West Coast Best Coast 2026
Awards
Judges
Craig Agnor, Francesco Antonelli, Ingo Barkow, Nerea Bazan, Manmohan Birdi, Chris Burrows, Ian Cosier, James Cross, Hrabren Dobrotić, Juan Manuel Grasso, Christopher Hacon, Dave Hayward, Stew Horne, Pui Lee, Gustavo Passaia, Markus Rüf, David Gálvez Ruiz, Darren Sloan, Lucas Stolarczyk, Lana Svitankova, Simon Thompson, James Wilson
Judges - Best of Show
Francesco Antonelli, Ingo Barkow, Lucas Stolarczyk, Lana Svitankova, Simon Thompson
Stewards
Rich Harper, Ken O'Kelly, Ben Quinton, Max Taylor, Rick Woolliss
By the Numbers
71 Entries
51 Entrants
22 Judges
5 Stewards
17 Placing Entries
Table 1: American IPA
28 entries
Judges: Craig Agnor, Ingo Barkow, Nerea Bazan, Markus Rüf
1st
James Wilson
London Amateur Brewers
Straight Outta Epsom (21A: American IPA)
2nd
Andrew Benham
Runnel Stone (21A: American IPA)
3rd
Ian Benfell
Barnsley Homebrew Club
Tilt The Hips (21A: American IPA)
Table 2: Specialty IPA & Other West Coast Styles
10 entries
Judges: Francesco Antonelli, Stew Horne
1st
Ian Cosier
London Amateur Brewers
Vallee Noir (21B2: Black IPA)
2nd
Rob Iafrati
Homebrew Collab (Bristol)
Jaipur Rouge (21B4: Red IPA)
3rd
Luke Russell
London Amateur Brewers
Somewhere Far Away (WC01: Other West Coast Styles)
4th
Laura Braid
Scottish Craft Brewers
Rye Not (21B5: Rye IPA)
Table 3: Double & Strong
7 entries
Judges: Christopher Hacon, James Wilson
1st
Ian Cosier
London Amateur Brewers
Meleze (22A: Double IPA)
2nd
Ben Quinton
London Amateur Brewers
Evil Gwenpire (22A: Double IPA)
3rd
Dave Tennant
The Big DIPA (22A: Double IPA)
Table 4: American Pale, Amber & Brown
11 entries
Judges: Manmohan Birdi, Ian Cosier
1st
Stew Horne
Beer Boars
Oxidised AF (18B: American Pale Ale)
2nd
Kevin Warnes
Anglian Craft Brewers
How Now (19C: American Brown Ale)
3rd
Chris Burrows
Reading Amateur Brewers
Back To Basics (18B: American Pale Ale)
HM
Richard Caldecott
Liverpool Homebrew Club
Gordon (18B: American Pale Ale)
Table 5: West Coast Largered Beers
15 entries
Judges: Gustavo Passaia, Lucas Stolarczyk
1st
Chris Burrows
Reading Amateur Brewers
Frozen Shade (WC3: Cold IPA)
2nd
Sean O'Toole
Midlands Craft Brewers
Big Sur (WC2: West Coast Pilsner)
3rd
Arthur Olcot
London Amateur Brewers
Caniava Bagel Face (WC2: West Coast Pilsner)
Best of Show
Beer
Judges: Francesco Antonelli, Ingo Barkow, Lucas Stolarczyk, Lana Svitankova, Simon Thompson
1st
Chris Burrows
Reading Amateur Brewers
Frozen Shade (WC3: Cold IPA)
2nd
Ian Cosier
London Amateur Brewers
Vallee Noir (21B2: Black IPA)
3rd
James Wilson
London Amateur Brewers
Straight Outta Epsom (21A: American IPA)
Champion Brewer
51 Participating Brewers [Scoring Methodology]
| Place | Brewer | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Score | Club |
|---|
| 1st | Ian Cosier | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0200000 | London Amateur Brewers |
| 2nd | Chris Burrows | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.0100000 | Reading Amateur Brewers |
| 3rd | Stew Horne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0100000 | Beer Boars |
| James Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0100000 | London Amateur Brewers |
Best Club
20 Participating Clubs [Scoring Methodology]
| Place | Club | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Score |
|---|
| 1st | London Amateur Brewers | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13.0300000 |
| 2nd | Reading Amateur Brewers | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.0100000 |
| 3rd | Beer Boars | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0100000 |
| 4th | Midlands Craft Brewers | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.0000000 |
| Homebrew Collab (Bristol) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.0000000 |
| Anglian Craft Brewers | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.0000000 |
Scoring Methodology
Each placing entry is given the following points:
- 1st Place: 3
- 2nd Place: 2
- 3rd Place: 1
The following tie-breakers have been applied, in order of priority:
- The highest number of first places.
- The highest average score.
Thank You
Congratulations to All Medal Winners
