Matt Hunsworth
Judging is done for the 2026 Hpt ‘N Humid Brew-off! Every year, we hit a few milestones, learn some new things, and encounter a few surprises along the way. The whole process is fast and hectic, and time-compressed, so we rarely take the time to assess, reflect, and share these moments. Well, it’s time we take a good look at the highlights that came with the biggest thing we do each year. Here are 10 things we don’t mind bragging about at this year’s Hot ‘N Humid.
10 – No lost or Broken Bottles. It may seem silly to celebrate not breaking a bottle of beer and making a mess in our host’s brewhouse, but it’s worth noting because it is a first for this competition. Truth be told, I don’t think we’ve broken a bottle during competition, but we have had several bottles broken in transit, leaked in boxes, or mysteriously opened in their cartons and discovered in this condition once the bottle sort starts. But not this year. All entries sent in or delivered to our host brewery remained intact throughout the entire process.
9 – Smooth and Organized Sorting. Bottle sorting day is by far the most work in a single day during the entire competition process. While sorting the bottles is generally straightforward thanks to the category mats in our judging software, we learned a couple of things over the past few years that made this sort the best yet. First, you can never EVER have too many tables. We had more tables than category mats this year and still filled every square inch of each table top. Second, with a roll of duct tape, there is no such thing as a bad or old box. We saved about 20 beer bottle boxes from last year’s event. With those (and some duct tape), we were able to store all entries in standard-sized boxes, making stacking, storing, and retrieving entries easier than ever this year.
8 – The rise of Meads and Ciders. Each year, the number of meads and ciders entered in Hot ‘N Humid grows slightly. But this year, it’s taken a huge leap, and we received more meads and ciders than any other year by far! We’re excited to see the growing interest in meads and ciders not only in our club, but in the competition circuit overall. We’re hoping to see more mead- and cider-exclusive competitions in the Florida Competition Circuit in the future.
7 – All Mini-BOS Was Done by a New Set of Judges. That phrase needs some explaining. This is hard to summarize in one sentence, but easy to explain. Typically, I don’t ask judges to judge more than 8 entries in a single sitting, if possible. This year we had several categories with more than 8 entries to be judged. In that circumstance, I set up 2 sets of judges to split the category. When that happens, each set of judges “pushes” beers to a Mini-Best of Show round. They push beers that they feel are medal-worthy, but they don’t decide the medals. The Mini-Best of Show round decides the medal winners. This year was the first time we assigned a completely different set of judges to each Mini-BOS round to help maintain unbiased judging across the entire category.
6- Our First Ever “Judge’s Flight.” Brewing a beer for the competition volunteers is not a new idea. It’s a great way to showcase your club’s talents and thank the judges for their time and effort. With the wave of success we’ve been riding the past few years, we have more than one member anxious to help showcase our brewing at Hot ‘N Humid. The response to that is to take members up on that offer and introduce our first-ever “Judge’s Flight.” Four brews showcase our club’s brewing abilities and diversity. This year’s flight includes an American IPA, a Pale Ale, a Traditional Mead, and a Bochet.
5 – Publix Makes the Most Addictive Chicken Tenders. This isn’t a direct success for the event. But it’s worth mentioning. The lunch provided on Saturday, June 6th, was boxes of fresh cooked Publix Chicken Tenders. It was chosen solely to offer something different from past judging sessions, and it was affordable and generally something everyone would enjoy. But we did not expect them to be the most delicious meal of the entire lineup during judging. If we do nothing else from this list at next year’s event, we will definitely be getting Publix Chicken Tenders for lunch again.
4 – All Judges’ Bag Gift Items We Donated. For years, we didn’t offer any judging gifts at our judging sessions. Budget constraints, a lack of volunteers, and limited resources keep us from doing much more than providing lunch and beer for the judges. Last year, we made a concerted effort to change that, and our judges’ gift sets were a huge focus to help make up for past events. That year, most of the items were donated, but we did buy a few small items to help fill up those gift bags. This year, every item in the gift bags was donated by our supporters. The only thing the club had to buy were the bags.
3 – Ten Florida Homebrew Clubs Helped Get Judging Done. Every competition relies on the help from other area club volunteers, and Hot ‘N Humid is no exception. Each year, we are fortunate to have a big turnout from other Florida clubs to help us put on this event. This year, we didn’t have a big turnout – we had a HUGE turnout! Members from ten Florida clubs showed up to help with judging, not only getting all the entries judged, but also judged with time to spare.
2 – The Most BJCP Certified Judges We’ve ever Hosted. As a BJPC-sanctioned competition, we do draw BJCP-certified judges. But this year we hosted the most certified judges we’ve ever had judge in our competition. With that, this is the first year in which a majority of the paired judges were both BJCP-certified. Additionally, among the non-BJCP-certified judges, a majority have passed the BJCP online entrance exam and will take their judging exam in July to achieve certification. Along with BJCP-certified judges, we also host Certified Cicerones and Professional Brewers, and we thank everyone for helping us out yet again this year.
1 – With all of this, We Still Managed to keep some Secrets. We did a lot already this year with Hot ‘N Humid, but we’re not done yet. We still have a couple of surprises we’re keeping under wraps until the awards ceremony, including one big surprise that most members likely forgot they asked for. Want to know what those secrets are? Come to the award ceremony and watch the live stream on our YouTube Channel on Saturday, June 27th at 2:00 PM!
The 2026 Hot ‘N Humid Brew-Off Award Ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 27th at Ivanhoe Park Lager House, 23 N Orange Blossom Trl, Orlando, FL.
The tap room opens at 12 Noon, and the Awards Ceremony starts at 2:00 PM.
We will be live-streaming the awards on our YouTube Channel. The stream will start with a pre-roll video at 1:00 PM. The steam event will be posted soon at: https://www.youtube.com/@BrewersAnonymousHomebrewClub.
Cheers!
