Behind the Brews: Judging Loudoun’s Best Beer The second annual Loudoun Beer Awards took place February 4 at Lark Brewing Co in south Loudoun – a glittering ceremony with a tasting reception of gold medal-winning beers followed by a sit-down awards dinner. Dubbed “Brewing a Revolution” in honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, the event was a huge success with more than 150 guests. That said, the hard yards had gone in a month earlier.

On a Sunday back in January, 22 BJCP (Beer Judge Certified Program) judges, four of them Grand Masters, which is the equivalent of a master wine sommelier, did blind tastings of the entries at Harvest Gap Brewing in Hillsboro – a process more akin to a professional wine competition than a usual rowdy afternoon in a Loudoun brewery.

Fifteen breweries from Loudoun submitted close to 100 beers across 10 master categories for the awards, categories ranging from light ale, dark lager and hazy IPAs to fruited beer, wheat beer, “Old World” styles and Hard Alternatives.

While 100 entries might seem a lot (Loudoun’s is the largest beer competition in northern Virginia), major competitions such as the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and the World Beer Cup (WBC) have thousands of entries over more than 100 categories.

“Loudoun’s may be smaller than those, but the level of judging is on par with the GABF or WBC,” said Jasper Akerboom of Jasper Yeast, a beer scientist who was part of the inaugural awards in 2025. “They follow the BJCP rules and they are very well defined.”

How did the process work? 

Beers were delivered to Harvest Gap the day before the judging. There, “stewards” put the beers into their judging category and “codified” the entries – giving each beer and brewery a code so that judges can’t identify the brewery. A head steward, who is not a judge, keeps a master list of codes and their corresponding breweries and beers. Judges were then assigned to tasting stations based on the number of entries.

“Popular categories like Hazy IPA had more judges than, say, the Hard Alternative  category, which only had a few entries,” said Tolga Baki of Hillsborough Winery, Brewery & Vineyards, one of the organizers of the awards.

On judgement day, the stewards brought out the beer in clear cups, the codes written in sharpie on each cup, to the judges’ tables. BJCP judges for each category then tasted the same beer and made their notes and grades on a 50-point scale.

“They can also discuss certain items or reference the comprehensive BJCP style guidelines to make sure the beer is within the category parameters,” said Baki.

The main criteria judges grade on are flavor (20 points), aroma (12 points) and overall impression (10 points). Along with appearance and mouthfeel, these constitute a 50-point scale that evaluates stylistic accuracy, technical merit and quality. 

  • There is also a subjective analysis: “Did I like this beer?” 
  • The beer with the most points wins gold.

The judges in each category then send the best beer in their category to Best in Show – the ultimate award for the best overall beer in Loudoun – judged by the four Grand Masters.

“Best in Show comprises all the gold medal winners in each category,” said Baki. “This judging is naturally more subjective since the Grand Masters are not comparing the same type of beer but judging the merits of, say, a light lager alongside a heavy stout and a hazy IPA, determining which of these beers is the most exemplary in its style.”

While medal winners were announced before the big awards, the Best in Show winner – the finest beer of the year in Loudoun – is kept secret until the sit-down dinner.

One of the highlights of the Harvest Gap event was that it was held in conjunction with the Blue Ridge Cattlemen’s Association Chili Cook-Off where eight cattle producers teamed up with eight local restaurants to make world-class chili. The winning restaurant – Sterling’s Bungalow Lakehouse – won the right to serve its chili at the Beer Awards.

For the 150 Loudoun beer fans in attendance, the ceremony echoed the annual Loudoun Wine Awards, the flagship event on the Loudoun social calendar. Which, was the intention.

“We actually got the idea for the beer awards from seeing the wine awards,” said Baki whose family famously produces both wine and beer at Hillsborough."

As for the big winner, Best in Show – the Loudoun Beer Cup for the best Loudoun beer  – went to Route 7 Brewing for its Cross Czech, a Czech-Style Dark Lager.

The event also celebrated the wider Loudoun brewing community. Roger Knoell of Barnhouse Brewery who arranged the judging at Harvest Gap was named Brewer of the Year, Bear Chase Brewing Company’s malty “Meet Virginia” beer brewed with yeast from Loudoun, hops from Virginia growers and malt from Virginia grain won the Best Loudoun Beer category and the Event of the Year went to Old Ox Brewery’s “Last Call” closing party.

Baki also announced that the Loudoun County Brewers Association’s annual collaboration Charity Beer recipient will be ECHO, a Loudoun non-profit that creates opportunities for adults with disabilities.

For a full list of winners, click here.