Barleywine:                                Ales with ABV>9.0%, excluding imperial porters/stouts with ABV<14%

  Strong/Old Ale:                         Ales with 6.5%<=ABV<=9.0%.  Exceptions based on ABV, etc. are noted elsewhere under their appropriate style.  Please note that Double/Imperial IPAs and Imperial Red/Amber Ales are now included in their own category in our summer competition.

Imperial Stout:                          Stouts or porters with 7.5%<ABV<14%.  Those at or above 14% ABV will be placed in our Yeast Killer category.

Stout:                                            All ales labeled “stout” excluding those with ABV>7.5%.

Porter:                                          All ales labeled “porter” excluding those with ABV>7.5%. 

Scottish-Style Ale:                   All ales brewed to mimic the Scottish tradition; that is, a heavily malt-accented character and often smoky/peaty/whiskey undertones.  No ABV limit is set for Scottish ales. 

Belgian/Abbey Strong Ale:   Ales brewed in traditional Abbey/Belgian styles excluding those examined in our Belgian/French-Style Ale category in our summer competition.  The styles for this category include, but are not limited to: Belgian strong ale, dubbel, trippel and most beers designated as “Grand Cru” or “Cuvee”.  This category also includes Flemish/Belgian sour beer styles such as red ale, brown ale, and non-fruit flavored lambic.  No ABV limit is set for Belgian/Abbey Strong Ale.

Brown/Dark Ale:                      Ales brewed with significant amounts of dark malt typically imparting chocolate, nutty, and/or roasty flavor, but with ABV<6.5% and not otherwise classified as a porter/stout.  This includes beers in the “mild” style.

Black/Dark Lager:                     Lagers denoted as “dunkel,” “schwarzbier,” “dark” or “black” that have ABV<=6.5% and are not otherwise classified by the brewer (i.e., bock beer).  Those with ABV>6.5% will be placed in bock beer.  

Vienna/Marzen Lager:           Lagers described as “Vienna,” “Marzen,” “Octoberfest,” “Fest” or “Amber Lager” that are brewed with more malt accents than pilsners, Dortmunders, Helles or other gold lagers.  They are typically light to dark amber in color and have an ABV<=6.5%. 

Spice/Herb Beer:                     Beer of any style that contains a clearly detectable level of spice or herb flavoring in the taste.  The category includes strong ales (up to 8.5% ABV) that have significant spice/herb flavor, but excludes spiced barleywines, Belgian-style beers, and beers where the additional flavor is consonant with the base style of the beer.

Barrel/Wood Aged Beer:      Beer of any style that is aged in a barrel or with wood chips.  There is no limit to the ABV of this style.  Beers may be entered in this style or in the underlying style category – not both.

USBTC Pull-out Categories 

Belgo/American:                              Beers of the Belgian tradition with a unique American twist.  That twist can be delivered by style bending or unique American style derivation.  This will include, but is not limited to, Belgian Imperial Stouts, Belgian IPA, and Double Wit beers.  This style is widely open to the brewers choosing, but must be tied in some way to a traditional Belgian style.  Entries in this style can not also be entered in the Belgian/Abbey category this year.

Smoke/Rauch Beer:                         Beer of any style that has been imparted with a smoke character, usually through the use of smoked malts.  ABV should be less than 8.5%, at which point a beer would be entered in Strong/Old Ale or Barleywine.  Beers in this style will be judged in part on the integration of smoke to the underlying style, although hedonic judging is still used.