Aurora Brewing Challenge 2026

Thanks to all who participated in the Aurora Brewing Challenge 2026.

View past winners:

There were 264 entries judged and 91 registered participants, judges, and stewards.

Results

Best of Show Winners

Best of Show – Beer

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Wuilmer Venegas	Power Up	3B: Czech Premium Pale Lager	GTA Brews
2nd	Brandel Rock	3 Plums Too Many	28B: Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
3rd	Adrien Giddings	Quadrophonic Bubonic	26D: Belgian Dark Strong Ale	GTA Brews

Brewer of the year (64 Participating Brewers)

Place	Brewer	1st	2nd	3rd	Score	Club
1000 1st	Casey Szott	2	3	0	12.02	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2000 2nd	Wuilmer Venegas	3	0	0	9.03	GTA Brews
3000 3rd	Andrew Purschke	1	2	1	8.01	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
9004	Chad Kling	1	2	1	8.01	VanBrewers
5000 5th	Brandel Rock	1	2	0	7.01	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild

Scores and tie-breakers have been applied in accordance with the scoring methodology. Numbers reflected are rounded to the hundredth place. Hover over or tap the question mark icon () for the actual calculated value.

Club of the year (13 Participating Clubs)

Place	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	HM	Score
1000 1st	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers	7	9	6	1	45.07
2000 2nd	GTA Brews	8	1	4	0	30.08
3000 3rd	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild	3	5	2	0	21.03
4000 4th	VanBrewers	2	4	3	0	17.02
5000 5th	True Grist	1	2	1	0	8.01
6000 6th	MontreAlers	1	0	4	0	7.01
7000 7th	Winnipeg Brew Bombers	1	1	0	0	5.01
8000 8th	Ottawa's Homebrew Society	0	2	0	0	4.00
9000 9th	Island Brewers Union (IBU)	1	0	0	0	3.01
10000 10th	Island Brewers Union	0	1	1	0	3.00

Winning Entries

Standard American Beer: Lager + Cream Ale (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Eric Pare	NixtaMazelization	31A: Alternative Grain Beer	MontreAlers
2nd	Jim Cavill	Creamed My Pints	1C: Cream Ale	Ottawa's Homebrew Society
3rd	Chad Kling	Cluster Hops Alas	27A6: Pre-Prohibition Lager	VanBrewers

International Lager: Pale, Amber, Dark (11 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Andrew Purschke	Godzilla Lager	2A: International Pale Lager	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
2nd	Casey Szott	Pancho Villa	2A: International Pale Lager	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Bill Riley	Kicchin Dorinkaa	2A: International Pale Lager	VanBrewers

Czech Lager: Pale, Premium, Dark (10 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Wuilmer Venegas	Power Up	3B: Czech Premium Pale Lager	GTA Brews
2nd	Bill Riley	Tmave Pivo	3D: Czech Dark Lager	VanBrewers
3rd	Rick Alaszkiewicz	City of a Hundred Spires	3D: Czech Dark Lager	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

Pale Malty European Lager (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	David Chang-Sang	It's Gonna Be May	4C: Helles Bock	GTA Brews
2nd	Chad Kling	Maibock, Maibock he’s got a knife	4C: Helles Bock	VanBrewers
3rd	Adrien Giddings	Doom II: Helles on Earth	4A: Munich Helles	GTA Brews

Pale Bitter European Beer: (11 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Leif Bogwald	Berserker Brew House Kolsch	5B: Kölsch	Island Brewers Union (IBU)
2nd	Brian Marmoreo	St Michael	5C: German Helles Exportbier
3rd	Eric Gaudreault Co-Brewer: Philippe Deschênes	La pas forte	5A: German Leichtbier	MontreAlers

Amber Malty OR Bitter European Lager (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Chad Kling	Belsnickel Bock	6C: Dunkels Bock	VanBrewers
2nd	Dustin Preece	A Freudian Sip	7A: Vienna Lager	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
3rd	Nolan Skogen	Men are from Märzen	6A: Märzen	Red Deer Brewers

Dark European Lager (11 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Shane Schlesinger	May The Schwarz Bier With You	8B: Schwarzbier	GTA Brews
2nd	Edward Chilton	Schwarzbier	8B: Schwarzbier	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	John Post	Black Kat	8B: Schwarzbier	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

Regional Styles: German Wheat, Belgian Wit, NZ Pils (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Wuilmer Venegas	La margara	10A: Weissbier	GTA Brews
2nd	Matt McNair	The Decline	10C: Weizenbock	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Graham Barber	Weizen Up	10A: Weissbier	MontreAlers

British Beers (14 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Wesley d'Haene	The Guvnah Made Me Do It Again	11A: Ordinary Bitter	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Chad Kling	Plastic Melodrama	12A: British Golden Ale	VanBrewers
3rd	Mark Caveny	Chagford Mild	13A: Dark Mild

Strong Beer: European, British, American (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Adam Bass	Big Boi	17D: English Barley Wine	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Keigan Ewing	The Bitter End	22C: American Barleywine	True Grist
3rd	Mark Caveny	Dreams of the Baltic	9C: Baltic Porter

Stouts: Irish, British, American (12 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Dustin Preece	Forge Daughter	15B: Irish Stout	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
2nd	Brandel Rock	RIS Stout	20C: Imperial Stout	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
3rd	Carsten Weitemeyer	Boneyard Guiness	15B: Irish Stout	GTA Brews

Scottish and Irish Ales (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Andrew Ford	Aye or Die!	15A: Irish Red Ale	GTA Brews
2nd	Edward Chilton	ScottishExport	14C: Scottish Export	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Daniel Bohnke-Jorgensen Co-Brewer: Daniel Fairbrother Wally Yake	Righteous Red Ale	15A: Irish Red Ale	Red Deer Brewers

Pale American Ale (14 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Tyler McGill	Dos Amigos Pale ale	18B: American Pale Ale
2nd	John Post	Rye'not	18B: American Pale Ale	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Andrew Purschke	West Coast Camper	18B: American Pale Ale	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
HM	Ryan Preston	G-U-I-L-L-O-T-I-N-E	18B: American Pale Ale	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

American Amber, Brown, Porter (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Wesley d'Haene	Two Poles on the Imaginary Axis	20A: American Porter	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Andrew Purschke	Hammer Time	27A7: Pre-Prohibition Porter	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
3rd	Jonathan Freedman	Anchors Aweigh!	19B: California Common	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild

American IPA and DIPA (12 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Casey Szott	Big Hop Hugs	21A: American IPA	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Brent Burgoyne	Brown Dog IPA	21A: American IPA	Island Brewers Union
3rd	Brent Burgoyne	Brown Dog IBU IPA	21A: American IPA	Island Brewers Union

Specialty IPA (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Ryan Preston	This Horrifying Force, The Desire to Brew	21B6: White IPA	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Casey Szott	Str8jkt Jr.	21B: Specialty IPA	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Matt Epler	Just Out For a RIPA	21B4: Red IPA	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

Hazy IPA (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Casey Szott	str8jkt	21C: Hazy IPA	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Shane Schlesinger	Superdelic-ious & Krush-able	21C: Hazy IPA	GTA Brews
3rd	Mike Tucker	Sunny Haze	21C: Hazy IPA	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

Sour and Wild Beers (14 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Brandel Rock	3 Plums Too Many	28B: Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
2nd	Scott Sterling	Brett Tart	28B: Mixed Fermentation Sour Beer	True Grist
3rd	Keigan Ewing	Pucker Factor 12	LSX4: Catharina Sour	True Grist

Strong Belgian Ale (10 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Mike Tucker	Saphir Saison	25B: Saison	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
2nd	Matt McNair	Amarillo Highway	25B: Saison	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Carsten Weitemeyer	For Whom The Saison Tolls	25B: Saison	GTA Brews

Monastic Ale (11 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Adrien Giddings	Quadrophonic Bubonic	26D: Belgian Dark Strong Ale	GTA Brews
2nd	Matt McNair	Dark Days	26D: Belgian Dark Strong Ale	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Ryan Preston	Midnight Sun	26A: Belgian Single	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

Fruit Beer (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Steve Shaw	Soniarita	29B: Fruit and Spice Beer	Winnipeg Brew Bombers
2nd	Casey Szott	Brat Candy #02	29C: Specialty Fruit Beer	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers
3rd	Brian Marmoreo	Chupacabra	29B: Fruit and Spice Beer

Spiced Beer (14 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Andrew Ford	Chili Czech	30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	GTA Brews
2nd	Steve Shaw Co-Brewer: Andre Lavoie	Obsidian Orchard	30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	Winnipeg Brew Bombers
3rd	John Post	O'Henry	30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	Cowtown Yeast Wranglers

Smoked and Wood Aged Beers (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Keigan Ewing	Longer, Darker Voyage	33B: Specialty Wood-Aged Beer	True Grist
2nd	Andrew Purschke	Centre of the Party	33B: Specialty Wood-Aged Beer	Edmonton Homebrewers Guild
3rd	Eric Gaudreault Co-Brewer: Philippe Deschênes	Weetabix	33A: Wood-Aged Beer	MontreAlers

Specialty Beer: Mixed Style and Experimental (12 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Tyler McGill	West Coast pilsner	34B: Mixed-Style Beer
2nd	Bill Riley	Pontecorvo	34B: Mixed-Style Beer	VanBrewers
3rd	Eric Pare	Funky Aged Saison	34B: Mixed-Style Beer	MontreAlers

Mead and Cider (14 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Matthew Parkinson	Black Berry Cheese Cake	M4C: Experimental Mead	VanBrewers
2nd	Eric Williams	Banane au Rhum	M4C: Experimental Mead	Ottawa's Homebrew Society
3rd	Matthew Parkinson	The Regent	M1B: Semi-Sweet Mead	VanBrewers