The New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA) is accepting submissions for its fourth annual New York State Craft Beer Competition.
Sponsored by 1886 Malt House, it is open to all licensed breweries in the state. NYSBA is expecting to receive over 1,000 beer submissions for the 2020 competition.
It will be held on March 14 in Rochester, with the help of Raise a Glass Foundation, an organization with expertise in coordinating beverage competitions. It will bring together 60 of the most respected and influential people in the New York beer industry to judge the submitted beers, including brewmasters, cicerones, educators, retailers and industry writers and consultants.
All entries will be blind judged by a panel based on pre-established criteria and using a custom scoring sheet developed by NYSBA. The top three finishers in each of 25 beer style categories will receive gold, silver and bronze medals. The overall winner will receive the governor’s Excelsior Cup.
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 3, as part of the third annual NYS Craft Brewers Conference presented by DWS. The awards ceremony will be live streamed from the Desmond Hotel in Albany.
“Each year the New York State Craft Beer Competition continues to grow, both in the number of entries and in the quality of submissions,” said Paul Leone, NYSBA executive director. “This competition showcases the amazing and diverse craft beer of New York state and elevates New York as a foremost craft beer state.”
The cost of submitting a 72-ounce entry is $45 for NYSBA members and $65 for non-members. Each NYSBA member receives one free beer entry and there is no limit to the number of beers a brewery can submit.
Beers must be entered online no later than March 10 and arrive at the warehouse no later than March 11.
Beers may be submitted for the following 25 beer style categories: light lagers, amber and dark lagers, wheat beer (American, Wit, Hefe), golden/blonde ale (American, kolsch, cream ale), amber/red ale (British, American, Irish, Scottish), pale ale, hazy pale ale, American IPA, hazy IPA, American IPA variations, American DIPA, barrel aged sour, barrel aged (non-sour), Belgian farmhouse, Belgian other (trappist, strong, etc.), experimental, fruit and spice beer – non-sour, fruit and spice beer – sour, brown ale (American and British), porter (non-imperial), stout (non-imperial), imperial stout and porter, strong ale (non-Belgian), kettle and simple sours, and wild and sour ale
In 2019, the competition received 813 entries from 160 breweries across the state. Seventy-four medals were awarded to 53 breweries.
For additional information visit newyorkcraftbeer.com/2020-competition.