Eligibility & Criteria

COMPETITION ENTRIES OPEN MAY 5, 2026

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Contest Rules

Brewer Eligibility

To be eligible for the Canada Beer Cup, a brewery or cidery must:

  • Be a member of the CCBA or Cider Canada

OR

  • hold a valid Canadian excise duty licence;
  • be licensed to brew beer by a provincial or territorial authority;
  • have brewed less than 400,000 hectolitres of beer in 2025; and
  • be at least 75% owned in Canada.

Beer Eligibility

For all Canada Beer Cup entries: 

  • the beer or cider must be commercially available, or formerly commercially available, in cans, bottles, kegs, growlers or on tap; and
  • the beer’s brand, name and formula must be owned by the submitting brewery.

Beer Entries

When submitting to the Canada Beer Cup, breweries may:

  • enter as many beers or ciders as they like;
  • enter any number of beers in a single style group;
  • enter each beer or cider in only one style group (with the exception of the Packaging Awards and the Feature Category, which may also be entered in a separate style);
  • enter bottles, cans or growlers.

Entries are non-refunable

Packaging Awards:

Designs done by a third-party designer or firm are eligible, but the submission must come from the brewery.

Criteria & Judging

All beers will be assessed by a panel of top-rated judges, many of whom boast extensive international experience. Judging standards will include not just adherence to the style guidelines, but also character, balance, and creativity within the Style. All beers will be judged objectively using a point scoring system.

The top beers in each Style will receive gold, silver, and bronze awards, so long as the judges consider them worthy. (Judges will reserve the right to not grant an award if they fail to find a beer they consider meritorious of said award.)

Winners will then advance to a final judging round overseen by a panel of top domestic and international judges to determine who will be awarded with the coveted Canada Beer Cup!

Breweries will receive two evaluation sheets from the judges for each beer entered.