Please send questions to: entryshipping@gtabrews.ca
We facilitate and subsidize entry shipping for the Brewer of the Year circuit to make competition participation much less expensive for club members. If you are new to competitions, please read our BJCP Competition Guide for some tips to help you succeed.
GTA Brews Competition Shipping Policy
Shipping through the club is subsidized down to $1.50/bottle which covers packaging materials and shipping. If you wish to use other bottle shapes or sizes or wish to pack yourself, you are welcome to package your entries at home and ship them directly to the competition shipping address. We recommend you compare carriers and ship through ShipTime as we do for smaller competitions.
Please create an order (item #2 of each competition below), and pay for it on or before the drop off date.
A reminder to all club members that beer entries must be named following the club guidelines. Names that could be misconstrued as discriminatory or non-inclusive (e.g. derogatory phrases, references to sexual misconduct, objectification, etc) do not meet GTA Brews values. Please use your best judgement and review our Code of Conduct for further guidance. GTA Brews reserves the right to hold back entries that are deemed inappropriate.
All entries must be packaged in 12 oz (355 mL) longneck bottles or bottles of similar size and shape, otherwise, they will not fit into our cardboard bottle shippers. We can accept a small number of cans to be packed among the bottles. If you can your entries, please provide some packing paper or bubble wrap to separate your cans from the bottles as they will not be held in place by the shipper top.
In the photo below, the containers on the right fit, the ones on the left do not. Note that the tallest bottle on the right is a 500ml bottle, but most 500ml bottles (including the first and third on the left) will not fit.
Other bottle shapes and sizes will not be accepted. If you use other packaging, please pack your own box and ship it directly to the competition shipping address.
Entry Drop Off
We try to have drop off locations in different parts of the GTA to facilitate participation. See current drop off locations below (login for access). Different locations may have different drop off deadlines. You can also drop off entries at monthly meetings if you arrange the handoff to any member on the drop off list ahead of time.
Step-by-Step: How to Participate
- Register your entries on the competition software
- Most competitions have entry caps, so make sure there is space left in the competition before registering to ship with the club
- To take advantage of the subsidized shipping fee you must declare "GTA Brews" as your club when registering your entry
- Package entries in 12 oz (355 mL) longneck bottles
- Any other size/shape requires you to pack and ship your own box
- Pay your entry fees to the competition, then print bottle labels
- Attach bottle labels to bottles according to competition instructions
- Usually elastic band, but sometimes tape is requested
- Register for club shipping using the shipping order link on the competition calendar and pay the shipping fee
- Please note that shipping charge is PER BOTTLE, not per entry
- Complete this step on or before the drop off date so the shipping team can plan the shipment!
- Drop off entries at preferred drop-off location before the associated deadline
- Check the list below to see if your location has a special drop off deadline, and how the club member handling your entries prefers to be contacted