Oktoberfest 2026 Info
Account Registration
Registration is closed.
Entry Registration
Entry registration is closed.
Rules
This competition is AHA sanctioned and open to amateur homebrewers residing in the state of West Virginia age 21 or older.
Subcategories are limited to.
4B Festbier
6A Marzen
30B Autumn Seasonal
18B Pale Ale (must be wet hopped)
All entries must be received at the drop off location by the day of the competition.
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, 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 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 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.
BJCP 2021 Judging Styles
If a style's name is hyperlinked, it has specific entry requirements. Select or tap on the name to view the subcategory's requirements.
| 4B Festbier | 6A Märzen | 18B American Pale Ale |
| 30B Autumn Seasonal Beer |
Entry Acceptance Rules
Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 2
-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, green and clear glass will be accepted. Swing top bottles will likewise be accepted as well as corked bottles.
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.
Judging Sessions
Big Timber Brewing Co.
Thursday, October 8, 2026 6:00 PM, EDT
Awards
The awards ceremony will take place once judging is completed.
Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place.
Additional prizes may be awarded to those winners present at the awards ceremony at the discretion of the competition organizers.
Both score sheets and awards will be available for pick up that night after the ceremony concludes. Awards and score sheets not picked up will be mailed back to participants. Results will be posted to the competition web site after the ceremony concludes.
Awards Ceremony
Rick's back porch
33 Cherry St., Elkins, WV 26241
Judging Sessions
Big Timber Brewing Co.
10/08/2026 6:00 PM, EDT.
Account Registration Closed
Account registrations accepted 08/28/2026 7:00 AM, EDT through 10/08/2026 6:00 PM, EDT.
Registrations for judges or stewards accepted 08/28/2026 7:00 AM, EDT through 10/07/2026 11:59 PM, EDT.
Entry Registration Closed
Entry Drop-Off Closed
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.