The U.S. Open Beer Championship Celebrates Its 15th Year!
Oxford, Ohio (May) – Registration for the 2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship is now open. Brewers can register beers thru May 17th. Beers will need to arrive in Oxford, Ohio between May 15th-May 26th. The medal winners and Grand National Champion will be announced on July 12th. The U.S. Open is the only brewery competition to include licensed breweries and the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition Gold Medal Winners. Last year, breweries from Maine to Maui sent in more than 9,000 beers representing over 140 different styles.
Judging in the U.S. Open Beer Championships is blind; the judges do not know what beers they are tasting. The final round of judging will be held in Oxford, Ohio at the U.S. Open Event Center. The U.S. Open is the only beer judging to have its own venue. This event center is a 6000 square foot Amish Barn with 2 beer coolers, judging, and serving areas.
Call for Entries
Beers will need to arrive between May 15th-May 26th. Each brewery may enter a maximum of 8 beers. The entry fee will be $85 per beer/root beer. A brewery submitting 5 or more beers will be considered for the Grand National Champion’s award. Entry Forms and Rules can be found on the competition website under registration and Rules.
Over 150 categories will be judged this year. Winners will receive the traditional U.S. Open beer stein medal for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The Top 10 breweries overall will be featured on BeerInfo.com. Along with the medals awarded, the top brewery will be awarded the coveted “Grand National Championship’s Plaque.”
AHA’s National Homebrew Competition Gold Medal Winners Can Enter the U.S. Open
Since 2009, the U.S. Open has worked with the American Homebrewers Association to allow the gold medal winners of the National Homebrew Competition to enter the U.S. Open Beer Championship. Homebrewers can only enter the category(or the closest category) that they won at the NHC.
In most years, one or more homebrewers have medaled including 2 gold medal winners. In 2009, Phil Ferrall of Cumming, Georgia was the first homebrewer to win a gold medal. His homebrew, The Next to Last King of Scotland Ale, won the Strong Scotch Ale category, and last year Homebrewer Caleb Meinke of Cambridge, Wisconsin won a gold medal for his American Wheat Beer.
Charity Category: Pink Boots Blend
The U.S. Open Beer Championship partnered with the Pink Boots Society, an organization that assists, inspires, and encourages women in the fermented/alcoholic beverage profession through education, to create the Pink Boots Blend Category. The Pink Boots Society partnered with Yakima Chief Hops for several years to sell a special hop blend to benefit the Pink Boots scholarship fund, All the beers developed using this hop blend are eligible to enter the category.
Last year, Too Pure to Be Pink, brewed by Wild Leap Brew Co. in LaGrange, GA, brought home the gold medal. Thanks to this category, $4,700 was donated to the Pink Boots scholarship fund.
The 2023 U.S. Open Beer Championship Anniversary Medals
