Thank you for your interest in the 4th Annual H.H. HINDER Head Butt Homebrew Competition organized by H.H. HINDER Brewing Company, 804 Churchill Street, Waupaca, WI 54981.

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.

Entry Registration is Open

90 entries have been added to the system as of 5:14 AM, CDT, Thursday, April 3, 2025. There is a limit of 99 entries for this competition.

87 paid entries are in the system as of 5:14 AM, CDT, Thursday, April 3, 2025. There is a limit of 99 paid entries for this competition.

To add your entries into the system, please proceed through the registration process or log in if you already have an account.

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

BREWERS MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

This competition is AHA sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older.

Brewers must drop-off a minimum of 2 bottles of each beer to be judged – with registration labels rubber-banded to the bottles, no exceptions.

Brewers are limited to a total of 3 entries. Brewers can enter multiple entries into each category, but only one entry per subcategory.

Entries should be dropped off in the taproom at 804 Churchill Street, Waupaca, Wisconsin 54981 during normal operating hours between 3/19/25 through 4/20/25.

All entries must be handcrafted products, containing ingredients available to the general public, and made using private equipment by hobbyist brewers (i.e., no use of commercial facilities or Brew on Premises operations, supplies, etc.).

The competition organizers are not responsible for mis-categorized entries, entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrived damaged.

The competition organizers reserve the right to combine styles for judging and to restructure awards as needed depending upon the quantity and quality of entries. All possible effort will be made to combine similar styles. All brews in combined categories will be judged according to the style they were originally entered in.

The Best of Show judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the top winners from each category.

Bottles will not be returned to entrants.

*New Rules for People's Choice for 2025
For the People's Choice portion of the event brewers will be allowed to bring beers of any styles, they do not have to be the same beers you've entered for judging by BJCP certified judges. However, the number of beers you are able to submit for People's Choice is limited to the number of beers you have submitted to be judged. For instance, if you have entered 3 beers (for example, a stout, a porter, and an IPA), you can bring 3 different beers (for example a smoked beer, a fruited sour, and a cookies and cream stout) to the People's Choice portion of the event. We heard your feedback from last year and thought this would be a way for you to share your creative brews with the public. NOTE: People's Choice is limited to beer -- no seltzer, wine, ciders, etc. will be accepted.

Last year we had close to 300 people take part in sampling. We ask that you limit the amount of samples you bring to 244 oz and that you only serve during the allotted time. Failure to follow these guidelines are grounds for disqualification. More details will follow after registration has been closed. Samples will be brought with you the day of the competition. There are no extra fees for you to participate in the People's Choice portion of the event.

Competition Rules:
Beers will be judged by certified beer tasting judges. And be awarded points that will allow competitors to compare scores with other brewers across the country.

The H.H. HINDER HEAD BUTT is a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) sanctioned event and follows the guidelines set out by the American Homebrew Association (AHA). The competition handbook can be found at: https://legacy.bjcp.org/docs/SCPCompHdbk.pdf

We will also be following the rules provided by the BJCP and the American Homebrew Association: https://www.bjcp.org/competitions/rules-regulations/

Entry Acceptance Rules

Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 2

Each entry will consist of capped or corked bottles that are void of all identifying information other than the registration labels which will be rubberbanded to the bottle. Printed caps are allowed, but must be blacked out completely.

12oz brown glass bottles are preferred; however, green and clear glass will be accepted. Swing top bottles will likewise be accepted as well as corked bottles.

Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.

Completed entry forms and recipe sheets must be submitted with all entries, and can be printed directly from this website. Entry forms should be attached to bottles with rubberbands.

Please fill out the entry forms completely. Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.

Brewers are limited to a total of 3 entries and may only enter each subcategory once.

People's Choice Competition
Brewers are encouraged to take part in the People's Choice portion of the competition. On the day of the competion, bring samples of the beer you think the public would love and put yourself in the running for the People's Choice Award --$100, $50, and $25 HINDER gift cards will be awarded to the top 3 People’s Choice beers. These awards will be voted on by event attendees. Non-beer offerings will not be eligible for the People’s Choice Awards. Please be respectful of the brewery and only provide samples during the approved timeframe. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

Competition Officials

You can send an email to any of the following individuals via Contact.

• Jeremiah Bowden — Competition Coordinator
• Ken Lambert — H.H. HINDER Marketing & Creative Manager