Vicbrew 2026
Thank you for your interest in the Vicbrew 2026 organized by , Belgian Beer Cafe, Southbank.
You only need to register your information once and can return to this site to enter more brews or edit the brews you've entered. You can even pay your entry fees online if you wish.
Judge and Steward Registration is Open
If you have not registered and are willing to be a volunteer, please register.
If you have registered, log in and then choose Edit Account from the My Account menu indicated by the icon on the top menu.
Rules
Vicbrew 2026 is scheduled for September 12th and 13th.
Vicbrew 2026 competition will be run as the Victorian qualifying competition for the National Championship competition, AABC 2026 to be held in Sydney October 2026.
1. Maximum of 12 entries per brewer. All entries are online at comps.vicbrew.org. Online entries close 1PM 29th August 2026.
2. Entries must be received by Saturday 29th August at 1PM at one of the Drop-Off locations listed on the website under the Info tab.
3. VicBrew2026 will be judged using the BJCP Style Guidelines (latest updated versions for beer, cider & mead), available at: www.vicbrew.org. Categories and substyles are listed here.
4. Maximum of 2 entries per AABC Category per brewer. Within this limit, only one entry per style. The beer style nominated must be a designated style for the category (as per 2025 Categories). Organisers may reclassify or disqualify incorrectly nominated entries.
5. Entries must be amateur brews. Beers fermented in a commercial brewery are ineligible.
6. One bottle (glass, plastic or can) per entry (750ml preferred) with a minimum of 500 ml. Absolute maximum bottle dimensions are: diameter = 90mm; maximum height including cap or cork =300mm. Cost is $15 per entry.
7. Beers in each Category will be judged by a panel of judges. Judging will be by blind tasting. Judges’ decision will be final. Completed scoresheets will be returned to entrants. Queued judging will be used for large categories with several judging panels and no scaling of scores to determine the placings.
8. Trophies will be awarded for the 3 highest scoring beers in each Category. In the event of tied scores, placegetters will be decided by progressive countback as follows: a) highest score for Overall Impression; b) highest score for Flavour; c) smallest spread in total scores (smallest difference between highest and lowest scores); d) the judging panel will be requested to resolve the tie.
9. Champion Beer of Show and Best Novice will be awarded to the highest scoring beer in the competition. In the event of a tie, a progressive countback will be used as for category placings. Entries in categories 19 and 20 are ineligible for the Champion Beer award. The Best Novice Trophy is open to brewers who have not placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in previous VicBrew accredited competitions.
10. Champion Brewer and Best Club of Show (The Barney) will be determined by the sum of placing points awarded: 1st: 3 points, 2nd: 2 points; 3rd: 1 point. In the event of a tie, then the sum of the placing points times the judging points will be used to decide the winners. For example, a win (3 placing points) for a beer receiving 130 judging points and a third place (1 placing point) for a beer receiving 110 judging points would have a total of 3x130 + 1x110 = 500 points. If there is still a tie, then joint winners will be declared.
11. Scott Vernon Perpetual Trophy will be awarded to the Club providing the greatest number of entrants.
12. Competition will be judged Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th at the Belgian Beer Cafe, Southbank, 5 Riverside Quay, Victoria.
13. Presentations will be made at the venue after all judging has been completed, approximately 5pm.
14. Brewers of the best three entries in each Category will be invited to enter that brew (or a replacement) in the Australian Amateur Brewing Championships (the Nationals) to be held in Sydney in October 2026. Entry fee to VicBrew 2025 includes cost of entry to Nationals and delivery from participating Victorian brew shops.
15. Vicbrew 2026 is a BJCP registered competition.
16. Privacy. Personal information provided by brewers with their entries will only be used for the conduct of the competition. This information will not be released to third parties, other than the names of brewers and their brew club, which will be published in the results lists for the competition.
Entry Acceptance Rules
Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 1
Maximum of 2 entries per AABC Category per brewer (AABC 2025 Categories). Within this limit, only one entry per style.
The beer style nominated must be a designated style for the category (as per AABC 2025 Categories). Organisers may reclassify or disqualify incorrectly nominated entries.
One bottle (glass, plastic or can) per entry (750ml preferred) with a minimum of 500 ml. Absolute maximum bottle dimensions are: diameter = 90mm; maximum height including cap or cork =300mm.
Crown-seal glass bottles, swing-top bottles, corked bottles, plastic bottles and cans will be accepted.
Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.
Entry paperwork (printed directly from this website) should be attached to bottles with clear tape.
Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.
After Hours Entry Drop Off
Unable to get to an entry drop-off location during business hours? Kegland will accept entries 24 hours a day up until Saturday 29th August at 1pm.
Instructions on how to use the after hours drop-off service available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSvYcx7pSjA
You can also post entries to the address given below under Shipping Info.
Competition Officials
You can send an email to any of the following individuals via Contact.
- Cameron Eldridge — Competition & Judge Organiser
- Michael Guenzel — Competition Coordinator
- Mark Hibberd — Competition Coordinator
- John Keske — Webmaster
Sponsors
Vicbrew is proud to have the following sponsors for the Vicbrew 2026.
Past Winners
Judging Sessions
Saturday AM
12/09/2026 8:00 AM, AEST.
Saturday PM
12/09/2026 1:00 PM, AEST.
Sunday AM
13/09/2026 9:00 AM, AEST.
Sunday PM
13/09/2026 1:00 PM, AEST.
Account Registration Open
Account registrations accepted 01/06/2025 10:00 AM, AEST through 29/08/2026 1:00 PM, AEST.
Registrations for judges or stewards accepted 01/06/2025 10:00 AM, AEST through 29/08/2026 1:00 PM, AEST.
Entry Registration Closed
Entry Drop-Off Closed
Please pay attention to the notes provided for each drop-off location. There could be earlier deadlines for some drop-off locations listed, particular hours when entries are accepted, certain individuals to leave your entries with, etc. All entrants are responsible for reading the information provided by the organizers for each drop-off location.