2026 CRAFT BREW COMPETITION

Started in 1998 and attended by more than 100,000 beer lovers, Tap New York is one of the largest and longest running craft brew festivals in the country. Since the start, Tap has recognized and honored all the incredible brews made in New York State, which also give us a reason to come together. We look forward to seeing what our talented brewers come up with this year!

May 16th Competition Information

COMPETITION ELIGIBILITY: The Tap New York Craft Brew Competition is open to any craft brewer from New York State that will also be attending the Tap New York Festival on May 16-17, 2026. Eligible craft brews include beer, cider, mead, ready-to-drink (RTD) mixes and other alcoholic beverages that are brewed or distilled solely in New York State.

PART 1 – Registration and Delivery for Competition

  1. Brewers are requested to identify and register their competition craft brews no later than May 14th, 2026, through the form below. Brewers can enter up to 3 craft brews for judging. Craft brews entered for competitions must also be available for sampling by attendees at the festival. There is no limit to the amount or styles of additional beverages you bring to serve at the event; however you need to ensure any craft brews entered for judging should be amply available for pouring throughout the weekend (equivalent to 2 kegs per beer). Register your entries for the competition below.

  2. All entries for competition must be delivered to Blackthorne Resort so as to arrive by noon on Friday, May 15th. Blackthorne Resort will accept shipments beginning Monday, May 11th, each day from noon until 5PM EST ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT DELIVER OUTSIDE OF THESE DAYS AND HOURS.  A copy of the beers entry registration form must be printed out and included with the shipment, with labels/tags affixed to the bottles. A copy of the form will be sent back to you along with labels for printing. Please ensure your entries will arrive at Blackthorne Resort between May 11th and May 15th.

    ***If you plan to hand deliver/deliver in person, contact Dale Handel at (518) 634-2541 between 9AM and 5PM for hours and delivery details.

    Blackthorne Resort

    ATTN: Dale Handel – Tap NY Contest

    348 Sunside Road, East Durham, NY 12423

  3. We accept bottles and cans ranging in size from 12 oz to 32 oz – no growlers. Entries must be clearly labeled with the labels we provide to you. Labels should include your brewery name, beverage name and beverage category & style. Three bottles/cans of each beverage are requested for a maximum of 9 bottles/cans per brewery. Each competition entry must be entered in one of the sub-categories identified in the Competition Craft Brew List:

  • Wheat

  • Light Lagers

  • Amber / Dark Lagers

  • Bock Beers

  • Light Ales

  • IPAs

  • Hazy IPAs

  • Strong IPAs

  • Strong Ales

  • Stouts

  • Fruit / Spiced / Herbed / Vegetable

  • Non-Alcholic Brews — alcohol content of .5% ABV or less qualifies as entry

  • Specialty Brews — brewed drinks such as Cider, Mead, Sake, Kombucha, or Hard Tea (*alcohol content should be produced by fermentation and not infusion or addition)

Part 2 — Awards and Judging Process

Tap® New York will present awards for the best breweries and the best craft brews in NEW YORK STATE determined by voting. The F.X. Matt Memorial Cup is presented to the best brewery in NEW YORK STATE, the Matthew Vassar Brewers Cup is presented to the brewery with the most popular votes during the festival, and the Governor's Cup is presented for the best overall craft brew. All scoring is done by a panel of 3 judges. All judging is blind. Each beverage is opened and poured in a secure area and delivered for judging by a designated steward. Beverages are judged per the sub-category selected under each main category. Beers are categorized using the BJCP guidelines. Clear plastic tasting cups are used, similar to the ones used at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

A minimum of 12 entries are required to establish a qualifying category for judging.  Otherwise, the styles are merged into a similar category to be judged.

When 2 or more panels are required to judge a single category with more than 12 entries, the top 2-3 beverages from each panel are judged in a follow-up round to determine the top entry for that category.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals and accompanying certificates are presented to the best entries in each main category.

The Best Brewery (F.X. Matt Memorial Cup) is determined based on the total of the scores for the 3 beers judged, with bonus points awarded on a 3-2-1 basis for Gold-Silver-Bronze medal winners respectively.

This year, the awards announcement will take place Saturday afternoon, the same day of the competition. More information will be sent once the festival draws closer.

For questions regarding the competition, please contact: Ken Soliz, Tap® New York Competition Coordinator, ken@tap-ny.com.

Deadline to Participate: May 14, 2026

Complete the following online application.

2026 COMPETITION APPLICATION