5th Annual HINDER HEADBUTT Competition

BREWER REGISTRATION

Registration open 2/2/26 – 3/27/26 or until full.

Date: Saturday, April 18th, 2026
Time: 11:30 AM – 10:00 PM.

The event will be free to attend and open to the public. Tasting glasses will be available for purchase.

Event Schedule

  • 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM: Judging (in the H.H. Hinder Brewing Co. Brewery)
  • 11:30 AM: Taproom and The Purl Pub Open
  • 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Food by the Lion’s Club
  • 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Music by Steve Keeley (on the Eight10 stage)
  • 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: People’s Choice Sampling and Voting (in the Eight10)
  • 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Best of Show Round and Awards Presentation (in the Eight10)
  • 7:00 PM: The Purl Pub in The Eight10 closes, and the party moves back next door to the H.H. Hinder Brewing Co. taproom
  • 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Karaoke (in the H.H. Hinder Brewing Co. Brewery)

Event Details

  • Entry Fee: $15/beer
  • Only the first 99 beers registered will be able to compete
  • Maximum of 3 entries of differing sub-styles (No using the same beer in multiple categories.)
  • Registration is open 2/2/26 – 3/27/26 OR until full. Registrants can still review their entries and print labels at the registration website here: https://hinderheadbutt.brewingcompetitions.com/
  • Entrants must drop-off at least 2 bottles of each beer to be judged – with registration labels rubber-banded to the bottles, no exceptions. Beers should be dropped off in the taproom at 804 Churchill Street, Waupaca, Wisconsin 54981 during normal operating hours between 3/15/2026 and 4/12/2026. Beers cannot be brewed on commercial equipment.

Only select varieties of beer will qualify. View beer varieties at the bottom of the page.

Awards

  •  Medals will be given to the winners of each category, to the top 3 winners in the Best of Show round, and the People’s Choice winner.
  • Best of Show Winner: The ultimate winner will have the opportunity to brew a beer on our state-of-the-art system alongside our brewmaster, David Oldenburg!
  • People’s Choice: $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.

Brewers must be present to win!

Competition Rules

  • 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.
  • Entries are limited to 3 beers per brewer. Brewers can enter multiple beers into each category, but only one beer per subcategory.
  • Beers should be dropped off in the taproom at 804 Churchill Street, Waupaca, Wisconsin 54981 during normal operating hours between 3/19/2025 and 4/20/2025.
  • 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.
  • Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of our event. Judges will evaluate and score each entry. The average of the scores will rank each entry in its category. Each flight will have at least two BJCP judges.
  • 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.

People’s Choice
Brewers are encouraged to take part in the People’s Choice portion of the competition. 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 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. 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.

 

$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 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 rubber bands.
  • 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.

 

Competition Official

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

  • Ken Lambert – H.H. Hinder Brewing Co. Marketing & Creative Manager

 

Best of Show

The 1st place entry in each category will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round with a single, overall Best of Show beer selected. The Best of Show winner will have the opportunity to brew a beer on our state-of-the-art system alongside our brewmaster, David Oldenburg!

 

Awards

Medals will be awarded to the top 3 winners of each category, to the Best of Show, and the People’s Choice winner.

 

Best of Show Winner: The ultimate winner will have the opportunity to brew a beer on our state-of-the-art system alongside our brewmaster, David Oldenburg!

 

People’s Choice: $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. Beverages submitted for the People’s Choice award cannot be used to advertise a business.

 

Brewers must be present to win!
In order to be eligible for medals and the ramp-up opportunity, you must be signed-in at the registration desk by 5 pm on 4/18/26. If you are unable to join us, you will still have your beer judged by BJCP professionals and emailed the results. The awards ceremony will take place once judging is completed, which we anticipate happening around 6:00 pm on 4/18/26.

 

Both score sheets and awards will be available for pick up that night after the ceremony concludes. Results will be posted to the competition web site after the ceremony concludes. Brewers are also encouraged to take part in a photo in the brewery at the conclusion of the event.

 

Entry Drop-Off

Entry bottles accepted at
H.H. Hinder Brewing Co.
804 Churchill St., Waupaca, WI 54981
03/15/2026 12:00 PM, CDT through 04/12/2026 6:00 PM, CDT.

If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Ken Lambert at ken@hinderbrewingco.com