Drop off date for entries: Saturday, August 12, 2017. Last year we were fortunate to have a couple of remote drop off locations, as well as the Fair office, for people who could not make this date and/or location. Ideas? Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Judging date: Sunday, August 20, 2017. This will not conflict with the Monroe Fair. Plenty of volunteers will be needed to help this day, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you're interested.
Entry fee: $3.50 per entry. Again this year, we will need you to complete your entry process online before arriving on August 12. Last year there were a few people who had computer issues at home, so we had a back-up plan. It was more time consuming, but it worked, so if you have computer problems please plan to show up anyway.
Now is the time to think about what you will enter! Brew that beer you've been thinking about, test and clean up that wine so you can bottle it in plenty of time to avoid bottle-shock. And don't be shy about entering! Some of our entries come in from people who are primarily looking for comments and suggestions to help them make better beer or wine.
The Washington State Fair Amateur Wine & Beer Competition judges each wine and beer on it's own merits. It's presence, it's balance, it's type or varietal character, not by how it compares to others. For this reason, there can be many (or few) winners at each level and in each category. Both the beer and wine are judged blind, so that the judge does not know who made the beverage they are tasting. There are just a few winners in Best of Categories for both beer & wine, and then there is one Best of Show for Wine, and one for Beer. There are not multiple winners here, they are the highest scores and/or the best when tasted side by side.
The Beer competition follows BJCP and is a sanctioned competition with BJCP ranked judges. The Wine competition uses the AWS scoring sheets, and the judges come from a variety of backgrounds.
If you know of anyone qualified and interested in judging beer or wine, please have them contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Winemakers please be sure you test and record your final specific gravity, using a hydrometer. We need this when you enter your wine because it allows us to put the wines in a proper tasting sequence. It's difficult for a judge to accurately assess your wine if s/he has to bounce back and forth between dry and sweet wines. Help is available at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or you can purchase a hydrometer for about $10.
Washington State Fair will run this year from September 1 to 24 and will be closed the 6th and Tuesdays.