Apply to Judge

The Colorado Brewers Cup is the only professional beer competition run and organized by the Colorado Brewers Guild. This annual event showcases the exceptional quality of craft beer in Colorado and celebrates the amazing brewing community that surrounds us!

The awards ceremony will be held on the final day of the Colorado Craft Brewers Summit, on January 24th at the Hyatt Regency in Aurora, CO.

Learn more about the Colorado Craft Brewers Summit and register here.

The Colorado Brewers Cup is seeking qualified, passionate individuals to join the competition’s first year judging roster! The window to apply is October 1, 2024 – November 27, 2024.

Step 1: Click here to access the Judge Application

Step 2: Complete the application, taking care to include a short bio, your BJCP rank and ID number (if applicable) and any other relevant certifications, past judging experience, sensory experience, or formal brewing education details.

That’s it, you’re done! Thank you for applying. Please go ahead and make sure to block off the competition dates on your calendar to make sure you are available if selected and stay tuned for a response to your application by December 6th.

We currently have an open call for applications, so anyone working in the craft beer industry or with judging experience is allowed to apply. A strong priority will be given to current industry professionals with experience judging in local, national, or international competitions and individuals who hold BJCP and/or Cicerone certification.

As an applicant, please take care to include a short bio on your application to share your industry experience and qualifications. We also ask that you share your current BJCP rank and ID number (if applicable) as well as any other certifications (Cicerone, Doemens, etc.) and your past judging experience.

If you have additional experience (such as overseeing the sensory/quality program at your brewery, a formal brewing education, etc.) that’s not reflected in your bio, please make sure to share that on your application as well.

Judging will take place during the weekend of January 10-12, 2025.

Friday Jan. 10th
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Saturday Jan. 11th
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
+ dinner

Sunday Jan. 12th
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

We ask that judges commit to a full day of judging, and will not be able to accommodate judges who can only commit to a half day of judging. Additionally, when choosing judges, priority will be given to those individuals who can commit to the entire weekend (Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday).

**Times are subject to change** Due to the tremendous complexities involved in ensuring judges are assigned to categories they are not entered in, organizing well over 100+ flights to be judged over the weekend, and ensuring the logistical considerations of first-round vs. second-round judging, we ask for the judges’ patience with us as we keep things flowing through the weekend.

Judging will take place during the weekend of January 10-12, 2025.

Friday Jan. 10th
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Saturday Jan. 11th
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
+ dinner

Sunday Jan. 12th
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Friday evening will include an orientation, calibration round, and likely one to two judging rounds. Saturday and Sunday will be broken up into a morning and an afternoon session, where each panel will be asked to judge several flights per session (likely, three flights per session).

Friday and Saturday judging will be dedicated to completing first round judging for all but the largest categories, which might have a small number of first-round flights bleed into Sunday morning. The majority of Sunday judging will be focused on medal rounds.

In the Colorado Brewers Cup beers are judged electronically using the Beer Awards Platform (BAP). As such, we ask that judges bring a laptop, tablet, or smartphone with up-to-date software and a charging device.

If you have never used BAP, and would like to judge a practice beer at home ahead of the competition to gain experience with the platform, follow these instructions:

Sign up for an account at getbap.com
Go to ”My personal scoresheets”
Click on ”New personal evaluation”
Set up the tasting session information
Start tasting your samples

In additional to the camaraderie, recognition, and industry experience that will come with being a judge for the Colorado Brewers Guild’s statewide beer competition, the following will be provided to Colorado Brewers Cup judges:

Judging Experience: The Colorado Brewers Cup is a sanctioned BJCP competition, so in addition to building your resume for other national and international judging opportunities, BJCP certified judges will have the opportunity to earn judging points (.5 points for each of the competition’s judging sessions you participate in) by judging at Colorado Brewers Cup.

On-Site Perks: Judges will be fed and watered during their time—including a light breakfast and lunch during Saturday and Sunday judging, and Friday and Saturday evening happy hours.

Hotel Accommodation: The Guild will cover the cost of rooms at a nearby hotel for judges traveling in from outside of the Denver Metro Area. (If selected to judge, you will receive a rooming survey to share rooming night needs/sharing preferences, etc.)

Awards Ceremony: Judges will each receive one free ticket to the Awards Ceremony.

You will be notified no later than December 6th.

The size and make-up of the judging roster will be based on the number of entries in the competition and the number of judge applications received. As such, judges may be approved in earlier waves based on experience and application date. We recommend going ahead and blocking off the competition dates on your calendar to ensure availability, should you be selected.

If you are not selected this year to judge (based on not quite having the experience or qualifications necessary, etc.) you may be offered the option to serve as a steward in the competition or volunteer in a different capacity. As a BJCP sanctioned competition, Colorado Brewers Cup volunteers will be eligible to earn non-judging experience points.

To learn more about the competition, and the role of our judges, please review our: Judging Handbook

In addition to judges, the Colorado Brewers Cup is seeking enthusiastic craft beer enthusiasts to help volunteer for the competition. 

Stay tuned for a sign-up link for volunteering!