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Rules

Lager Than Life Homebrewing Competition is a BCJP-sanctioned competition where your lager beers are assessed by qualified judges against current BJCP 2021 style guidelines. Score sheets and written feedback will be provided for each entry. Prizes are awarded for Best of Show places.

The competition is open to all lager beers which were fermented using only lager (bottom-fermenting) yeast - those intended to be in the 2021 BJCP Guidelines - lagers, pilsners, bocks etc. Any other beer made with a lager yeast should be entered in one of the special or "other beer" categories, and be fully described by the entrant. Pressure fermentation is allowed as long as you use bottom-fermenting yeast.

If you need some advice on how to brew great lagers, this presentation by Graeme Coates, who is an excellent brewer and a prolific homebrew award winner, should help you understand how to brew a winning lager Graeme's presentation

After judging, the remaining portions of the entries will be available for sampling on Saturday 23rd March 2024 in the afternoon at the Pillars Brewery Taproom. Pillars will also have exciting craft lagers available for purchase on the day. Entrants may bring further examples of their entries to share.

It's always a great day where you can sample homebrew and commercial beers, as well as learn from experts and fellow homebrewers.

 

Style Guidelines & Eligibility

Entries will be assessed against the BJCP Style Guidelines 2021 available via this link (PDF).

Eligibility: This competition is open to everyone, worldwide. Competition organizers, staff, judges and stewards may enter the competition. Measures are in place to ensure fair, anonymous, judging. Judges and stewards will not be assigned to categories that they have entered. Entries must have been made at home. Those made in commercial establishments, including brew-on-premise establishments, are not eligible. 


Where

Pillars Brewery, London


When

Saturday 23rd March 2024

  • Open to entrants/friends from 3 PM. Entrants' homebrew samples available as soon as judging is complete.
  • Best of Show judging session - around 12 PM. 
  • Awards Ceremony - around 5 PM

Important Deadlines

  • Register online and pay for all entries - no later than 3rd March 2024
  • Delivery of entries to Pillars Brewery in person or by delivery service - to arrive no earlier than 15th March 2024 and no later than 22nd March 2024 at 6 PM. Due to organisational reasons, we won't be accepting entries on the day of the competition.

Pillars Brewery drop-off times during the shipping window:

Monday - Thursday 10 AM - 5 PM

Friday 10 AM - 10 PM

Saturday 2 PM - 11 PM

Sunday 2 PM - 8 PM

 


Entry Cost & Essentials

The entry fee is £9.50 (plus any PayPal handling fees) per entry.

PayPal handling fees are beyond our control.

Competitors are encouraged to come along to the event, sample the entries and share their beers with their friends and fellow competitors.


How to Enter

  1. Register yourself on this site via the Home page, Enter your beer(s) into the correct category and pay the fee via PayPal using the My Info and Entries Info page of this site. For help selecting a category see the BJCP Style Guidelines 2021.  The Judges and organisers will not reclassify entries so please choose styles carefully. E-mail the Competition Organiser if you need guidance.
  2. The last date for payment is 3rd March 2024
  3. The last date for entry editing is 10th March 2024.
  4. The last date for judge/steward registration and entry editing is 22nd March 2024.
  5. Label each of your beers as per the Bottle Acceptance Rules on the Entry Info page of this site.
  6. Package your entries and then drop off or ship your entry to the drop-off location at Pillars Brewery.
  7. Drop at, or ship to, the designated site to arrive NO EARLIER than 15th March 2024 and NO LATER than 22nd March 2024 at 6 PM. Due to organisational reasons, we won't be accepting entries on the day of the competition.
  8. Come along in person on Saturday 23rd March 2024 from 3 pm to sample beers with your fellow homebrewers and friends. 

Style and Award Categories

Styles will be grouped to form judging flights of similar styles or strengths of beers and to form roughly equal numbers on each table where possible. Beers will be judged against the style guideline under which they were entered. The best beers withing each flight will be judged against eachother to establish top 3 on the table (Judges can decide to reduce number of placing beers or add honourable mentions).

The 1st place entry in each group will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round.

The overall winner prize will be announced shortly.


The competitions are non-profit. Funds from the competition are used to run the competition itself, including food provision for volunteers at the event. A small amount may be used to support the training of judges (for example to purchase off-flavour kits). Everything else is fed back as prizes or used to pay for up-front costs for the next competition. All the organisers and judges volunteer their time freely to support the homebrewing community.


Massive thanks to Alex Allen who prepared our fantastic competition poster!

 

Contact

In the first instance contact the Competition Organisers:

Lucas Stolarczyk, at beerheadman@gmail.com

Click here to follow us on Facebook

and on Twitter HERE and HERE

 

We will only use your personal data for the purpose of running the competition and will delete all personal data 12 months after the competition ends. A list of winners will be available on social media in perpetuity.

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BJCP 2021 Judging Styles

If a style's name is hyperlinked, it has specific entry requirements. Select or tap on the name to view the subcategory's requirements.

1A American Light Lager1B American Lager2A International Pale Lager
2B International Amber Lager2C International Dark Lager3A Czech Pale Lager
3B Czech Premium Pale Lager3C Czech Amber Lager3D Czech Dark Lager
4A Munich Helles4B Festbier4C Helles Bock
5A German Leichtbier5C German Helles Exportbier5D German Pils
6A Märzen6B Rauchbier6C Dunkels Bock
7A Vienna Lager8A Munich Dunkel8B Schwarzbier
9A Doppelbock 9B Eisbock9C Baltic Porter
19B California Common27A1 Kellerbier 27A6 Pre-Prohibition Lager
29A Fruit Beer 29B Fruit and Spice Beer 29C Specialty Fruit Beer
30A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer 30C Winter Seasonal Beer 30D Specialty Spice Beer
31A Alternative Grain Beer 32A Classic Style Smoked Beer 32B Specialty Smoked Beer
33A Wood-Aged Beer 33B Specialty Wood-Aged Beer 56A Other Lager Beer (Custom Style)
56A Other Strong Lager Beer (Custom Style) 57A Kellerbier: Pale (Custom Style) 57A Kellerbier: Dunkel (Custom Style)
LSX5 New Zealand Pilsner  

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Number of Bottles Required Per Entry: 3

Judging Sessions

Lager Than Life 2024
Saturday 23 March, 2024 09:00, GMT

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Best of Show

The overall winner prize will be announced shortly.

BEST OF SHOW Prizes
(On top of the Table winner prizes)


Overall LTL winner:
The overall winner of LTL 2024 will get a fantastic opportunity to experience and help during a brewday at The Home of Lager in Walthamstow.


2nd Place in BOS
2nd prize is a brewery tour and tasting


3rd Place in BOS
3rd prize is a 24 pack of brewery fresh Pillars beers

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Awards

The awards ceremony will take place once judging is completed.

Places will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd beer in each category/table with a rosette and a prize.

Table/Category top 3 prizes:


1st Place
TBC


2nd Place
TBC


3rd Place
TBC

 

Results will be posted to the competition website after the ceremony concludes.

Feedback sheets will be uploaded to the competition website within a few days after the competition.

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Awards Ceremony

Pillars Brewery
Unit 2, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Walthamstow, E17 9HQ
Saturday 23 March, 2024 17:00, GMT

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