The National Homebrew Competition is the biggest homebrew competition in the country. Winning a first round ribbon is the only way to qualify for finals and a chance at taking home a NHC medal and all of the glory that goes along with it!

We all know that making high quality beer is the best way to increase your chances of winning. But you can also increase your odds by submitting entries for categories that are less entered than others. The NHC Category Entry Count by Competition spreadsheet details the average number of entries for each category*. It’s not surprising that IPA is the most popular category with an average of 58 entries per first round region and 701 entries nationally each year. Stout and American Ale are other very popular categories. If you are looking for a little less competition, you might want to try making a beer in one of the less popular categories such as lagers, English pales and browns, German styles, meads or ciders.

Once you select a category that interests you, you will need to pick a style, or sub-category. Some styles win more frequently than others. The NHC Awards by Style spreadsheet details the average number of awards won by each sub-category in a competition*. For example, check out the results for category 16 Belgian and French ale. Belgian Specialty Ale (16E) wins 1.74 awards per competition, which is three-times more likely to win an award than any other sub-category. Belgian Pale Ale (16B) only wins an award one time in every nine competitions. Perhaps it’s that some categories are harder to brew well, or it’s judges tend to prefer certain styles, but it’s clear to see that some styles perform better in competitions than others.

Sub-Category

Style

Awards per Comp

E

Belgian Specialty Ale

1.74

C

Saison

0.55

D

Bière de Garde

0.32

A

Witbier

0.29

B

Belgian Pale Ale

0.11

I know that this data is using the 2008 BJCP categories and that NHC 2016 has reshuffled categories, but I think that a lot of this data will carry over. Good luck and happy brewing!

Cheers,
Adam

*Data compiled from 2013-2015 NHC results