nd place, and 1 point for 3rd place.

The Best Novice Brewer award will be calculated after the end of the competition. A novice as defined by this competition is a person who has not entered a previous AHBC as a main or co-brewer.

Circuit Qualification

The Aotearoa Home Brewing Classic is a qualifying event for the Autumn Invitational. This is an Invitation-Only competition showcasing the best homebrewers from around the country. Winning a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place rosette in the AHBC allows you to enter the Autumn Invitational.