Dates, rules and prizes have been announced for the 2015 National Craft Brewers Championships – entries are now open until 23rd October 2015. Sponsored by SAB and backed by Craft Beer South Africa (CBSA), the competition is open to professional craft brewers based in South Africa.

The 2014 finalists celebrate at the gala awards evening

“Craft brewing is about exploring less conventional beer recipes, a creative expression, a sense of place and a story and we at SAB are excited to be co-hosting the country’s premier craft competition,” said Petr Vesely, SAB Chief Brewer, in a press release issued by SAB and CBSA.

CBSA chairman Brian Stewart (brewer behind the Robson’s brand) added: “Craft beers, once only available in the bigger cities, are now spreading to smaller towns with more and more craft brewers setting up shop. All this means greater competition and can only lead to better brews for the public.  However, so much choice can often be confusing and we hope the SAB/CBSA National Craft Brewers Championships will assist beer lovers in identifying the finest products.”

Cider-makers can also enter their wares and this year there will be a Journalists’ Choice Award in both the beer and cider categories, hopefully attracting more media attention to the contest.

Brewers (or cider-makers) can enter any beer they regularly brew and that is commercially available, as long as it fits into the categories laid out in the BJCP 2015 style guidelines.

The full competition rules, as well as entry forms, are over at SAB’s website, but here is a run-down of the prizes and key dates and deets:

Beer category

2013 winners (Dog and Fig Brewery) accept their prize

First prize:

• R50 000 from SAB
• 150kg pale malt from SAB Maltings Caledon
• 150kg dark malt from SAB Maltings (Alrode)
• 2kg Hops from SAB Hop Farms

Second prize:

• R30 000 from SAB
• 100kg pale malt from SAB Maltings Caledon
• 100kg dark malt from SAB Maltings Alrode
• 1,5kg Hops from SAB Hop Farms

Third prize:

• R10 000 from SAB
• 50kg pale malt from SAB Maltings Caledon
• 50g dark malt from SAB Maltings Alrode
• 1kg Hops from SAB Hop Farms
• R12 000 worth of consultancy or training from Global Beverage Solutions

Cider category

 First prize:

• R50 000 from SAB

Second Prize:

• R30 000 from SAB

Third Prize:

• R10 000 from SAB

Journalists’ Choice Award

 Best Beer

• All-inclusive participation in SAB’s annual Heritage Tour to George, Caledon and Cape Town for 2 people sponsored by SAB

Best Cider

• All-inclusive participation in SAB’s annual Heritage Tour to George, Caledon and Cape Town for 2 people sponsored by SAB

 How to Enter

To enter go to http://www.sabstories.co.za/beer-culture and complete the entry form.

The competition closes Friday, 23rd October 2015 at 17h00.  Beer samples must be delivered to the SAB Cyril Ramaphosa World of Learning in Kyalami, Johannesburg. Judging will take place on Saturday, 24th October 2015.

Winners will be announced at an event at SAB’s central office in Johannesburg on Thursday, 3rd December 2015.

Good luck!

You might also like to read: 2014 South African Craft Beer Championships – the Winners