Best of the Bay 2026
Thanks to all who participated in the Best of the Bay 2026.
There were 205 entries judged and 116 registered participants, judges, and stewards.
Past Winners
View past winners:
Best of Show Winners
Best of Show – Beer
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dave Frombach | Puget Sound Porter | 20A: American Porter | West Sound Brewers |
| 2nd | Cory Geerdts | The Push Beer | 21A: American IPA | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| 3rd | Joseph Murphy Co-Brewer: Carolyn Macaulay Waldo | ¡"The Joe"Rchata! | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| HM | Kris Haskins | Mrs. Krebapple | 9A: Doppelbock | Cascade Brewers Guild |
Winning Entries
Standard American (American Light Lager & Cream Ale) (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Adam Engler | Kalamazoo Kream | 1C: Cream Ale | |
| 2nd | Kris Haskins | Canada, Eh? | 1B: American Lager | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 3rd | Brandon Huston | It's Creamy | 1C: Cream Ale | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
| 4th | Dustin Striplin | Hell Ya Brother! | 1B: American Lager | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
International Lager (Int'l Pale Lager), Czech Lager (Czech Pale Lager, Czech Premium Pale Lager), German Wheat (Weissbier, Weizenbock) (13 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jay Brantley | Enigmatic Shadow Of The Infinite Universe | 3B: Czech Premium Pale Lager | PC Mashers |
| 2nd | Dustin Striplin Co-Brewer: Jamie Striplin | Mother Hefe'r | 10A: Weissbier | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Jereme Grissom Co-Brewer: Josh Grissom | Cerveza De Maiz Verde | 2A: International Pale Lager | Circle City Zymurgy |
American Wheat Beer, Int’l Amber Lager, Czech Amber Lager, Czech Dark Lager (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Todd Quessenberry | Amber Lager | 3C: Czech Amber Lager | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| 2nd | Adam Arndt | U Fleku | 3D: Czech Dark Lager | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 3rd | Jeremy Jones | Chernoborg | 3D: Czech Dark Lager | Snake River Brewers |
| 4th | Cody Stiles | Lazy Lake Wheat | 1D: American Wheat Beer |
Standard Cider and Perry (New World Cider, New England Cider, Cider with Other Fruit, Applewine) (7 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matthew Mead | This Is My First Apple Wine! Thanks Woj! | C2C: Applewine | PrimeTime Brewers |
| 2nd | Todd Quessenberry | Tonasket Cider | C1A: New World Cider | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| 3rd | Robert Dugan | Messican Cookie | C2B: Cider with Other Fruit | |
| 4th | Kevin Wojdak | Hank's Place 2022 | C1A: New World Cider | Urban Knaves of Grain |
Pale Bitter European Beer (Kölsch, German Pils), Specialty Beer (Mixed-Style Beer), Local Styles (New Zealand Pilsner) (22 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steve Hutchison | Prost! Pils | 5D: German Pils | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 2nd | Jim Dunlap | Jd Pils | 5D: German Pils | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 3rd | Jim Thompson | Bagshot Row | LSX5: New Zealand Pilsner | Oregon Brew Crew |
Pale Malty European Lager (Munich Helles, Festbier, German Helles Exportbier), Amber Malty (Märzen, Rauchbier), Amber Bitter (Vienna Lager, Altbier), Dark European Lager (Munich Dunkel, Schwarzbier) (18 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Scott Howell | Burien Schwarzbier | 8B: Schwarzbier | Rat City Homebrewers |
| 2nd | Gabriel Fusca Co-Brewer: Daniela Yovine | Challenge Accepted - Vienna Lager | 7A: Vienna Lager | North Seattle Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Jonathan Sherwin | Everyday I'm Dunkelin' | 8A: Munich Dunkel | West Sound Brewers |
Pale American (American Pale), IPA (American IPA) (21 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cory Geerdts | The Push Beer | 21A: American IPA | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| 2nd | Jim Thompson | Twilight Realm | 18B: American Pale Ale | Oregon Brew Crew |
| 3rd | Kris Haskins | Astronaut Dana | 21A: American IPA | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| HM | Peter Hand | Smell Ya Later | 21A: American IPA |
Saturday am 4 - IPA (Specialty, Black, Hazy), Strong American (Double IPA), Historical (Kentucky Common, Pre-Prohibition Lager) (15 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matt Hunsworth | There's A Huge Chance Some Dog Fur Got In Here | 27A2: Kentucky Common | Brewers Anonymous |
| 2nd | Steve Hutchison | Holy Trinity DIPA | 22A: Double IPA | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 3rd | Ryan Reed | Old Timey Water. | 27A6: Pre-Prohibition Lager | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
Strong European Beer (Doppelbock), Smoked (Classic, Specialty), Wood (Wood-Aged, Specialty Wood-Aged) (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kris Haskins | Mrs. Krebapple | 9A: Doppelbock | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 2nd | Matthew Hibbs | Peated Gravy | 32B: Specialty Smoked Beer | Browns Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Christopher Gear Co-Brewer: Buster Dumbleton | Any Port In A Storm | 33B: Specialty Wood-Aged Beer | High Desert Brewgade |
European Sour (Flanders Red, Fruity Lambic), Belgian (Witbier, Belgian Pale Ale), Strong Belgian Ale (Saison, Belgian Golden Strong Ale), Monastic (Belgian Single, Dubbel, Tripel, Belgian Dark Strong), Historical Beer (Sahti), American Wil (22 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Drew Scoggins Co-Brewer: Wyatt Youngquist | Hoid's Perpendicularity | 24A: Witbier | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 2nd | Louis Strowger | Dark And Strong | 26D: Belgian Dark Strong Ale | West Sound Brewers |
| 3rd | Karsten Lundquist | Rivas-Szablya Framboise | 23F: Fruit Lambic | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 4th | Aaron Davis | Davis Dubbel | 26B: Belgian Dubbel | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
Historical (Lichtenhainer, Roggenbier), Fruit (Fruit, Fruit & Spice), Local (Catherina Sour) (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dustin Striplin | Pump Up The Jam | LSX4: Catharina Sour | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Trever Bohling Co-Brewer: Tristan McCoy | Tacoma Sunburn | 29B: Fruit and Spice Beer | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Peter Bergler | Strawberry Rhubarb American Wheat | 29A: Fruit Beer | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| HM | Todd Quessenberry | Kumquat Kolsch | 29A: Fruit Beer | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
Spiced Beer (Spice, Herb, or Vegetable, Winter Seasonal, Alternative Grain) (12 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Joseph Murphy Co-Brewer: Carolyn Macaulay Waldo | ¡"The Joe"Rchata! | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| 2nd | Dale Nash | Roof Of The Mouth Imperial Stout | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | West Sound Brewers |
| 3rd | Corey Shoemaker | No Sugar, No Cream, Just Coffee And Porter | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | West Sound Brewers |
| HM | Tristan McCoy Co-Brewer: Kyle Jung | Golden Suntan Lotion | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
British Bitter (Best Bitter, Strong Bitter), Pale Commonwealth (British Golden, English IPA), British Brown (Dark Mild, British Brown), Irish (Irish Stout, Irish Extra Stout), Dark British (Sweet Stout) (17 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Russell Pearsall | Mildy Interesting | 13A: Dark Mild | Cascade Brewers Guild |
| 2nd | Scott Howell | Burien Mild | 13A: Dark Mild | Rat City Homebrewers |
| 3rd | Cory Geerdts | British Brown | 13B: British Brown Ale | Bellingham Homebrewers Guild |
| HM | Tony Ochsner | Talli The Timid | 13A: Dark Mild | Cascade Brewers Guild |
Irish (Irish Red), Dark British (Tropical Stout), Strong British (Old Ale, Wee Heavy), Pale American (Blond Ale), American Porter & Stout (American Porter, American Stout, Imperial Stout), Strong American (American Strong, American Bar (18 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dave Frombach | Puget Sound Porter | 20A: American Porter | West Sound Brewers |
| 2nd | Dustin Striplin | Mo Barley Mo Problems | 22C: American Barleywine | Browns Point Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Josh Bye | Locality: C O | 16C: Tropical Stout | Shenandoah Imbibers Project |