2025 Homebrew Competition
A special thanks to our 2025 homebrew competition sponsors:
Our local club hosts an annual homebrew competition. Everyone is welcome to participate. This competition is an American Homebrewer's Association sanctioned event. We are using the 2021 BJCP beer style guidelines for this competition.
Styles for 2025 Competition
Category - Dark Lager (mixed BJCP category)
2C - International Dark Lager
3D - Czech Dark Lager
8A - Munich Dunkel
8B - Schwarzbier
BJCP Category 12 - Pale Commonwealth Beer
12A - British Golden Ale
12B - Austrailian Sparkling Ale
12C - English IPA
BJCP Category 19 - Amber and Brown American Beer
19A - American Amber Ale
19B - California Common
19C - American Brown Ale
Open Category
May be any style posted in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines (not eligible for best of show winner)
Refer to BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines for more information on categories and subcategories.
2025 Competition Winners
Category - Dark Lager (mixed BJCP category)
1st Place: To Be Determined
2nd Place: To Be Determined
` 3rd Place: To Be Determined
Category 12 - Pale Commonwealth Beer
1st Place: To Be Determined
2nd Place: To Be Determined
3rd Place: To Be Determined
Category 19 - Amber and Brown American Beer
1st Place: To Be Determined
2nd Place: To Be Determined
3rd Place: To Be Determined
Open Category (entries not eligible for best of show winner)
1st Place: To Be Determined
2nd Place: To Be Determined
3rd Place: To Be Determined
Best of Show (open category entries not eligible)
To Be Determined
Competition Officials:
Director: Pete Stynes
Steward: Byron Bird
Competition Details and Rules
Entry Deadline is Wednesday March 19th, 2025. Entries are being accepted from March 3rd through March 19th 2025. Entries can be dropped off with Pondaseta Brewing Co. at 7500 SW 45th Ave, Amarillo, TX 79119. Judging will occur March 22nd, March 29th (if needed), and April 5th (if needed). Winners will be announced on May 3rd at the latest.
Entry Specifics
A total of 100 entries will be judged.
The first 70 entries will be judged regardless of entrant residence.
The other 30 entries are set aside for entries within the Texas Panhandle. See the 26 counties highlighted in yellow on this map for clarification.
Each entrant may submit a TOTAL of 5 entries with only 2 per major category (Dark Lager, Pale Commonwealth Beer, Amber and Brown American Beer) and 1 per subcategory. The open category is not limited to only 2, so you can use all 5 total entries in the open category if you wish.
Entries must be received by Pondaseta's closing time on March 19th, 2025.
Entries will be accepted at Pondaseta Brewing (the Amarillo Taproom location) starting on March 3rd at 12 PM and ending on March 19th by the end of business closing time.
All mailed entries must be received at Pondaseta by the entry deadline. Please allow for shipping time.
You can modify your entries up until the entry deadline.
If there are any prizes (excluding medals) included for winners, prizes will need to be picked up locally or winners will need to pay for shipping costs.
Entry Fee
Early Entry Discount: Up until the end of February 26th, the fee per entry is $12. Register and pay for your entries early to get this discount, even if you haven't made the beer yet. Drop/Send it off at Pondaseta later during the drop-off dates.
After February 26th, the entry fee is $15 per entry.
Payment Methods:
Pay via PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZYMET4PN28FUC
Entry requirements
Bottle ID Form (Hard Copy attached to each bottle)
Electronic Entry Submission Form (button located down below)
Shipping Details (if necessary)
Pondaseta Brewing
ATTN: High Plains Drafters
7500 SW 45th
Amarillo, TX 79119
The Entry Recipe Form is OPTIONAL but will be used to resolve any questions regarding entry or entry style/substyle.
Bottle specifics
Please make sure you follow these bottle and cap rules. They are put in place to make sure the judges cannot identify their own submissions. We want to keep this competition fair for everyone. Caps that are not approved WILL have points deducted from score. Bottles that are discernible and not standard WILL be disqualified from winning that category.
Three bottles must be submitted for each entry.
All labeling must be thoroughly removed.
Standard 12 oz. Amber Bottles (No Grolsch, EZ Cap, etc.)
No discernible commercial bottles are allowed (e.g. New Belgium).
No lettering or label is allowed on bottle caps.
Bottle cap color may be white, silver, standard gold (not yellow), or black. You are allowed to use a permanent black marker to change your cap color completely to black. Be sure no underlying color is visible. Points will be deducted from score if approved cap color is not followed.
All entry bottles must be accompanied by Bottle ID Form that is attached to the bottle using rubber bands.
An Entry Recipe Form may accompany bottles when they are submitted (this is optional but will be used to resolve any questions regarding entry or entry style/substyle).
Please review the BJCP guidelines and provide any required detailed entry information for a specific subcategory, such as the ingredients used, base style, type of wood or smoke, yeast type, specifications, target characteristics, etc. Email us at ahpdrafters@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Officials reserve the right to disqualify or modify entries to assure that they can not be identified by judges.
**Competition Ban On Cannabis-Infused , Commercial, and Brew-on-Premise Entries**
All and any cannabis-infused, CBD, or ingredient derivative of, beers are strictly prohibited by the Amarillo High Plains Drafters. This includes commercially brewed and Brew-on-Premise beers. Any entrant found in violation of this rule will be banned from the competition.
Entry Checklist
___ Entry/Recipe Form (Optional)
____ Bottle ID Form (each bottle must have a bottle ID form attached to it using rubber bands)
____ Electronic Entry Submission (button down below)
Submit your Entries Here
Click the electronic entry submission form button below to submit your entries!
Sign Up to Judge Here
Want to judge the entries? We need volunteers to judge all of these beers. This competition is eligible for earning BJCP judging points. If you are interested in judging please complete the Judging Participant Form below.