Entries are welcomed from breweries small and large operating in any African country. Beers will be double-judged by a handpicked panel of qualified beer judges and industry experts. Although our partner conference, the Craft Brewers Powwow, has unfortunately been cancelled this year due to the pandemic, we are happy to say that the African Beer Cup will go ahead. Winners will be announced in early June.
Beers will be judged according to the 2015 BJCP Guidelines. Before completing the entry form, please familiarise yourself with the guidelines and be sure to enter your beer in the correct category. Beers will be judged to the guidelines of the category in which they are entered. If you have any questions or are not sure which category to use, please contact us.
If you're entering a lager and are not sure which category it best fits into, check out our handy Infographic.
The cost to enter is R750 per beer. This does not include shipping costs.
To enter, complete the form here and make payment online. Once registered, you will receive a document with all the details on how to ship your beers to us.
The judging panels will be made up of BJCP-qualified judges and industry experts. Beers will be judged using the 2015 BJCP guidelines. Although BJCP judging is designed to remove subjectivity, it is not a fool-proof way to judge. Sometimes judges have an off day, are unfamiliar with a style or are influenced by someone else on their panel. To try and remove this risk, every beer in the African Beer Cup will be judged twice, by two different panels. Scores will then be compared and an average taken. Should there be a difference of more than seven points between the two sets of scores, a third panel will be called upon to re-evaluate. Best of show will be judged by a specially selected panel in Cape Town.
If you are interested in judging at the African Beer Cup, please get in touch detailing your judging, sensory and/or brewing experience.
The African Beer Cup was born out of a love for beer and a desire to nurture a stronger beer culture across the African continent. Drawing on experience judging in numerous other competitions both local and international, the organisers of the African Beer Cup aim to offer a fair and in-depth judging process, as well as detailed, considered feedback for brewers.
Editor of On Tap Magazine and founder of Brewmistress.co.za, Lucy is a certified Cicerone® and experienced beer judge having judged at the World Beer Cup, Concurso Brasileiro de Cervejas and numerous South African competitions.
Brewer and former president of the Southyeasters Homebrewers Club, Shawn judged his first competition in 2009 in South Korea. He has been instrumental in setting up BJCP competitions and judging exams in Cape Town.
Sales Director at bevPLUS since opening the company in 2014, bevPLUS supplies the craft beer industry with brewing materials, equipment and ingredients. Dedicated to growing the craft beer industry we started the Craft Brewers Powwow in 2016.
Director and finance manager for bevPLUS, Dematech (Pty) Ltd and the Craft Brewers Powwow, Romina handles all finances and account management across the board, as well as business development and HR.
Administrator and Front of House for bevPLUS, Dematech (Pty) Ltd and the Craft Brewers Powwow. Anaia handles all beer entries, quotes, client liaison as well as all of the administration and bookings for the African Beer Cup.