application opens june 9. details inside....2015 september 24-26 greatamericanbeerfestival.com yay!...

2015

SEPTEMBER 24-26GREATAMERICANBEERFESTIVAL.COM

Yay! Online BreweryApplication opens June 9.

Details inside.

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GABFregistration.com Brewers Association

Festival DirectorNancy [email protected] issues, legal/licensing issues, use of GABF award and logo

SENIOR Event MANAGERBradley [email protected] GABF questions, beer shipping information/issues

Event MANAGERChris [email protected] registration and procedures

Event MANAGERKathryn Porter [email protected]/hotel

Competition ManagerChris Swersey303-447-0816 ext. [email protected] information

ADVERTISING and Sponsorship Tom McCrory or Kari Harrington720-473-7662/[email protected]@brewersassociation.orgFeatured brewery sponsorships and advertising opportunities

Merchandise ProgramGraham Rausch303-447-0816 ext. [email protected] merchandising at the festival

Volunteer Program ManagerCarol [email protected] volunteers

who to contact

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Dates & Deadlines ..............................................................4

EVENT SCHEDULE ..................................................................4

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS ..................................................5

Letter from the Festival Director .................................6

From the Competition Manager .......................................7

GENERAL INFORMATION ON REGISTERING ..............................9

GET TO KNOW THE ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM .................11

NEXT STEPS AFTER REGISTERING ........................................14

Confirmationof CompetitionEntries . . . . . . . . . .14

Confirmationof FestivalBeerInformation . . . . . .14

ShippingyourCompetitionEntries . . . . . . . . . . . .14

CompetitionEntriesNotShipped . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

GuidelinesforShippingCompetitionEntries . . . .15

ShippingYourFestivalBeers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

The Microstar Keg System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

If SendingYourOwnKegs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

LookingforWaystoSaveMoneyonKegs . . . . . .16

PARTICIPATING IN THE FESTIVAL ........................................17

Public Tasting Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

How the Public Tasting Sessions Work . . . . . . . . .17

table of contents

BreweryRepresentativesandBadges . . . . . . . . . . .17

GuidelinesforBreweryRepresentatives . . . . . . . . .18

GuidelinesforServingBeer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

DraughtBeerTappingOptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Displays and Promotional Materials . . . . . . . . . . .18

13thAnnualFestivalFlairAward . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

DesignatedDriverBoothandVolunteers . . . . . . .19

Attendee Program Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

GABF COMPETITION INFORMATION ......................................20

Awards Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Breweryof theYearCriteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Team Brewery Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Judges’ Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

RefundPolicy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Pro-Am Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Post-Event Publicity and Use of the GABF Logo ..........23

Quick Summary to Entering the GABF ...........................25

GABF Beer Style Categories ...........................................26

notes .................................................................................70

Dates & Deadlines ............................................................71

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2O15 dates & deadlines event scheduleTuesday, June 9 - Tuesday, June 16

Onlinebreweryapplicationperiodforcompetitionandfestival

Thursday, June 18 - Thursday, July 2Competitionbeerregistrationforeligiblebreweries

Monday, July 6Breweriesnotifiedof festivalboothspacestatus(vialottery

selection,if needed)

Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 17 Festivalboothandbeerregistrationwindow

Friday, August 7MicroStarkegsbeginshippingtobreweries(if requested)

Monday, August 10 - Friday, August 14Competition beers due in Colorado

Early SeptemberEstimatedduedatesforfestivalbeerstodropofflocations

(exactdatesvarybydropofflocationandareprovidedduringconfirmations.Likelyfirstweekof September)

Wednesday, September 236:30 – 9:00 pm • Brewers Gathering

Thursday, September 245:30–10:00pm•GABFSession1

Friday, September 255:30–10:00pm•GABFSession2

Saturday, September 2610:30am•GABFAwardsceremony

(Timesubjecttochange.)

Saturday, September 2612:00–4:00pm•GABFSession3

(MembersOnlySession)


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ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

is my brewery eligible?Only legally operating commercial breweries inthe U.S. are allowed to enter the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and they must sell beer toconsumers in accordance with state and federallaws.InordertoparticipateintheGABF,abrewerymust be operational and have a federalTTB (U.S.AlcoholandTobaccoTaxandTradeBureau)BasicPermit/Brewers Notice at time of registration orhave their beer brewed in a federally permittedfacility. Breweries in planning and/or those not operational and open the the public as of June 16, 2015 are not eligible to participate.

AllbeersenteredmustbebrewedinafacilitywithaBrewersNoticeonfilewiththeTTB.Brewerieslocatedin U.S. Territories in which a TTB Brewers Notice is not requiredtoproducebeercommerciallymustconformto all local licensing and other regulations that pertain tothecommercialproductionof beer;mustestablishthat they are in compliance with all such licensing andotherregulationsandrequirementspertainingtocommercialproductionof beer,andmustcomplywithanyUSFederalregulationsrequiredtoproducebeercommercially and/or to import beer into the United States for purposes of the Great American BeerFestival,includingregisteringwiththeFDA.

Is My Beer Eligible?All beer brands entered in the Great American Beer FestivalmustbebrewedandfermentedintheU.S.orat breweries located in the unincorporated, organized U.S.Territoriesof Guam,NorthernMarianaIslands,PuertoRicoandU.S.VirginIslands,must meet the definition of beer as defined by the TTB, and must possess the characteristics generally attributed to and conforming to the trade understanding of “beer.” Meads, ciders, spirits, and flavored malt beverages including most shandies and radlers are not eligible to be entered in the GABF competition or festival.

Pleasenote that inorder forbeer tobe eligible forentry, your brewery must first meet all breweryeligibility requirements. If your brewery does notmeetallof therequirements,yourbeerisnoteligibleforentryintheGABF.

All beer brands entered in the Great American Beer Festival must be commercially available exactly asentered by brand name. “Commercially available”meanstheenteredbrandhasbeenavailableforsaleatretail under the exact brand name as entered on the GABFentry registration formonorbeforeAugust14, 2015.Breweries andbeerbrands registered fortheGABFwhichdonotfitthesecriteriaaresubjecttodisqualificationwithoutfurthernoticeorrefundof registrationfees.

How Many Categories May I Enter?• Each beer brand may be entered only one

time. • A beer brand may not be entered in multiple

categories.• A beer brand may not be renamed and entered in

multiple categories. • Beer brands may not be entered by more than

ONE brewery in a chain of stores, brewingcompany, by breweries with related names or aligned marketing strategies, or by multiple breweriesthathavecollaboratedonabrand

What if My Beers Are Contract Brewed By Another Brewery?If you own the rights to a brand, but your beer isproduced by another brewery, you are still eligible to enter the GABF. Enter the TTB Basic Permit/Brewers Notice number of the brewery producingthe beer on your registration entry. Any award won by acontractbrandispropertyof thewinningcontractbrewery which owns the brand, not the brewery producing the beer.

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Greetings brewers!

Here it is - your guide to entering the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. I’ve outlined a few important new changesbelow. Many brewers say they keep this guidebook close-byforkeepingtheirGABFplanningnotesinoneplaceandasaneasyreferenceforquestionsleadingtotheevent.Wehopeyoufinditausefulresourceinadditiontothe“BrewersInformation”sectionontheGABFwebsite.

More breweries/More beer!In order to accommodate as many breweries as possible, while maintaining the integrity of the competition, wecontinue to review our processes. Our goal last year wasto eliminate the “race to enter” with a 3-step process that proved tobean improvementover the former registrationprocess. Wecontinuewith thismodel in2015witha fewtweaks.Moredetails follow in the guidebook, but here’s aquickandbasicoverview:

Step 1 - Apply to enter the GABF competition. A $160 feeisrequired.ThisapplicationwindowisopenJune9-16.At this time youwill also indicate if your brewerywishestohaveafestivalboothandif yourbreweryisinterestedinbeinglocatedinthenew“MeettheBrewer”sectionof thefestivalhall(moreonthisbelow).

The application window may close earlier/transition to a waitlistif morethan1,570breweriesapply.Thisrepresentsa20%increaseinnumberof breweriesthatappliedin2014.Forperspective1,309breweriesappliedandcompetedinthe2014 competition.

During the application process, please indicate how many beers your brewery expects to enter in the competition. This willhelpusgauge theexpected“average”numberof beersper brewery.

Step 2 - Register competition beers. The total number of competitionbeerseachbrewerymayenterwill (roughly)bedeterminedbydividingthenumberof competitionentriesthatcanbejudgedbythenumberof breweriesthatapply.

We expect to be able to judge 7,000 beers at this year’scompetitionwith the goal of allowing up to 5 entries persingle location brewery.

Thiswillrepresenta27%increaseinthenumberof beersinthe competition. The cost is $160 per beer.

Step 3 - Register for a festival booth. If demand forbooth space exceeds supply, booth selection will be by lottery. (See page 11 for information on the online registrationprocess.)

More space!Inaneffort tocontinue tomeetdemandand includemorebreweriesinthefestival,we’veaddedanadditionalhall(90,000squarefeetof space)&purchasedmoretappingequipment.Forthisnew“MeettheBrewer”area,wehavesomeexcitingplans in the works…

Thisnewarea(HallB)T’sintotheexistinghallsandincludesthefollowing:

• A new ticket holder entrance.

• Multiple Pavilions: Including the CraftBeer.com,SupportYourLocalBrewery,Beer&FoodandBrewersStudiopavilions.

• Food,beergardenseating,photoboothsandmorefuninteractiveactivities!

• 120+ “Meet the Brewer” brewery tables arranged in alpha(notregional)order.

- Brewery booths in this new area must be manned by breweryrepresentativesduringallfestivalhours(vs.volunteerpourers).

- Brewery tables here are slightly larger (8’ insteadof 6’)thantablesinthemainhall,providingmorespaceforyourboothstaff.

- Eight volunteer captains will be assigned to eachsection to assist with beer operations.

From the festival director

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- Three additional brewery badges for a total of seven badges, instead of four. This is to ensureample staffing& tomake sure booths are neverunmannedduringthefestival.

- Volunteer pourers will not be assigned to these booths; keep this in mind when consideringparticipation in this area.

The awards ceremony will be held in the Bellco Theater on Saturday morning/early afternoon, possibly at aslightly later time than last year’s 10:30 am start time due toprojectedincreasedcompetitionentriesandtheneed formore time todetermine the results.More to comeon this…

A Brewers Hospitality area (food and beveragesprovided)willagainbelocatedatthebacklobbyof thehall on Saturday.

As always, we encourage all breweries to have arepresentative at the booth during all festival sessions.Sometimes this is not possible; however, we do have an expectation that brewery representatives will be at their booths between 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm each night and 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon.

We look forward to a super fun festival and robustcompetition with more excellent breweries and tasty beers being showcased than ever before. It’s been yet anotherfantasticyearforcraftbeerandwecan’twaittoseeyouinDenverthisSeptember.Haveagreatsummer!

Cheers,

Nancy JohnsonFestivalDirector

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From the Competition Manager

Greetings!

Welcome to the 2015 Great American Beer Festivalcompetition.We’relookingforwardtoyourparticipationin a vigorous competition and to an exciting awardsceremonyonSaturday.Besuretolookoverthisyear’sstylelistandthestyledescriptionsverycarefullybeforesubmitting your entry form.Many category numbershave changed – don’t use last year’s category numbers!

Alcohol Content: Judges, brewers, media members andconsumershaveallbecomeincreasinglyawareof alcoholcontentof entries,astheyrelatetothebeerstyleguidelines. As you enter your beers, be sure to consider alcoholcontentasoneprimarydeciderof many.

What’s New at this year’s competitionFreshHopAleEntries:FreshHopAleentries(ONLY)may arrive in Denver after the normal deadlineif needed to accommodate production. THE ABSOLUTE LAST DAY FOR FRESH HOP ALE ENTRY ARRIVAL IN DENVER IS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15.EventManagerChrisWilliamswillcontactenteringbrewersafterconfirmationsarefinaltoprovideinstructionsforsubmittingyourfreshhopentry.

All other entries must be submitted by the usual deadline; entries in other categories submitted after the deadline are not eligible to compete. Please communicate your explicit plans for submittingyourfreshhopentriesdirectlywithBAEventManager,Chris Williams. We’ll do our best to care for late arriving Fresh Hop entries, but be aware that Fresh Hop entries submitted after deadline will be sorted and handled separately from other entries, and in cases like these, “stuff happens”. The GABF will not be responsible for any mishandling of these entries.

Pouring Instructions: Please be sure to indicate your pouring preference for every entry when you register online. Your choices are “Do Not Rouse”, “Rouse Intentionally” and “Normal Pouring”. If you do not specify pouring instructions, a default

valueof “normalpouring”willbeusedformostentries(“Rouseintentionally”isthedefaultforsomewheatbeercategories).Pouring instructions entered during registration are used exclusive to any markings on entry containers. You may update your pouring instructionsatanytimebycommunicatingwithBAEventManager Chris Williams. Pouring instructions on bottles or labels which differ from instructions in the entry database will be disregarded.

Category Updates for 2015: This year’s category list has many changes/additions including:

• Category 8: Added Chili Pepper Beer• Category 16: Added Session India Pale Ale• Category 24B: Added Mixed Culture Brett Beer• Category 27: Relocated Wood- and Barrel-Aged

Strong Stout with other wood-aged categories• Category 37C: Reintroduced American-Style

Amber Light Lager• Category 59: Added Double Red Ale as a placeholder

between Amber/Red Ale and Imperial Red Ale • Category 81C: Reintroduced Belgian Table Beer

subcategory• Deleted Indigenous BeerLast,I’llpointoutasignificantsystematicchangetothepoint system used to determine Brewery and Brewmaster of theYearawards.We’llbeawarding6,5and4pointsforGold,SilverandBronzemedalsrespectively(replacestheold3-2-1system).Thissystemrewardsbrewerswhowin multiple medals, which has become much harder withthelimitednumberof entriesperbrewery.

Iwishyouafun,successful2015GABF.Enjoyplanningyourentrystrategyandbrewinggreatbeer;we’llseeyouinDenverthisfall!

Yours Brewly,

Chris Swersey, Competition Manager2015GreatAmericanBeerFestival

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GENERAL INFORMATION ON REGISTERING FOR THE COMPETITION AND FESTIVAL

Maximum number of beers allowed for entry in the competitionThis number is TBD and is based on number of brewery applications. Approximately 7,000 total competition entry spots will be divided amongregistered breweries. No single brewing location is allowed to enter more than the designated maximum numberof competitionbeerentries.

Maximum number of beers allowed in the competition per brand family and/or control groupTwenty (20) beers. No group which owns multiplebreweries, whether packaging breweries and/or brewpubs, may enter more than a total of 20combined beers.

Forexample,Chad’sBrewingIncorporatedowns10breweries around the country. A maximum of 20competition entries total may be entered by Chad’s Brewing Incorporated. The number of entries perbrewery location may not exceed the established maximumnumber of competition entries for singlelocation breweries.

Additionally, if a brewery opts to enter multiplelocations, only the location indicated as the brewery enteringaspecificbeermaypromoteanymedalwinforthatbeer.Inotherwords, if Chad’sBrewingInc.enters 2 breweries, Chad’s Big Bad Brewing Company and Chad’s Brewpub, and Chad’s Brewpub wins a gold

medal with their IPA, only Chad’s Brewpub may claim that medal and promote that medal win. Chad’s Big Bad Brewing Company may not promote this medal win,evenif theycarryorproducethatsamebeer.

Maximum number of beers allowed at the festivalIn instances where a brewing group owns multiple stores that brew the same core brands across multiple locations, these brands may be entered under a single unit “corporate” entry, in which any medals earned for these beers may be attributed to all locationsunder that group that offer that beer. In addition,thesegroupsmayalsoenterindividuallocationswiththe unique beers that those locations brew in thecompetition, with any wins from those beers beingattributed only to the brewery they were entered under.Again,theoverallmaximumforthegroupmaynotexceedtwenty(20)entries.

Intheeventthenumberof competitionentriesallowedperbreweryare4orless,eachbrewerywithafestivalboothmaypourupto5festivalbeersattheirbooth.Nobrewerymayexceedfivebeersattheirbooth

Theonlyexceptionisforbreweriesthatsponsortheevent.Sponsorbreweriesareallowedtopourupto10beersattheirfestivalbooth.

Is my brewery a brewpub or packaging brewery?Brewpub: A restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or moreof itsbeeronsite.Thebeerisbrewedprimarily

GABFregistration.com

Registrationforthe2015GreatAmericanBeerFestivalisavailableonlineonlyatGABFRegistration.combeginningTuesday,June9at10:00amMDT.Theregistrationprocessisasfollows:

• June 9 – June 16: Brewery application period

• June 18 – July 2: Competition beer registration period

• July6–July17:Festivalboothandbeerregistrationforselectedbreweries

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for sale in the restaurantandbar.Thebeer isoftendispensed directly from the brewery’s storage tanks.Whereallowedby law,brewpubsoften sell beer “togo”and/ordistributetooff-siteaccounts.

Smallbreweriesthatsellmostof theirbeeroutof ataproom are not considered brewpubs.

Packaging Brewery: The Brewers Association categorizesacompanyasapackagingbreweryif itsoff-site (distributed) beer sales exceed 75 percent of totalproductionvolume.

Single companies entering both packaging and brewpub locationsCompanies entering separate packaging and brewpub locationsmust all compete in the same Brewery of theYear(BOY)category,andshouldenterthelargestapplicableBOYcategoryfortheircompany.

For example, if Moe’s Brewing Company entersboth Moe’s Brewing Company Production Facility(producing 100,000BBL) and Moe’s Brewpub(producing 7,000 BBL) in the competition, bothlocationsmustcompeteinthelargestapplicableBOYcategoryforthecompanyasawhole.Inthiscase,bothcompete in Mid-Size Brewing Company.

Cost of entering the competition and festival Competition Beer Entries:$160perbeerforBAbrewerymembers($385perbeerfornon-members).

Booth Fee: (only applicable for breweries with aboothatthefestival):$250.Non-members are not eligible for a booth in the festival.

Sending beer for the competition judgingAll competition entries must be shipped separately fromyourfestivalbeer.

Competition entries submitted for judging must bebottledor canned. If yourproduct is only availableindraughtformatretail,youmustbottleyourentriesfor thepurposeof entering theGABFcompetition.Entries will not be judged from kegs sent for the public festival. Growlers are not recommended.

Thoroughly read the sectiononpage14 for furtherdetailsaboutsendingbeerforthecompetition.

Sending beer for the festivalFestivalbeersshouldbesentinbottles,cansorkegs.

Breweriesparticipatinginthefestivalhavetheoptionto use their own kegs or to have MicroStar KegManagement ship thema specifiednumberof kegs(if they are not already current MicroStar clients)dependent on the number of beers entered in thefestival.Seepages15&16fordetails.

Kegged beermay only be sent in refillable stainlesssteel kegs and single use plastic kegs

The GABF arranges for 26 beer collection pointsaroundthecountry.GABFthenarrangescoldstoragepickupatall collectionpoints, to ship festivalbeersto Denver. During the festival registration process,breweries must choose the collection point location.

Thoroughlyreadthesectiononpages15forfurtherdetailsaboutsendingbeerforthefestival.

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Reviewthissectioninordertobetterunderstandtheonlineregistration process.

Part 1: Brewery Application Period: June 9 – June 16• Breweries interested in entering beers in the 2015

GABFcompetitionand/orfestivalcompleteanonlineapplicationform.

• A non-refundable application fee of $160 (for BAMembers/$385 for non-members) is required at thetimeof application)

• The application fee covers the cost of the first beerentry submitted in thecompetition.Onlycreditcardpayments are accepted. Checks are not accepted.

• Afterthebreweryapplicationdeadlineof June16,aninvitationwillbesenttoregisteredbreweriestoentertheirbeersforthecompetition.

Contact Information Besuretheaddresslistedisyourmailingaddress(wesendlabels and/or keg collars to this address, as well as post-competitionjudgenotes).

List the contact person who is coordinating your participation inGABF (hint:Pick someonewho’son topof theirgame)

If anotherbrewingcompanyownsmorethan25%of yourbrewery, list that company in this section.

Membership Information Indicate if you are a current member of the BrewersAssociation and include BA brewery member number. Yourmembernumber is locatedon themailing labelof this guidebook.

Brewery Information

TTB Basic Permit/Brewers NoticeHave your TTB Basic Permit/Brewers Notice numberavailable when completing the registration form. It is arequiredfield.

Enterthenameof yourbrewmasterorbreweryteamnameinthefirstsection.

Indicate brewery type: brewpub, packaging brewery, both or contract brewery.

Indicate brewery production size. This is important in determiningBreweryof theYearawards.

Indicateif thisisyourbrewery’sfirsttimetoenterGABF.

Remember to check the box!

• Indicateif yourbreweryisinterestedinhavingaboothatthefestival

• Also indicate if your brewery is interested inparticipatinginthe“MeettheBrewer”portionof thefestivalthisyear(refertopage17formoreinfo)

Part 2: competition Beer Registration: June 18 – July 2• Participating breweries register their beers during this

two-week window.

• The number of beers a brewery may enter will be dependent upon the number of breweries entered into the competition. (For example, if 7,000beerscanbejudgedand1,400breweriesapplyto participate, each brewery will be eligible to enter up tofivebeersinthecompetition.)

• No brewery will be eligible to enter more than the designatednumberof beersinthecompetition.

• No group which owns multiple breweries, whether packaging breweries and/or brewpub, may enter more than a total of 20 beers combined. Each individuallocationislimitedtothesamemaxnumberof entriesallotted to all entering breweries.

IMPORTANT: Each brand may only be entered once. No individual beer may be entered in multiple categories. Brewing companies entering beers in the 2015 GABF should carefully review the category and subcategory designations before registering a beer. It is imperative that beers are entered into the proper category and subcategory since judges evaluate beers on the basis of these category descriptions.

Please note that category and subcategory numbers, descriptions and styles change every year. Review thecategorylist(beginningonpage26)carefullytoidentifythe appropriate categories for your entries. Whencompletingtheonlineregistrationform,remembertheimportance of entering your brewery into the correctbrewerysizecategorybasedontheBreweryof theYearaward criteria.

GET TO KNOW THE ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM

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GABF Pro-Am Competition EntryIf participatingintheseparateGABFPro-Amcompetition,enter that beer here.

TheGABFPro-Amcompetition is limitedtothefirst96entries.Once96entriesarereceived,Pro-Amcompetitionregistration will close.

Breweries must enter at least one commercial entry in the GABFcompetitioninordertoparticipateinthePro-Am.Breweries may not enter only the Pro-Am competition.

The Pro-Am is only open to BA brewery members. Please see the Pro-Am section of this book for detailed rules(page21).

BeersenteredintothePro-AmcompetitionwillbeservedatthefestivalinthePro-Ambooth.

Festival Booth Confirmations – July 6Basedonthenumberof breweriesthatareinterestedinaboothatthefestival,itmaybenecessarytoassignfestivalboothspacesvialottery.If alotteryisrequired,itwillbeconductedbyregion.BreweriesselectedforfestivalboothspacewillbenotifiedbyJuly6.Specificboothlocationswillbe assigned at a later date.

Part 3: Festival Booth & Beer Registration: July 6 – July 17

• Selectedbreweriesarenotifiedof festivalparticipationstatus by July 6.

• Participatingbreweriesmaypouruptofivebeersatthefestival(sponsorsexcepted).

• Forthesakeof attendees,thepreferenceisthatbeersentered in the competition will also be poured at the festivalbooth.

helpful suggestions for completing the competition beer registration form

• *NEW this year*: When registering online, you’ll be able to select from a pre-populated list of your brewery’s current beer offerings, as listed in www.BreweryDB.com. If the beer you’d like to enter is not shown in this list, you may choose “other” to enter a new brand.

• *NEW this year*: For categories requiring additional specialty information for judging, you’ll be able to select from various base styles, brewing processes, and container information (barrel-aging, etc.) to supplement your entry for judging. If you prefer, you can simply type your specialty information, which will be reviewed.

• When entering beers with ingredients like fruit, vegetables, spices or chocolate (or others), avoid words like extract, puree, fresh, all natural, artificial, concentrate, frozen or canned; just indicate which ingredient is used. For example, both “Fresh Raspberries” and “Raspberry Extract” would be indicated simply as “Raspberry.” Extraneous words are removed from your description and are not provided to the judge panel.

• Do not specify any regional information that could compromise the anonymity of your entry. For example, “Arizona Wildflower Honey” should be listed as “Wildflower Honey.”

• Be sure to indicate pouring instructions for each entry. Your choices are “normal pouring”, “do not rouse - quiet pouring,” and “rouse.” If you do not specify pouring instructions, the default value of “normal pouring” is used for your entry. Pouring instructions entered during registration are used exclusive to any markings on entry containers. (Please note the default pouring procedure for certain German wheat beer styles is “rouse.”)

• All beers entered into the competition on your entry form are counted toward Brewery of the Year awards.

• A minimum of six entries is required in a category for that category to be judged. Categories with fewer than six entries as of the competition registration deadline will be recombined at the discretion of the competition manager as a subcategory of another appropriate category in order for those entries to be judged. Breweries with entries in these categories will be notified, and given the option of accepting this recombination, or withdrawing those entries.

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• Each festival booth includes four complimentaryfestivalbadges.

• Up to four additional brewery representative badgesmay be purchased at this time.

GABF Festival Beer collection PointIndicatethelocationwhereyouwilldeliverfestivalbeersfor shipping to the festival. This collection point location is not to be used for shipment of your competition entry bottles; send only festival cases and kegs here.

Festival BeersConfirmthebeersthatyourbrewerywillpouratthefestival.

NOTE: If participating in the MicroStar keg program and kegs must ship to a different address, be sure to provide that address where indicated.

TheGABFbeer service teamwill tap festivalbeer sentinkegs.Indicateoneof thefollowingservingoptionsforeach beer:

1. We are not a current MicroStar client. Send us MicroStar kegs.

2. We are a current MicroStar client. We are sending kegs outof ourexistingMicroStarinventory(required of current MicroStar clients).

3. We are sending our own refillable stainless steel orsingle use plastic keg(s). Breweries sending their ownkegsmustarrangetohavekegspickeduponSunday,September 27 at the festival hall or Saturday nightafterthefestival.

4. We are sending bottles or cans.

5. Wewishtosendourowntappingsystem.(If thisoptionis selected, theGABFwillonlyplacekegsand iceat

your booth. The brewery is responsible for bringingdraughtequipmentandtappingkegs.Mostbreweriesdonotselectthisoption.)

GABF Representative InformationBreweries with a booth at the festival will receive fourbreweryrepresentativebadgeswiththeirfestivalboothfee.

Eachparticipatingfestivalbrewerymayrequestamaximumof fourticketstotheGABFBrewersGathering.

Note: Breweries participating in the new “Meet the Brewer” section of the festival hall will recieve three additionalcomplimentarybadges(totalof sevencomplimentary)fortheirboothstaff.(Seepage17formoreinformation.)

BreweriesmaypurchaseUPTOFOURadditionalbadgesfor brewery representativeswhile supply lasts.There arealimitednumberavailable.Additional/purchasedbadgesdonotincludeatickettoGABFBrewersGathering.

TIP! Purchase the number of brewery rep badges that you believe you will need now. These will sell out.

Badges are for BREWERY REPRESENTATIVESworking the festival booth. Brewery badges may not bepurchased for guests.Proof of affiliation with your brewery is required.

Non-Exclusive License AgreementRead the licensing agreement by clicking the link and check the box in this section indicating that you agree to theGABF’snon-exclusivelicenseagreement.

Shouldyourbrewerywinamedal,besure to familiarizeyour team with the rules regarding use of the GABFtrademark when promoting your win.

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Confirmation of Competition EntriesAfter registering your beers you will receive aconfirmation.Pleasereviewtheconfirmationpagevery closelytoensurethatallof theinformationiscorrect.Spellingand capitalization counts!Onceyou signoff,this information is used for the competition details,festivalprogramguideandfestivalbanners.

If any information is incorrect, follow the on-screendirections to make changes.

You may change beer entries at this time, but only into categories that have not closed. Please contact ChrisWilliams at 720-473-7671 or [email protected] to confirm there is space in your desired categorybeforemakingchanges.

THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO CONFIRM YOUR ENTRIES FOR THE COMPETITION.

Confirmation of Festival Beer Information (for applicable breweries)A similar confirmation page will be shown for thosewho complete the festival boothandbeer registrationprocess.Besuretoreveiwallinformationtoensurethemostaccurateinformationonallfestivalmaterials.

Shipping Your Competition Entries Provideat least six12-ouncecontainers, four22-ouncecontainers, OR the equivalent of 72 ounces for eachbrand entered (growlers are not recommended). Regardlessof size, sendaminimumof fourcontainersof eachbrandbeingjudged.Entries submitted with less than the requested quantity of beer may not be judged. In the event certain large categories must be judged over 4 or more sessions, brewers may be asked to provide more than six 12-ounce containers.

Containerssentforthejudgingpanelcannotbereturned.

If abeerissentinablankbottleforjudging,itshouldbeclearly labeled using competition labels, complete with thenameof thebeer,thecategorynumberandname,andthesubcategorynameandletter.Thisinformationshouldmatchyourregistrationform.Labelyourbottlescorrectly.GABF isnot responsible forbottles that aremislabeled.Onceyousignoff,thisinformationisusedfor thecompetitiondetails, awardsceremony,winnerslists,festivalprogramguideandfestivalbanners.

NEW THIS YEAR: Pre-printed competition labels will not be mailed to breweries. Instead breweries will beresponsibleforlabelingtheirowncompetitionentrieswith the information listed above. If you require atemplate for these labels,pleasecontactChrisWilliams([email protected])toreceiveatemplate.The information on these labelsmustmatchwhat theGABFhasonfileforyourcompetitionentry.If youneedtomakeachange(ex:beername,judgingcategory,etc.)priorto labeling,pleasecontactChrisWilliamstohavethechangeapprovedbeforecreatingadifferentlabel.

Competition beers must be shipped separately from your festival beers to:

C. R. Goodman CompaniesAttn:2015GABF14402East33rdPlaceAurora,CO80011

Competition entries must be received between August 10 - 14. Late entries are not accepted. Last minute brand changes or late entries cause handling problems and database inaccuracies, and these requests are unfair to your fellow competitors.

TheGABFisnotresponsibleforanyaspectof judgingorbeerhandlingforentriesthatarrivewithunapprovedbrandchanges.If youhaveanyshippingissues,pleasecontact Bradley Latham at 720-473-7672 or [email protected].

NEXT STEPS AFTER REGISTERING

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All regulatory and financial burdens associated with submitting samples to the Great American Beer Festival are the sole responsibility of the entering brewery. C.O.D shipments will not be accepted.

competition entries not shipped If youdecidenot shiponeormoreof yourcompetitionentries,PLEASEnotifyus.Entriesnotshippedareacommoncauseof handlingerrorsforyourotherentries.Theseareset aside while we search for your “missing” entry(ies). If you plan to separate shipments for your competition entries, please email [email protected] or call 720-473-7672. Pleaseseetherefundpolicyonpage21.

Guidelines for Shipping COMPETITION ENTRIES• MakesureEVERYbottlefromthesamebeerentryis

shipped in the same container.

• Pack competition entries extremely well to avoidbreakageduringshipping.Eachyearwereceiveentriesdestroyeddue topoorpackaging. If poorlypackagedsamplesbreakandreplacementsamplesdonotarrivepriortothedeadline,thesebeersmaynotbejudged.No entry fees are refunded due to poor packaging.Additional shipping costs due to breakage are the sole responsibilityof thebrewery.

• If possible, wrap each bottle individually in bubblewrap.

• Place all bottles standing upright in the shipping container. All bottles should be placed in the same direction (tops up) and should be separated withcardboard.

• Fill the shippingcontainer to the topwithpackagingmaterial (bubble wrap preferred). If you must usepacking peanuts, put them in plastic bags.

• Wraptheoriginalboxinaplasticbag(toavoidpossibleleakage thatwill prevent beers frombeing delivered)and then place the box, with bottle tops pointing up, in a strong cardboard shipping box.

• Shipping containers (such as coolers, etc.) are notreturned to the brewery.

• Please consider sending extra beer or brewery swag to donatetothesortingvolunteerswhoworkmanyhours

in the cooler sorting the beers into the competition’s 90+ categories.

• Somebrewershavefoundthatsettingupashippingcourier to pick up the package from your placeof business works better than taking it to a localshippingoffice.

• Please do not use theUnited States Postal Service.Private couriers work well and freight companieswork best.

Shipping Your Festival Beers Pleasereadthissectionverycarefullyanddirectquestionsto Bradley Latham at 720-473-7672 or [email protected].

Youareemailedano-chargeinvoiceindicatingthatyourGABF beer is donated. Prior to shipping, attach this toyourfestivalbeers.

Beermayonlybereceivedinthefollowingways:

• Kegs–Youmaysendyourownkegs for the festivalor have the GABF ship kegs to you via MicroStarKegManagement.SeebelowforfulldetailsonusingMicroStarkegsforthefestival.

If sending your own kegs, the GABF only accepts beer sent in refillable stainless steel or single-use plastic kegs. No exceptions. Kegs must be picked up from the Colorado Convention Center on Sunday, September 27 before 12:00 pm. The GABF is not responsible for any kegs left after this time.

• Bottles or Cans–Deliveraminimumof 10casesof each brand in bottles or cans to your collection point forshipmenttoDenver.YourlocaldistributormayalsodeliveryourbeertotheC.R.GoodmanwarehouseinDenverduringthedeliverywindow.

The MicroStar Keg System (highly recommended)BreweriesmaychoosetohaveMicroStarKegManagementshipkegsdirectlytoyourbrewerytofillwithyourfestivalbeers (unless yourbrewery is a currentMicroStar client,inwhichcaseyou’llbeaskedtosendkegsfromyourownMicroStarfleet).This savesyou fromhaving touseyourcurrent inventory. If you choose to use the Microstarprogram,herethedetailsforparticipating:

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• Youwillreceive2 – 1/6 barrel kegsforeverybrandyouaresendingforthefestival.

• If yourbreweryhaspreviouslyrunoutof beeratthefestival, youmay requestadditionalkegsbyemailingBradley Latham at [email protected] byJuly15.Thiswillonlyaffectaverylimitednumberof breweriesaspastfestivalshaveshown2–1/6barrelkegsareadequatefor90%of participatingbreweries.

• Current MicroStar clients should use their existing inventory andwill receive credit fromMicroStar forthekegssenttothefestival.

• For existing MicroStar clients, please send no morethan one ½ barrel per brand unless you historically run outof beer.

Sending Your Own Kegs?TheGABF only accepts kegs that are refillable stainlesssteel or single use plastic. Please do not send more than one ½ barrel keg per brand, or three 1/6 bbl kegs per brand, unless you historically run out of beer at thefestival. If youhaveanyquestionsaboutacceptablekegsat the festival, please email Bradley Latham: [email protected].

Looking for ways to save money on shipping? Breweries may consolidate shipments when sending competition beers. Many breweries are coordinating the shipmentof competitionbeers.Thissavestimeandmoney!Consider contacting your local guild to discuss the option of palletizing your competition entries, and shippingthemtogetherviafreightcompany.Alistof participatingbreweries can be found at GreatAmericanBeerFestival.comif you’dliketocoordinatewithothers.

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Public Tasting ScheduleGABFfeaturesfourpublictastingsessions:

Thursday, September 24 - 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm

Friday,September25-5:30pmto10:00pm

Saturday, September 26 - 12:00 to 4:00 pm

(MembersOnlysession)

Saturday, September 26 - 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm

The sessions are in the Colorado Convention Center,located at 14th and Champa in downtown Denver,Colorado.

NEW THIS YEAR: “Meet the Brewer” area at GABFWiththeexpansionof theGABFintoanadditionalhall,we’vedesignedthenewhalltobethe“MeettheBrewer”hall, where festival booths will be staffed ONLY withbrewersandbreweryowners.Severalof oureducationalpavilionsalsomovetothishallandanewpublicentrancetothefestivalwillbelocatedhere.

How it works:

• Duringtheapplicationprocess(June9–17)brewerieswill“opt-in”tothelotteryforafestivalboothspace.

• Brewers may also “opt-in” to participate in a “Meet the Brewer” booth in the new GABF Festival hall.Participation is limited to approx. 120 breweries.

• DIYStaffing!-Breweryboothsinthenewhallmustbeentirelystaffedbybrewers,breweryowners,andotherbrewerystaff.NOVOLUNTEERPOURERSWILLBEPROVIDED.Volunteer captainswill beassignedto assist with beer service operations, but volunteerpourers will not be assigned to these booths.

• Spreadout!-Eachbreweryinthissectionwillreceivean8ftx10ftspace(vs.the6ftx10ftspacesinotherareas).Brewerieswillbearrangedalphabeticallyratherthan by geographic region.

• More Badges – each brewery participating in this portion of the festival will receive an additional 3complimentary Brewery Representative badges fortheirstaff,foratotalof sevenbadges.

How the Public Tasting Sessions WorkAll participating breweries are arranged by geographic region throughout the festivalhall. (Exception:booths inthe “Meet the Brewer” section are arranged alphabetically. Eachbreweryhasaboothspace6 ft. longx10 ft.deep.Forbreweriespouringdraughtbeer,kegsaretappedatthebackof thebooth.Bottlesandcansare iced in tubsandplacedona tableat the frontof thebooth.Promotionalitemsandpitchersof waterforrinsingtastingglassesareplacedonthetable.AGABFsign,includingthenameandlocation of your brewery and the names of beers beingserved hangs from the 8’ drape on the backwall of thebooth.

Festival attendees receive a tasting glass and a festivalprogramuponentering.Eacheveningmore than10,000attendees circulate among the booths tasting variousbeers. You, your brewery representative, or one of ourknowledgeable volunteers will pour one-ounce servingsandanswerquestions.

Participating breweries are expected to staff their boothatall times.Remember—festivalattendeeswant to learnmoreaboutYOURbeer,andmeetyou!

Brewery Representatives and Badges• Aspartof thebreweryregistrationfee,eachbrewery

may designate up to four representatives (dependingon the number of beers entered) whomay promoteand distribute its products at the brewery booth.

• Festivalbooth=(4)complimentarybreweryrepresentativebadges(+3additionalif in“MeettheBrewer”sectionof thefestivalhall).

• Nofestivalbooth=(0)complimentarybreweryrepresentativebadges.

• The Brewers Association is dedicated to presenting GABFbeersinafavorablelight.Partof thisplanistoprovideasafeandsecureenvironment.Makesurethatyourbreweryrepresentativesareawareof andadheretotheONE-OUNCEPOURRULE.

• Registeredbreweries(competitionand/orfestival)maypurchaseamaximumof fourbrewery representativebadges(validforallsessions),basedonavailability.Thecostis$185peradditionalpassforBrewersAssociation

PARTICIPATING IN THE FESTIVAL

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brewerymembers, $300per additionalpass fornon-member breweries.

• Badges are valid for all four sessions of the festival.Eachbadgehasthebrewery’snameonitandshouldbeusedbybreweryrepresentativesonly.Eachbadgeisgoodforonepersontoenterthefestivalpersession.

• Allbadgesarethepropertyof theBrewersAssociationandmayberevokedatanytime.

• AllbreweryrepresentativesareID’dandwristbandedeach day. Please plan accordingly and allow time to get wristbandedandID’donsitebeforeenteringthehall.Ages 21+ only.

• As part of our mission to educate the consumer about the quality and diversity of beer, the expectation is that breweries will have at least one brewery representative present in their booth at all times during the public sessions. TheGABFwillcontinuetostaffboothswithvolunteerswho are educated about beer styles and the brewing processtoassistbreweryrepresentatives.

Guidelines for Brewery Representatives • Allbreweryrepresentativesmustbe21yearsorolder.

No exceptions.

• Promotionof yourproductmayonlyoccurwithintheconfinesof yourbooth.

• Breweryrepresentativesmustmaintainsobrietywhileattending the festival. Any brewery representativedeemedintoxicatedduringthefestivalshallbesubjecttoejection.

• Breweryrepresentativesmustbeappropriatelyclothedduring the festival. Appropriate dress is at the solediscretionof theGABF.

• Brewery representatives should conduct themselveswithappropriatedecorumatall times.Activitiesbyabreweryrepresentativethatendangerfestivalattendees,festival staffor festivalvendors,oranyactivitywhichiscontrary toColorado lawmaysubject thebreweryrepresentative or the attending brewery to ejectionfromthefestivalatthesolediscretionof GABFstaff.

• Throwing items (i.e., shirts, cups, coasters, etc.) fromthe booth into the crowd is strictly prohibited.

• Coastersarenotallowedatthefestival.Pleasedonotbringthem.“Flying”coastershaveposedsafetyissuesatpreviouseventsandarenowprohibited.

• Brewery representatives are encouraged to sampleresponsiblyduringthefestival.Pleaseadheretotheoneounce pour rule.

Guidelines for Serving Beer• Pouroneounceof beerintoattendees’glasses.Thereis

apourlineontheglassforyourconvenience.

• Pleasedonotserveattendeeswhoappearintoxicated.AlertGABFstafforsecuritypersonnelif needed.

• Beershallbeservedonlyfrombehindthetablesinthebooth space.

Pleasemakesureallof yourbreweryrepresentativesadheretotheseguidelines.Failuretodosowillresultinwarningsand/orexpulsionof yourbreweryorrepresentatives.

Draught Beer Tapping OptionsThe Great American Beer Festival ices, taps andpressurizes all draught beers sent in Sankey kegs. Kegged beermayonlybesentinrefillablestainlesssteelkegsandsingle use plastic kegs. The majority of breweries takeadvantageof ourtappingservice.If youchoosetotapthebeersyourself,youmustprovideallequipmentnecessary(faucets,taps, lines,CO2,etc.).TheGABFprovideskegcontainersandice.ThefestivalisnotabletoaccommodateanyHoff-Stevens,GoldenGateorCorneliuskegs.

All beer entered in the festivalmust be delivered to theGABF host distributor for legal and inventory purposes.Festivalbeerreceivedbythehostdistributorbecomesthepropertyof thehostdistributorforGABFandmaynotbeusedforanyotherpurposesuchassellingatretail.

Displays and Promotional Materials• Eachbreweryorbrewingcompanyisprovideda6ft.

tablewithan8ft.highdrapelocateddirectlybehindthetableforbrewerydisplays.

• Allwalldisplaysmustbelessthan6ft.longx4ft.high.

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• Tabledisplaysmustbelessthan3ft.tallx3ft.wide.

• Nodisplaymaybehigherthan15ftfromtheground.

• TheGABFisintendedtoeducateconsumersaboutthequality anddiversity of beer in theU.S.TheGABFmay,at itssolediscretion,requestand/orrequiretheremovalof anyinappropriatedisplay.

• Brewery displaysmay not restrict the flow of trafficbehind the booth.

• Tents that encroach on your neighbor’s space are not allowed. Tents that stay in a brewery’s designated area (6ftwide)areallowed.

• TheGABFisnotresponsibleforlostorstolenitems.

• Complimentary promotional items may be distributed to attendees. However, please note that the costof removing brewery labels and stickers found onColorado Convention Center windows, mirrors orothersurfaceswillbechargeddirectlytothebrewery.

• Signsrequiringelectricityareonlyallowedatendcap(sponsor)booths.

13th Annual Festival Flair AwardTheGABF invitesallbreweries todecorate theirboothand win a prize for the brewery booth with the mostfestival flair. We ask breweries to turn on their festivespirit and craft the most creative booth in the festivalhall.Theboothwithmostthefestivalflair isawardedaplaqueattheawardsceremonyandacertificateforfivecomplimentary entries for the2015GABF.There is anaward for best end-cap booth and best in-line booth.Breweriesmustbringall of their items todecorateand

cannotshiptotheconventioncenterorwiththeirfestivalbeers. We suggest shipping your decorations to your hotel room or bringing them by car.

Designated Driver Booth and VolunteersEach yearwe provide designated drivers a special areawith craft brewed, alcohol-free products, snacks andgames. If your brewery makes non-alcoholic root beersor sodas, we would appreciate your donation to the des-ignateddriverlounge.EmailChrisWilliamsatwilliams@brewersassociation.orgtodonatenon-alcoholicbeverages.

Didyouknow that theGABFhasover2,000volunteerswhodevotecountlesshourshelpingwiththefestival?Werewardthesehardworkingvolunteerswithasamplingof beersfromacrossthecountry.If youwouldliketodonateextra bottled beer to the volunteers, please email ChrisWilliams at [email protected] and send thisextrabeerwithyourfestivalbeers.Clearlylabelthisas“VolunteerBeer.”

Attendee Program GuideAttendeesreceiveaGABFprogramcontaininginformationabout the festival as well as your brewery information.Your information includes: brewery name, city, state,website,boothnumberandbeersatthefestival.Additionalinformationintheprogramincludes:

Breweryownershipif yourbreweryis25%ormoreownedby another brewery.

YourbrewerylistingwillalsoidentifyBrewersAssociationmembers as either:

• VotingMemberof theBA• AssociateMember(allotherbrewerymembers)

Brewers’badgesarehighlycoveteditems.Thesaleof breweryrepresentativebadgesisprohibitedandbreweriescaughtselling/giving away badgesmay be ejected from the current festival and barred from participation in future festivals.Remember, the people wearing brewery representative badges are representing your company. Please do not providebrewerybadgestoanyonenotaffiliatedwithyourbrewery;doingsopotentiallyexposestheevent,andyourbrewery,toincreased liability issues.

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TheGreatAmericanBeerFestival is a productionof theBrewers Association and is America’s longest running and largest gathering of U.S. breweries.TheGABF continuesto unite the brewing community with beer enthusiasts in a celebrationof thequalityanddiversityof American-brewedbeers. Itprovidesanexcellentopportunity to exposeyourbeerstobeerloverswhotravelfromaroundthecountryandworldtoexperiencethefestivaleachyear.

Theprimarypurposeof theGreatAmericanBeerFestivalistoeducatetheconsumeraboutthequalityanddiversityinbeer styles and breweries that exist across the United States.

Partof thateducationalprocessliesinrecognizingbrewingexcellence through the GABF competition. The GABFjudgepanelawardsgold,silverandbronzemedalsin93stylecategories.GABFmedals symbolizeexcellence inbrewingthroughouttheworld.Duringthethreedaysof theGABFjudging,aninternationallyrenownedpanelof qualifiedbeerjudgesevaluatesallbeersenteredinthecompetition.

Awards PhilosophyTheGABFawardsmedalsforexcellencein92categoriesand does not necessarily award medals to the top three finishers inaparticularcategory.When judgesdecideacategory contains three excellent examples of the style,they award gold, silver andbronzemedals for the first,second and third place beers, respectively. If judgesbelieve that no beer in the category meets the qualityand style accuracy criteria, they may elect not to award amedal. Judgesmay award a silver or a bronzemedaland yet not award a gold medal in a category. The award criteriaareasfollows:

Gold: Aworld-classbeer thataccuratelyexemplifies thespecifiedstyle,displayingtheproperbalanceof taste,aroma and appearance.

Silver: An excellent beer that may vary slightly fromstyle parameters while maintaining close adherence to the style and displaying excellent taste, aroma and appearance.

Bronze: Afineexampleof thestylethatmayvaryslightlyfromstyleparametersand/orhaveminordeviationsintaste, aroma or appearance.

Brewery and brewmaster of the Year Criteria Allbeersenteredinthecompetition(exceptPro-Amentries)counttowardBreweryof theYearpoints.RefertotheBrewersCompetition Information section of theGABFwebsite forcriteria used for awarding points. Also see page 8—Letterfrom theCompetitionManager for a change to this year’spointsystem.Awardsaregiveninthefollowingcategories:

Packaging Breweries:Very Small Brewing Company of the YearLess than 1,000 barrels produced in 2014

Small Brewing Company of the Year1,000 – 14,999 barrels produced in 2014

Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year15,000 – 6,000,000 barrels produced in 2014

Large Brewing Company of the Year Over6,000,000barrelsproducedin2014

Brewpubs*:

Small Brewpub of the YearLess than 750 barrels produced in 2014

Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year750 – 1,500 barrels produced in 2014

Large Brewpub of the YearOver 1,500 barrels produced in 2014

*Brewpub: A restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or more of itsbeeron site.Thebeer isbrewedprimarily for salein the restaurant and bar. The beer is often dispenseddirectly fromthebrewery’s storagetanks.Whereallowedbylaw,brewpubsoftensellbeer“togo”and/ordistributetooff-siteaccounts.Note:BAre-categorizesacompanyasapackagingbrewery if its off-site (distributed)beer salesexceed 75 percent.

IMPORTANT: Please read the following informationcarefully in order to properly determine the correct sizecategoryyoushouldselectforyourbrewery.Breweriesthatselect categories that are later found as incorrectwill bedisqualifiedfromwinningtheBreweryof theYearawardin that category.

GABF COMPETITION INFORMATION

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For Packaging Breweries:SizeisdefinedbytotalU.S.volumeof thecompanywhichhasmajorityownershipof the brewery.

For Brewpubs:Sizeof singlestoreSmallBrewpub,Mid-Size Brewpub and Large Brewpub entries is defined byproductionvolumeof theindividualoperationwhichholdsthe brewing license.

Team Brewery NameWeallowateamconceptfortheBrewerof theYearaward.Thereare twochoices for this recognition:an individualname/s(uptotwopeople)or“BreweryTeamName.”Onetrophy is presented in either case.

Judges’ CommentsDuring first-round beer tastings, each judge completes abeer tasting form for each beer judged. Brewers shouldeach receive aminimum of three beer-tasting forms foreach beer entered. Judging results are sent within 30 days of theendof thefestival.

Refund PolicyAfullrefundisgivenonlyintheeventthatyourbrewerycancels before August 7, 2015. Refunds issued after thefestival.Youmayalsorequestacreditforthe2015GABFinplaceof arefund.Anybrewerythatshipstheirproductandlaterwishestohavethebeerdroppedfromthefestivaldue to improper fermenting, off-flavors discovered aftershipping,etc.isnotrefunded.Beerisadonationandisnotpurchasedbythefestival.

Pro-Am CompetitionThe Brewers Association and the American Homebrewers AssociationareproudtopresenttheNinthAnnualGABFPro-AmCompetitionof theGreatAmericanBeerFestival.

TheGABFPro-Amcompetition is limitedtothefirst96entries.Once96entriesarereceived,Pro-Amcompetitionregistration will close. Registration for these entries willtake place during the “Beer Registration” period.

Commercial Brewery Rules:• Breweries that have entered at least ONE brand in

the GABF competition/festival and have a boothin the festival are eligible to enterabeer in thePro-Am Competition. Breweries are not allowed to enter ONLYthePro-AmCompetition.

• BeersenteredintheGABFPro-Amcompetitionmustbe commercially available. Commercially availablemeanstheenteredbrandhasbeenavailableforsaleatretailbyAugust,10,2015.AllGABFeligibility rulesapply to Pro-Am entries.

• Beer entered in the Pro-Am competition must be served at the festival and cannot be entered solelyas a “judgeonly” entry.Pro-Ambeer is servedat adesignatedGABFPro-Ambooth in the festivalhall,thus is not counted toward the maximum number of beers that canbe served at the brewery’s booth.However, thebrewerymay choose to offer thePro-Am beer as one of their five festival beers at theirbreweryboothaswell.EachbeerenteredinthePro-Am competition is served duringONE of the fourtastingsessions.Breweriesmayrequestanadditional1/6bblMicroStar keg for theirPro-Ambeer tobeservedatthePro-Ambooth.

• Breweries may determine the homebrew recipes they scaleupinoneof threeways:

o Select an award-winning homebrew from anAmerican Homebrewers Association (AHA)/BeerJudge Certification Program (BJCP) sanctionedhomebrewcompetitionheldonorafterJanuary1,2015.

o Organize your own brewery-run and/or AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition.

o Partner with a local homebrew club to organize an AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition.

• See our Events Calendar (http://bit.ly/BJCPcal)for a calendar of upcoming AHA/BJCP sanctionedcompetitionsorgotowww.bjcp.org/apps/comp_reg/comp_reg.html to register a competition. Breweriesmay wish to partner with a local homebrew club or homebrewsupplyshop if theywishtoorganizetheirown competition. See HomebrewersAssociation.org for homebrew club and shops directories. ContactJanis Gross, American Homebrewers Association Project Coordinator, at 720-473-7682 or [email protected] for information about localhomebrew clubs and homebrew supply shops.

• Breweries may choose to restrict entries to categories theyarereasonablyabletobrew.Forexample,breweriesmaychoosenottoacceptrecipesforfruitbeers,sourbeers,orbeersrequiringextendedaging,etc.

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• The homebrewer brewing their recipe with the professionalbreweryCANNOTbe,orhaveeverbeen,anemployeeof thatbreweryoronthebrewingstaffatany brewery.

• Breweries brew the winning beer from the recipesubmitted by the winning homebrewer. The winning homebrewer must be an AHA member at the time thebreweryenterstheGABFcompetitionandmusthave a valid AHA membership at the time of theGABF.Allbreweryentrantsmustbemembersof theBrewers Association.

• Limited modifications of the recipe are allowed toaccommodate the scale of commercial brewing andingredientsavailabletothebrewery.

• All entrants, both professional and amateur brewers,must sign a Licensing Agreement prior to the submission of entries to the GABF. The LicensingAgreement limits and protects the way the GABFtrademark is used.

• Thereisa$25chargeforGABFPro-AmCompetitionentries, which covers the cost of awards andadministrativetime.

• No more than one entry per brewery is accepted in the GABFPro-AmCompetition.

• Nomore than 96 total entries are accepted for thiscompetition.Entriesareacceptedonafirstcome,firstservedbasis.

• GABFPro-Amentriescompeteinabest-of-showstylejudging,duringtheregularGABFjudging.TheGABFStyle Guidelines and GABF judge panel are usedfor the judging. Entering brewers must provide theappropriateGABFcategorynameandnumberalongwithany requested supplemental information for theentrytobejudgedcorrectly.Entriesthatdonotincludethisinformationwillnotbeaccepted.

• JudgeswilldeterminethetopthreeentriesintheGABFPro-AmCompetition,whichareawardedGold,Silver,andBronzeGABFPro-AmCompetitionmedalsduringtheGABFawardsceremony.Medalsareissuedtoboththe winning brewery and the winning homebrewer.

• Pro-Am medals do not count towards “Brewery of theYear”awards,and therefore,arenotcounted forBreweryof theYearpoints.

Homebrewer Rules:• The homebrewer entrant or entrants must be members

of theAHAbythetimethebreweryregisterstheentryintheGABFPro-Amcompetition(July2015),aswellaswhenthePro-Amentryisjudged(September2015).Allbreweryentrantsmustbemembersof theBrewersAssociation. Homebrewer employees of the BrewersAssociation are ineligible.

• Qualifying homebrew competitions may be, but arenotrequiredtobe,AHA/BJCPsanctionedhomebrewcompetitions.CompetitionsheldonorafterJanuary1,2015mayuseAHA/BJCPcategories,asdefinedbytheBJCP2008StyleGuidelinesfortheirentries,excludingthose restricted by the competition. See our EventsCalendar (http://bit.ly/BJCPcal) for a calendar of up-coming AHA/BJCP sanctioned competitions or go to www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_reg/comp_reg.html toregister a competition.

• Competitions must be timed to give the breweryadequatetimetobrewthebeertobereadyforentrytotheGABF.

• The nature of the competition is entirely up to thebrewery. They may choose to work with an existing competition or create their own. Breweries may restrictthestylesof thecompetitiontostylestheycanreasonably brew.

• AHA membership of all homebrewer entrants isverified by the AHA. AHA membership must becurrent at the time the brewery enters the GABFcompetition,andalsoatthetimeof theGABFjudging.

• The homebrewer brewing their recipe with the professionalbreweryCANNOTbe,orhaveeverbeen,anemployeeof thatbreweryoronthebrewingstaffatany brewery.

• All entrants, both professional and amateur brewers,must sign a Licensing Agreement prior to the submission of entries to the GABF. The LicensingAgreement limits and protects the way the GABFtrademark is used.

• No more than one entry per brewery will be accepted in theGABFPro-AmCompetition. IndividualAHAmembers may be associated with no more than one entrysubmittedintotheGABFPro-AmCompetitionjudgingattheGABF

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Award-winning breweries are encouraged to use their Great American Beer Festival awards in public relationsand advertising campaigns. Each award-winning brewingcompanyisrequiredtosigna licensingagreementwiththeBrewersAssociation,whichisapartof theregistrationprocess.

To preserve the integrity of the Great American BeerFestivalandthecredibilityof itsresults,referencetoGreatAmericanBeerFestivalawardsaregovernedbytheserules:

• Alwayshaveyourartworkpre-approvedbytheBrewersAssociation. Allow 21 business days for submissions.A submission is not deemed to be received until ithas been acknowledged in writing or/and by email and assigned a submission number. The first fivesubmissions per award-winning brand are at no charge. Thesixthandanysubsequentsubmissionsarechargedanadministrativefeeof $200persubmission.Requestsforapprovalcanbemailedoremailedto:

Nancy Johnson EventDirector Brewers Association POBox1679 Boulder,CO80302 Email:[email protected]

• Inallcases,referencetoanawardmustincludementionof the category in which the award was received.CATEGORYmustbereferencedinafontsizeequaltothesizeusedtoreferencetheaward.

• In all cases, reference to an award must specify thetypeof awardreceived (i.e.,goldorfirstplace; silveror second place; bronze or third place). TYPE OFAWARDmustbereferencedinafontsizeequaltothesizeusedtoreferencetheaward.

• In all cases, reference to an award must include amentionof theYEARitwasreceived.Theyearmustbe referenced ina font size equal to the sizeused toreferencetheaward.

• In all cases, reference to an awardmust include theNAMEOFTHEBEERANDBREWERYexactlyasentered in theGreat American Beer Festival for theyearinwhichtheawardwasreceived.

• All of the above required items must be in a font size large enough to be read in the format in which they are presented. Use the artwork provided by theBrewersAssociation and choose thehighestresolutionappropriateforyouruse.Suggestedguidelinesforvariousformats:

FORBILLBOARDS:Afontsizeof 12inchesorlarger.

FORWEB:Afontsizeof 80pixelsorlarger.

FORTELEVISION:Apointsizeof 30pointsorlarger.Allrequiredelementsmustbeseenonscreenand/orheardon audio.

• The Great American Beer Festival mark shall bepresentedinEnglishlanguage.Additionalstatementsinotherlanguagesmaybemade,if thestatementsdonotconflictwith,orarecontradictoryto,therequirementsof thissubpart.

• Always use the ® when using the Great American Beer Festivalmedallogo(wordsanddesign).Itisaregisteredtrademarkof theBrewersAssociation.Whenwritingthewords“GreatAmericanBeerFestival®” the ® must beusedonfirstmention.

• Promotionsorothermentionsof theGreatAmericanBeerFestivalandGreatAmericanBeerFestivalawardsmay not mention other brewing companies nor the nameof anyjudgeorjudgesservingasapartof theGreat American Beer Festival judging or evaluation.Adsthatmakereferencetootherbrewingcompanieseitherbynameorbyreferencewillnotreceiveapproval.

• The Great American Beer Festival mark includesthe words and design elements and should appear exactly as it appears on the art supplied by the Brewers Association. The mark may not be changed. The standard license signed by winning breweries includes permission to use the Great American Beer Festival mark only in pre-approved advertising/promotions(print/web,etc.)Thestandardlicensedoesnot grant permission to use theGABFmark on anymerchandisepromotingthewin(shirts,hats,glassware,etc.). Individual arrangements canbemade fornon-standard uses.

Post-Event Publicity and Use of the GABF Logo

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• These rules do not waive any right to trademarkor copyright material of the Great American BeerFestival. The Great American Beer Festival logo,copyright, or trademark material may be used only withwrittenpermissionof theGreatAmericanBeerFestival.

Failureof anybrewingcompany,orof anypersonactingonabrewingcompany’sbehalf oratabrewingcompany’s

direction, to comply with these rules may result in suspensionfromparticipationintheGreatAmericanBeerFestival for a duration to be determined at the absolutediscretion of the Great American Beer Festival RulesCommittee.Innoeventshallasuspensionbeterminatedwhileabrewingcompanyremainsinviolation.

Email Nancy Johnson at [email protected].

25


QUICK SUMMARY TO ENTERING THE GABF

1. Read the festival information in this booklet.

2. Complete the registration form (online GABFRegistration.com). Ontheregistrationform,didyou:

•Includepayment?•Indicateif youwantaboothatthefestival?•Indicateif youwouldliketoparticipateinthe“MeettheBrewer”Programinthefestival?•Readandsignlicenseagreement(Bycheckingthe“IAgree”checkbox)?•Filloutspecialtyinformationforbeersenteredintothesecategories?:3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13a,14,

15, 17a, 18a, 18b, 18c, 19, 20a, 21, 22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b, 25a, 25b, 26, 27, 28a, 28b, 29, 30a, 30b, 31e,31f,69a,69b,69c,75,76b,77c,77e,81a,81b,81c

3. Confirm your entries after completing your beer registration.Onceyoucompleteyourbeerregistration,you’llseeaconfirmationpageof yourentries.Reviewallof theinformationcarefully.Shouldyouneedtochangeyourinformation,youwillsimplylogbackinwithyourGABFbreweryID(whichcanbefoundonyourconfirmationpage).

4. Microstar kegs arrive. Washtheseandfillthemwithyourfestivalbeers.Putyourkegcollarsonthebeersandlabelthemwell.

5. Ship your judging entries. ThesemustarrivebetweenAugust10-14,2015. Send to: C. R. Goodman Companies Attn:2015GABF 14402East33rdPlace Aurora,CO80011 United States

6. Deliver your festival beers to your designated collection point.Festivalbeersmustarrivetothecollectionpointthelastweekof August/firstweekof September.Actualdateswillbesentatalaterdate.Nochargeinvoicesshouldbeincludedwiththisshipment.

7. Attend the Great American Beer Festival.FestivaldatesareThursday,September24–Saturday,September27.

GABFregistration.com

Thank you for participating in the 2015 GABF!

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Competition Style Descriptions and SpecificationsHerearedetailedbeerstyleguidelinesforthe92categoriesatteh2015GreatAmericanBeerFestival.Usetheseguidelineswhenfillingoutyourregistrationform,andtoensureyourbeersareenteredintothecorrectcategory.Pleasenote:byrule,BrewersAssociationstaffcannothelpdeterminewhichcategoriesyourbeershouldbeen-tered.Toallowforaccuratejudging,youmustincludespecialtyinformationaboutyourbeerforthefollowingcategories during registration: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13a, 14, 15, 17a, 18a, 18b, 18c, 19, 20a, 21, 22a, 22b, 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b, 25a, 25b, 26, 27, 28a, 28b, 29, 30a, 30b, 31e, 31f, 69a, 69b, 69c, 75, 76b, 77c, 77e, 81a, 81b, 81c

GABF BEER STYLE CATEGORIESGABFregistration.com

HYBRID/MIXED LAGERS OR ALES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281. American-Style Wheat Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 A. Subcategory: Light American Wheat Beer without Yeast . . . . . . 28 B. Subcategory: Dark American Wheat Beer Without Yeast . . . . . . 282. American-Style Wheat Beer With Yeast . . . . . . . . .28 A. Subcategory: Light Am Wheat Beer w/ Yeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 B. Subcategory: Dark Am Wheat Beer w/ Yeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293. American Fruit Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294. Fruit Wheat Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295. Belgian Fruit Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306. Pumpkin Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307. Field Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318. Chili Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319. Herb and Spice Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3110. Chocolate Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3211. Coffee Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3212. Specialty Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3213. Rye Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 A. Subcategory: Rye Beer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 B. Subcategory: German-Style Rye Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3314. Honey Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3315. Session Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3416. Session IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3417. Other Strong Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 A. Subcategory: Other Strong Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 B. Subcategory: American-Style Imperial Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 C. Subcategory: American-Style Wheat Wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 D. Subcategory: Ice Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 E. Subcategory: American-Style Malt Liquor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3518. Experimental Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 A. Subcategory: Experimental Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 B. Subcategory: Ginjo Beer or Sake Yeast Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 C. Subcategory: Wild Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3619. Fresh or Wet Hop Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3620. Historical Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 A. Subcategory: Historical Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 B. Subcategory: Dutch-Style Kuyt Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 C. Subcategory: Grodziskie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 D. Subcategory: Adambier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3721. Gluten-Free Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

22. American-Belgo-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 A. Subcategory: Pale American-Belgo Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 B. Subcategory: Dark American-Belgo Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3823. American-Style Sour Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 A. Subcategory: American-Style Sour Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 B. Subcategory: Fruited American-Style Sour Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3924. Brett Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 A. Subcategory: Brett Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 B. Subcategory: Mixed Culture Brett Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4025. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 A. Subcategory: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Pale to Amber Beer . . . . . 40 B. Subcategory: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark Beer . . . . . . . . . . . 4126. Wood-and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer . . . . . . . . . . .4127. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout . . . . . . . . . . .4228. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 A. Subcategory: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 B. Subcategory: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer . . . . . . 4229. Aged Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4330. Kellerbier or Zwickelbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 A. Subcategory: Unfiltered German-Style Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 B. Subcategory: Unfiltered German-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4431. Smoke Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 A. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Weiss Rauchbier (Helles or Dunkel) 44 B. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Helles Rauchbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 C. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Märzen Rauchbier . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 D. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Bock Rauchbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 E. Subcategory: Smoke Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 F. Subcategory: Other Smoke Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

LAGER BEER STYLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4632. American-Style or International-Style Pilsener . .46 A. Subcategory: American-Style Pilsener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 B. Subcategory: International-Style Pilsener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4633. German Pilsener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4634. Bohemian Pilsener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4635. Munich Helles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4736. Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest . . . . .47 A. Subcategory: Dortmunder/Export-Style Export . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 B. Subcategory: German-Style Oktoberfest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4737. American-Style Lager or Light Lager . . . . . . . . . .47

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A. Subcategory: American-Style Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 B. Subcategory: American-Style Light Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 C. Subcategory: American-Style Amber Light Lager . . . . . . . . . . . 4838. American-Style Cream Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4839. Vienna-Style Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4840. German-Style Märzen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4841. American-Style Amber Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 A. Subcategory: American-Style Amber Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 B. Subcategory: California Common Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 C. Subcategory: American-Style Märzen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4942. European-Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel . . . . . . .4943. American-Style Dark Lager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4944. German-Style Schwarzbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5045. Bock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 A. Subcategory: Traditional German-Style Bock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 B. Subcategory: German-Style Heller Bock/Maibock . . . . . . . . . . 5046. German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock . . . . . . . . .50 A. Subcategory: German-Style Doppelbock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 B. Subcategory: German-Style Eisbock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5147. Baltic-Style Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

ALE BEER STYLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5148. Golden or Blonde Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5149. German-Style Kölsch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5150. English-Style Summer Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5251. Classic English-Style Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5252. English-Style India Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5253. International-Style Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 A. Subcategory: Australian-Style Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 B. Subcategory: International-Style Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5354. American-Style Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5355. American-Style Strong Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5356. American-Style India Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5357. Imperial India Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5458. American-Style Amber/Red Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5459. Double Red Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5460. Imperial Red Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5461. English-Style Mild Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 A. Subcategory: English-Style Pale Mild Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 B. Subcategory: English-Style Dark Mild Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5562. Ordinary or Special Bitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 A. Subcategory: Ordinary Bitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 B. Subcategory: Special or Best Bitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5563. Extra Special Bitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 A. Subcategory: American-Style Extra Special Bitter . . . . . . . . . . . 55 B. Subcategory: English-Style Extra Special Bitter . . . . . . . . . . . . 5564. Scottish-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 A. Subcategory: Scottish-Style Light Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 B. Scottish-Style Heavy Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 C. Scottish-Style Export Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5665. Irish-Style Red Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5666. English-Style Brown Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5767. American-Style Brown Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5768. American-Style Black Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5769. German-Style Sour Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

A. Subcategory: Berliner-Style Weisse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 B. Subcategory: Leipzig-Style Gose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 C. Subcategory: Contemporary Gose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5870. German-Style Altbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5871. South German-Style Hefeweizen. . . . . . . . . . . . . .5972. German-Style Wheat Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 A. Subcategory: South German-Style Kristal Weizen . . . . . . . . . . . 59 B. Subcategory: German-Style Leichtes Weizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 C. Subcategory: South German-Style Bernsteinfarbenes Weizen . . . 59 D. Subcategory: South German-Style Dunkel Weizen . . . . . . . . . . 60 E. Subcategory: South German-Style Weizenbock . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6073. Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . .60 A. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Pale Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6074. Belgian-Style Witbier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6175. Saison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6176. Belgian- and French-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 A. Subcategory: French-Style Bière de Garde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 B. Other Belgian- and French-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6277. Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 A. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Lambic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Gueuze Lambic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 C. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Fruit Lambic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 D. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red Ale 63 E. Subcategory: Other Belgian-Style Sour Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6378. Belgian-Style Dubbel or Quadruple . . . . . . . . . . .64 A. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Dubbel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Quadrupel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6479. Belgian-Style Tripel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6480. Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 A. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6581. Other Belgian-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 A. Subcategory: Other Belgian-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 B. Subcategory: Other Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale . . . . . . . . 65 C. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Table Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6582. Brown Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6683. Robust Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6684. Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6685. Export Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6686. American-Style Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6787. Sweet Stout or Cream Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6788. Oatmeal Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6789. Imperial Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 A. Subcategory: American-Style Imperial Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 B. Subcategory: British-Style Imperial Stout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6790. Scotch Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 A. Subcategory: Traditional Scotch Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 B. Subcategory: Peated Scotch Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6891. Old Ale or Strong Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 A. Subcategory: Old Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 B. Subcategory: Strong Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6992. Barley Wine-Style Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 A. Subcategory: American-Style Barley Wine Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 B. Subcategory: British-Style Barley Wine Ale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

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HYBRID/MIXED LAGERS OR ALES

1. American-Style Wheat BeerA. Subcategory: Light American Wheat Beer without YeastLightAmericanWheatBeersare straw to lightamber.Chillhaze isacceptable in theseversionspackagedand servedwithoutyeast.Lowfruity-esteraromaistypical,asislowtomedium-lowmaltaroma.Phenolic,clove-likearomasshouldnotbeperceived.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Noyeastaromashouldbeevident.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Lowtomedium-lowmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Thesebeerscanbemadeusingeitheraleor lageryeast.Grist includesat least30percentmaltedwheat.Noyeastflavorshouldbeevident.Lowfruity-esterflavorsaretypical.Diacetylandphenolic,clove-likeflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisverylow to medium. Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.050(9.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.016 (1.0-4.1 °Plato) • Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-4.0% (3.8%-5.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-10(4-20EBC)

B. Subcategory: Dark American Wheat Beer Without YeastDarkAmericanWheatBeersaremediumambertodarkbrown.Chillhazeisacceptableintheseversionspackagedandservedwithoutyeast.Maltaromascanincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Lowfruity-esteraromaistypical,asislowtomedium-lowmaltaroma.Phenolic, clove-likearomas shouldnotbeperceived.Diacetylaroma shouldnotbeperceived.Noyeastaromashouldbeevident.Hoparomais lowtomedium.Medium-lowtomedium-highmaltsweetness ispresent.Maltflavorscanincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Roastmaltastringencyacceptablewhenbalancedwithmaltsweetness.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hop bitterness is low to medium. These beers can be made using either ale or lager yeast. Grist includes at least 30 percent maltedwheat.Noyeastflavor shouldbe evident.Low fruity-esterflavors are typical.Diacetyl andphenolic, clove-likeflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Becausethisstyleispackagedandservedwithoutyeast,noyeastcharactersshouldbeevidentinmouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.050(9.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.016 (1.0-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-4.0% (3.8%-5.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 9-22(18-44EBC)

2. American-Style Wheat Beer With YeastA. Subcategory: Light Am Wheat Beer w/ YeastLightAmWheatBeersw/Yeastarepaletolightamber.Becausethisstyleisservedwithyeastinthebottle,appearancemayrangefromhazytoverycloudy.Chillhazeisalsoacceptable.Lowfruity-esteraromaistypical,asislowtomedium-lowmaltaroma.Yeastaromashouldbelowtomediumbutnotoverpoweringthebalanceandcharacterof maltandhops.Phenolic,clove-likearomasshouldnotbeperceived.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Lowtomedium-lowmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Thesebeerscanbemadeusingeitheraleorlageryeast.Gristincludesatleast30percentmaltedwheat.Lowtomediumyeastflavorshouldnotoverpowerthebalanceandcharacterof maltandhops.Lowfruity-esterflavorsaretypical.Diacetylandphenolic,clove-likeflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Becausethisstyleisservedwithyeastthecharactershouldportrayafullyeastymouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.056(9.0-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.018 (1.5-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.8%-4.4% (3.5%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-10(8-20EBC)

STYLE INDEXGABFregistration.com

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B. Subcategory: Dark Am Wheat Beer w/ YeastDarkAmWheatBeersw/Yeastaremediumambertodarkbrown.Becausethisstyleisservedwithyeastinthebottle,appearancemayrangefromhazytoverycloudy.Chillhazeisalsoacceptable.Maltaromascanincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Lowfruity-esteraromaistypical,asislowtomedium-lowmaltaroma.Yeastaromashouldbelowtomediumbutnotoverpoweringthebalanceandcharacterof maltandhops.Phenolic,clove-likearomasshouldnotbeperceived.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Medium-lowtomedium-highmaltsweetnessispresent.Maltflavorscanincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like, caramel, or biscuit-like characters. Roast malt astringency is acceptable when balanced with malt sweetness. Hop flavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Thesebeerscanbemadeusingeitheraleorlageryeast.Gristincludesatleast30percentmaltedwheat.Lowtomediumyeastflavorshouldnotoverpowerthebalanceandcharacterof maltandhops.Lowfruity-esterflavorsaretypical.Diacetylandphenolic,clove-likeflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Becausethisstyleisservedwithyeastthecharactershouldportrayafullyeastymouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.036-1.050 (9.0-12.4 °Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.016(1.0-4.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-4.0%(3.8%-5.1%)•Bitterness (IBU) 10-25 • Color SRM (EBC)9-22(18-44EBC)

3. American Fruit BeerAmericanFruitBeersareanyrangeof colorfrompaletoverydarkdependingontheunderlyingstyle,andwillusuallyreflectthecolorof addedfruittosomedegree.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.Fruitaromasrangingfromsubtletointenseshouldbeevident,andshouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhoparomas.American-StyleFruitBeersarefermentedwithtraditionalGerman,BritishorAmericanaleorlageryeastusingfruitorfruitextractsasanadjunctineitherthemash,kettle,primaryorsecondaryfermentationprovidingobvious(rangingfromsubtletointense),yetharmonious,fruitqualities.FruitbeersfermentedusingBelgian-,farmhouse-,saison-and/orBrettanomyces-type yeast wouldbemoreappropriatelycategorizedasBelgian-StyleFruitBeerorpossiblyasfruitedversionsof BrettBeer.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtomedium-low.Maltsweetnesscanvaryfromnonetomedium-highlevels.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtomedium-low.Hopbitternessisinbalanceandusuallyatverylowtomediumlevels.Fruitqualitiesshouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhopcharacter.Acidicbacterial(notwildyeast)fermentationcharactersmaybeevident(butnotnecessary)andif presentcontributetoacidityandenhancefruitybalance.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Classifyingthesebeersiscomplexwithexemplaryversionsdependingontheexhibitionof fruitcharactersmoresothantheadditionof fruititself.Asanexample,ajuniperberry-flavoredbeerwithnotablejuniperberryfruityflavorand/oraromacharactersevidentwouldbeappropriatelycharacterizedasFruitBeer;whereassuchabeerinwhichjuniperberrycharactersareexpressedmoreasherbalorspicequalitywouldappropriatelybecategorizedasHerbandSpiceBeer.FruitBeerwithwheatasan ingredientwouldbeappropriately characterizedasFruitWheatBeer.FruitBeerbrewedwithunusualfermentable(s) (other thanwheat)wouldbeappropriately characterizedasFruitBeer.Forpurposesof competition,coconutisdefinedasavegetable,andbeerscontainingcoconutwouldbeappropriatelyenteredasFieldBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the fruit(s) used, as well as a classic ale, lager or experimental style of base beer and any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.030-1.110 (7.6-25.9 °Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030(1.5-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.0%-9.5%(2.5%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 5-45 • Color SRM (EBC)5-50(10-100EBC)

4. Fruit Wheat BeerFruitWheatBeersaregenerallystrawtolightamber,andwillusuallyreflectthecolorof addedfruittosomedegree.Chillhazeisacceptable.Thesebeersmaybeservedwithorwithoutyeast.Whenservedwithyeast,appearanceishazytoverycloudy.Fruitorfruitextractscontributearomawithfruitqualitiesperceivedasauthenticandreplicatingtruefruitcomplexityasmuchaspossible.Lowfruity-esteraromaistypical,asislowtomedium-lowmaltaroma.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Yeastandyeastgeneratedaromashouldbelowtomediumbutnotoverpoweringinversionsservedwithyeast.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Lowtomedium-lowmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavorislow to medium. Hop bitterness is low to medium. These beers can be made using either ale or lager yeast. Grist includes atleast30percentmaltedwheat.Fruitorfruitextractscontributeflavorwithfruitqualitiesperceivedasauthenticand

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replicatingtruefruitcomplexityasmuchaspossible.Lowfruity-esterflavorfromyeastistypical.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Yeastandyeastgeneratedflavorshouldbelowtomediumbutnotoverpoweringinversionsservedwithyeast.Bodyislowtomedium.Inversionsservedwithyeastthecharactershouldportrayafullyeastymouthfeel.Atcompetition,thesebeersarepouredasspecifiedbytheenteringbrewer,usingquietpouring,normalpouringor intentionalrousing.Forpurposesof thiscompetition,coconutisdefinedasavegetable,andbeerscontainingcoconutwouldbeappropriatelyenteredasFieldBeer.Forpurposesof thiscompetition,fruitedversionsof BerlinerWeisseorGoseshouldbeenteredinthosecategories,andnotenteredasFruitWheatBeers.Forpurposesof thiscompetition,fruitedversionsof variousSouthGermanstyleWeizens,Grodziskie,orotherwheatbeerstyleswouldbeappropriatelycharacterizedasFruitWheatBeer.Suchentriescouldappropriatelydeviatefromparametersshownbelowandwouldinsteadhewtowardstheunderlyingclassicbeerstyle,withfruitadded.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the fruit(s) used, as well as a classic or experimental ale or lager wheat beer base style and any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.050(9.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.016 (1.0-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-4.0% (3.8%-5.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-10,orcolorof fruit(4-20,orcolorof fruitEBC)

5. Belgian Fruit BeerBelgianFruitBeersareanyrangeof colorfrompaletodarkdependingonunderlyingBelgianstyle,andwillusuallyreflectthecolorof addedfruittosomedegree.Cleartohazybeerisacceptableinappearance.Fruitaromasrangingfromsubtleto intense shouldbeevident, and shouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhoparomas.Belgian-StyleFruitBeersare fermentedwith traditionalBelgian-, abbey-, farmhouse-, saison- and/orBrettanomyces-type yeast using fruit or fruit extracts as anadjunctineitherthemash,kettle,primaryorsecondaryfermentationprovidingobvious(rangingfromsubtletointense),yetharmonious,fruitqualities.Maltsweetnesscanvaryfromnotperceivedtomedium-highlevels.Acidicbacterial(notwildyeast)fermentationcharactersmaybeevident(butnotnecessary)andif presentcontributetoacidityandenhancefruitybalance.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Classifyingthesebeersiscomplex,withexemplaryversionsdependingontheexhibitionof fruitcharactersmoresothantheadditionof fruititself,withinaBelgianbeerstyle.Asanexample,afruitedSaisonexhibitingsomeBrettcharacterwouldbeappropriatelyconsideredasBelgianFruitBeer;whereasafruitedBrettBeermightmoreappropriatelybeconsideredasBrettBeer.Lambic-Style fruitbeersshouldbeentered intheBelgian-StyleFruitLambiccategory.FruitedBelgianstylebeersbrewedwithadditionalunusualfermentablesshouldbeenteredinthiscategory.FruitbeersfermentedusingGerman,BritishorAmericanaleorlageryeastwouldbemoreappropriatelycategorizedasAmerican-StyleFruitBeerorasFruitWheatBeer.Forpurposesof thiscompetitioncoconutisdefinedasavegetable;beersexhibitingcoconutcharacterwouldbeappropriatelyenteredasFieldBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the fruit(s) used, as well as a classic Belgian style of base beer and any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.0%-9.5% (2.5%-12.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 5-70 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-50(10-100EBC)

6. Pumpkin BeerPumpkinBeersareanyrangeof colorfrompaletoverydarkdependingontheunderlyingstyle.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.Pumpkinorsquasharomasrangingfromsubtletointenseshouldbeevident.Thesebeersareanybeersusingpumpkins(Cucurbitopepo)orwintersquashasanadjunctineitherthemash,kettle,primaryorsecondaryfermentation,providingobvious(rangingfromsubtletointense),yetharmonious,qualities.Theymayormaynotbespicedwithotheringredients.Hopandspicearomasshouldnotoverpowerpumpkin,squashoroverallbalanceof aromas.SpiceemphasizedbeersnotexhibitingpumpkinorsquashqualitiesshouldbeenteredintheHerbandSpicecategory.Hoparomaisnonetomedium.Maltsweetnessoftenvariesfromlowtomediumhighlevels.Hopflavorisnonetomedium,andnotoverpoweringpumpkinorsquashcharacters.Hopbitternessislowtomedium-low.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Exemplaryversionsexhibitpumpkinorsquashcharacters,whichshouldnotbeoverpoweredbybalanced,harmonioushoporspicecharacters(if present). To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide information about their entry, including the classic ale, lager or experimental style of base beer, type of pumpkin or squash and how processed, and/or other ingredients (for example: spices) or processes used if any. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.

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Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.0%-9.5% (2.5%-12.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 5-70 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-50(10-100EBC)

7. Field BeerFieldBeersareanyrangeof colorfrompaletoverydarkdependingontheunderlyingstyle,andmaytakeonthecolorof addedingredients.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.Vegetablearomasrangingfromsubtletointenseshouldbeevident,andshouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhoparomas.FieldBeersareanybeersusingvegetablesasflavororcarbohydrateadjunctsineitherthemash,kettle,primaryorsecondaryfermentation,providingobvious(rangingfromsubtletointense),yetharmonious,qualities.Maltsweetnesscanvaryfromverylowtomedium-highlevels.Hopbitternessisverylowtomedium-high.Vegetablequalitiesshouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhopcharacter.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Classifyingthesebeersiscomplex,withexemplaryversionsdependingontheexhibitionof vegetablecharactersmoresothantheadditionof vegetableitself.AllbeerscontainingchilipeppersshouldbeenteredasChiliBeer.Forpurposesof competition,coconutisdefinedasavegetable,andbeerscontainingcoconutwouldbeappropriatelyenteredasFieldBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the vegetables used along with the classic ale, lager or experimental style of base beer, and any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.0%-10.5%(2.5%-13.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 5-70 • Color SRM (EBC)5-50(10-100EBC)

8. Chili BeerChiliBeersareanyrangeof colorfrompaletoverydarkdependingontheunderlyingstyle.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.ChiliBeersareanybeersusingchilipeppersasaflavor,aromaor“heat”inducingadjuncttocreatedistinctandbalanced(rangingfromsubtletointense)character.Chilipepperaromasrangingfromsubtletointensemayormaynotbeevident,andshouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhoparomas.Maltsweetnesscanvaryfromverylowtomedium-highlevels,dependingontheunderlyingbeerstyle.Hopbitternessisverylowtomedium-high.Chilipepperaromaandflavorqualitiesshouldnotbeoverpoweredbyhoparomaandflavor,andshouldbepresentinharmonywithcharacteristicstypicalof theunderlyingbeerstyle.Chilipepperqualitiesmayvarywidelyasvegetal,spicyor“heat”inducingflavorsand/oraromas.Forpurposesof competition,allbeerscontainingchilipeppersshouldbeenteredasChiliBeer.Beerswhichrepresentmorethanonestyle(forexamplechilibeerswithchocolate)wouldbeappropriatelyenteredasChiliBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the chili(s) used along with the classic ale, lager or experimental style of base beer, and any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.0%-10.5%(2.5%-13.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 5-70 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-50(10-100EBC)

9. Herb and Spice BeerHerbandSpiceBeersareanyrangeof colordependingonunderlyingstyle.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.HerbandSpicebeersareanybeersusingherbsorspices(derivedfromroots,seeds,fruits,vegetable,flowers,etc.)otherthanorinadditiontohopstocreateadistinct(rangingfromsubtletointense).Individualaromaand/orflavorcharactersof herbsand/orspicesusedmaynotalwaysbeidentifiablebutshouldbeevident.Hoparomaisnotessentialbutmaybeevidentincertainherbed/spicedbeerstylesandmayormaynotdominateoverherb-spicecharacter.Maltsweetnesswillvarydramaticallydependingonoverallbalancedesired.Hopflavorisnotessentialbutmaybeevidentincertainherbed/spicedbeerstylesandmayormaynotdominateoverherb-spicecharacter.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Theperceptionof lowhopbitterness isoptimal forhighlightingherbal/spicecharacters.Positiveevaluationsaresignificantlybasedonperceivedbalanceof flavors.Body is variablewith style.Classifying thesebeers canbecomplex; entrieswhichexhibitprimarilyherbaland/orspicyqualitieswouldappropriatelyconsideredasHerbandSpiceBeer.Allbeerswithchilipeppersshould be entered as Chili Pepper Beer. Beers made with pumpkin in which herb and spice characters dominate and which nonethelesslackperceivablepumpkincharacterwouldbeappropriatelycharacterizedasHerbandSpicebeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list what herbs and/or spices are used, the classic ale, lager or experimental style of base beer, and any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.

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Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.0%-9.5% (2.5%-12.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 5-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-50(10-100EBC)

10. Chocolate BeerChocolate Beers are light brown to black depending on the underlying style. Clear or hazy beer is acceptable in appearance. ChocolateBeersareanybeersusing“dark”chocolateorcocoainanyof itsformsotherthanorinadditiontohopstocreateadistinctandbalanced(rangingfromsubtletointense)character.Hoparomanotperceivedtoverylow.Medium-lowtomedium-highmaltsweetnesshelpsaccentbalancedcocoaflavorsandaromas.Hopflavorlowerthanmightbeexpectedforstyleof beer.Underhoppingallowschocolatetocontributetotheflavorprofilewhilenotbecomingexcessivelybitter.Hopbitternessisverylowtomedium-low.Otherflavorsmaybeinfusedbutchocolateshouldbedominantcharacter.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Beersmadewithwhitechocolatedonotexemplifythiscategory.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the classic ale, lager or experimental style of the base beer, and may also list the type of chocolate or other details if they wish. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.0%-9.5%(2.5%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 15-40 • Color SRM (EBC)12-50(24-100EBC)

11. Coffee BeerCoffeeBeersarepaletoblackdependingontheunderlyingstyle.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.Coffeebeersusecoffeeinanyof itsformstocreateadistinctandbalanced(rangingfromsubtletointense)character.Hoparomaislowtohighdependingontheintentof theunderlyingstyle.Medium-lowtomediummaltsweetnesshelpsaccentbalancedcoffeeflavorandaromas.Hopflavorisreflectiveof aromaandcanbelowtohighdependingontheintentof theunderlyingstyle.Hopbitternessisverylowtomedium-high.Otherflavorsmaybeinfusedbutcoffeeshouldbeanobviouscharacter.Bodyisreflectiveof theunderlyingbeerstyle.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the classic ale, lager or experimental style of the base beer, and may also list the type of coffee used along with other processing information. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.0%-9.5%(2.5%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 15-45 • Color SRM (EBC)4-50(8-100EBC)

12. Specialty BeerSpecialtyBeersareverylighttoblackdependingontheunderlyingstyle.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.SpecialtyBeersarebrewedwithunusualfermentablesugars,grainsand/orstarchesotherthanorinadditiontomaltedbarley,whichcontribute toalcoholcontent.Forexample,maple syruporpotatoesareconsideredunusual.Rice, corn,orwheat are not considered unusual.The distinctive characters of these special ingredients should be evident in thearoma, flavor and/or overall balance of the beer, but not necessarily in overpowering quantities.Malt sweetness willvarydramaticallydependingonoverallbalancedesired.Hopbitterness isvery low toveryhigh,andmaybeused forhighlightingdesiredcharacters.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Classifyingthesebeerscanbecomplex.Nutsgenerallyhavesomedegreeof fermentables,thusbeerbrewedwithnutswouldbeappropriatelycharacterizedasaSpecialtyBeer.BeersbrewedwithcoconutshouldbeenteredasFieldBeer.BeersbrewedwithhoneywouldmostappropriatelybeconsideredasaHoneyBeer.Beerbrewedwithroots,seeds,flowersetc.andwhichexhibitherbaland/orspicycharacterswouldbeappropriatelycharacterizedasHerbandSpiceBeer(forexampleajuniperberrybeerinwhichjuniperberrycharactersareexpressedmoreasherbalorspicequalitythanasberryfruitycharacter).Whilebeersbrewedwithfruitsorvegetablesmayderivefermentablecarbohydratefromthosesources,suchbeerswhichexhibitfruitorvegetablequalitieswouldmostappropriatelybecharacterizedasFruitbeerorFieldBeer.Spicedversionsof beersmadewithunusualfermentableswouldbeappropriatelycharacterizedasExperimentalBeer.BeersbrewedwithunusualfermentablesaswellasfruitshouldbeenteredasFruitBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the special ingredient(s) used and the classic ale, lager or experimental style on which the entry is based. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.030-1.140+ (7.6-32.1+ °Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030+(1.5-7.5+°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.0%-20+%(2.5%-25+%)•Bitterness (IBU) 1-100 • Color SRM(EBC)1-100(2-200EBC)

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13. Rye BeerA. Subcategory: Rye BeerRyeBeersareoftenversionsof classicstylesthatcontainnoticeableryecharacterinbalancewithotherqualitiesof thebeer.Assuchtheyincludeawiderangeof color.Lighterversionsarestrawtocopper,whiledarkerversionsaredarkambertodarkbrown.Chillhazeisacceptableintheseversionspackagedandservedwithoutyeast.Inversionsservedwithyeast,appearancemayrangefromhazytoverycloudy.Lowspicy,fruity-esteryaromasaretypical.Phenolic,clove-likearomasshouldnotbeperceived. Indarkerversionsmaltaromascanoptionally include lowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Noyeastaromashouldbeevidentinversionswithoutyeast.Lowtomediumyeastaromashouldnotoverpowerthebalanceandcharacterof ryeandbarleymaltandhopsinversionswithyeast.Hoparomaislowtomedium-high.Indarkerversionsmaltflavorcanoptionallyincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Lowlevelroastmaltastringencyacceptablewhenbalancedwithlowtomediummaltsweetness.Hopflavorislowtomedium-high.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Thesebeerscanbemadeusingeitheraleorlageryeast.Gristshouldincludesufficientryesuchthatryecharacterisevidentinthebeer.Beersbrewed with rye but which do not exhibit rye character would be more appropriately considered as other beer styles. Low levelspicy,fruity-esterflavoristypical;phenolicclove-likecharacteristicsanddiacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Alowlevelof tanninderivedastringencymaybeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Inversionspackagedandservedwithoutyeast,noyeastcharactersshouldbeevidentinmouthfeel.Versionsservedwithyeastshouldportrayafullyeastymouthfeel.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide information about the entry that indicates a rye version of a classic ale, lager or experimental style (e.g. rye pale ale, rye porter, etc.) or other hybrid rye beer style. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: German-Style Rye AleGermanRyeAlesarepaletoverydark,withdarkerversionsrunningdarkambertodarkbrown.Chillhazeisacceptableinversionspackagedandservedwithoutyeast.Inversionsservedwithyeast,appearancemayrangefromhazytoverycloudy.Lowtomediumbanana–likefruity-esteraromaistypical;phenolic,clove-likearomasshouldalsobeperceived.Indarkerversionsmaltaromascanoptionallyincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Noyeastaromashouldbeevidentinversionswithoutyeast.Lowtomediumyeastaromashouldnotoverpowerthebalanceandcharacterof ryeandbarleymaltandhopsinversionswithyeast.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Maltsweetnesswillvaryfromlowtomedium.Indarkerversionsmaltflavorcanoptionallyincludelowroastedmaltcharactersevidentascocoa/chocolateorcaramel,and/oraromatictoffee-like,caramel,orbiscuit-likecharacters.Lowlevelroastmaltastringencyacceptablewhenbalancedwithlowtomediumlevelmaltsweetness.Versionspackagedandservedwithoutyeastwillnothaveyeastflavororfullermouthfeelcausedbyyeast.Versionspackagedandservedwithyeastwillhavelowtomediumyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel,whichshouldnotoverpowerthebalanceandcharacterof ryeandbarleymaltandhops.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Gristshouldincludeatleast30percentryemalt.Lowbanana-likefruity-esterflavoristypical;phenolic,clove-likecharacteristicsshouldalsobeperceived.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.047-1.056(11.7-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.9%-4.4% (4.9%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-25(8-50EBC)

14. Honey BeerHoneyBeersareverylighttoblackdependingonunderlyingstyle.Clearorhazybeerisacceptableinappearance.HoneyBeers use honey in addition tomalted barley.Character of honey should be evident in aroma, flavor and/or overallbalancewith the other components,without overpowering them.Malt sweetnesswill vary dramatically depending onoverallbalancedesired.Hopbitternessisverylowtoveryhigh,andmaybeusedforhighlightingdesiredcharacters.HoneyBeersmaybebrewedtoatraditionalstyle,ormaybeexperimental.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide the traditional lager, ale or experimental style of the base beer. Brewer may also include the type of honey used (wildflower,

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clover, etc.) and information about processing if desired. Entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.110(7.6-25.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.0%-9.5%(2.5%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 1-100 • Color SRM (EBC)1-100(2-200EBC)

15. Session BeerSessionBeersarethecolorof theclassicbeerstylebeingmadetolowerstrength.Appearancemayvaryfrombrillianttohazytocloudywithstyleof beerbeingmadetolowerstrength.Aromadependsonthestyleof beerbeingmadetolowerstrength.Anystyleof beercanbemadelowerinstrengththandescribedintheclassicstyleguidelines.Thegoalshouldbetoreachabalancebetweenthestyle’scharacterandtheloweralcoholcontent.Drinkabilityisacharacterintheoverallbalanceof thesebeers.Beersinthiscategorymustnotexceed4.0%alcoholbyweight(5.0%alcoholbyvolume).Beersabovetheselimitsthatareenteredintothiscategorymaybedisqualifiedbeforejudgingorafterresultsareannounced.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Forpurposesof competition,entriescontaininglessthan4.1%abw(5.1%abv)whichcouldbeappropriately entered in any other classic or traditional category should be entered in that category and not entered as a Session Beer. Session IPAs should be entered in the Session India Pale Ale category. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must absolutely identify the base style by name or category number that is being created lower in alcohol and/or appropriately identify the style created (for example: half-alt, singlefest or baby bock). Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be profoundly disadvantaged during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.034-1.040(8.5-10.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.010 (1.0-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.8%-4.0% (3.5%-5.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 2+(4+EBC)

16. Session IPASession IPAs are gold to copper. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures and hop haze is allowable at any temperature. Fruity-esteraromaislighttomoderate.Hoparomaismediumtohighwithqualitiesfromawidevarietyof hopsfromallovertheworld.Lowtomediummaltinessispresent.Hopflavorisstrong,characterizedbyflavorsfromawidevarietyof hops.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Fruity-esterflavorsarelowtomoderate.Diacetylisabsentoratverylowlevels.Body is low tomedium.Beer entrieswhich exceed5.0%abv shouldbe entered in another category. For purposes of competition,entriescontaininglessthan4.1%abw(5.1%abv)whichcouldbeappropriatelyenteredinanyotherclassicortraditional category should be entered in that category and not entered as a Session Beer.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.038-1.052(9.5-12.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.014 (3.1-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-4.0% (3.7%-5.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 40-55 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-12(8-24EBC)

17. Other Strong BeerA. Subcategory: Other Strong BeerOtherStrongBeersareanycolorfromverylighttoblack.Anystyleof beercanbemadestrongerthantheclassicstyleguidelines.Thegoal shouldbe to reachabalancebetween the style’s characterand theadditionalalcohol.Wheneverpossible,refertoaccompanyingguidelineswhenmakingstylesstrongerandappropriately identifythestylecreated (forexample:doublealt,triplefest,orquadruplePilsener).Bodyisvariablewithstyle.To allow for accurate judging the brewer absolutely must provide the base ale, lager or experimental style by name or category number that is being created stronger and/or appropriately identify the style created (for example: double alt, triple fest, imperial porter or quadruple Pilsener). Brewer may also provide additional information about the process or ingredients used to create the beer. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be profoundly disadvantaged during judging. Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: American-Style Imperial PorterAmericanImperialPortersareblack.Ale-likefruity-esteraromasshouldbeevidentbutnotoverpowering,complimentingmalt and hop aromas. Hop aroma is low to medium-high. No roast barley or strong burnt/black malt character should be perceived.Mediummalt,caramelandcocoa-likesweetnessispresent.Hopflavorislowtomedium-high.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomedium.Ale-likefruity-esterflavorsshouldbeevidentbutnotoverpowering,complimentinghopcharacterandmaltderivedsweetness.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyisfull.

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Original Gravity (°Plato)1.080-1.100(19.3-23.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.020-1.030 (5.1-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.5%-9.5%(7.0%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 35-50 • Color SRM (EBC)40+(80+EBC)

C. Subcategory: American-Style Wheat WineAmericanWheatWinesaregoldtolightbrown.Chillhazeisallowable.Fruity-esteraromaisoftenhighandcounterbalancedwithcomplexalcoholcharacter.Bready,wheat,honey-likeand/orcaramelmaltaromasareoftenpresent.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Highresidualmaltsweetnessispresent.Bready,wheat,honey-likeand/orcaramelflavorsareoftenpartof maltcharacter.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Fruity-esterflavorsareoftenhighandcounterbalancedbycomplexityof alcoholsandhighalcoholcontent.Thisstyleisbrewedwith50%ormorewheatmalt.Verylowlevelsof diacetylmaybeacceptable.Phenolicyeastcharacter,sulfur,and/orDMSshouldnotbepresent.Oxidized,staleandagedcharactersarenottypicalof thisstyle.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.088-1.120(21.1-28.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.024-1.032 (6.1-8.0°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)6.7%-9.6%(8.5%-12.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 45-85 • Color SRM (EBC)5-15(10-30EBC)

D. Subcategory: Ice LagerIceLagersareverypaletogolden.Chillhazeisabsent.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislow.Lowresidualmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavorislow.Hopbitternessislowbutcertainlyperceptible.Thisstyleisslightlyhigherinalcoholthanmostotherlight-coloredAmericanlagers.Ithasfewornoadjuncts.Typicallythesebeersarechilledbeforefiltrationsothaticecrystals(whichmayormaynotberemoved)areformed.Thisprocesscancontributetoahigheralcoholcontent(upto0.5%more).Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.060(10.0-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.014 (1.5-3.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.8%-5.0%(4.8%-6.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 7-20 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-8(4-16EBC)

E. Subcategory: American-Style Malt LiquorMaltLiquorsarestrawtogold.Chillhazeisabsent.Fruity-esterandcomplexalcoholaromas(thoughnotsolvent-like)areacceptableatlowlevels.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Someresidualsweetnessisperceived.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisverylow.Highinstartinggravityandalcoholicstrength,thisstyleissomewhatdiverse.SomemaltliquorsarejustslightlystrongerthanAmericanlagers,whileothersapproachbockstrength.Fruity-esterandcomplexalcohol(thoughnotsolvent-like)flavorsareacceptableatlowlevels.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium-low.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.050-1.060(12.4-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.010 (1.0-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0% (6.3%-7.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 12-23 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-5(4-10EBC)

18. Experimental BeerA. Subcategory: Experimental BeerExperimental Beers are any range of color. Experimental beer is any beer that is primarily grain-based and employsuniqueandunusualtechniquesand/oringredientsoracombinationof ingredientsandtechniques.Aminimum51%of the fermentablecarbohydratesmustbederived frommaltedgrains.Theoveralluniquenessof theprocess, ingredientsusedandcreativity shouldbeconsidered inpositiveevaluations.Body isvariablewithstyle.Uniqueness is theprimaryconsiderationwhenevaluatingthiscategory.Beerssuchasfield,fruit,chocolate,coffee,spice,specialtyorotherbeersthatmatch existing categories should not be entered into this category. Beers not easily matched to existing style categories in a competitionwouldoftenbeenteredintothiscategory.Bydefinitionandforpurposesof thiscompetition,beersthatareacombinationof twoormoreothercategories,andwhichexhibitdistinctivecharactersof eachof thosecategories,mayalsobe entered into this category. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must identify the classic style(s), experimental style(s), process(es) and/or ingredients used to make the beer unique. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

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B. Subcategory: Ginjo Beer or Sake Yeast BeerGinjoorSakeYeastBeersarepaletodarkbrown.Slightchillhazeispermissible.Thesebeersarebrewedwithsakeyeastorsake(koji)enzymes.Theuniquearomasof thebyproductsof sakeyeastand/orkojienzymesshouldbedistinctiveandharmonizewiththeothermaltandhoparomas.Sakecharactermaybestbedescribedashavingmildfruitinessandagentleandmildearthiness,mushroomand/orumamiprotein-likecharacter.Maltaromaisverylowtomedium.Hoparomaislowtomediumandshouldharmonizewithsake-likecharacters.Maltsweetnessisverylowtomedium.Hopflavorislowto medium and should harmonize with sake-like characters. Hop bitterness is low to medium and should harmonize with sake-likecharacters.Ahighamountof alcoholmaybeevident.Theuniqueflavorsshouldreflectperceivedorpossibleuniquearomasdescribedaboveandharmonizewithothermaltandhopcharacters.Bodyisdependentonbasestyleandoriginalgravity,asismouthfeel.Highcarbonationshouldbeevident. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must identify the classic ale, lager or other beer style being made with sake yeast, and may add information about other ingredient(s) or process used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.090(10.0-21.6°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.020 (2.1-5.0°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.4%-8.2%(4.3%-10.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 12-35 • Color SRM (EBC)4-20(8-40EBC)

C. Subcategory: Wild BeerWildBeersareanyrangeof color.Thesebeersmaybeclearorhazyduetoyeast,chillhazeorhophaze.Aromasmayvarytremendouslyduetofermentationcharacterscontributedbyvariousknownandunknownmicroorganisms.Theoverallbalanceshouldbecomplexandbalanced.Hoparomaverylowtohigh.Usuallybecauseof ahighdegreeof attenuationinthesebeers,maltcharacterisverylowtolow.If thereareexceptionsthataremalty,theoverallbalanceof complexityof other characters should be in harmony.Hop flavor very low to high.Hop bitterness is perceived at varying levelsdependingon theoverallbalance,butusuallyperceivedasvery low to low.Wildbeersare“spontaneously” fermentedwithmicroorganismsthatthebrewerhasintroducedfromtheambientair/environmentinthevicinityof thebreweryinwhichthebeerisbrewed.Wildbeersmaynotbefermentedwithanyculturedstrainsof yeastorbacteria.Wildbeermayormaynotbeperceivedasacidic.Itmayincludeawildlyvariablespectrumof flavorsandaromasderivedfromthewildmicroorganismswithwhichitwasfermented.Theoverallbalanceof flavors,aromas,appearanceandbodyisanimportantfactor in assessing thesebeers.Body is very low tomedium.Spontaneously fermentedbeerswith fruit, spice or otheringredientswouldbeappropriatelyenteredasWildBeer.Forpurposesof competition,entrieswhichcouldbeappropriatelyenteredinanexistingclassicortraditionalcategorysuchasBelgian-StyleLambic,Gueuze,FruitLambic,etc.shouldbeentered in that category and not entered as a Wild Beer. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including the classic ale, lager or experimental base style of beer allowed to spontaneously ferment, information about the process used, and/or other ingredient(s) such as fruit, spices, etc. if any. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle• Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

19. Fresh or Wet Hop AleFreshHopAlesarethecolorof theunderlyingalestylebeingmadewithfreshhops.Fruity-esteraromaishigh,althoughsomewhatdependenton theale stylebeingmadewith freshhops.Hoparoma isprominentandwillexhibitespeciallyaromasof green,almostchlorophyll-likeorotherfreshhopcharacters.Maltperceptionwillvarywiththestyleof alebeingmadewith freshhops.Hopflavor isprominent, exhibiting especiallyflavorsof green, almost chlorophyll-likeorotherfreshhopcharacters.Hopbitternessisdependentonthestyleof alebeingmadewithfreshhops.Thesealesarehoppedpredominantlywithfresh(newlyharvestedandkilned)and/orundried(“wet”)hops.Beersmaybeagedandenjoyedafterinitial“fresh-hop”characterdiminishes.Uniquecharacter(s)mayemergefromtheagingof freshhopbeers,butthesehaveyettobedefined.Bodyisdependentonthestyleof alebeingmadewithfreshhops.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must identify a classic, hybrid/mixed or experimental beer style to being elaborated upon with fresh hops. The manner in which fresh “wet” hops are used should be identified by the brewer; this information could include the timing or vessel used (kettle, whirlpool, hop back, fermenter, bright tank, etc.), hop variety(ies), etc. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC) Varieswithstyle

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20. Historical BeerA. Subcategory: Historical BeerHistoricalBeersareanyrangeof color.Maltsweetnesswillvarydramaticallydependingonoverallbalancedesired.Hopbitterness isvery lowtoveryhigh.Aboveallbeers in thiscategoryarereflectiveof anestablishedhistoricalbeerand/orbrewingheritagefromanyperiodof timeorpartof theworld,thatarenotalreadyabeerstylealreadyestablishedintheseguidelines.Thisbeercommemoratescombinationsof uniquebrewingingredientsand/ortechniquesestablishedinpastperiods.Examplesof HistoricalBeersmightincludecurrentdayversionsof historicstyleswhicharenotrepresentedelsewhere in these guidelines, such as Finnish-style Sahti, South American Chicha, Nepalese Chong/Chang, Africansorghumbasedbeersandothers.Inevaluatingthesebeers,judgeswillweighseveralfactorssuchasuniqueness,heritage,regionaldistinction,technicalbrewingskills,andbalanceof character,backgroundstory&informationandoverallspiritof theintentof thiscategory.“Historicalbeers”thatarenotrepresentedelsewhereasadefinitivestyleintheseguidelinescouldpossiblybeenteredinsuchcategoriesasExperimental,Herb&Spice,FieldBeer,etc.butbychoiceabrewermaycategorize(andenter)theirbeerasHistoricalbeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including primarily the unique ingredients used and/or processing which contribute to the unique qualities of the style, and information describing the beer style being emulated. This information will help provide a basis for comparison between highly diverse entries. The information must not reveal the identity of the entering brewery. Entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: Dutch-Style Kuyt BeerDutch-StyleKuytsaregoldtocoppercoloredale.Chillhazeandotherhazeisallowable.Theoverallaromacharacterof thisbeer isgrainemphasizedwithagrainy-breadyaccent.Hoparomaisvery lowto lowfromnoblehopsorothertraditionalEuropeanvarieties.Thedistinctivecharactercomesfromuseof minimum45%oatmalt,minimum20%wheatmaltandtheremainderpalemalt.HopflavorisverylowtolowfromnobleorothertraditionalEuropeanvarieties.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomediuminperceivedintensity.Estersmaybepresentatlowlevels.Verylowlevelsof diacetylareacceptable.Acidityandsweetcorn-likeDMS(dimethylsulfide)shouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium.Thisstyleof beerwaspopularintheNetherlandsfrom1400-1550.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.050-1.080(19.3-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.015 (3.7-1.5 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-6.3% (7.9%-4.7%) •Bitterness (IBU) 25-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-12.5(10-25EBC)

C. Subcategory: GrodziskieGrodziskies are straw to golden colored. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Aroma is dominated by oak smoke notes.Fruity-esteraromacanbelow.DiacetylandDMSaromasshouldnotbeperceived.HoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylowEuropeannoblehoparomanotes.Distinctivecharactercomesfrom100%oakwoodsmokedwheatmalt.Overallbalanceisasessionablymediumtomedium-highassertivelyoak-smokymaltemphasizedbeer.HopflavorisverylowtolowEuropeannoblehopflavornotes.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomediumcleanhopbitterness.Alefermentationtemperatures aremanaged to lend a crisp overall flavor impression.Low fruity-ester flavormaybepresent. Sourness,diacetyl,andDMSshouldnotbeperceivedonthepalate.Bodyislowtomediumlow.Grodziskie(alsoknownasGrätzer)isaPolishalestyle.Historicversionsweremostoftenbottleconditionedtorelativelyhighcarbonationlevels.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.028-1.036 (7.1-9.0°Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.010 (1.5-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.1%-2.9% (2.7%-3.7%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-6(6-12EBC)

D. Subcategory: AdambierAdambiersarelightbrowntoverydark.Toastandcaramel-likemaltaromamaybeevident.Hoparomaislow.Astringencyof highly roastedmalt should be absent.Toast and caramel-likemalt flavorsmaybe evident.Hopflavor is low.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Adambiermayormaynotusewheatinitsformulation.Traditionalandnon-hybridvarietiesof Europeanhopsweretraditionallyused.AKölsch-likealefermentationistypical.Extensiveagingandacidificationof thisbeercanmaskmaltandhopcharactertovaryingdegrees.Aginginbarrelsmaycontributesomelevelof Brettanomyces and lacticcharacter.Bodyismediumtofull.ThestyleoriginatedinDortmund,andisastrong,dark,hoppysouraleextensively

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agedinwoodbarrels.Traditionalversionsmayhavealowormediumlowdegreeof smokiness.Smokecharactermaybeabsentincontemporaryversions.Forpurposesof thiscompetition,fruitedversionswouldmoreappropriatelybeenteredasFruitedWood-andBarrel-AgedSourBeer.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.070-1.090(17.1-21.6°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.020 (2.6-5.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 7.1%-8.7%(9.0%-11.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 30-50 • Color SRM (EBC)15-35(30-70EBC)

21. Gluten-Free BeerGluten-FreeBeersareverylighttoblack.Thesearebeers(lager,aleorother)madefromfermentablesugars,grainsandconvertedcarbohydrates.Ingredientsmustincludesomeportionof glutenfreecereal.Ingredientsdonotcontaingluten,inotherwordszerogluten(nobarley,wheat,spelt,rye,etc.)Gluten-FreeBeersmay,ormaynot,containmaltedgrainsthatdonotcontaingluten.Sweetnesswillvarydramaticallydependingonoverallbalancedesired.Hopbitternessisverylowtoveryhigh,andmaybeusedforhighlightingdesiredcharacters.Brewersmay,ormaynot,designandidentifythesebeersalongother styleguidelineswithregard toaroma,flavorandappearanceprofile.Thebeer’soverallbalanceandcharactershouldbebasedonitsownmeritsandnotnecessarilycomparedwithtraditionalstylesof beer.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Incompetitions,brewersidentifyingredientsandfermentationtype.NOTE:Theseguidelinesdonotsupersedeanygovernmentregulations.Wine,mead,flavoredmaltbeveragesorbeveragesotherthan“beer”asdefinedbytheTTB(U.S.TradeandTaxBureau)arenotconsidered“gluten-freebeer”undertheseguidelines.Gluten-reducedbeers’originalingredientswouldhaveglutencontent thathasbeenreducedbyenzymesorotherprocesses toreduced levels.Gluten-reducedbeersshouldbeenteredintotheclassicstylecategoryafterwhichanentrywasbrewed.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must identify the ingredients and fermentation type used to make the beer, and the classic ale, lager or experimental beer style being elaborated upon (if there is one) with regard to flavor, aroma and appearance.Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC) Varieswithstyle

22. American-Belgo-Style AleA. Subcategory: Pale American-Belgo AlePaleAmerican-BelgoAlesaregoldtolightbrown.Chillhazemaybeevident.Fruity-esteraromaismediumtohigh.Hoparomaismediumtoveryhigh,exhibitingAmericantypehoparomasnotusuallyfoundintraditionalBelgianstyles.Hopflavorismediumtoveryhigh.Hopbitternessismediumtoveryhigh.Fruity-esterflavorshouldbemediumtohigh.Yeastderivedcharacterssuchasbanana,berry,apple,sometimescorianderspice-likeand/orsmoky-phenoliccharactersshouldbeportrayedwithbalanceof hopsandmaltcharacterwhenfermentedwithBelgianyeasts.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Sulfur-likeyeastcharactershouldbeabsent.Brettanomyces character should be absent. Pale American-Belgo-Style Ales are either1)non-BelgianbeertypesportrayingtheuniquecharactersimpartedbyyeaststypicallyusedinbigfruityBelgian-styleales,or2)definedBelgian-stylebeersportrayingauniquecharacterof Americanhops.Thesebeersareuniquebeersuntothemselves.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide information that identifies the classic beer style being elaborated upon (if there is one) or other information unique to the entry such as hop variety(ies) used, yeast type, etc.Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)5-15(10-30EBC)

B. Subcategory: Dark American-Belgo AleDarkAmerican-BelgoAlesarebrowntoblack.Chillhazemaybeevident.Fruity-esteraromaismediumtohigh.Hoparoma ismedium to very high, exhibitingAmerican type hop aromas not usually found in traditional Belgian styles.Perceptionof roastedmaltsorbarleywillbesubtletorobust.Hopflavorismediumtoveryhigh.Hopbitternessismediumtoveryhigh.Fruity-esterflavorshouldbemediumtohigh.Yeastderivedcharacterssuchasbanana,berry,apple,sometimescoriander spice-like and/or smoky-phenolic characters should be portrayedwith balance of hops andmalt characterwhenfermentedwithBelgianyeasts.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Sulfur-likeyeastcharactershouldbeabsent.Brettanomyces charactershouldbeabsent.DarkAmerican-Belgo-StyleAlesareeither1)non-BelgiandarkerbeertypesportrayingtheuniquecharactersimpartedbyyeaststypicallyusedinbigfruityBelgian-styleales,or2)defineddarkerBelgian-stylebeersportrayingauniquecharacterof Americanhops.Thesebeersareuniquebeersuntothemselves.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide information that identifies the classic beer style being elaborated upon (if there is one) or other information unique to the

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entry such as hop variety(ies) used, yeast type, etc.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)16+(32+EBC)

23. American-Style Sour AleA. Subcategory: American-Style Sour AleAmericanSourAlesareanyrangeof color,andmaytakeonthecolorof otheringredients.Chillhaze,bacteriaandyeast-inducedhazeareallowableat low tomedium levelsatany temperature.Moderate to intenseyetbalanced fruity-esteraromasareevident.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likearomasaresubtlypresent.DiacetylandDMSaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likeflavorsaresubtlypresent.Hopflavorisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Hopbitternessisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.ThereisnoBrettanomycescharacterinthisstyleof beer.Theevolutionof naturalaciditydevelopsbalancedcomplexity.Theaciditypresentisusuallyintheformof lactic,aceticandotherorganicacidsnaturallydevelopedwithacidifiedmaltinthemashorinfermentationbytheuseof variousmicroorganismsincludingcertainbacteriaandyeasts.Acidiccharactercanbeacomplexbalanceof severaltypesof acidandcharacteristicsof age.Moderate to intenseyetbalancedfruity-esterflavorsareevident.Residualflavors thatcomefromliquidspreviouslyagedinabarrelsuchasbourbonorsherryshouldnotbepresent.Woodvesselsmaybeusedduringthefermentationandagingprocess,butwood-derivedflavorssuchasvanillinmustnotbepresent.Fruitedversionswillexhibitfruitflavorsinharmoniousbalancewithothercharacters.DiacetylandDMSflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisevidentoverawiderangefromlowtohigh.Forpurposesof competitionentriesexhibitingwood-derivedcharactersorcharactersof liquidspreviouslyagedinwoodwouldmoreappropriatelybeenteredinaWood-AgedSourBeercategory.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information including the classic style of base beer being elaborated upon, microbes, and/or any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: Fruited American-Style Sour AleFruitedAmericanSourAlesareverylighttoblack,andmaytakeoncolorof addedfruitsorotheringredients.Chillhaze,bacteriaandyeast-inducedhazeareallowableatlowtomediumlevelsatanytemperature.FruitedAmerican-StyleSourAlewillexhibitfruitaromasandflavorsinharmoniousbalancewithothercharacters.Moderatetointenseyetbalancedfruity-esteraromasareevident.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likearomasaresubtlypresent.DiacetylandDMSaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaevidentovera full range fromlowtohigh. Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likeflavorsaresubtlypresent.Hopbitternessisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.ThereisnoBrettanomycescharacterinthisstyleof beer.Theevolutionof naturalaciditydevelopsbalancedcomplexity.Theaciditypresentisusuallyintheformof lactic,aceticandotherorganicacidsnaturallydevelopedwithacidifiedmaltinthemashorinfermentationbytheuseof variousmicroorganismsincludingcertainbacteriaandyeasts.Acidiccharactercanbeacomplexbalanceof severaltypesof acidandcharacteristicsof age.Moderatetointenseyetbalancedfruity-esterflavorsareevident.Residualflavorsthatcomefromliquidspreviouslyagedinabarrelsuchasbourbonorsherryshouldnotbepresent.Woodvesselsmaybeusedduringthefermentationandagingprocess,butwood-derivedflavorssuchasvanillinmustnotbepresent.DiacetylandDMSflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Forpurposesof thiscompetitionfruitedentriesexhibitingwood-derivedcharactersorcharactersof liquidspreviouslyagedinwoodwouldmoreappropriatelybeenteredinaFruitedWood-AgedSourBeercategory. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information including the classic style of base beer being elaborated upon, fruit(s) used, microbes and/or any other ingredients or processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

24. Brett BeerA. Subcategory: Brett BeerBrettBeersareanyrangeof colorandmaytakeonthecolorof addedfruitsorotheringredients.Chillhaze,bacteriaand

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yeast-inducedhazeareallowableatlowtomediumlevelsatanytemperature.Moderatetointenseyetbalancedfruity-esteraromasareevident.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likearomasaresubtlypresent.DiacetylandDMSaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likeflavorsaresubtlypresent.Fruitedversionswillexhibit fruitflavors inharmoniousbalancewithothercharacters.Hopflavorisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Hopbitternessisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Theevolutionof naturalaciditydevelopsbalancedcomplexity.Horsey,goaty,leathery,phenolicandlighttomoderateand/orfruityacidiccharacterevolvedfromBrettanomycesorganismsmaybeevident,notdominantand inbalancewithothercharacter.Culturedyeast strainsmaybeused in the fermentation.Beers in this styleshouldnotusebacteriaorexhibitbacteria-derivedcharacters.Moderatetointenseyetbalancedfruity-esterflavorsareevident.DiacetylandDMSflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Woodvesselsmaybeusedduringthefermentationandagingprocess,butwood-derivedflavorssuchasvanillinmustnotbepresent.Residualflavorsthatcomefromliquidspreviouslyagedinabarrelsuchasbourbonorsherryshouldnotbepresent.Bodyisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Forpurposesof competitionentriesexhibitingwood-derivedcharactersorcharactersof liquidspreviouslyagedinwoodwouldmoreappropriately be entered in other Wood-Aged Beer categories. Wood- and barrel-aged sour ales should not be entered here andareclassifiedelsewhere.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide information listing a classic or other style of base beer being elaborated upon, fruit or other special ingredients if present, and/or special processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging. Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle• Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: Mixed Culture Brett BeerMixedCultureBrettBeersareanyrangeof colorandmaytakeonthecolorof addedfruitsorotheringredients.Chillhaze,bacteriaandyeast-inducedhazeareallowableatlowtomediumlevelsatanytemperature.Moderatetointenseyetbalancedfruity-esteraromasareevident.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likearomasaresubtlypresent.DiacetylandDMSaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Indarkerversions,roastedmalt,caramel-likeandchocolate-likeflavorsaresubtlypresent.Fruitedversionswillexhibitfruitflavorsinharmoniousbalancewithothercharacters.Hopflavorisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Hopbitternessisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Theevolutionof naturalaciditydevelopsbalancedcomplexity.Horsey,goaty,leathery,phenolicandlighttomoderateand/orfruityacidiccharacterevolvedfromBrettanomycesorganismsmaybeevident,notdominantandinbalancewithothercharacter.Culturedyeastmaybeusedinthefermentation.Bacteriashouldbeusedandinevidenceinthisstyleof beer.Aciditywillbecontributedbybacteria,butmayormaynotdominate.Moderatetointenseyetbalancedfruity-esterflavorsareevident.DiacetylandDMSflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Woodvesselsmaybeusedduringthefermentationandagingprocess,butwood-derivedflavorssuchasvanillinmustnotbepresent.Residualflavorsthatcomefromliquidspreviouslyagedinabarrelsuchasbourbonorsherryshouldnotbepresent.Bodyisevidentoverafullrangefromlowtohigh.Forpurposesof competitionentriesexhibitingwood-derivedcharactersorcharactersof liquidspreviouslyagedinwoodwouldmoreappropriatelybeenteredinotherWood-AgedBeercategories.Wood-andbarrel-agedsouralesshouldnotbeenteredhereandareclassifiedelsewhere.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide information listing a classic or other style of base beer being elaborated upon, microbes or cultures used, fruit or other special ingredients used if present, and/or special processes used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

25. Wood- and Barrel-Aged BeerA. Subcategory: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Pale to Amber BeerWood-AgedPaletoAmbersarepaletocopper.Forpurposesof competitionthesewood-agedbeershavecolorlessthan18SRMor36EBC,andcontainalcohollessthan5.2%abwor6.5%abv.Darkerwood-agedbeers(>18SRMor>36EBC)orhigheralcoholwood-agedbeers(>5%abwor>6.25%abv)of anycolorwouldbemoreappropriatelyconsideredasotherbeer styles.Any lager,aleorhybridbeer in theappropriatecolor range,eithera traditional styleorauniqueexperimentalbeer,canbeagedforaperiodof timeinawoodenbarrelorincontactwithwood.Primarycharacterof theoriginalbeerstylemayormaynotbeapparent.Thesebeersareagedwiththeintentionof impartingtheparticularlyuniquecharacterof thewoodand/orwhathaspreviouslybeeninthebarrel;but,woodagedisnotnecessarilysynonymous

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withimpartingwood-flavors.Newwoodcharactercanbecharacterizedasacomplexblendof vanillinand/orotheruniquewoodcharacter.Usedsherry, rum,bourbon, scotch,port,wineandotherbarrelsareoftenused, impartingcomplexityanduniquenesstobeer.Ultimatelyabalanceof flavor,aromaandmouthfeelaresoughtwiththemarriageof newbeerwithwoodand/orbarrelflavors.Wood-AgedPaletoAmberBeersmayormaynothaveBrettanomyces character. Body is variablewithstyle.Forpurposesof competitionfruitedorspicedpaletoamberbeerthatiswoodandbarrelagedwouldalsobeappropriatelyenteredinthiscategory.Sourwood-agedbeersof anycolororstrengthwouldmoreappropriatelybeconsidered Wood-Aged Sour Beer. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including the classic ale, lager or experimental beer style being aged in wood, type of wood used (new or old, oak or other wood type), previous liquids in the barrel if any (port/ whiskey/ wine/ sherry/other), fruit(s) or spice(s) used if any, etc. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.0%-5.2%(3.75%-6.5%)•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)4-18(8-36EBC)

B. Subcategory: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Dark BeerWood-AgedDarksarebrowntoblack.Forpurposesof competitionthesewood-agedbeershavecolorgreaterthan18SRMor36EBC,andcontainalcohollessthan5.2%abwor6.5%abv.Palerwood-agedbeers(<18SRMor<36EBC)orhigheralcoholwood-agedbeers(>5%abwor>6.25%abv)of anycolorwouldbemoreappropriatelyconsideredasotherbeerstyles.Anylager,aleorhybridbeerintheappropriatecolorrange,eitheratraditionalstyleorauniqueexperimentalbeer,canbeagedforaperiodof timeinawoodenbarrelorincontactwithwood.Primarycharacterof theoriginalbeerstylemayormaynotbeapparent.Thesebeersareagedwiththeintentionof impartingtheparticularlyuniquecharacterof thewoodand/orwhathaspreviouslybeeninthebarrel;but,woodagedisnotnecessarilysynonymouswithimpartingwood-flavors.Newwoodcharactercanbecharacterizedasacomplexblendof vanillinand/orotheruniquewoodcharacter.Usedsherry,rum,bourbon,scotch,port,wineandotherbarrelsareoftenused,impartingcomplexityanduniquenesstobeer.Ultimatelyabalanceof flavor,aromaandmouthfeelaresoughtwiththemarriageof newbeerwithwoodand/orbarrelflavors.Wood-AgedDarkBeersmayormaynothaveBrettanomycescharacter.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Forpurposesof competitionfruitedorspiceddarkbeerthatiswoodandbarrelagedwouldalsobeappropriatelyenteredinthiscategory.Sourwood-agedbeersof anycolororstrengthwouldmoreappropriatelybeconsideredWood-AgedSourBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including the classic ale, lager or experimental beer style being aged in wood, type of wood used (new or old, oak or other wood type), previous liquids in the barrel if any (port/ whiskey/ wine/ sherry/other), fruit(s) or spice(s) used if any, etc. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-5.2%(3.75%-6.5%)•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC) >18(>36EBC)

26. Wood-and Barrel-Aged Strong BeerWood-AgedStrongBeersareanycolor.Forpurposesof competitionthesewood-agedbeerscontainalcoholgreaterthan5.2%abwor6.5%abv.Anystrongclassicoruniqueexperimentallager,aleorhybridbeerstyle,eitheratraditionalstyleoruniqueexperimentalbeers,canbeagedforaperiodof timeinawoodenbarrelorincontactwithwood.Thesebeersareagedwiththeintentionof impartingtheparticularlyuniquecharacterof thewoodand/orwhathaspreviouslybeeninthebarrel;but,woodagedisnotnecessarilysynonymouswithimpartingwood-flavors.Newwoodcharactercanbecharacterizedasacomplexblendof vanillinand/orotheruniquewoodcharacter.Usedsherry,rum,bourbon,scotch,port,wineandotherbarrelsareoftenused,impartingcomplexityanduniquenesstobeer.Ultimatelyabalanceof flavor,aromaandmouthfeelaresoughtwiththemarriageof newbeerwithwoodand/orbarrelflavors.Wood-AgedBeersmayormaynothaveBrettanomycescharacter.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Forpurposesof competitionfruitedorspicedstrongbeer that is wood and barrel aged would also be appropriately entered in this category. Sour wood-aged strong beers would more appropriately be considered Wood-Aged Sour Beer. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including the classic ale, lager or experimental strong beer style being aged in wood, type of wood used (new or old, oak or other wood type), previous liquids in the barrel if any (port/ whiskey/ wine/ sherry/other), fruit(s) or spice(s) used if any, etc. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.

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Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)>5.2%(>6.5%)•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

27. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong StoutWood-AgedStrongStoutsarecharacteristicallydarktoverydark.Anyof thetraditionalstrongerstoutstylesoruniqueexperimental stouts, can be aged for a period of time in awooden barrel or in contact withwood. For purposes of competitionentriesinthiscategoryshouldcontain>5.2%abw(>6.5%abv).Thesebeersareagedwiththeintentionof impartingtheparticularlyuniquecharacterof thewoodand/orwhathaspreviouslybeeninthebarrel;but,woodagedisnotnecessarilysynonymouswithimpartingwood-flavors.Newwoodcharactercanbecharacterizedasacomplexblendof vanillinand/orotheruniquewoodcharacter.Usedsherry,rum,bourbon,scotch,port,wineandotherbarrelsareoftenused,impartingcomplexityanduniquenesstobeer.Ultimatelyabalanceof flavor,aromaandmouthfeelaresoughtwiththemarriageof newbeerwithwoodand/orbarrelflavors.Wood-AgedBeersmayormaynothaveBrettanomyces character. Examplesof wood-andbarrel-agedstrongstoutstylesincludebutarenotlimitedtostrongerversionsof wood-andbarrel-agedforeignstout,British-orAmerican-styleImperialstout,otherstrongstoutstyles,orotherstrongbeerstylesblendedwithstoutthatmeetthecriteriaforalcoholcontent.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Sourhigheralcoholwood-agedstrongstouts(>5.2%abwor>6.5%abv)shouldbeenteredinasWood-AgedSourbeers.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about entries in this category. Comments could include classic or experimental strong stout style and/or other styles blended with stout (if any) being aged in wood, type of wood used (new or old, oak or other wood type), previous liquids in the barrel if any (port/ whiskey/ wine/ sherry/other), or achieved character. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) >5.2%(>6.5%)•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC) Varieswithstyle

28. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour BeerA. Subcategory: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour BeerWood-AgedSoursareverylighttoblack.Fruitandherb/spiceversionsmaytakeonthehue,flavorsandaromasof addedingredients.Anylager,aleorhybridbeers,eitherinatraditionalstyleoruniqueexperimentalbeers,canbeagedforaperiodof timeinawoodenbarrelorincontactwithwood,and,developbacterialinducednaturalacidity.Thesebeersareagedwiththeintentionof introducingthemicroflorapresentinthewood.Sometimeswoodagingisintendedtoimparttheparticularlyuniquecharacterof thewoodand/orwhathaspreviouslybeeninthebarrel;but,woodagedisnotnecessarilysynonymouswithimpartingwood-flavors.Newwoodcharactercanbecharacterizedasacomplexblendof vanillinand/orotheruniquewoodcharacter.Usedsherry,rum,bourbon,scotch,port,wineandotherbarrelsareoftenused,impartingcomplexityanduniquenesstobeer.Thesewood-derivedflavors,if presentinthisstyle,canbeverylowincharacterandbarelyperceivedorevidentorassertiveaswood-derivedflavors.Anydegreeof wood-derivedflavorsshouldbeinbalancewithotherbeercharacter.Usuallybacteriaand“wild”yeastsfermentationcontributescomplexestersandresultsindrytoverydrybeers.Ultimatelyabalanceof flavor,aromaandmouthfeelaresoughtwiththemarriageof acidity,complexesters,andnewbeerwithwoodand/orbarrelflavors.Wood-AgedSourBeersmayormaynothaveBrettanomyces character. Bodyisvariablewithstyle.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including primarily the classic ale, lager or experimental beer style being aged in wood, type of wood used (new or old, oak or other wood type), previous liquids in the barrel if any (port/ whiskey/ wine/ sherry/other), fruit(s) or spice(s) used if any, microbes, etc. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC) Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: Fruited Wood- and Barrel-Aged Sour BeerFruitedWood-AgedSourBeersareverylighttoblack,andmaytakeoncolorof addedfruitsorotheringredients.FruitedWood-AgedSourBeerswillexhibitfruitaromasandflavorsinharmoniousbalancewithothercharacters.Anylager,aleorhybridbeers,eitherinatraditionalstyleoruniqueexperimentalbeers,canbeagedforaperiodof timeinawoodenbarrelorincontactwithwood,and,developbacterial inducednaturalacidity.Thesebeersareagedwiththeintentionof introducingthemicroflorapresentinthewood.Sometimeswoodagingisintendedtoimparttheparticularlyuniquecharacterof thewoodand/orwhathaspreviouslybeeninthebarrel;but,woodagedisnotnecessarilysynonymouswithimpartingwood-flavors.Newwoodcharactercanbecharacterizedasacomplexblendof vanillinand/orotherunique

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woodcharacter.Usedsherry,rum,bourbon,scotch,port,wineandotherbarrelsareoftenused,impartingcomplexityanduniquenesstobeer.Thesewood-derivedflavors,if presentinthisstyle,canbeverylowincharacterandbarelyperceivedorevidentorassertiveaswood-derivedflavors.Anydegreeof wood-derivedflavorsshouldbeinbalancewithotherbeercharacter.Usuallybacteriaand“wild”yeastsfermentationcontributescomplexestersandresultsindrytoverydrybeers.Ultimatelyabalanceof flavor,aromaandmouthfeelaresoughtwiththemarriageof acidity,complexesters,andnewbeerwithfruitandwoodand/orbarrelflavors.FruitedWood-AgedSourBeersmayormaynothaveBrettanomyces character. Bodyisvariablewithstyle.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about entries in this category including primarily the classic ale, lager or experimental base beer style being aged in wood and the fruit(s) used, as well as the type of wood used (new or old, oak or other wood type), type(s) of microbial contribution, previous liquids in the barrel if any (port/ whiskey/ wine/ sherry/ other) and achieved character. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

29. Aged BeerAgedBeersareanyrangeorcolorfromverylighttoblack.AgedBeersareanybeeragedforoveroneyear.Abrewermaybrewanytypeof beerof anystrengthandenhanceitscharacterwithextendedandcreativeagingconditions.Generally,butnotexclusively,beerswithhighhoppingrates,roastmaltcontent,highalcoholcontent,and/orcomplexherbal,smokeorfruitcontent lendthemselvestoaging.Beerswhicharewoodaged,orexhibitBrettanomyces characters or sour/acidic beers shouldbeclassifiedorentered intoothercategories if thoseoptionsareavailable.Beers in thiscategorymaybeagedinbottlesoranytypeof foodgradevessel.Agedcharactermaymanifestitself inmouthfeel,aromaandflavor.Oftenagedcharacter isanexpressionof oxidativereactions thateitherbring individualextremecharacters intoharmonyorarecharactersuniqueuntothemselves.Sherry,fruityandhoptransitionsarecommonduringaging.Nomatterwhattheeffect,theoverallbalanceshouldbebalanced,harmonicandnotextremeordistastefullyaggressive.Thelevelof changescreatedbyagingwillvarywithdifferenttypesof beertypes.Lighterflavoredbeertypesmayoftenmanifestaggressiveanddistastefuloxidation.Whereashigherelevationsof hops,maltoralcoholcanhelpcreatesynergieswith“good”oxidativechange.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry including the classic ale, lager or experimental style of the beer being aged, experimental or interesting techniques or ingredients, length of aging time, the material in which the beer was aged (glass, stainless, etc.), and other information describing the aging process. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

30. Kellerbier or ZwickelbierA. Subcategory: Unfiltered German-Style LagerUnfilteredGermanLagersarethecolorof theunderlyingGermanlagerstyle.Appearancemayormaynotbeclear,somayappearslightlyhazytomoderatelycloudy.Exhibitingasmallamountof yeasthazeisacceptable.Thesebeersareunfiltered,butmaybenaturallyclearduetosettlingof yeastduringaging.Headretentionmaynotbeoptimal.KellerbierLagersareunfilteredlageredversionsof GermaniclagerbeerstylessuchasMünchnerHellesandDunkel,Dortmunder/Export,BohemianPilsenerandGermanPilsener.Aromastypicalof theunderlyingbeerstylearepresent.Lowtomediumlevelsof yeast-generatedsulfuraromasshouldbeapparentinaroma.Lowlevelsof acetaldehydeorothervolatilesnormallyscrubbedduringfermentationmayormaynotbeapparent.Subtleorlowfruity-esteraromasmaybeapparent.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Hoparomaisvariablewithstyle,withdryhoppedcharactersacceptable.Maltcharacterwillvarywithstyle(seeindividualstyledescriptions).Hopflavorisvariablewithstyle,withdryhoppedcharactersacceptable.Hopbitternessisvariablewithstyle.KellerbierLagershavelowtomediumcarbonation.Subtleorlowfruity-esterflavorsmaybeapparent.Lowtomediumlevelsof yeast-generatedsulfurflavorsshouldbeapparent,andlowlevelsof acetaldehydeorothervolatilesnormallyscrubbedduringfermentationmayormaynotbeapparent.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Thesulfurandacetaldehydecharactersshouldcontributepositivelytothebeerdrinkingexperience.TheseunfilteredGermanlagerstylesarepackagedand/orservedintentionallywithlowtomoderateamountsof yeast.Productsmaybefilteredandagaindosedwithyeastinthepackage,manifestingthemselvesasbottleconditionedbeersorunfilteredbeerwithyeastpresent.Duringregistrationbrewersmayspecifypouringinstructions,choosingnormalpouring,quietpouringorintentionalrousingof yeast.Entrieswillbepresentedduringjudgingasspecifiedbyenteringbrewer.To

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allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide the classic German lager style on which the entry is based. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU) Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: Unfiltered German-Style AleUnfilteredGermanAlesarethecolorof theunderlyingGermanalestyle.Appearancemayormaynotbeclear,somayappearslightlyhazytomoderatelycloudy.Exhibitingasmallamountof yeasthazeisacceptable.Thesebeersareunfiltered,butmaybenaturallyclearduetosettlingof yeastduringaging.Headretentionmaynotbeoptimal.KellerbierAlesareunfilteredGerman-styleAltbierandKölsch.Aromastypicalof theunderlyingbeerstylearepresent.Fruity-ester levelsshouldalignwiththefilteredversion,butmaybeperceivedatslightlyhigherorlowerlevelsduetoageandpresenceof yeast.Yeastaromaisdesirable,yetshouldbelowtomediumwithoutoverpoweringthebalanceandcharacterof maltandhops.Lowtomoderatelylowlevelsof yeast-generatedsulfur-containingcompoundsshouldbeapparentinaroma,andlowlevelsof acetaldehydeorothervolatilesnormallyremovedduringfermentationmayormaynotbeapparent.Hoparomaissometimessuppressedbythepresenceof yeast,dependingonstyle.Maltcharacterwillvarywithstyle(seeindividualstyledescriptions).Hopflavor is sometimes suppressedby thepresenceof yeast,dependingon style.Hopbitterness issometimessuppressedbythepresenceof yeast,dependingonstyle.Yeastflavorisdesirable,yetshouldbelowtomediumwithoutoverpoweringthebalanceandcharacterof maltandhops.Lowtomoderatelylowlevelsof yeast-generatedsulfurcontainingcompoundsshouldbeapparentinflavor,andlowlevelsof acetaldehydeorothervolatilesnormallyremovedduringfermentationmayormaynotbeapparent.Thesulfurandacetaldehydecharactersshouldcontributepositivelyto the beer drinking experience.Body is variablewith style.These unfilteredGerman-style ales are packaged and/orservedintentionallywithlowtomoderateamountsof yeast.Productsmaybefilteredandagaindosedwithyeastinthepackage,manifesting themselves as bottle conditioned beers or unfiltered beerwith yeast present.During registrationbrewersmayspecifypouringinstructions,choosingnormalpouring,quietpouringorintentionalrousingof yeast.Entrieswillbepresentedduringjudgingasspecifiedbyenteringbrewer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide the classic German ale style on which the entry is based. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

31. Smoke BeerA. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Weiss Rauchbier (Helles or Dunkel)BambergWeissRauchbiers area rangeof color frompale to chestnutbrown.Becauseyeast ispresent appearancemayappropriatelybeverycloudy.Smokymaltcharacterrangingfromlowtohighshouldbepresentinthearoma.Thearomaof aWeissbierwithyeastisdecidedlyfruityandphenolic.Thephenoliccharacteristicsareoftendescribedasclove-like,nutmeg-like,mildlysmoke-likeorevenvanilla-like.Banana-likeesteraromaisoftenpresentatlowtomedium-highlevels.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Indarkerversionsadetectabledegreeof roastmaltmaybepresentwithoutbeingrobust.Smokymaltflavorrangingfromlowtohighispresent.Smokecharacterisnotharshlyphenolic,butratherverysmooth,almostrenderingaperceptionof mildsweetness.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislow.Thesebeersaremadewithatleast50percentmaltedwheat.Nodiacetyl shouldbeperceived.Theflavorof aWeissbier isdecidedly fruityandphenolic.Thephenoliccharacteristicsareoftendescribedasclove-likeornutmeg-likeandcanbesmokyorevenvanilla-like.Banana-likeestersareoftenpresent.Weissbieriswellattenuatedandveryhighlycarbonated.Bodyismediumtofull.Thesebeersaretypicallyrousedduringpouringandbecauseyeastispresent,thebeerwillhaveyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.047-1.056(11.7-13.8°Plato)• Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.9%-4.4% (4.9%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-18(8-36EBC)

B. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Helles RauchbierBambergHellesRauchbiersarelightpaletogolden.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Itisamalt-emphasizedbeer,withmaltaromasreminiscentof freshlyandverylightlytoastedsweetmaltedbarleypresent.Beechwoodsmokymaltcharacterrangingfromverylowtomediumshouldbepresentinthearoma.Smokearomacharactersarenotharshlyphenolic,butratherverysmooth.Maltaromasareoftenbalancedwithlowlevelcharacterof yeastproducedsulfurcompounds.Caramel

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aromashouldnotbepresent.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisvery lowto low,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Maltflavorsreminiscentof freshlyandverylightlytoastedsweetmaltedbarleyispresent.Beechwood smokymalt flavors ranging fromvery low tomedium shouldbepresent. Smoke character is notharshlyphenolic,butratherverysmooth,almostrenderingaperceptionof mildsweetnesstothisstyleof beer.Maltflavorsareoftenbalancedwithlowlevelcharacterof yeastproducedsulfurcompounds.Caramelflavorshouldnotbepresent.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops,withhopflavornotimplyinghopbitterness.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.050(11.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.4% (4.8%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 18-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-5.5(8-11EBC)

C. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Märzen RauchbierBambergMärzenRauchbiersarepaletolightbrown.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Aromashouldstrikeabalancebetweenmalt,hopandsmoke.Sweettoastedmaltaromaispresent.Beechwoodsmokymaltcharacterrangingfromverylow to medium should be present in the aroma. Smoke aroma characters are neither harshly phenolic nor acrid, but rather verysmooth.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Medium-lowtomediumtoastedmaltsweetnessispresent.Verylowtomediumbeechwoodsmokymaltflavorsareverysmooth,notharshlyphenolicoracrid.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.050-1.060(12.4-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.020 (3.1-5.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.0%-4.7% (5.1%-6.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 18-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-15(8-30EBC)

D. Subcategory: Bamberg-Style Bock RauchbierBambergBockRauchbiersaredarkbrowntoverydark.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Mediumtomedium-highmaltaromaispresent,withverylowtomedium-highbeechwoodsmokyaromas.Smokecharacterisnotharshlyphenolic,butratherverysmooth.Fruity-esteraromasshouldbeminimalif present.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylow.Mediumtomedium-highmaltflavorispresent,withverylowtomedium-highbeechwoodsmokycharacters.Smokeflavorisnotharshlyphenolic,butratherverysmooth,almostrenderingaperceptionof mildsweetness.Hopflavorislow.Hopbitternessisperceivedasmedium,increasingproportionatelywithstartinggravity.Fruity-esterflavorsshouldbeminimalif present.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.066-1.074(16.1-18.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.018-1.024 (4.6-6.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0% (6.3%-7.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 20-30(40-60EBC)

E. Subcategory: Smoke PorterSmokePortersaredarkbrowntoblack.Fruity-esteraromaisacceptable.Theywillexhibitamildtoassertivesmokemaltaromainbalancewithotheraromacharacters.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtomedium.Theywillexhibitamildtoassertivesmokemaltflavorinbalancewithotherflavors.Blackmaltcharactercanbeperceivedinsomeporters,whileothersmaybeabsentof strongroastcharacter.Roastbarleycharactershouldbeabsent.Mediumtohighmaltsweetness,caramelandchocolateareacceptable.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtomedium.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Fruity-esterflavorisacceptable.Bodyismediumtofull.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the traditional or experimental base style of porter being smoked, as well as the wood type used as a smoke source (e.g. “alder smoked brown porter”). Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.050-1.065(12.4-15.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.018 (2.6-4.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)4.0%-7.0%(5.1%-8.9%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 20+(40+EBC)

F. Subcategory: Other Smoke BeerOtherSmokeBeersareanybeerof anystyleincorporatingsmoke,andthereforemayrangefromverylighttoblack.Anystyleof beercanbesmoked;thegoalistoreachabalancebetweenthestyle’scharacterandthesmokyproperties.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Anysmokebeerthatdoesnotfitothersmokebeercategorieswouldbeappropriatelyconsideredhere.To

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allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the traditional or experimental style of the base beer as well as the wood type used as a smoke source (e.g. “alder smoked dry stout”). Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

LAGER BEER STYLES

32. American-Style or International-Style PilsenerA. Subcategory: American-Style PilsenerAmerican Pilseners are straw to gold.There should be no chill haze.This style represents the classic and unique pre-ProhibitionAmerican-stylepilsener.Medium-lowtomediummaltaromaispresent.DMS,fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasarenotacceptable.Hoparomaismediumtohigh,preferablyderivingfromnoble-typehops,butaromascanalsobefromvariousAmerican-typehops.Upto25%cornand/orriceinthegristshouldbeused.Medium-lowtomediummaltflavorispresent.Hopflavorismediumtohigh,preferablyderivingfromnoble-typehops,butflavorscanalsobefromvariousAmerican-typehops.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.DMS,fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsarenotacceptable.Bodyislight-medium to medium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.045-1.060(11.2-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.018 (3.1-4.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.9%-4.7%(4.9%-6.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 25-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-6(6-12EBC)

B. Subcategory: International-Style PilsenerInternationalPilseners are straw topale.Chill haze shouldnot beperceived.Thesebeers are oftenbrewedwith rice,corn,wheat,orothergrainorsugaradjunctsmakinguppartof themash.Residualmaltaromaisverylowanddoesnotpredominatebutmaybeperceived.Verylowlevelsof DMSaromaareacceptable.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislow.Residualmaltsweetnessisverylowanddoesnotpredominatebutmaybeperceived.Hopflavorislow.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Verylowlevelsof DMSflavorif perceivedareacceptable.Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislighttomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.050(11.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.010 (2.1-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.6%-4.2% (4.6%-5.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 17-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-4(6-8EBC)

33. German PilsenerGermanPilsenersarestrawtopale.Thereshouldbenochillhaze.Theheadshouldbedense,rich,perfectlywhite,verystableandshowagoodcling.Amaltyresidualsweetaromacanbeperceived.Very lowlevelsof DMSaroma,usuallybelowmostbeerdrinkers’ taste thresholdsandnotdetectableexcept tothetrainedorsensitivepalate,maybepresent.Otherfermentation-orhop-derivedsulfuraromaswhenperceivedatlowlevelsmaybecharacteristicof thisstyle.Fruity-esteraromasanddiacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaismoderateandquiteobvious,derivingfromlatehopping(notdryhopping)noble-typehops.Amaltyresidualsweetflavorcanbeperceived.Hopflavorismoderateandquiteobvious,derivingfromlatehopping(notdryhopping)noble-typehops.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Similarlyverylowlevelsof DMSflavor,usuallynotdetectabletoallbutwelltrainedpalates,maybepresent.Lowlevelsof otherfermentation-orhop-derivedsulfurflavors,maybecharacteristicof thisstyle.Fruity-esterflavorsanddiacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Thesearewellattenuatedbeers.Bodyismedium-light.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.055(11.0-13.6°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.012 (1.5-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.6%-4.2% (4.6%-5.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 25-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-4(6-8EBC)

34. Bohemian PilsenerBohemian Pilseners are straw to light amber. There should be no chill haze. Its head should be dense and rich. A toasted, biscuit-like,breadymaltaromawith low levelsof fermentedmaltderivedsulfurcompoundsmaybeevident.Very lowdiacetylandDMSaromas,if perceived,arecharacteristicof thisstyleandbothmayaccentmaltaroma.Hoparomaislowtomedium-low,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Slightlysweetmaltcharacterisevident.Toasted,biscuit-like,and/orbreadymaltflavorsalongwithlowlevelsof fermentedmaltderivedsulfurcompoundsmaybeevident.Hopflavorislow

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tomedium-low,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessismedium.Verylowlevelsof diacetylandDMSflavors,if perceived,arecharacteristicof thisstyle.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.056(11.0-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.014-1.020 (3.6-5.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-4.0% (4.1%-5.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 30-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-7(6-14EBC)

35. Munich HellesMunichHelleslagersarepaletogolden.Thereshouldbenochillhaze.Thisisamaltaromaandflavoremphasizedbeerstyle.Maltaromasandflavorsareoftenbalancedwithlowlevelsof yeast-producedsulfuraromasandflavors.Maltcharacterissometimesbread-likeyetalwaysreminiscentof freshlyandverylightlytoastedmaltedbarley.Thereshouldnotbeanycaramelcharacter.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtolow.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromEuropeannoble-typehops,withhopflavornot implyinghopbitterness.Hopbitterness is low,derivingfromEuropeannoble-typehops.Fruity-esteraromasandflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Diacetylaromaandflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.050(11.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.4% (4.8%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 18-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-5.5(8-11EBC)

36. Dortmunder or German-Style OktoberfestA. Subcategory: Dortmunder/Export-Style ExportDortmunder/Exportsarestrawtodeepgolden.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Sweetmaltflavorcanbelowandshouldnotbecaramel-like.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessismedium.Fruity-esterflavorsanddiacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.048-1.056(11.9-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.014 (2.6-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.0%-4.8% (5.1%-6.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 23-29 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-6(6-12EBC)

B. Subcategory: German-Style OktoberfestGermanOktoberfestsarestrawtogolden.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylowtolow.Sweetmaltinessislow.Hopflavorisverylowtolow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow,cleanandequalizingthelowsweetmaltiness.Fruity-esterflavorsanddiacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Today’sOktoberfestbeersaresimilarorequaltoDortmunder/European-StyleExport.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.048-1.056(11.9-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.014 (2.6-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.0%-4.8% (5.1%-6.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 23-29 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-5(6-10EBC)

37. American-Style Lager or Light LagerA. Subcategory: American-Style LagerAmericanLagersarestrawtogold.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Lightfruity-esteraromaisacceptable.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Maltsweetnessisverylowtolow.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtoverylow.Hopbitternessisnotperceivedtoverylow.Corn,rice,orothergrainorsugaradjunctsoftenused.AmericanLagersareverycleanandcrisp,andaggressivelycarbonated.Lightfruity-esterflavorisacceptable.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyislight.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.048(10.0-11.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.014 (1.5-3.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.2%-4.0%(4.1%-5.1%)•Bitterness (IBU) 5-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-6(4-12EBC)

B. Subcategory: American-Style Light LagerAmericanLightLagersareverylighttopale.Inthesebeerstheword“light”referstorelativelylowbodyandreducedcalories,ratherthantocolor.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Aromastypicallyrelatedtobeerareverylow.Lowfruity-esteraromasareacceptable.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Hoparomaisabsenttoverylow.Hopflavorisabsenttoverylow.Hopbitternessisabsenttoverylow.Corn,rice,orothergrainorsugaradjunctsoftenused.Thesebeersarehighincarbonation.Flavorstypicallyrelatedtobeerareverylow.Lowfruity-esterflavorsareacceptable.Diacetylflavorshouldbe

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absent.Bodyislightwithdrymouthfeel.Calorielevelshouldnotexceed125per12ounceserving.Lowcarbbeersshouldhaveamaximumcarbohydratelevelof 3.0gmper12oz.(356ml).Thesebeersarecharacterizedbyextremelyhighdegreeof attenuation;oftenfinalgravityislessthan1.000(0ºPlato).Original Gravity (°Plato)1.024-1.040(6.1-10.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 0.992-1.008 (minus2.1-2.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.8%-3.5%(3.5%-4.4%)•Bitterness (IBU) 4-10 • Color SRM (EBC)1.5-4(3-8EBC)

C. Subcategory: American-Style Amber Light LagerAmericanAmberLightLagersarepaletomedium-amber.Inthesebeerstheword“light”referstorelativelylowbodyandreducedcalories,ratherthantocolor.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Lowfruity-esteraromasareacceptable.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Hoparomaisabsentorlow.Maltsweetnessisverylowbutevident.Hopflavorisabsentorverylow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Corn,rice,orothergrainorsugaradjunctsmaybeusedbutall-maltformulationsarealsomade.Thesebeersarehighincarbonation.Lowfruity-esterflavorsareacceptable.Diacetylflavorshouldbeabsent.Bodyislighttomedium-light.Calorielevelshouldnotexceed125per12ounceserving.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.024-1.040(6.1-10.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.002-1.008 (0.5-2.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.8%-3.5%(3.5%-4.4%)•Bitterness (IBU) 8-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-12(8-24EBC)

38. American-Style Cream AleCreamAlesarestrawtogold.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Medium-lowtomediumpalemaltaromamaybepresent.Caramelizedmaltaromacharactershouldbeabsent.Fruity-esteraromamaybeperceived.Sulfurcharacterand/orDMSaromashouldbeextremelyloworabsent.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisusuallyabsent.Medium-lowtomediumpalemaltsweetnesspredominates.Caramelizedmaltcharactershouldbeabsent.Adjunctcharacter(suchascorn)maybeperceivedatlowlevels.Hopflavorisverylowtolow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Thismildaleismadeusingawarmfermentation(toporbottomfermentingyeast)andcoldlagering.Thesebeersarecrispandrefreshing.Fermentationinducedsulfurcharacterand/orDMSflavorshouldbeextremely loworabsent fromthisstyleof beer.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislight.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.052(11.0-12.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.010 (1.0-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.4%-4.5% (4.3%-5.7%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-22 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-5(4-10EBC)

39. Vienna-Style LagerViennaLagers are copper to reddish brown.Chill haze should not be perceived.Viennas are characterized bymaltyaroma,whichshouldhaveanotabledegreeof toastedand/orslightlyroastedmaltcharacter.Hoparomaisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Theyarealsocharacterizedbyslightmaltsweetness,whichshouldhavenotabletoastedand/orslightlyroastedmaltcharacter.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessislowtomedium-low,cleanandcrisp.DMS,diacetyl,andale-likefruityestersshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.046-1.056(11.4-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.018 (3.1-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.3% (4.8%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 22-28 • Color SRM (EBC) 12-26(24-52EBC)

40. German-Style MärzenGermanMärzens are pale to reddish brown.Chill haze should not be perceived.Bread or biscuit-likemalt aroma isacceptable.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislow.Sweetmaltinessismediumlowtomediumanddominatesovercleanhopbitterness.Maltflavorsshouldbelight-toastedratherthanstronglycaramel;lowlevelcaramelcharacterisacceptable.Breadorbiscuit-likemaltflavorisacceptable.Hopflavorislow.Hopbitternessismediumlowtomedium.Fruity-esterflavorsanddiacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.050-1.060(12.4-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.020 (3.1-5.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.0%-4.7% (5.1%-6.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 18-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-15(8-30EBC)

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41. American-Style Amber LagerA. Subcategory: American-Style Amber LagerAmAmberLagersaregoldtocopper.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Lowtomedium-lowcaramel-typeortoastedmaltaromasareoftenpresent.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldbeabsent.Hoparomaisverylowtomedium-high.Lowtomedium-lowcaramel-typeortoastedmaltflavorsarepresent.Hopflavorisverylowtomedium-high.Hopbitternessisverylowtomedium-high.Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldbeabsent.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.042-1.056(10.5-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.018 (2.6-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.3% (4.8%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 18-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28EBC)

B. Subcategory: California Common BeerCaliforniaCommonsarelightambertomedium-amber.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Thereisoftenanoticeabledegreeof toastmaltand/orcaramel-typemaltaroma.Fruity-esteraromasarelowtomedium-low.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Hoparomaislowtomedium-low.Noticeabletoastmaltand/orcaramel-typemaltflavorispresent.Hopflavorislowtomedium-low.Hopbitternessismediumtomediumhigh.Californiacommonbeersarebrewedwithlageryeastsbutatalefermentationtemperatures.Noticeablecaramel-typemaltflavorispresent.Fruity-esterflavorsarelowtomedium-low.Thebalancebetweenfruityestersandmaltcharactergiveanimpressionof balanceanddrinkability.Diacetylflavorshould be absent. Body is medium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.045-1.056(11.2-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.018 (2.6-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.6%-4.5% (4.6%-5.7%) •Bitterness (IBU) 35-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 8-15(16-30EBC)

C. Subcategory: American-Style MärzenAmericanMärzensarepale toreddishbrown.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Maltaromashouldbe light-toastedratherthanstronglycaramel,thoughalowlevelof lightcaramelcharacterisacceptable.Bread-orbiscuit-likemaltaromaisacceptable.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldbeabsent.Hoparomaisverylowtomedium-low.Sweetmaltinessshoulddominateovercleanhopbitterness.Maltcharactershouldbelighttoastedratherthanstronglycaramel,thoughalowlevellightcaramelcharacterisacceptable.Bread-orbiscuit-likemaltflavorisacceptable.Hopflavorisverylowtomedium-low.Hopbitternessismediumlowtomedium,andshouldnotbeaggressiveorharsh.TheAmericanstyleof theseclassicGermanbeersisdistinguishedbyacomparativelygreaterdegreeof hopcharacter.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.050-1.060(12.4-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.020 (3.1-5.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.0%-4.7% (5.1%-6.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-15(8-30EBC)

42. European-Style Dark/Münchner DunkelEuropeanDarksorMünchnerDunkelsarelightbrowntodarkbrown.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Maltaromaislowtomedium,withchocolate-like,roastmalt,bread-likeorbiscuit-likearomasfromtheuseof Munichdarkmalt.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Chocolateorroastmaltscanbeused,butthepercentageusedshouldbeminimal.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomedium.Dunkelsdonotofferanoverlysweetimpression,butratheramildbalancebetweenmaltsweetnessandhopcharacter.Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowto medium-low.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.048-1.056(11.9-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.014-1.018 (3.6-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.2% (4.8%-5.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 16-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 15-20(30-40EBC)

43. American-Style Dark LagerAmericanDarkLagersarelightbrowntoverydark.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Lowmaltaromacontainsdiscretecontributionsfromcaramelandroastedmalts.Fruity-ester,DMSanddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylowtolow.Lowmaltflavorcontainsdiscreetcontributionsfromcaramelandroastedmalts.Non-maltadjunctsareoftenused.Hopflavorisverylowtolow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow,andcleanwithashortdurationof impact.

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Carbonationishigh.Fruity-esteranddiacetylflavorsshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislightandclean.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.040-1.050(10.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-4.4% (4.1%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 14-24 • Color SRM (EBC) 14-25(28-50EBC)

44. German-Style SchwarzbierGermanSchwarzbiersareverydarkbrowntoblack,withasurprisinglypale-coloredhead(notexcessivelybrown)withgoodclingquality.Mediummaltaromaincludesamildroastedmaltcharacter.Fruity-esteranddiacetylaromasshouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisvery lowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Maltsweetness is lowtomedium,andincorporatesmildroastedmaltcharacterwithouttheassociatedbitterness.Hopflavorisverylowtolow,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Fruity-esterflavorsanddiacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislowtomedium-low,notfullbodied.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.052(11.0-12.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.016 (2.6-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.0%-3.9% (3.8%-4.9%) •Bitterness (IBU) 22-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 25-30(50-60EBC)

45. BockA. Subcategory: Traditional German-Style BockBocksaredarkbrowntoverydark.Traditionalbocksaremadewithallmalt,andhavehighmaltcharacterwitharomasof toastedornut-likemalt,butnotcaramel.Fruity-esteraromasshouldbeminimalif present.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaisverylow.Traditionalbockshavehighmaltsweetness.Maltflavorcharactershouldbeabalanceof sweetnessand toastedornut-likemalt,butnot caramel.Hopflavor is low.Hopbitterness isperceivedasmedium,increasingproportionatelywithstartinggravity.Fruity-esterflavorsshouldbeminimalif present.Diacetylflavorshouldbeabsent.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.066-1.074(16.1-18.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.018-1.024 (4.6-6.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0% (6.3%-7.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 20-30(40-60EBC)

B. Subcategory: German-Style Heller Bock/MaibockMaibocksarepaletolightamber.TheGermanwordhellemeanslightcolored,andassuchaHellerBockisrelativelypale.Chillhazeshouldnotbeperceived.Maltyaromaasalightlytoastedand/orbreadyaromaisoftenevident.Roastorheavytoast/caramelmaltaromasshouldbeabsent.Fruity-esteraromasmaybelowif present.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium-low,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Sweetmaltycharacterasalightlytoastedand/orbreadymaltcharacterisoftenevident.Roastorheavytoast/caramelmaltflavorsshouldbeabsent.Hopflavorislowtomedium-low,derivingfromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessislowtomedium-low.Fruity-esterflavorsmaybelowif present.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.066-1.074(16.1-18.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.020 (3.1-5.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.4% (6.3%-8.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-38 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-9(8-18EBC)

46. German-Style Doppelbock or EisbockA. Subcategory: German-Style DoppelbockDoppelbocks are copper to dark brown.Dominantmalt aromas are reminiscent of fresh and lightly toastedMunich-stylemalt,moresothancaramelortoffeemaltcharacter.Someelementsof caramelandtoffeecanbeevidentinaromaandcontribute to complexity,but thepredominantmaltaroma is anexpressionof toastedbarleymalt.Hoparoma isabsent.Maltysweetnessisdominantbutshouldnotbecloying.MaltflavorcharacterisprimarilyfreshandlightlytoastedMunich-stylemalt,moresothancaramelortoffeemaltcharacter.Someelementsof caramelandtoffeecanbeevident,butpredominantmaltcharacteristoastedbarleymalt.Astringencyfromroastmaltsisabsent.Hopflavorisperceivedaslow.Hopbitternessisperceivedaslow.Alcoholicstrengthishigh.Fruity-esterflavorsarecommonlyperceivedbutatlowtomoderatelevels.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.074-1.080(18.0-19.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.014-1.020

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(3.6-5.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.2%-6.2% (6.6%-7.9%) •Bitterness (IBU) 17-27 • Color SRM (EBC) 12-30(24-60EBC)

B. Subcategory: German-Style EisbockEisbocks are light brown to black. Alcohol may be perceived in aroma. Fruity-ester aromasmay be evident but notoverpowering.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Hoparomaisabsent.Sweetmaltcharacterisveryhigh.Hopflavorisabsent.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Thisisastrongerversionof Doppelbock.TypicallythesebeersarebrewedbyfreezingaDoppelbockandremovingresultingicetoincreasealcoholcontent.Fruity-esterflavorsmaybeevidentbutnotoverpowering.Diacetylflavorshouldbeabsent.Alcoholicstrengthisveryhigh.Bodyisveryfull.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.074-1.116 (18.0-27.2 °Plato) • Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) N/A • Alcohol by Weight (Volume)6.8%-11.3%(8.6%-14.3%)• Bitterness (IBU) 26-33 • Color SRM (EBC)15-50(30-100EBC)

47. Baltic-Style PorterBalticPortersareverydeepruby/garnettoblack.Distinctivemaltaromasof caramelizedsugars,licorice,andchocolate-likecharacterof roastedmaltsanddarksugarsarepresent.Roasteddarkmaltssometimescontributecoffee-likeroastbarleyaroma.Lowsmokyaromafrommaltmaybeevident.Debitterizedroastmaltsarebestusedforthisstyle.Becauseof itsalcoholicstrength,mayincludeverylowtolowcomplexalcoholaromasand/orlagerfruitinesssuchasberries,grapes,plums,butnotbanana;ale-likefruitinessfromwarmfermentationisnotappropriate.Hoparomaisverylow,thoughahint of floral or sweethop aroma can complement aromaticswithout dominance.Medium-low tomedium-highmaltsweetnessispresent,withdistinctiveflavorsof caramelizedsugars,licorice,andchocolate-likecharacterof roastedmaltsanddarksugars.Roasteddarkmaltssometimescontributecoffee-likeroastbarleyflavor,yetnotbitterorastringentroastcharacter.Lowdegreeof smokyflavorfrommaltmaybeevident.Debitterizedroastmaltsarebestusedforthisstyle.Hopflavorisverylow.Hopbitterness is lowtomedium-low.BalticPorterisatruesmoothcold-fermentedandcoldlageredbeer,brewedwithlageryeast.Becauseof itsalcoholicstrength,mayincludeverylowtolowcomplexalcoholflavorsand/orlagerfruitinesssuchasberries,grapes,plums,butnotbanana;ale-likefruitinessfromwarmtemperaturefermentationisnotappropriate.DiacetylandDMSflavorsshouldnotbeapparent.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.072-1.092(17.5-22°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.016-1.022 (4.1-5.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 6.0%-7.4% (7.6%-9.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 35-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 40+(80+EBC)

ALE BEER STYLES

48. Golden or Blonde AleGolden/Blonde Ales are straw to light amber. Chill haze should be absent. Hop aroma is low to medium-low, present but notdominant.Lightmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavorislowtomedium-low,presentbutnotdominant.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Fruityestersmaybeperceivedbutnotpredominant.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.DMSshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyiscrisp,lighttomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.045-1.054(11.2-13.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-4.0% (4.1%-5.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-25 • Color SRM (EBC)3-7(6-14EBC)

49. German-Style KölschKölschsarestrawtogold.Chillhazeshouldbeabsent.Good,denseheadretentionisdesirable.Fruity-esteraromashouldbeminimallyperceived, if atall.Lightpear-apple-Rieslingwine-likefruitinessmaybeapparent,but isnotnecessaryforthisstyle.Hoparomaislowandif evidentshouldexpressnoblehopcharacter.Maltcharacterisaverylowtolowwithsoftsweetness.Caramelcharactershouldnotbeevident.Hopflavorislowandif evidentshouldexpressnoblehopcharacter.Hopbitternessismedium.Fruity-esterflavorsshouldbeminimallyperceived,if atall.Lightpear-apple-Rieslingwine-likefruitinessmaybeapparent,butisnotnecessaryforthisstyle.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislighttomedium-light;itisslightlydryonthepalate,yetcrisp.Wheatcanbeusedinbrewingthisbeer.KölschisfermentedatwarmertemperaturescomparedtotypicallagertemperaturesbutatlowertemperaturesthanmostEnglishandBelgianales,thenagedatcoldtemperatures(Germanaleoralt-stylebeer).Aleyeastisusedforfermentation,thoughlageryeastissometimesusedinthe

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bottleorfinalcoldconditioningprocess.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.042-1.048(10.5-11.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.010 (1.5-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.2% (4.8%-5.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 18-28 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-6(6-12EBC)

50. English-Style Summer AleEnglishSummerAlesarepaletolightamber.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromasareacceptableatlowtomoderatelevels.NodiacetylorDMSaromasshouldbeapparent.Hoparomaislowtomedium.English,Americanornoble-typehoparomashouldnotbeassertiveandalwayswellbalancedwithmaltaroma.Residualmaltsweetnessislowtomedium.Torrefiedand/ormaltedwheatareoftenusedinquantitiesof 25%orless.Maltflavormaybebiscuit-like.Hopflavorislowtomedium.English,American,ornoble-typehopflavorshouldnotbeassertiveandalwayswellbalancedwithmaltcharacter.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomedium.Mildcarbonationtraditionallycharacterizesdraft-caskversions,butinbottledversions,aslightincreaseincarbondioxidecontentisacceptable.Theoverallimpressionisrefreshingandthirstquenching.Lowtomoderatefruity-esterflavorsareacceptable.NodiacetylorDMSflavorsshouldbeapparent.Bodyis low to medium-low.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.050(9.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.012 (1.5-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.9%-4.0% (3.7%-5.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-7(6-14EBC)

51. Classic English-Style Pale AleEnglishPaleAlesaregoldtocoppercolored.Chillhazemaybeevidentonlyatverycoldtemperatures.Lowtomediummaltaromaandmoderatetostrongfruity-esteraromaarepresent.Hoparomaismediumtomedium-high.Lowtomediummaltflavorispresent,andlowcaramelcharacterisallowable.Hopflavorismediumtomedium-high.EarthyandherbalEnglish-varietyhopcharacteristheperceivedend,butmaybearesultof theskillfuluseof hopsof othernationalorigins.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Fruity-esterflavorsaremoderatetostrong.Diacetylcanbeabsentormaybeperceivedatverylowlevels.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.056 (10.0-13.8°Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.5%-4.2%(4.4%-5.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-12(10-24EBC)

52. English-Style India Pale AleEnglishIPAsaregoldtocoppercolored.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromasaremoderatetoverystrong.Hoparomaismediumtohigh,oftenflowery.Mediummaltflavorispresent.Hopflavorismediumtostrong(inadditiontothehopbitterness).Hopsfromavarietyof originsmaybeusedtocontributetoahighhoppingrate.EarthyandherbalEnglish-varietyhopcharacteristheperceivedend,butmaybearesultof theskillfuluseof hopsof othernationalorigins.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Fruity-esterflavorsaremoderatetoverystrong.Mosttraditionalinterpretationsarecharacterizedbymediumtomedium-highalcoholcontent.Theuseof waterwithhighmineralcontentresultsinacrisp,drybeer,sometimeswithsubtleandbalancedcharacterof sulfurcompounds.Diacetylcanbeabsentormaybeperceivedatverylowlevels.Bodyismedium.Hopsof otheroriginsmaybeusedforbitternessorapproximatingtraditionalEnglishcharacter.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.046-1.064(11.4-15.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.018 (3.1-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.6%-5.6% (4.5%-7.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 35-63 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28EBC)

53. International-Style Pale AleA. Subcategory: Australian-Style Pale AleAustralianPaleAlesarelightambertolightbrown.Chillorhophazemaybeevident.Hoparomaisoftenreminiscentof tropicalfruitsuchasmango,passionfruitandothertropicalfruitcharacter.Intensitycanbelowtomedium-high.Maltcharacterhasaperceivedlowtomediumcaramel-candysweetness.Hopflavorisalignedwitharoma;tropicalfruitsuchasmango,passion fruit andother tropical fruit character. Intensity canbe low tomedium-high.Hopbitterness is lowtomedium.Fruity-esteraromashouldbeperceived.Diacetylshouldbeverylowif present.DMSaromashouldnotbepresent. Body is low to medium.

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Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.052(10-12.5°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.008 (1-2°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-5.2%(4.2%-6.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-14(6-28EBC)

B. Subcategory: International-Style Pale AleInternational Pale Ales are gold to light brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Recognizing the wide range of distinctivehopflavorsandaromaswhichcharacterizePaleAles fromaroundtheworld,InternationalPaleAleswillbeassessedonthemeritsthattheydonotfitexistingPaleAleguidelines(suchasAmerican,EnglishorAustralian).Lowcaramelmalt aromamay be present.Hop aroma is absent to high and reflective of hop flavor.Very low tomediummaltinessispresent.Lowcaramelmaltflavormaybepresent.Hopflavorisverylowtohigh,andmayreflectawiderangeof charactersevidentinhopvarietiesfromoriginsnototherwiseoutlinedintheseguidelines,forexample,tropicalfruityqualitiestypicalof NewZealandhopvarietiesand/orspicy,woodyorotherqualitiestypicalof Germanhopvarieties,orotherorigins.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Fruity-esterflavorandaromashouldbelowtohigh.Diacetylshouldbeabsentorpresentatverylowlevels.DMSshouldnotbepresent.Bodyislighttomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.040-1.060(10-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.014 (1.5-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-5.2% (4.4%-6.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-42 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-14(10-28EBC)

54. American-Style Pale AleAmerican Pale Ales are deep golden to copper or light brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Hop haze is allowableatany temperature.Lowcaramelmaltaroma isallowable.Fruity-esteraromashouldbemoderate to strong.Hoparoma ismedium tomedium-high,exhibitingfloral, fruity, sulfur/diesel-like, citrus-like,piney resinouscharactersthataretypicalof thoughnotexclusivelyfromAmerican-varietyhops.Lowtomediummaltinessmayincludelowcaramelmaltcharacter.Hopflavorismediumtomedium-high,andisreflectiveof American-varietyhoparomacharacters.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Fruity-esterflavorshouldbemoderatetostrong.Diacetylshouldbeabsentorverylow.Bodyismedium.Notethatthe“traditional”styleof thisbeerhasitsoriginswithcertainfloral,fruity,citrus-like,piney,resinous,orsulfur-likeAmericanhopvarietals.Oneormoreof thesehopcharactersistheperceivedend,buttheperceivedhopcharactersmaybearesultof theskillfuluseof hopsof othernationalorigins.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.050(11.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.014 (2.1-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.3% (4.4%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 30-50 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28EBC)

55. American-Style Strong Pale AleAmerican Strong Pale Ales are deep golden to copper. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Hop haze is allowable atanytemperature.Lowcaramelmaltaromaisallowable.Fruity-esteraromashouldbemoderatetostrong.Hoparomais high, exhibiting floral, fruity, sulfur/diesel-like, citrus-like, piney, resinous characters that are typical of though notexclusivelyfromAmerican-varietyhops.Lowlevelmaltinessmayincludelowcaramelmaltcharacter.Hopflavorishigh,andisreflectiveof American-varietyhoparomacharacters.Hopbitternessishigh.Fruity-esterflavorismoderatetostrong.Diacetylshouldbeabsentorlowif present.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.050-1.065(12.4-15.9°Plato)• Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.4%-5.6% (5.6%-7.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 40-50 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28EBC)

56. American-Style India Pale AleAmerican IPAs are gold to copper or red/light brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures and hop haze is allowable atanytemperature.Fruity-esteraromaismoderatetoveryhigh.Hoparomaishigh,exhibitingfloral,fruity,sulfur/diesel-like,citrus-like,piney,resinouscharactersthataretypicalof thoughnotexclusivelyfromAmerican-varietyhops.Mediummaltiness ispresent.Hopflavor ishigh, and is reflectiveof American-varietyhoparomacharacters.Hopbitterness ismedium-high toveryhigh.Fruity-esterflavorsaremoderate toveryhigh.Diacetyl canbeabsentorvery low.Body ismedium.Theuseof waterwithhighmineralcontentresultsinacrisp,drybeer.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.060-1.075(14.7-18.2°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.018

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(3.1-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0% (6.3%-7.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 50-70 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-15(12-30EBC)

57. Imperial India Pale AleImperial IPAs are gold to light brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures and haze created by dry hopping is allowable atanytemperature.Hoparomaisveryhigh.Hoparomashouldbefreshandevident,fromanyvarietyof hops.Maltcharacterismediumtohigh.Hopflavorisveryhigh,andshouldbefreshandevidentandshouldnotbeharshinquality,derivingfromanyvarietyof hops.Hopbitternessisveryhighbutnotharsh.Alcoholcontentismedium-hightohighandnotablyevident.Fruity-esterflavorishigh.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium-hightofull.Theintentionof thisstyleof beeristoexhibitthefreshandevidentcharacterof hops.Oxidativecharacterandagedcharactershouldnotbepresent.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.075-1.100(18.2-23.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.020 (3.1-5.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)6.0%-8.4%(7.6%-10.6%)•Bitterness (IBU) 65-100 • Color SRM (EBC)5-15(10-30EBC)

58. American-Style Amber/Red AleAmericanAmber/RedAlesarecoppertoreddishbrown.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromaislowif present.Hoparomaismedium.Medium-hightohighmaltinesswithlowtomediumcaramelcharacterispresent.Hopflavorismedium,andcharacterizedbyAmerican-varietyhops.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Theymayhavelowlevelsof fruity-esterflavor.Diacetylcanbeabsentorbarelyperceivedatverylowlevels.Bodyismediumtomedium-high.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.048-1.058(11.9-14.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.018 (3.1-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.8% (4.4%-6.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 30-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 11-18(22-36EBC)

59. Double Red AleDouble Red Ales are deep amber to dark copper/reddish brown. A small amount of chill haze is allowable at coldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromaismedium.Hoparomaishigh,arisingfromanyvarietyof hops.Mediumtomedium-highcaramelmaltcharacterispresent.Lowtomediumbiscuitortoastedcharactersmayalsobepresent.Hopflavorishighandbalancedwithotherbeercharacters.Hopbitternessishightoveryhigh.Alcoholcontentismediumtohigh.Complexalcoholflavorsmaybeevident.Fruity-esterflavorsaremedium.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.058-1.080(14.3-19.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.015-1.024 (3.9-6.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.9%-6.3% (6.1%-7.9%) •Bitterness (IBU) 45-80 • Color SRM (EBC) 10-17(20-34EBC)

60. Imperial Red AleImperialRedAles are deep amber to dark copper/reddish brown.A small amount of chill haze is allowable at coldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraroma ismedium.Hoparoma is intense,arising fromanyvarietyof hops.Mediumtohighcaramelmaltcharacterispresent.Hopflavorisintense,andbalancedwithotherbeercharacters.Theymayuseanyvarietyof hops.Hopbitternessisintense.Alcoholcontentisveryhighandof notablecharacter.Complexalcoholflavorsmaybeevident.Fruity-esterflavorsaremedium.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.080-1.100(19.3-23.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.020-1.028 (5.1-7.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)6.3%-8.4%(8.0%-10.6%)•Bitterness (IBU) 55-85 • Color SRM (EBC)10-17(20-34EBC)

61. English-Style Mild AleA. Subcategory: English-Style Pale Mild AleEnglishPaleMildsarelightambertomediumamber.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromaisverylowtomediumlow.Hoparomaisveryloworlow.Maltflavordominatestheflavorprofile.Hopflavorisverylowtolow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Verylowdiacetylflavorsmaybeappropriateinthislow-alcoholbeer.Fruity-esterflavorisverylowtomediumlow.Bodyislowtolow-medium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.036 (7.6-9.0°Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.008 (1.0-2.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.7%-3.4% (3.4%-4.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-20 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-9(12-18EBC)

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B. Subcategory: English-Style Dark Mild AleEnglishDarkMildsarereddishbrowntoverydark.Fruity-esteraromaisverylowtomediumlow.Maltandcaramelarepartof thearomawhilelicoriceandroastmalttonesmaysometimescontributetoaromaprofile.Hoparomaisverylow.Maltflavorandcaramelarepartof theflavorprofilewhilelicoriceandroastmalttonesmayalsocontribute.Hopflavorisverylow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Verylowdiacetylflavorsmaybeappropriateinthislow-alcoholbeer.Fruity-esterflavorisverylowtomediumlow.Bodyislow-mediumtomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.036 (7.6-9.0°Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.008 (1.0-2.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.7%-3.4% (3.4%-4.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-24 • Color SRM (EBC) 17-34(34-68EBC)

62. Ordinary or Special BitterA. Subcategory: Ordinary BitterOrdinaryBittersaregoldtocoppercolored.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esterandverylowdiacetylaromasareacceptable,butshouldbeminimized.Hoparomamaybeevidentatthebrewer’sdiscretion.Lowtomediumresidualmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavormaybeevidentatthebrewer’sdiscretion.Hopbitternessismedium.Mildcarbonation traditionally characterizes draft-cask versions, but in bottled versions, a slight increase in carbon dioxidecontentisacceptable.Fruity-esterandverylowdiacetylflavorsareacceptable,butshouldbeminimizedinthisformof bitter. Body is light to medium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.033-1.038 (8.3-9.5°Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.012 (1.5-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.4%-3.3% (3.0%-4.2%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-12(10-24EBC)

B. Subcategory: Special or Best BitterSpecialorBestBittersaredeepgold todeepcoppercolored.Chillhaze isallowableatcold temperatures.Fruity-esteraromaisacceptable.Hoparomamaybeverylowtomediumatthebrewer’sdiscretion.Mediumresidualmaltsweetnessispresent.Hopflavormaybeverylowtomediumatbrewer’sdiscretion.Hopbitternessismediumandabsentof harshness.Mildcarbonationtraditionallycharacterizesdraft-caskversions,butinbottledversions,aslightincreaseincarbondioxidecontentisacceptable.Fruity-esterandverylowdiacetylflavorsareacceptable,butshouldbeminimizedinthisformof bitter.Theabsenceof diacetylisalsoacceptable.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.038-1.045(9.5-11.2°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.012 (1.5-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.3%-3.8% (4.2%-4.8%) •Bitterness (IBU) 28-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28EBC)

63. Extra Special BitterA. Subcategory: American-Style Extra Special BitterAmericanESBsareamber todeepcoppercolored.Chillhaze is allowableat cold temperatures.Fruity-esteraroma isacceptable.Hoparomamediumtomedium-high.Theresidualmaltanddefiningsweetnessof thisrichlyflavored,full-bodiedbitterismediumtomedium-high.Hopflavormediumtomedium-high.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Mildcarbonationtraditionallycharacterizesdraft-caskversions,butinbottledversions,aslightincreaseincarbondioxidecontentisacceptable.Theoverallimpressionisrefreshingandthirstquenching.Fruity-esterandverylowdiacetylflavorsareacceptable,butshouldbeminimizedinthis formof bitter.Theabsenceof diacetyl isalsoacceptable.Bodyis full.Americanand/orotherhopvarietiesthatapproximatetheirresultingcharacterareusedinthissubcategory.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.046-1.060(11.4-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.016 (2.6-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.6% (4.8%-5.8%) •Bitterness (IBU) 30-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 8-14(16-28EBC)

B. Subcategory: English-Style Extra Special BitterEnglish ESBs are amber to deep copper colored. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Fruity-ester aroma isacceptable.Hoparomaismediumtomedium-high.Theresidualmaltanddefiningsweetnessof thisrichlyflavored,full-bodiedbitterismediumtomedium-high.Hopflavorismediumtomedium-high.Hopbitternessismediumtomedium-high.Mildcarbonationtraditionallycharacterizesdraft-caskversions,butinbottledversions,aslightincreaseincarbondioxidecontentisacceptable.Theoverallimpressionisrefreshingandthirstquenching.Fruity-esterandverylowdiacetyl

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flavorsareacceptable,butshouldbeminimizedinthisformof bitter.Theabsenceof diacetylisalsoacceptable.Bodyisfull.Englishand/orotherhopvarietiesthatapproximatetheirresultingcharacterareusedinthissubcategory.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.046-1.060(11.4-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.016 (2.6-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.6% (4.8%-5.8%) •Bitterness (IBU) 30-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 8-14(16-28EBC)

64. Scottish-Style AleA. Subcategory: Scottish-Style Light AleScottish Light Ales are golden to light brown. Chill haze is allowable at low temperatures. Malty, caramel-like aroma may be present.Fruity-esteraromasarelowif evident.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Despiteitslightnessalowtomedium-lowdegreeof malty,caramel-like,softandchewycharacterwillbepresent.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislow.Yeastcharacterssuchasdiacetylandsulfurinessareacceptableatverylowlevels.Bottledversionsmaycontainhigheramountsof carbondioxidethanistypicalformildlycarbonateddraftversions.Bodyislight.ThoughthereislittleevidencesuggestingthattraditionallymadeScottishLightAleexhibitedpeatsmokecharacter,thecurrentmarketplaceoffersmanyexampleswithpeatorsmokecharacterpresentatlowtomediumlevels.Thusapeaty/smokycharactermaybeevidentatlowlevels.Aleswithmediumorhighersmokecharacterwouldbeconsideredasmokeflavoredbeerandconsideredinanothercategory.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.030-1.035 (7.6-8.8°Plato) • Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.012 (1.5-3.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.2%-2.8%(2.8%-3.5%)•Bitterness (IBU) 9-20 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-15(12-30EBC)

B. Subcategory: Scottish-Style Heavy AleScottishHeavyAlesareambertodarkbrown.Chillhazeisallowableatlowtemperatures.Malty,caramel-likearomaispresent.Fruity-esteraromasarelowif evident.Hoparomaisnotperceived.ScottishHeavyisdominatedbyasmooth,balancedsweetmaltiness;inadditionitwillhaveamediumdegreeof malty,caramel-like,softandchewycharacterinflavorandmouthfeel.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislowbutperceptible.Yeastcharacterssuchasdiacetylandsulfurinessareacceptableatverylowlevels.Bottledversionsmaycontainhigheramountsof carbondioxidethanistypicalformildlycarbonateddraftversions.Bodyismedium.ThoughthereislittleevidencesuggestingthattraditionallymadeScottishHeavyAleexhibitedpeat smokecharacter, thecurrentmarketplaceoffersmanyexampleswithpeator smokecharacterpresentatlowtomediumlevels.Thusapeaty/smokycharactermaybeevidentatlowlevels.Aleswithmediumorhighersmokecharacterwouldbeconsideredasmokeflavoredbeerandconsideredinanothercategory.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.035-1.040(8.8-10.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.014 (2.6-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.8%-3.2% (3.5%-4.1%) •Bitterness (IBU) 12-20 • Color SRM (EBC) 8-19(16-38EBC)

C. Subcategory: Scottish-Style Export AleScottish Export Ales aremedium amber to dark chestnut brown.Chill haze is allowable at low temperatures.Malty,caramel-likearomadominates.Fruity-esteraromasmaybeapparent.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Theoverridingcharacterof ScottishExportissweet,caramel-like,andmalty.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Fruity-estercharactermaybeapparent.Yeastcharacterssuchasdiacetylandsulfurinessareacceptableatverylowlevels.Bottledversionsmaycontainhigheramountsof carbondioxidethanistypicalformildlycarbonateddraftversions.Bodyismedium.ThoughthereislittleevidencesuggestingthattraditionallymadeScottishExportAleexhibitedpeatsmokecharacter,thecurrentmarketplaceoffersmanyexampleswithpeatorsmokecharacterpresentatlowtomediumlevels.Thusapeaty/smokycharactermaybeevidentatlowlevels.Aleswithmediumorhighersmokecharacterwouldbeconsideredasmokeflavoredbeerandconsideredinanothercategory.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.050(10.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.018 (2.6-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-4.2% (4.1%-5.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 9-19(18-38EBC)

65. Irish-Style Red AleIrish Red Ales are copper red to reddish brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Slight yeast haze is acceptable forbottle-conditionedproducts.Lowfruity-esteraromaisacceptable.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtolow.Lowtomediumcandy-likecaramelmaltsweetnessispresent.Shouldhavesomedegreeof toastmaltcharacter,andmayhavesubtledegree

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of roastbarleyorroastmaltcharacterandcomplexity.Hopflavorismedium.Hopbitternessismedium.Lowlevelsof fruity-esterflavorareacceptable.Diacetylshouldbeabsentoratverylowlevels.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.048(10.0-11.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.014 (2.6-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-3.6% (4.1%-4.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-28 • Color SRM (EBC) 11-18(22-36EBC)

66. English-Style Brown AleEnglishBrownAlesare copper toverydark.Chillhaze is allowableat cold temperatures.Low tomedium-low fruity-esteraromaisappropriate.Roastmalttonesmaysometimescontributeabiscuit/toastedcharactertoaromaprofile.Hoparomaisverylow.Balancerangesfromdrytosweetmaltiness.Roastmalttonesmaysometimescontributetoflavorprofile.Hopflavorisverylow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Lowtomedium-lowlevelsof fruity-esterflavorsareappropriate.Diacetylif evidentshouldbeverylow.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.050(10.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.014 (2.1-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.3%-4.7% (4.2%-6.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-25 • Color SRM (EBC) 12-25(24-50EBC)

67. American-Style Brown AleAmericanBrownAlesaredeepcoppertoverydarkbrown.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromasshould be subdued. Roasted malt caramel-like and chocolate-like aromas should be medium. Hop aroma is low to medium. Roastedmaltcaramel-likeandchocolate-likeflavorsshouldbemedium.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Fruity-esterflavorsshouldbesubdued.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.060(10.0-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.018 (2.6-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.3%-5.0% (4.2%-6.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 25-45 • Color SRM (EBC) 15-26(30-52EBC)

68. American-Style Black AleAmericanBlackAlesareverydarktoblack.Mediumcaramelmaltanddarkroastedmaltaromasareevident.Hoparomaismedium-hightohigh,withfruity,floral,herbalorotherhoparomafromhopsof alloriginscontributing.Mediumcaramelmaltanddarkroastedmaltflavorsareevident.Highastringencyandhighdegreeof burntroastmaltshouldbeabsent.Hopflavorismedium-high,withfruity,floral,herbalorotherhopflavorfromhopsof alloriginscontributing.Hopbitternessismedium-high to high. Body is medium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.056-1.075(13.8-18.2°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.018 (3.1-4.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0% (6.3%-7.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 50-70 • Color SRM (EBC) 35+(70+EBC)

69. German-Style Sour AleA. Subcategory: Berliner-Style WeisseBerlinerWeissesarestrawtopale,thelightestof alltheGermanwheatbeers.Appearancemaybehazyorcloudyfromyeast or chill haze. Fruity-ester aromawill be evident at low tomedium levels.Nodiacetyl shouldbeperceived.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Maltsweetnessisabsent.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisnotexistenttoverylow.Theuniquecombinationof yeastandlacticacidbacteriafermentationyieldsabeerthatisacidicandhighlyattenuated.Fruity-esterflavorswillbeevidentat low tomedium levels.NoBrettanomyces characterordiacetyl shouldbeperceived.Berlinersaresometimesservedwithsweetfruitorherbalsyrups.Bodyisverylow.Carbonationishigh.Forthepurposesof thiscompetition,unfruitedaswellasfruitedandflavoredversionsof thestylewouldallbeappropriatelyenteredinthissubcategory.Forunfruitedorunflavoredversions,brewermaychoosetoprovidenoinformation,ormaychoosetoindicatethatnofruitorflavorhasbeenadded.To allow for accurate judging, brewers entering fruited or flavored entries must list the fruit(s) or other flavor(s) used; such entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.028-1.032 (7.1-8.0°Plato) •Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.006 (1.0-1.5°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.2%-2.7%(2.8%-3.4%)•Bitterness (IBU) 3-6 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-4(4-8EBC)

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B. Subcategory: Leipzig-Style GoseLeipzigGosesarestrawtomediumamber.Appearanceiscloudy/hazywithyeastcharacter,mayhaveevidenceof continuedfermentation activity.Lemonyor other citrus-like aromas are oftenpresent. Someversionsmayhave the spicy aromacharacterof addedcorianderatlowtomediumlevels.Horsey,leatheryorearthyaromascontributedbyBrettanomyces yeasts maybeevidentbuthaveaverylowprofile,asthisbeerisnotexcessivelyaged.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Maltsweetnessisnotperceivedtoverylow.Theytypicallycontainmaltedbarleyandunmaltedwheat,andmaycontainoats.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisnotperceived.Lemonyorothercitrus-likeflavorsareoftenpresent.Someversionsmayhavethespicyflavorcharacterof addedcorianderonthepalateatlowtomediumlevels.Salt(tablesalt)characterisalsotraditionalinlowamounts.Horsey,leatheryorearthyflavorscontributedbyBrettanomycesyeastsmaybeevidentbuthaveavery lowprofile,as thisbeer isnotexcessivelyaged.Body is lowtomedium-low.Traditionalexamplesof Gosewerespontaneously fermented, similarly toBelgian-styleGueuze/Lambicbeers; entries in this subcategory should thereforeexhibitcomplexityof acidic,flavorandaromacontributedbyintroductionof wildyeastandbacteriaintothefermentation.Lowtomediumlacticacidcharacterisevidentinallexamplesassharp,refreshingsourness.AprimarydifferencebetweenBelgianGueuzeandGermanGose is thatGose is servedat amuchyounger age.Gose is typically enjoyed freshandcarbonated.Overallcomplexityof flavorsandaromassoughtwhilemaintainingabalancebetweenacidity,yeast-enhancedspiceandrefreshmentisideal.To allow for accurate judging brewer must provide supplemental information such as grains, salt or coriander if used and/or information about the brewing process. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.056(9.0-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.3% (4.4%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-9(6-18EBC)

C. Subcategory: Contemporary GoseContemporaryGosesarestrawtomediumamber,or,maytakeonthehueof addedfruitsorotheringredientsif present.Appearanceiscloudy/hazywithyeastcharacter,andmayhaveevidenceof continuedfermentationactivity.Awidevarietyof herbal,spice,floralorfruityaromasotherthanfoundintraditionalLeipzig-StyleGosearepresent,inharmonywithotheraromas. Horsey, leathery or earthy aromas contributed by Brettanomycesyeastsmaybeevidentbuthaveaverylowprofile,asthisbeerisnotexcessivelyaged.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Maltsweetnessisnotperceivedtoverylow.Theytypicallycontainmaltedbarleyandunmaltedwheat,withsometraditionalvarietiescontainingoats.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisnotperceived.Awidevarietyof herbal,spice,floralorfruityflavorsotherthanfoundintraditionalLeipzig-StyleGose,arepresentinharmonywiththeoverallflavorprofile.Salt(tablesalt)characterandcorianderaretraditionalinlowamounts,butmayvaryfromabsenttopresentinContemporaryGose.Horsey,leatheryorearthyflavorscontributedbyBrettanomyces yeasts maybeevidentbuthaveaverylowprofile,asthisbeerisnotexcessivelyaged.ContemporaryGosemaybefermentedwithpurebeeryeaststrains,orwithyeastmixedwithbacteria.Bodyislowtomedium-low.ContemporaryGosediffersfromTraditionalGosebytheadditionof fruits,spices,grainsandothernon-traditionalingredients.ContemporaryGosemaybespontaneouslyfermented,similarlytoBelgian-stylegueuze/lambicbeers,suchentriesshouldexhibitcomplexityof acidic,flavorandaromacontributedbyintroductionof wildyeastandbacteriaintothefermentation.Lowtomediumlacticacidcharacterisevidentinallexamplesassharp,refreshingsourness.AprimarydifferencebetweenBelgianGueuzeandGoseisthatGoseisservedatamuchyoungerage.Goseistypicallyenjoyedfreshandcarbonated.Overallcomplexityof flavorsandaromassoughtwhilemaintainingabalancebetweenacidity,yeast-enhancedspiceandrefreshmentisideal.To allow for accurate judging brewer must provide supplemental information such as grains, spices, fruits or any other flavors used and/or information about the brewing process. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.036-1.056(9.0-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.3% (4.4%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-9(6-18EBC)

70. German-Style AltbierGermanAltbiersarecoppertodarkbrownales,originallyfromtheDüsseldorf area.Nochillhazeshouldbeperceived.Avarietyof maltsincludingwheatmaybeusedtoproducemedium-lowtomediummaltaroma.Fruity-esteraromacanbelow.Nodiacetylaromashouldbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Avarietyof maltsincludingwheatmaybeusedtoproducemedium-lowtomediumlevelmaltyflavor.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessismediumtoveryhigh(althoughthe25to35IBUrangeismorenormalforthemajorityof AltbiersfromDüsseldorf).Fruity-esterflavorscanbelow.

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Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Bodyismedium.Theoverallimpressionisclean,crisp,andflavorfuloftenwithadryfinish.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.044-1.052(11.0-12.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.014 (2.1-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.6%-4.4% (4.6%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 25-52 • Color SRM (EBC) 11-19(22-38EBC)

71. South German-Style HefeweizenGermanHefeweizensare straw toamber.Becauseyeast ispresentappearancemayappropriatelybeverycloudy.Thearomaof aGermanHefeweizenisdecidedlyfruityandphenolic.Thephenoliccharacteristicsareoftendescribedasclove-like,nutmeg-like,mildlysmoke-likeorevenvanilla-like.Banana-likeesteraromashouldbepresentatlowtomedium-highlevels.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Maltsweetnessisverylowtomedium-low.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtoverylow.Hopbitternessisverylow.Thesebeersaremadewithatleast50percentmaltedwheat.Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Theflavorof aWeissbierwithyeast isdecidedly fruityandphenolic.Thephenoliccharacteristicsareoftendescribedasclove-like,nutmeg-like,mildlysmoke-likeorevenvanilla-like.Banana-likeesterflavorshouldbepresentatlowtomedium-highlevels.Hefeweizenisveryhighlycarbonated.Bodyismediumtofull.Thesebeersaretypicallyrousedduringpouringandbecauseyeastispresent,thebeerwillhaveyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.047-1.056(11.7-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.9%-4.4% (4.9%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-9(6-18EBC)

72. German-Style Wheat AleA. Subcategory: South German-Style Kristal WeizenGerman Kristal Weizens are straw to amber. Appearance is clear with no chill haze present. Because the beer has been filtered,yeastisnotpresent.ThearomaisverysimilartoHefeweizen;thephenoliccharacteristicsareoftendescribedasclove-likeornutmeg-likeandcanbesmokyorevenvanilla-like.Banana-likeesteraromaisoftenpresent.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Maltsweetnessisverylowtomedium-low.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtoverylow.Hopbitternessisverylow.Thesebeersaremadewithatleast50percentmaltedwheat.Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.TheflavorisverysimilartoHefeweizenwiththecaveatthatfruityandphenoliccharactersarenotcombinedwiththeyeastyflavorandfuller-bodiedmouthfeelof yeast.Thephenoliccharacteristicsareoftendescribedasclove-likeornutmeg-likeandcanbesmokyorevenvanilla-like.Banana-likeesterflavorisoftenpresent.KristalWeizeniswellattenuatedandveryhighlycarbonated.Bodyismediumtofull.Thebeerwillhavenoflavorof yeastandacleaner,driermouthfeelthancounterpartsservedwithyeast.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.047-1.056(11.7-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.9%-4.4% (4.9%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 3-9(6-18EBC)

B. Subcategory: German-Style Leichtes WeizenGermanLeichtesWeizensarestrawtocopper-amber.If servedwithyeastappearancemayappropriatelybeverycloudy.Thephenolicandesteryaromastypicalof WeissbiersaremoresubduedinLeichtesWeizen.Nodiacetylaromashouldbeperceived.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Maltsweetnessisverylowtomedium-low.Hopflavorisnotperceivedto very low.Hopbitterness is very low.Thesebeers aremadewithat least 50percentwheatmalt.Thephenolic andesteryflavorstypicalof WeissbiersaremoresubduedinLeichtesWeizen.TheoverallflavorprofileislesscomplexthanHefeweizenduetodecreasedalcoholcontentandthereislessyeastyflavorpresent.Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Bodyislowwithdiminishedmouthfeelrelativetohefeweizen.TheGermanwordleichtmeanslight,andassuchthesebeersarelightversionsof Hefeweizen.Thesebeersareoftenrousedduringpouring,andwhenyeastispresentthebeerwillhaveyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.028-1.044(7.1-11.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.008 (1.0-2.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 2.0%-2.8% (2.5%-3.5%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 3.5-15(7-30EBC)

C. Subcategory: South German-Style Bernsteinfarbenes WeizenGermanBernsteinfarbenesWeizensareambertolightbrown;theGermanwordbernsteinfarbenmeansambercolored.If servedwithyeastappearancemayappropriatelybeverycloudy.Thephenolicandesteryaromastypicalof WeissbiersaremoresubduedinBernsteinfarbenesWeissbier.Nodiacetylaromashouldbeperceived.Hoparomaisnotperceived.

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Distinctsweetmaltinessandcaramelorbreadycharacterfromtheuseof mediumcoloredmaltscharacterizethisbeerstyle.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislow.Thesebeersaremadewithatleast50percentmaltedwheat.Thephenolicandesteryflavorsof thisWeissbiershouldbeevidentbutsubdued.BernsteinfarbenesWeissbiershouldbewellattenuatedandveryhighlycarbonated.Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Bodyismediumtofull.Thesebeersaretypicallyrousedduringpouringandbecauseyeastispresent,thebeerwillhaveyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.048-1.056(11.9-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.3% (4.8%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 9-13(18-26EBC)

D. Subcategory: South German-Style Dunkel WeizenGermanDunkelWeizens are copper-brown to very dark. If servedwith yeast appearancemay appropriately be verycloudy.Thephenolicandesteryaromastypicalof WeissbiersaremoresubduedinDunkelWeissbier.Nodiacetylaromashouldbeperceived.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Distinctsweetmaltinessandachocolate-likecharacterfromroastedmaltcharacterizethisbeerstyle.Usuallydarkbarleymaltsareusedinconjunctionwithdarkcaraorcolormalts.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislow.Thesebeersaremadewithatleast50percentmaltedwheat.Thephenolicandesteryflavorsof DunkelWeissbiershouldbeevidentbutsubdued.DunkelWeissbiershouldbewellattenuatedandveryhighlycarbonated.Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Bodyismediumtofull.Thesebeersaretypicallyrousedduringpouringandbecauseyeastispresent,thebeerwillhaveyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.048-1.056(11.9-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.3% (4.8%-5.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-15 • Color SRM (EBC)10-25(20-50EBC)

E. Subcategory: South German-Style WeizenbockGermanWeizenbocksaregoldtoverydark.If servedwithyeastappearancemayappropriatelybeverycloudy.Balancedclove-likephenolicandfruity-esterbananaelementsproduceawell-roundedaroma.If dark,amildroastmaltcharactershouldemergetoalesserdegreeinthearoma.Nodiacetylaromashouldbeperceived.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Mediummaltysweetnessispresent.If dark,amildroastmaltflavorshouldemerge.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislow.Balancedclove-likephenolicandfruity-esterbanana-likeelementsproduceawell-roundedflavor.Carbonationishigh.Nodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Bodyismediumtofull.Thesebeersaretypicallyrousedduringpouringandbecauseyeastispresent,thebeerwillhaveyeastflavorandacharacteristicallyfullermouthfeel.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.066-1.080(16.1-19.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.016-1.028 (4.1-7.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.5%-7.5% (7.0%-9.5%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 4.5-30(9-60EBC)

73. Belgian-Style Blonde Ale or Pale AleA. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Pale AleBelgian Pale Ales are gold to copper. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Malt aroma is low. Low to medium fruity-esteraromasareevident.Yeast-derivedphenolicspicinessmaybeperceived.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowbutnoticeable;noble-typehopsarecommonlyused.Maltaromaislow.Caramelortoastedmaltflavorisacceptable.Hopflavorislowbutnoticeable.Hopbitternessislowbutnoticeable.Lowtomediumfruity-esterflavorsareevident.Lowlevelsof yeast-derivedphenolicspicyflavorsmaybeperceived.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyis light to medium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.054(11.0-13.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.014 (2.1-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-5.0% (4.1%-6.3%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC)6-12(12-24EBC)

B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Blonde AleBelgian Blonde Ales are pale to light amber. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Malt aroma is low. Low to medium fruity-esteraromasbalancedwithlightmaltandspicearomasmaybepresent.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtolow;noble-typehopsarecommonlyused.Maltflavorislow.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtolow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Overallimpressionisabeerorchestratedwithbalancedlightsweet,spicedandlowtomediumfruity-esterflavors.Lowyeast-derivedphenolicspicinessmaybeperceived.Diacetylandacidiccharactershouldnotbeperceived.Bodyislighttomedium.

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Original Gravity (°Plato)1.054-1.068(13.3-16.6°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.014 (2.1-3.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.2% (6.3%-7.9%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-7(8-14EBC)

74. Belgian-Style WitbierBelgianWitsarestrawtopale.Unfilteredstarchandyeasthazeshouldbepartof theappearance.Witsaretraditionallybottleconditionedandservedcloudy.Corianderandlightorangepeelaromashouldbeperceivedassuchorasanunidentifiedspiciness.Low tomedium fruity-esteraromasarepresent.Diacetyl aroma shouldnotbeperceived.Hoparoma isnotperceived.Maltcharacterisverylowtolow.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtolow.Hopbitternessislow,achievedtraditionallybytheuseof noble-typehops.Witsarespicedwithcorianderandorangepeel.Mildphenolicspicinessandyeastflavorsmaybeevident.Lowtomediumfruity-esterflavorsarepresent.Mildacidityisappropriate.Nodiacetylflavorshouldbeperceived.Witsarebrewedusingunmaltedwheat,sometimesoatsandmaltedbarley.Bodyislowtomedium,withadegreeof creaminessfromwheatstarch.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.050(11.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.010 (1.5-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-4.4% (4.8%-5.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 10-17 • Color SRM (EBC) 2-4(4-8EBC)

75. SaisonSaisonsarepaletolightbrown.Chillorslightyeasthazeisacceptable.Theremaybequiteavarietyof characterswithinthesebeers.Maltaromaislowtomedium-low.Fruity-esteraromasaremediumtohigh.Earthy,cellar-likeand/ormustyaromasareokay.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Maltflavorislowbutprovidesfoundationfortheoverallbalance.Hopflavor is lowtomedium.Hopbitterness ismediumtomedium-high.Complexalcohols, herbs, spices, low Brettanomycescharacterandevencloveandsmoke-likephenolicsmayormaynotbeevidentin theoverallbalancedbeer.Herband/orspiceflavors, includingblackpepper-likenotes,mayormaynotbeevident.Fruitiness from fermentation isgenerally incharacter.Abalanced smallamountof souroracidicflavors isacceptablewheninbalancewithothercomponents.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisgenerallylighttomedium.Therangeof historicandcontemporarytraditionsof Saisonbeersincludeaverywidefamilyof specialtybeers.Thesebeersareoftenbottleconditionedwithsomeyeastcharacterandhighcarbonation.SaisonmayhaveBrettanomyces characters thatareslightlyacidic,fruity,horsey,goatyand/orleather-like.Specialtyingredientsotherthanfruitsuchasspices,herbs,flowers, vegetables, fermentable sugars and carbohydrates, special yeasts of all types,wood aging, etc.may contributeuniquesignaturecharacter.Color,body,maltcharacter,esters,alcohollevelandhopcharactershouldbeinharmonywiththegeneralstyledescription.Forpurposesof thiscompetition,anyfruitedsaisonshouldbeenteredasBelgianFruitBeer.Forthepurposesof thiscompetition,anyunfruitedsaison,eitherwithoutorwithspecialingredientsorprocessing(spices,herbs,flowers,vegetables, fermentablesugarsandcarbohydrates,specialyeastsof all types,woodaging,etc.)wouldbeappropriately entered in this category. To allow for accurate judging, brewers must provide supplemental information about the entry. For entries without special ingredients or processing, brewer may choose to provide no information, or may choose to indicate that no special ingredients were added, at their discretion. Entries which exhibit special ingredient or processing characters must be accompanied by a description of the ingredient(s) and/or processing used; such entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.080(10.0-19.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.014 (2.5-3.5 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-6.6% (4.4%-8.4%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 4-14(8-28EBC)

76. Belgian- and French-Style AleA. Subcategory: French-Style Bière de GardeBièresdeGardearelightambertochestnutbrown/red.Chillhazeisacceptable.Thesebeersareoftenbottleconditionedsoslightyeasthazeisacceptable.Thesebeersarecharacterizedbyatoastedmaltaroma.Fruity-esteraromascanbelighttomediuminintensity.BièredeGardemayhaveBrettanomycesyeast-derivedaromasthatareslightlyacidic,fruity,horsey,goatyand/orleather-like.Earthy,cellar-like,corkyand/ormustyaromasareacceptable.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium,fromnoble-typehops.Thesebeersarecharacterizedbyslightmaltsweetnessand/ortoastedmaltinflavor.Hopflavorislowtomedium,fromnoble-typehops.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.BièredeGardemayhaveBrettanomycesyeast-derivedflavorsthatareslightlyacidic,fruity,horsey,goatyand/orleather-like.Flavorof alcoholisevident.Fruity-esterflavorscanbelighttomediuminintensity.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Body

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islighttomedium.Fruitedversionsof BièredeGardeshouldbeenteredasBelgianFruitBeer.Duringregistrationbrewersmayspecifypouringinstructions,choosingnormalpouring,quietpouringorintentionalrousingof yeast.Entrieswillbepresentedduringjudgingasspecifiedbyenteringbrewer.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.060-1.080(14.7-19.3°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.024 (3.1-6.1°Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.5%-6.3% (4.4%-8.0%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC) 7-16(14-32EBC)

B. Other Belgian- and French-Style AleOtherBelgianandFrenchAlesareawiderangeof colorandappearance.Recognizingtheuniqueness,potentialvarietyandtraditionsof severalotherstylesof Belgian-andFrench-StyleAleandbeersbasedonthem,thebeersenteredinthissubcategorydonotfitotherexistingcompetitionstyleguidelines.Forpurposesof thiscompetition,allfruitedversionsof thesebeersshouldbeenteredasBelgianFruitBeer.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry, including a classic base beer style being elaborated upon, the historical or regional tradition of the style, the brewer’s interpretation of the style, and/or any special ingredients or processing used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato) Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

77. Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour AleA. Subcategory: Belgian-Style LambicBelgian Lambics are gold to medium-amber. Cloudiness is acceptable. Characteristic horsey, goaty, leathery and phenolic aromasevolved fromBrettanomycesyeastareoftenpresentatmoderate levels.Hightoveryhigh fruity-esteraromasarepresent.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow,andcanincludecheesyorflorallavender-likecharacter.Hopcharacterisachievedbyusingstaleandagedhopsatlowrates.Lambicsarebrewedwithunmaltedwheatandmaltedbarley.Sweetmaltcharactersarenotperceived.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtoverylow.Hopbitternessisverylow.TraditionallyLambicsareunblended,naturallyandspontaneouslyfermented,withhightoveryhighlevelsof fruityesters,bacterialandyeastderivedsourness, that sometimesbutnotnecessarily includesaceticflavors.Characteristichorsey,goaty, leatheryandphenolicflavorsevolvedfromBrettanomycesyeastareoftenpresentatmoderatelevels.Somemodernversionsarefermentedwiththeadditionof culturedyeastandbacteria.Carbonationcanrangefromverylowtohigh.Vanillinandotherwood-derivedflavorsshouldnotbeevident.Bodyisverylowwithdrymouthfeel.LambicsoriginatingintheBrusselsareaareoftensimplycalledlambic.Versionsof thisbeerstylemadeoutsideof theBrusselsareaof Belgiumcannotbecalledtruelambics.Theseversionsaresaidtobe“Belgian-StyleLambic”andmaybemadetoresemblemanyof thebeersof trueorigin.Historically,traditionallambicisdryandcompletelyattenuated,exhibitingnoresidualsweetnesseitherfrommalt,sugarorartificialsweeteners.Sweetversionsmaybecreatedthroughadditionof sugarsorartificialsweeteners.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.047-1.056(11.7-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.000-1.010 (0.0-2.6 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.5% (6.3%-8.2%) •Bitterness (IBU) 9-23 • Color SRM (EBC) 6-13(12-26EBC)

B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Gueuze LambicBelgian Gueuze Lambics are gold to medium-amber. Cloudiness is acceptable, as Gueuze is always refermented inthebottle.Gueuze is characterizedby intense fruity-estery, sour,andacidicaromas.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Characteristichorsey,goaty,leatheryandphenolicaromasevolvedfromBrettanomycesyeastareoftenpresentatmoderatelevels.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow,andcanincludecheesyorflorallavender-likecharacter.Gueuzeisbrewedwithunmaltedwheat,maltedbarley,and stale,agedhops.Sweetmalt charactersarenotperceived.Hopflavor isnotperceived.Hopbitternessisverylow.Oldlambicisblendedwithnewlyfermentingyounglambictocreatethisspecialstyleof lambic.Theseunflavoredblendedandsecondaryfermentedlambicbeersmaybeverydryormildlysweetandarecharacterizedbyintensefruity-estery,sour,andacidicflavors.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Characteristichorsey,goaty,leatheryandphenolicflavorsevolvedfromBrettanomycesyeastareoftenpresentatmoderatelevels.Vanillinandotherwood-derivedflavorsshouldnotbeevident.Bodyisverylowwithdrymouthfeel.GueuzeLambicswhoseoriginistheBrusselsareaareoftensimplycalledgueuzelambic.Versionsof thisbeerstylemadeoutsideof theBrusselsareaof Belgiumaresaidtobe“Belgian-StyleGueuzeLambics.”TheBelgian-styleversionsaremadetoresemblemanyof thebeersof trueorigin. Historically, traditional gueuze lambics are dry and completely attenuated, exhibiting no residual sweetness either

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frommalt,sugarorartificialsweeteners.Somemodernversionsmayhaveadegreeof sweetness,contributedbysugarsorartificialsweeteners.SeealsoBelgian-StyleLambicforadditionalbackgroundinformation.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.056(11.0-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.000-1.010 (0.0-2.6°Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.5%-7.0% (7.0%-8.9%) •Bitterness (IBU) 11-23 • Color SRM (EBC)6-13(12-26EBC)

C. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Fruit LambicBelgianFruitLambicsarehuedwithcolorreflectingthechoiceof fruit.Cloudinessisacceptable.Thesebeers,alsoknownbythenamesframboise,kriek,peche,cassis,etc.,arecharacterizedbyfruitaromas.Characteristichorsey,goaty,leatheryandphenolicaromasevolvedfromBrettanomycesyeastareoftenpresentatmoderatelevels.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Maltsweetnessisabsent,butsweetnessof fruitmaybelowtohigh.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisverylow.Fruitlambicsarecharacterizedbyfruitflavors.Sournessisanimportantpartof theflavorprofile,thoughsweetnessmaycompromisetheintensity.Theseflavoredlambicbeersmaybeverydryormildlysweet.Characteristichorsey,goaty,leathery andphenolic flavors evolved fromBrettanomyces yeast are oftenpresent atmoderate levels.Vanillin andotherwoodyflavorsshouldnotbeevident.Bodyisdrytofull.FruitLambicswhoseoriginistheBrusselsareaareoftensimplycalled fruit lambic.Versions of this beer stylemadeoutsideof theBrussels areaof Belgiumare said tobe “Belgian-StyleFruitLambics.”TheBelgian-style versions aremade to resemblemanyof thebeersof trueorigin.Historically,traditionallambicsaredryandcompletelyattenuated,exhibitingnoresidualsweetnesseitherfrommalt,sugar,fruitorartificialsweeteners.Someversionsoftenhaveadegreeof sweetness,contributedbyfruitsugars,othersugarsorartificialsweeteners.SeealsoBelgian-StyleLambicforadditionalbackgroundinformation.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must list the fruit(s) used in the beer. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.072(10.0-17.5°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1°Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume)4.5%-7.0% (5.7%-8.9%) •Bitterness (IBU) 15-21 • Color SRM (EBC) Colortakesonhueof fruit(Colortakesonhueof fruitEBC)

D. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin or Oud Red AleBelgianFlandersOudBruinsorRedsarecoppertoverydark.SRM/EBCcolorvaluescanbemisleadingbecausetheredspectrumof colorisnotaccuratelyassessedusingtheseprocedures.Chillhazeisacceptableatlowservingtemperatures.Someversionsmaybemorehighlycarbonatedand,whenbottleconditioned,mayappearcloudywhenserved.Roastedmaltaromasincludingacocoa-likecharacterareacceptableatlowlevels.producedaromasmaybecompletelyabsentorverylow.Fruity-esteraromawhichisoftencherry-likeisapparent.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Roastedmaltflavorsincludingacocoa-likecharacterareacceptableatlowlevels.Averylowdegreeof maltsweetnessmaybepresentandinbalancewiththeacidityproducedbyLactobacillusactivity.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisperceivedtobeverylowtomedium-low,thoughacidityandwoodaging(if used)maymaskhigherbitternessunitlevels.Overallbalanceischaracterizedbyslighttostronglacticsourness,andwith“Reds”sometimesabalanceddegreeof aceticacid.Brettanomyces producedflavorsmaybeabsentorverylow.Fruity-esterflavorwhichisoftencherry-likeisapparent.Bodyisdescribedasarefreshingmouthfeel.Oak-likeorwoodycharactersmaybepleasantlyintegratedintooverallpalate.Residualwineordistilledspiritsflavorsassociatedwithusedbarrelsshouldnotbeevident.Bottleconditionedversionsareoftenblendedoldwithnewbeforepackaginginordertocreatethebrewer’sintendedbalanceof characters.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.044-1.056(11.0-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.8%-5.2% (4.8%-6.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 5-18 • Color SRM (EBC) 12-25(24-50EBC)

E. Subcategory: Other Belgian-Style Sour AleOtherBelgianSoursareawiderangeof colorandappearance.Recognizingtheuniqueness,varietyandtraditionsof beersbasedonBelgian-stylesourale,beersenteredinthissubcategorydonotfitotherexistingcompetitionstyleguidelines.Entries in this subcategorywillmost closely approximate, butmight deviate from,Lambic, Fruit Lambic,Gueuze orOudBruinsubcategories,anddonotfitanyof theothernon-Belgian-Stylesourbeercategoriesinthiscompetition.Forexample,entries thatexhibitdistinctcharacters resulting fromwood-agingmightbemoreappropriatelyconsideredasWood- andBarrel-AgedSourBeers.Entries that represent significantdepartures fromanyof theotherBelgian-StyleLambic or Sour Ale subcategories might be more appropriately considered as American-Style Sour Ales. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry, including the historical or regional tradition of the style, the brewer’s

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interpretation of the style, and/or special ingredients or processes that make the entry unique. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

78. Belgian-Style Dubbel or QuadrupleA. Subcategory: Belgian-Style DubbelBelgianDubbelsarebrowntoverydark.Chillhazeisacceptableatlowservingtemperatures.Slightyeasthazeisoftenevidentwhenbottleconditioned.Headretentionisdenseandmousse-like.Chocolate-likecaramelaromaispresent.Fruity-esteraromas(especiallybanana)areappropriateatlowlevels.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomaislowif present.Maltysweetnessandchocolate-likecharacterispresent.Hopflavorislowif present.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomedium.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Fruity-esterflavors(especiallybanana)areappropriateatlowlevels.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.060-1.075(14.7-18.2°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.016 (3.1-4.1°Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.0%-6.0% (6.3%-7.6%) •Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC)16-36(32-72EBC)

B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style QuadrupelBelgianQuadrupelsareambertodarkbrown.Chillhazeisacceptableatlowservingtemperatures.Amousse-likedense,sometimesamberheadwilltopoffaproperlypouredandservedquad.Complexfruityaromasreminiscentof raisins,dates,figs,grapesand/orplumsemerge,oftenaccompaniedwithahintof winycharacter.Hoparomanotperceivedtoverylow.Caramel,darksugarandmaltysweetflavorsandaromascanbeintense,notcloying,whilecomplementingfruitiness.Hopflavornotperceivedtoverylow.Hopbitternessislowtolow-medium.Perceptionof alcoholcanbeextreme.Complexfruity flavors reminiscent of raisins, dates, figs, grapes and/or plums emerge, often accompaniedwith a hint of winycharacter.Perceptionof alcoholcanbeextreme.Clove-likephenolicflavorandaromashouldnotbeevident.DiacetylandDMSshouldnotbeperceived.Bodyisfullwithcreamymouthfeel.Quadrupelsarewellattenuatedandarecharacterizedbytheimmensepresenceof alcoholandbalancedflavor,bitternessandaromas.Theyarewellbalancedwithsavoring/sippingdrinkability.Oxidativecharacterif evidentinagedexamplesshouldbemildandpleasant.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.084-1.120(20.2-28.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.014-1.020 (3.6-5.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)7.2%-11.2%(9.1%-14.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 25-50 • Color SRM (EBC)8-20(16-40EBC)

79. Belgian-Style TripelBelgianTripelsarepaletolight-amber.Chillhazeisacceptableatlowservingtemperatures.Traditionaltripelsarebottleconditioned and may exhibit slight yeast haze, but the yeast should not be intentionally roused. Head retention is dense and mousse-like.Acomplex,sometimesmildspicyaromacharacterizesthisstyle.Clove-likephenolicaromamaybeverylow.Fruity-esteraromasincludingbananaarealsocommonbutnotnecessary.Hoparomaislowif present.Lowsweetnessfromverypalemaltsispresent.Characterfromroastedoranydarkmaltsshouldnotbepresent.Hopflavorislowif present.Hopbitterness ismediumtomedium-high.Complexsometimesmildspicyflavorcharacterizesthisstyle.Clove-likephenolicflavormaybeevidentatverylowlevels.Fruity-esterflavorsincludingbananaarealsocommonbutnotnecessary.TraditionalTripelsareoftenwellattenuated.Bodyismedium.Brewingsugarmaybeusedtolightentheperceptionof body.Alcoholstrengthandflavorshouldbeperceivedasevident.Hop/maltbalanceisequalizing.Theoverallbeerflavormayfinishsweet,thoughanysweetfinishshouldbelight.Oxidativecharacterif evidentinagedtripelsshouldbemildandpleasant.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.070-1.092(17.1-22.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.018 (2.1-4.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.6%-8.0%(7.1%-10.1%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-45 • Color SRM (EBC)4-7(8-14EBC)

80. Belgian-Style Strong Specialty AleA. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Pale Strong AleBelgian Pale Strong Ales are pale to copper. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Hop aroma is medium-low to medium-high.Maltcharacterintensityshouldbelowtomedium,oftensurvivingalongwithacomplexfruitiness.Hopflavorismedium-lowtomedium-high.Hopbitternessismedium-lowtomedium-high.ThesebeersareoftenbrewedwithlightcoloredBelgian“candy”sugar.Verylittleornodiacetylshouldbeperceived.Herbsandspicesaresometimesused

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todelicatelyflavorthesestrongales.Lowlevelsof yeast-derivedphenolicspicinessmayalsobeperceived.Bodyisverylowtomedium.Thesebeerscanbemaltyinoverallimpressionordryandhighlyattenuated.Theycanhaveaperceptivelydeceivinghighalcoholiccharacter.Theycanhaverelativelylightbodyforbeersof thisalcoholicstrength.Someversionsmaybeequallyhighinalcoholyetmoremediuminbody.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.064-1.096(15.7-22.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.024 (2.0-6.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.6%-8.8%(7.1%-11.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-50 • Color SRM (EBC)3.5-10(7-20EBC)

B. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Dark Strong AleBelgianDarkStrongAlesaremedium-ambertoverydark.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Mediumtohighmaltaromaandcomplexfruityaromasaredistinctive.Verylittleornodiacetylaromashouldbeperceived.Hoparomaislowtomedium.Mediumtohighmaltintensitycanberich,creamy,andsweet.Fruitycomplexityalongwithsoftroastedmaltflavoraddsdistinctcharacter.Hopflavorislowtomedium.Hopbitternessislowtomedium.Thesebeersareoften,thoughnotalways,brewedwithdarkBelgian“candy”sugar.Verylittleornodiacetylflavorshouldbeperceived.Herbsandspicesaresometimesusedtodelicatelyflavorthesestrongales.Lowlevelsof phenolicspicinessfromyeastbyproductsmayalsobeperceived.Body ismedium to full.Thesebeers canbewell attenuated,withanalcoholstrengthwhichisoftendeceivingtothesenses.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.064-1.096(15.7-22.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.024 (3.1-6.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.6%-8.8%(7.1%-11.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-50 • Color SRM (EBC)9-35(18-70EBC)

81. Other Belgian-Style AleA. Subcategory: Other Belgian-Style AleOtherBelgianAlesareof varyingcolor.Hoparomaisawiderangedependingonstyle.Maltperceptionmayalsovarywidelydependingonstyle.Hopflavorisawiderangedependingonstyle.Hopbitternessisawiderangedependingonstyle.Recognizingtheuniquenessandtraditionsof severalotherstylesof BelgianAles,thebeersenteredinthiscategorywillbeassessedonthemeritsthattheydonotfitexistingstyleguidelines,andinformationthatthebrewerprovidesexplainingthehistoryandtraditionof thestyle.Balanceof characterisakeycomponentwhenassessingthesebeers.Bodyisvariablewithstyle. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry, including a classic Belgian Ale style being elaborated upon, the historical or regional tradition of the style, the resulting beer based on the brewer’s interpretation of the style, and/or any special ingredients or processing used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC)Varieswithstyle

B. Subcategory: Other Belgian-Style Strong Specialty AleOtherBelgianStrongsareawiderangeof colorandappearance.Hoparomaisawiderangedependingonstyle,asishopflavorandperceivedbitterness.Maltperceptionmayalsovarywidelydependingonstyle.Maltperceptionmayalsovarywidelydependingonstyle.Bodyisvariablewithstyle.Recognizingtheuniqueness,varietyandtraditionsof beersbasedonBelgian-stylestrongspecialtyale,beersenteredinthissubcategorydonotfitexistingcompetitionstyleguidelinesforBelgian-StylePaleorDarkStrongAlecategoriesaboveorotherhybridAmericanandBelgianstylesinthiscompetition.Somebarrelorwood-agedversionswhichdonotprimarilypresentaswood-agedentries,orotherstrongBelgian-styleorBelgianinspiredalesthatdefycategorization,wouldbeappropriatelyenteredinthiscategory.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry, including a classic Belgian Strong Ale style being elaborated upon, the historical or regional tradition of the style, the resulting beer based on the brewer’s interpretation of the style, and/or any special ingredients or processing used. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle• Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato)Varieswithstyle•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)Varieswithstyle•Bitterness (IBU)Varieswithstyle•Color SRM (EBC) Varieswithstyle

C. Subcategory: Belgian-Style Table BeerBelgianTableBeersaregoldtoblack,withcaramelcolorsometimesaddedtoadjustcolor.Spices(suchasorangeandlemonpeel,aswellascoriander)maybeaddedforbarelyperceptiblearoma,butthisisnotcommon.Diacetylaromashouldnotbeperceived.Hoparomanotperceivedtoverylow.Mildmaltcharactercouldbeevident.Thesebeersmaycontainmalted

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barley,wheatandrye,aswellasunmaltedwheat,rye,oatsandcorn.Hopflavorisverylowtolow.Hopbitternessisverylowtolow.Spices(suchasorangeandlemonpeel,aswellascoriander)maybeaddedinamountsbarelyperceptibleforflavor,butthisisnotcommon.Diacetylflavorshouldnotbeperceived.Traditionalversionsdonotuseartificialsweetenersnoraretheyexcessivelysweet.Moremodernversionsof thisbeercanincorporatesweetenerssuchassugarandsaccharineaddedpost fermentation to sweeten thepalate andadd toperceptionof smoothness.Body is lightwith relatively lowcarbonationandaftertaste.Themouthfeelislighttomoderate,thoughhigherthanonemightanticipate,usuallybecauseof unfermentedsugars/maltsugars.To allow for accurate judging the brewer must provide additional information about the entry, including a classic Belgian beer style being elaborated upon (if appropriate), any special ingredients or processing used and/or the resulting beer. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.008-1.038(2.1-9.5°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.004-1.034 (1.0-8.5 °Plato) •Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 0.4%-2.8% (0.5%-3.5%) •Bitterness (IBU) 5-15 • Color SRM (EBC) 5-50(10-100EBC)

82. Brown PorterBrownPortersaredarkbrown(mayhaveredtint)toverydark.Fruity-esteraromaisacceptable.Hoparomaisnegligibletomedium.No strong roast barley or strongburnt/blackmalt character should be perceived.Low tomediummaltsweetness,caramelandchocolateisacceptable.Hopflavorisnegligibletomedium.Hopbitternessismedium.Fruity-esterflavorsareacceptable.Bodyislighttomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.040-1.050(10.0-12.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.006-1.014 (1.5-3.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.7%(4.4%-6.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-30 • Color SRM (EBC)20-35(40-70EBC)

83. Robust PorterRobustPortersareverydarktoblack.Hoparomaisverylowtomedium.Theyhavearoastmaltflavor,oftenreminiscentof cocoa,butnoroastbarleyflavor.Caramelandothermaltysweetnessisinharmonywithasharpbitternessof blackmaltwithoutahighlyburnt/charcoalflavor.Hopflavorisverylowtomedium.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceived.Fruityestersshouldbeevident,balancedwithallothercharacters.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.045-1.060(11.2-14.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.016 (2.1-4.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)4.0%-5.2%(5.1%-6.6%)•Bitterness (IBU) 25-40 • Color SRM (EBC)30+(60+EBC)

84. Classic Irish-Style Dry StoutIrishDryStoutsareblack.Headretentionandrichcharactershouldbepartof itsvisualcharacter.Theemphasisof coffee-likeroastedbarleyandamoderatedegreeof roastedmaltaromasdefinemuchof thecharacter.HoparomaisEuropeantypeatlowlevelsornotperceived.Drystoutsachieveadry-roastedcharacterthroughtheuseof roastedbarley.Initialmaltandlightcaramelflavorprofilegivewaytoadistinctivedry-roastedbitternessinthefinish.Emphasisof coffee-likeroastedbarleyandamoderatedegreeof roastedmaltflavorsdefinemuchof thecharacter.HopflavorisEuropeantypeatlowlevelsornotperceived.Hopbitternessisperceivedasmediumtomediumhigh.Fruityestersareminimalandovershadowedbymalt,highhopbitternessandroastedbarleycharacter.Diacetylshouldnotbeperceivedtoverylow.Slightaciditymaybeperceivedbutnotnecessary.Bodyismedium-lighttomedium.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.038-1.048(9.5-11.9°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.012 (2.1-3.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.2%-4.2%(4.1%-5.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 30-40 • Color SRM (EBC)40+(80+EBC)

85. Export StoutExportStoutsareblack.Headretentionisexcellent.Coffee-likeroastedbarleyandroastedmaltaromasareprominent.Fruity-esteraromaislow.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Initialmaltandlightcaramelflavorprofilegivewaytoadistinctivedry-roastedbitternessinthefinish.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessisoftenanalyticallyhigh,buttheperceptionis often compromisedbymalt sweetness.Perceptionof fruity-ester flavor is low.Diacetyl shouldbenegligible ornotperceived.Slightacidityisacceptable.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.052-1.072(12.9-17.5°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.020

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(2.1-5.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)4.5%-7.5%(5.7%-9.5%)•Bitterness (IBU) 30-60 • Color SRM (EBC) 40+(80+EBC)

86. American-Style StoutAmericanStoutsareblack.Headretentionisexcellent.Fruity-esteraromaislow.Coffee-likeroastedbarleyandroastedmaltaromasareprominent.Hoparomaismediumtohigh,oftenwithAmericancitrus-typeand/orresinyhoparomas.Lowtomediummaltsweetnesswithlowtomediumcaramel,chocolate,and/orroastedcoffeeflavorispresent,withadistinctivedry-roastedbitternessinthefinish.Roastedbarleyandroastedmaltcontributiontoastringencyislowandnotexcessive.Slightroastedmaltacidityispermissible.Hopflavorismediumtohigh,oftenwithAmericancitrus-typeand/orresinyhopflavors.Hopbitternessismediumtohigh.Fruity-esterflavorislow.Diacetylshouldbenegligibleornotperceived.Bodyisperceivedasamediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.050-1.075(12.4-18.2°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.010-1.022 (2.6-5.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)4.5%-7.0%(5.7%-8.9%)•Bitterness (IBU) 35-60 • Color SRM (EBC)40+(80+EBC)

87. Sweet Stout or Cream StoutSweetorCreamStoutsareblack.Maltsweetness,chocolate,andcaramelshouldcontributetothearoma;roastcharactermaybeperceived.Fruity-esteraromaislowif present.Hoparomaisnotperceived.Maltsweetness,chocolate,andcaramelflavorshoulddominatetheflavorprofile;roastflavormaybeperceived.Theyshouldalsohavelowtomedium-lowroastedmalt/barleyderivedbitterness.Hopflavorisnotperceived.Hopbitternessislowtomediumlowandservetobalanceandsuppresssomeof thesweetnesswithoutcontributingapparentflavorandaroma.Fruity-esterflavorsarelowif present.Bodyisfullwithanoverallsweetimpression;thestylecanbegivenmorebodywithmilksugar(lactose)beforebottling.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.045-1.056(11.2-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.012-1.020 (3.1-5.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)2.5%-5.0%(3.2%-6.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 15-25 • Color SRM (EBC)40+(80+EBC)

88. Oatmeal StoutOatmealStoutsaredarkbrowntoblack.Coffee-likeroastedbarleyandroastedmaltaromasareprominent.Caramel-likeandchocolate-likeroastedmaltaromashouldbeevident.Fruity-esteraromaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Hoparomaisoptional,butshouldnotoverpowertheoverallbalanceif present.Aroastedmaltcharacterwhichiscaramel-likeandchocolate-like shouldbeevident, smoothandnotbitter.Hopflavor isoptional,but shouldnotoverpower theoverallbalanceif present.Hopbitternessismedium.Oatmealisusedinthegrist,resultinginapleasant,fullflavorwithoutbeinggrainy.Fruity-esterflavorisverylow.Diacetylshouldbeabsentoratextremelylowlevels.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.038-1.056(9.5-13.8°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.008-1.020 (2.1-5.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)3.0%-4.8%(3.8%-6.1%)•Bitterness (IBU) 20-40 • Color SRM (EBC) 20+(40+EBC)

89. Imperial StoutA. Subcategory: American-Style Imperial StoutAmericanImperialStoutsareblack.Extremelyrichmaltyaromaistypical.Fruity-esteraromaisgenerallyhigh.Diacetylaromashouldbeabsent.Hoparomaismedium-hightohighwithfloral,citrusand/orherbalhoparomas.Extremelyrichmaltyflavorwith full sweetmaltcharacter is typical.Roastedmaltastringencyandbitternesscanbemoderatelyperceivedbutshouldnotoverwhelmtheoverallcharacter.Hopflavorismedium-hightohighfloral,citrusand/orherbalhopflavors.Hopbitternessismedium-hightoveryhighandbalancedwiththemaltpersonality.Fruity-esterflavorsaregenerallyhigh.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.080-1.100(19.3-23.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.020-1.030 (5.1-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.5%-9.5%(7.0%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 50-80 • Color SRM (EBC) 40+(80+EBC)

B. Subcategory: British-Style Imperial StoutBritishImperialStoutsaredarkcoppertoverydark.Hoparomaisverylowtomedium,withqualitiessuchasfloral,citrusorherbal.Extremelyrichmaltyflavor,oftencharacterizedastoffee-likeorcaramel-like,issometimesaccompaniedby

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verylow(sometimesabsent)roastedmaltastringency.Hopflavorisverylowtomedium.Hopbitternessismedium,andshouldnotoverwhelmtheoverallbalance.Thebitternessmaybehigherindarkerversionsyetbalancedwithsweetmalt.Highalcoholcontentisevident.Highfruity-estercharactermaybepresent.Diacetylshouldbeabsent.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.080-1.100(19.3-23.7°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.020-1.030 (5.1-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.5%-9.5%(7.0%-12.0%)•Bitterness (IBU) 45-65 • Color SRM (EBC)20-35+(40-70+EBC)

90. Scotch AleA. Subcategory: Traditional Scotch AleTraditionalScotchAlesarelight-reddishbrowntoverydark.Chillhazeisallowableatlowtemperatures.Richdominantsweetmaltaromaispresent.Fruity-esteraromaif presentisverylow.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Theyareoverwhelminglymaltywitharichanddominantsweetmaltflavor;acaramelcharacterisoftenpartof theprofile.Darkroastedmaltflavorsmaybeevidentatlowlevels.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtoverylow.Hopbitternessisnotperceivedtobevery low.If present, fruityestersaregenerallyat lowlevels.Lowdiacetyl levelsareacceptable.Abreweryfreshexperience is intended in these beers, thus oxidation is not an acceptable character. Pleasantly oxidized Scotch Ales can be enteredin“AgedBeer”categories.Bodyisfull.BecausethereislittleevidencesuggestingthattraditionallymadeStrongScotch Ales exhibited peat smoke character, entries in this subcategory will not exhibit peaty/smoky character.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.072-1.085(17.5-20.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.016-1.028 (4.1-7.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.2%-6.7%(6.6%-8.5%)•Bitterness (IBU) 25-35 • Color SRM (EBC) 15-30(30-60EBC)

B. Subcategory: Peated Scotch AlePeatedScotchAlesarelight-reddishbrowntoverydark.Chillhazeisallowableatlowtemperatures.Richdominantsweetmaltaromaispresent.Fruity-esteraromaif presentisverylow.Hoparomaverylowornone.Theyareoverwhelminglymaltywitharichanddominantsweetmaltflavor;acaramelcharacter isoftenpartof theprofile.Darkroastedmaltflavorsmaybeevidentatlowlevels.Hopflavorverylowornone.Hopbitternessisperceivedtobeverylow.If present,fruity-estersaregenerallyat lowlevels.Lowdiacetyl levelsareacceptable.Bodyisfull.Thoughthereis littleevidencesuggesting that traditionallymadeStrongScotchAlesexhibitedpeat smokecharacter, thecurrentmarketplaceoffersmanyexampleswithpeator smokecharacterpresentat low tomedium levels.Thusentries in this subcategorymayexhibitapeaty/smokycharacteratlowtomediumlevels.Entrieswithmedium-highorhighersmokecharacterwouldbemore appropriately entered as smoke beers.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.072-1.085(17.5-20.4°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.016-1.028 (4.1-7.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.2%-6.7%(6.6%-8.5%)•Bitterness (IBU) 25-35 • Color SRM (EBC)15-30(30-60EBC)

91. Old Ale or Strong AleA. Subcategory: Old AleOldAlesarecopper-redtoverydark.Chillhazeisacceptableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromacancontributetothearomaprofile.Hoparomaisverylow.Theyhaveamaltyandsometimescaramel-likesweetness.Hopflavorisnotperceivedtomedium.Hopbitternessisminimalbutevident.Fruity-esterflavorscancontributetothecharacterof thisale.Alcoholtypescanbevariedandcomplex.Adistinctivequalityof thesealesisthattheyundergoanagingprocess(oftenforyears)ontheiryeasteitherinbulkstorageorthroughconditioninginthebottle,whichcontributestoarich,wine-likeandoftensweetoxidationcharacter.Complexesterycharactersmayalsoemerge.Verylowdiacetylcharactermaybeevidentandacceptable.Bodyismediumtofull.Woodagedcharacterssuchasvanillinandotherwoodycharactersareacceptable.Horsey,goaty,leatheryandphenoliccharacterevolvedfromBrettanomyces organisms and acidity may be present but should beatlowlevelsandbalancedwithotherflavors.Residualflavorsthatcomefromliquidspreviouslyagedinabarrelsuchas bourbon or sherry should not be present.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.058-1.088(14.3-21.1°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.014-1.030 (3.6-7.6°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.0%-7.2%(6.3%-9.1%)•Bitterness (IBU) 30-65 • Color SRM (EBC)12-30(24-60EBC)

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B. Subcategory: Strong AleStrongAlesareambertodarkbrown.Chillhazeisacceptableatlowtemperatures.Rich,oftencomplexfruityesterscancontributetothearomaprofile.Hoparomaisnotperceivedtoverylow.Theyhavemaltyand/orcaramel-likesweetness.Theymayhavevery low levelsof roastmalt.Hopflavor isnotperceived tomedium.Hopbitterness isminimalbutevident,andbalancedwiththemaltflavorspresent.Fruity-esterflavorscancontributetothecharacterof thisaleasarich,oftensweetandcomplexesterycharacter.Alcoholtypescanbevariedandcomplex.Verylowlevelsof diacetylareacceptable.Bodyismediumtofull.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.060-1.125(14.7-29.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.014-1.040 (3.6-10.0°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)5.5%-8.9%(7.0%-11.3%)•Bitterness (IBU) 30-65 • Color SRM (EBC)8-21(16-42EBC)

92. Barley Wine-Style AleA. Subcategory: American-Style Barley Wine AleAmericanBarleyWinesareambertodeepred/copper-garnet.Chillhazeisallowableatcoldtemperatures.Fruity-esteraromaisoftenhigh.Carameland/ortoffeemaltaromasareoftenpresent.Hoparomaismediumtoveryhigh.Highresidualmaltysweetness,oftencontainingcarameland/ortoffeeflavorsispresent.Hopflavorismediumtoveryhigh.American typehopsareoftenusedbutnotnecessary for this style.Hopbitterness ishigh.Complexityof alcohols isevident.Fruity-esterflavorisoftenhigh.Verylowlevelsof diacetylmaybeacceptable.Bodyisfull.Charactersindicatingoxidation, such as vinous (sometimes sherry-like) aromas and/or flavors, are not generally acceptable in American-stylebarleywineales,howeverif alowlevelof age-inducedoxidationcharacterharmonizesandenhancestheoverallexperiencethiscanberegardedfavorably.Original Gravity (°Plato)1.090-1.120(21.6-28.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.024-1.028 (6.1-7.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)6.7%-9.6%(8.5%-12.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 60-100 • Color SRM (EBC) 11-18(22-36EBC)

B. Subcategory: British-Style Barley Wine AleBritish Barley Wines are tawny copper to deep red/copper-garnet. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Hop aroma isverylowtomedium.Residualmaltysweetnessishigh.Hopflavorisverylowtomedium.Hopbitternessisperceivedtobelowtomedium.Englishtypehopsareoftenusedbutnotnecessaryforthisstyle.Complexityof alcoholsandfruity-estercharactersareoftenhighandbalancedwiththehighalcoholcontent.Lowlevelsof diacetylmaybeacceptable.Caramelandsomecharactersindicatingoxidation(vinousaromasand/orflavors)maybeconsideredpositive.Bodyisfull.Original Gravity (°Plato) 1.085-1.120(20.4-28.0°Plato)•Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) 1.024-1.028 (6.1-7.1°Plato)•Alcohol by Weight (Volume)6.7%-9.6%(8.5%-12.2%)•Bitterness (IBU) 40-60 • Color SRM (EBC)14-18(28-36EBC)

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NOTESGABFregistration.com


2O15 dates & deadlines event scheduleTuesday, June 9 - Tuesday, June 16

Onlinebreweryapplicationperiodforcompetitionandfestival

Thursday, June 18 - Thursday, July 2Competitionbeerregistrationforeligiblebreweries

Monday, July 6Breweriesnotifiedof festivalboothspacestatus(vialottery

selection,if needed)

Monday, July 6 – Friday, July 17 Festivalboothandbeerregistrationwindow

Friday, August 7MicroStarkegsbeginshippingtobreweries(if requested)

Monday, August 10 - Friday, August 14Competition beers due in Colorado

Early SeptemberEstimatedduedatesforfestivalbeerstodropofflocations

(exactdatesvarybydropofflocationandareprovidedduringconfirmations.Likelyfirstweekof September)

Wednesday, September 236:30 – 9:00 pm • Brewers Gathering

Thursday, September 245:30–10:00pm•GABFSession1

Friday, September 255:30–10:00pm•GABFSession2

Saturday, September 2610:30am•GABFAwardsceremony

(Timesubjecttochange.)


(MembersOnlySession)


Brewers Association1327 Spruce StreetBoulder, CO 80302 USA

Register Online atGABFregistration.comNoregistrationforminthisbook.

application opens june 9. details inside....2015 september 24-26 greatamericanbeerfestival.com yay!...

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