Eligibility & Criteria
Entries open April 2023
Contest Rules
Brewer Eligibility
To be eligible for the Canada Beer Cup, a brewery must:
- 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 2021; and
- be at least 75% owned in Canada.
Beer Eligibility
For all Canada Beer Cup entries:
- the beer 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 as they like;
- enter any number of beers in a single style group;
- enter each beer in only one style group (with the sole exception of the Feature category, which may also be entered in a separate style);
- enter bottles, cans or growlers.
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.) The gold award winning beers will then advance to a Category final. For example, the top Mild Ale will compete with the winner of the American Style Brown Ale style and the rest of the gold award winners in that Category for the title of Canada’s Best Dark Ale.
Category winners will 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!
Top beers in each province and territory will also be recognized and announced. Breweries will receive an evaluation sheet from the judges for each beer entered.
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