Homebrew competitions are a great way to get blind feedback on your beer/mead/cider! Check out the sections below for lists of local and BOTY (Canada-wide) competitions!
If you are new to homebrew competitions, please check out our BJCP Competition Guide. It has lots of tips, and helpful info to make your experience a success.
Rules
* All competitions on this page will be judged using BJCP Style Guidelines, unless marked otherwise.
* Competitions marked with NON-BJCP will not necessarily be judged using BJCP Style Guidelines and/or BJCP Trained Judges.
Brew Slam
We run one big national competition every year called Brew Slam, where brewers from all over Canada enter as part of the Brewer of the Year Circuit.
2026 BOTY Competitions
Competitions in this section are part of the Brewer of the Year circuit. A Canada-wide circuit of competitions tracked by the BOTY program. At the end of the year, the brewer and club with the most points wins!
Club Shipping
GTA Brews coordinates and subsidizes entry shipping for members to encourage participation. For details, including step-by-step instructions and drop-off locations, see the Club BOTY Shipping page.
| Competition | Location | SHIPMENTS ACCEPTED AT COMPETITION | GTA BREWS DROP OFF DEADLINE | Shipping ORDER LINK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowtown Yeast Wranglers Round-up | Calgary, AB | February 6—February 20 | February 11 | Cowtown shipping |
| ALES Open | Regina, SK | March 26—April 10 | March 24 | ALES shipping |
| VanBrewers Awards | Vancouver, BC | March 30—April 10 | March 24 | VanBrewers shipping |
| EHG Aurora Brewing Challenge | Edmonton, AB | June 3—June 10 | May 19 | Aurora shipping |
| OHBS 3rd Annual Homebrew Challenge | Ottawa, ON | June 22—July 4 | June 16 | OHBS shipping |
| Battle River Sizzlin’ Hop Summer Showdown | Battle River, AB | Aug 19—Aug 26 | Aug 4 | Battle River shipping |
| MontreAlers MALT | Montreal, QC | Sept 7—Sept 18 | Sep 2 | MALT shipping |
| Red Deer Brewers Homebrew Comp | Red Deer, AB | Sept 15—Sept 23 | Sept 2 | Red Deer shipping |
| Saskatoon Headhunters Brewing Competition | Saskatoon, SK | Sept 20—Oct 4 | Sept 16 | Saskatoon shipping |
| GTA Brews Brew Slam | Toronto, ON | |||
| Winnipeg Brew Bombers Pro/Am Challenge | Winnipeg, MB |
Other Competitions
The club does not offer shipping to non-BOTY competitions, but members are still welcome to participate.
If you would like to have your competition listed here please email info@gtabrews.ca
Previous Years’ BOTY Competitions
2025
| Competition | Location | SHIPMENTS ACCEPTED AT COMPETITION | GTA BREWS DROP OFF DEADLINE | Shipping ORDER LINK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowtown Yeast Wranglers Round-up | Calgary, AB | February 17—March 7 | February 18 | Cowtown shipping |
| VanBrewers Awards | Vancouver, BC | May 12—May 27 | May 6 | VanBrewers shipping |
| EHG Aurora Brewing Challenge | Edmonton, AB | May 26—June 5 | May 20 | Aurora shipping |
| OHBS 2nd Annual Homebrew Challenge | Ottawa, ON | June 29-July 20 | July 2 | OHBS shipping |
| Battle River Sizzlin’ Hop Summer Showdown | Battle River, AB | July 21—July 25 | July 2 | Battle River shipping |
| MontreAlers Ale and Lager Throwdown | Montreal, QC | Sept 8—Sept 19 | Sept 2 | MALT shipping |
| Saskatoon Headhunters Brewing Competition | Saskatoon, SK | Sept 21—Oct 5 | Sept 16 | Saskatoon shipping |
| Red Deer Brewers 2nd Annual Homebrew Competition | Red Deer, AB | Oct 13—Oct 22 | Oct 7 | Red Deer shipping |
| Winnipeg Brew Bombers Pro/Am Challenge | Winnipeg, MB | Oct 27—Oct 31 | Oct 7 | Winnipeg shipping |
| GTA Brews Brew Slam | Toronto, ON | Sept 28—Oct 17 | Oct 17 | none |
Non-BOTY
| COMPETITION | LOCATION | Shipments accepted at competition |
|---|---|---|
| ALES Open | Regina, SK | March 26—April 11 |
2024
| Competition Website | Location | Entry Registration Opens | GTAB Entry Drop-Off for (Shipping Deadline) |
| Cowtown Yeast Wranglers Roundup | Calgary, AB | Jan. 12, 2024 | EOD Feb. 7, 2024 |
| ALES Open | Regina, SK | Mar. 1, 2024 | EOD Mar. 13, 2024 |
| VanBrewers Awards | Vancouver, BC | May 13, 2024 | EOD May 21, 2024 |
| EHG Aurora Brewing Challenge | Edmonton, AB | May 1, 2024 | EOD May 21, 2024 |
| Ottawa’s Home Brew Society – 1st Annual National Homebrew Challenge | Ottawa, ON | June 1, 2024 | EOD July 6, 2024 |
| Battle River Sizzlin’ Hop Summer Showdown | Battle River, AB | June 1, 2024 | EOD July 6, 2024 |
| MontreAlers MALT | Montreal, QC | July 29, 2024 | EOD Aug. 27, 2024 |
| Saskatoon Head Hunters Brewing Competition | Saskatoon, SK | Sep. 7, 2024 | EOD Sep. 17, 2024 |
| Red Deer Brewers Annual Homebrew Competition | Red Deer, AB | Aug. 1, 2024 | EOD Oct. 15, 2024 |
| Winnipeg Brew Bombers Pro/Am Brew Challenge | Winnipeg, MB | Oct. 1, 2024 | EOD Oct. 15, 2024 |
| GTA Brews Brew Slam | Toronto, ON | Sep. 9, 2024 | EOD Nov. 2, 2024 |
2023
| Competition Website | Location | Entry Registration Opens | Competition Deadline (Shipping Deadline) |
| Cowtown Yeast Wranglers Homebrew Roundup | Calgary, AB | Jan 13, 2023 | Feb 3, 2023 |
| ALES Open | Regina, SK | Mar 11, 2023 | Mar 31, 2023 |
| VanBrewer Awards | Vancouver, BC | May 15, 2023 | May 29, 2023 |
| True Grist Blazing Paddles | Kitchener Waterloo, ON | May 4, 2023 | June xx, 2023 |
| EHG Aurora Brewing Challenge | Edmonton, AB | May 1, 2023 | May 18, 2023 |
| Montrealers MALT | Montreal, QC | July 7, 2023 | Sept 09, 2023 |
| Winnipeg BrewBombers ProAm Brew Challenge | Winnipeg, MB | Sept 18, 2023 | Oct 18,2023 |
| Saskatoon Head Hunters Brewing Competition | Saskatoon, SK | 2023/08/05 | TBD for 2023 |
| GTA Brews Brew Slam | Toronto, ON | 2023/08/19 | Oct 21, 2023 |