Thank you for your interest in the IBU Open - 26th Annual organized by Iowa Brewers Union, Confluence Brew Company.

You only need to register your information once and can return to this site to enter more brews or edit the brews you've entered. You can even pay your entry fees online if you wish.

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.

Rules

This competition is AHA sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older.

ENTRIES MUST BE PAID IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE PAID ENTRY LIMIT (425) FOR THIS COMPETITION. If you do not pay for an entry before the limit is reached, that entry will not be eligible for the competition. We do not offer refunds.

All mailed entries must received at the mailing location by the entry deadline - please allow for shipping time. Any Entry(ies) not received by the deadline will not be considered for comepetition.

All entries will be picked up from drop-off locations the day of the entry 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. All brews in combined categories will be judged according to the style they were originally entered in.

Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of our event. Judges will evaluate and score each entry. Table places will be determined by mini Best of Table judging. Each flight will have at least one BJCP judge.

Brewers are limited to 6 total entries per brewer. Brewers are not limited to one entry in each category, but are limited to only enter each subcategory once. This includes teams, if the same brewers are listed on multiple beers with separate primary brewers in the same subcategory only one entry will be eligible to place.

The Best of Show judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the first place beers sent to Best of Show.

Meads and Ciders will be combined to have their own Best of Show Judging in the same format as beer Best of Show.

Bottles will not be returned to entrants.

Entry Acceptance Rules

Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 2

Each entry will consist of cans, or capped/corked bottles that are void of all identifying information, including labels and embossing. Caps with any markings (emblems/images/notations) must be blacked out completely. Silver or Bronze colored caps are preferred. If you have cans they will be accepted as well if they meet the above criteria for bottles.

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/cans will not be returned to contest entrants, but dirty empty bottles will be available to be taken after judging concludes.

Completed bottle labels must be submitted with all entries, and can be printed directly from this website. Bottle labels should be attached to bottle by the method specified on the bottle label.

Please fill out the entry forms completely. Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.

Brewers are not limited to one entry in each category but may only enter each subcategory once.

Competition Officials

You can send an email to any of the following individuals via Contact.

• Stu Hemesath — Awards Shipping
• Kc McKinney — Cellar Master/Asst. Competition Coordinator
• Aaron Reif — Head Steward
• Zack Rice — Competition Coordinator
• Tony Schubert — Head Judge
• Scott Taylor — Awards Ceremony Coordinator

Sponsors

Iowa Brewers Union is proud to have the following sponsors for the IBU Open - 26th Annual.

Confluence Brewing Company

1235 Thomas Beck Rd, Des Moines, IA 50315

Fermenter Fillers

 

Tumea & Sons Restaurant

1501 SE 1st St, Des Moines, IA 50315