National Homebrew Competition: First Round Philadelphia 2026

Brian Pylant

Brian Pylant

South Jersey FC Member
After skipping last year, Philadelphia is back to being a first-round judging site for the National Homebrew Competition. (The conference is back as well, to be held in Asheville NC June 18 - 20.)

The judging will be held on Friday April 10 and Saturday April 11, at Workhorse Brewing in King Of Prussia. The deadline for entry submission would be 3/21 or 28.

Entry and judge/steward registration is not yet open, info will be posted soon!

homebrewersassociation.org

National Homebrew Competition

The National Homebrew Competition brings together the best in homemade beer, mead, and cider. Presented by the American Homebrewers Association, winners receive medals in an awards ceremony during Homebrew Con.
homebrewersassociation.org homebrewersassociation.org

After organizing for many years, I have pivoted to being the Judge Coordinator. You must be BJCP to judge NHC, but we are always looking for additional stewards to help with the day-of tasks (getting bottles from the cold room to bring to the tables, removing judged bottles and cups, grabbing supplies, etc. basically anything the judges need while working on the flight). You will get breakfast and lunch, and the opportunity to try beers, meads, and ciders throughout the day.

It's a great way to see how competitions work, and also to support the hobby in general!
 
I dropped off my entry at Workhorse/Bald Bird in KOP two weeks ago. It was a really nice brewery. It was confusing, though, cause everything says Workhorse but apparently Bald Bird just bought them in January and haven’t converted all the signage yet.

Best part…they had a full food menu! What a concept!
 
We were saying the same thing when we were sorting all the entries. They have a LOT of work to do in terms of the re-branding... or maybe they're just gonna leave it as-is? They've had plenty of time...

I did really like the giant "everything" pretzel. :)

Solid beers, the ones I had. I think my favorite was either the amber lager or the pilsner.

Always liked Workhorse, haven't gotten out to Bald Birds yet. (Sorry @Joan Countryman !) Not sure if these are the end of the Workhorse beers, or Bald Birds beers. Or maybe nothing is going to change except the name... not sure!
 
I wish I noticed this thread before, but if anyone is headed back out there soonish, I have a keg from workhorse I'd like to return for the deposit... I just haven't been in KoP for a long time.
 
Hearing there were some challenges this year? Folks seem to be in a tizzy that scores still aren’t posted. I guess I have more patience than everyone else cause I have no problem waiting.
 
Yep, significant issues. A long-standing member of Keystone Hops passed away right before the competition, and her memorial service / celebration of life was the same Saturday as the primary judging.

We scrambled to organize a bunch of pre-judging sessions, we also had a group of judges do a third flight on Saturday, and we had a couple of flights that had to be judged after Saturday... but we got it all done. It was a monumental undertaking, and the entire judge and steward roster rose to the occasion.

Now the AHA has to do whatever their process is to validate the results, and they will publish them when they are ready. I don't know if they had ever announced a date that the results would be made available, but this happens every single time... people need to learn a little patience.

That said, I'm done. Not running this, or any other competition (outside of our club) for a long time, if ever. Been there, done that; project management is not one of my skills, and I'm passing the baton to others who will do a better job (and hopefully without the anxiety).

If I hear of when the results will be announced I'll post back.
 
I got my scoresheet. But it looks like they haven’t listed the tables on the NHC site as of yet. Brian I sent you a message when you have a second. Could use some help deciphering something.
 
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