Important Information

The contest will take place in Downtown Bessemer City. City Hall is located at 132 W. Virginia Ave. and is centrally located within our Downtown. From Southbound Interstate 85, take exit 14 for W. Gastonia/Bessemer City. Turn left at the light atop the exit ramp and continue straight for

3.6 miles into the heart of Downtown Bessemer City. From Northbound Interstate 85, take exit 13 Edgewood Rd. Turn left atop the exit ramp and continue straight for 2.2 miles. Turn right onto South 12^th St., continue for 0.1 miles into Downtown Bessemer City. Cross the railroad tracks, turn left onto W. Virginia Ave. and City Hall is locate 413 ft. on the right.

Brew and Que BBQ Competition is a Southern BBQ Network Sanctioned BBQ Competition that is an Oktoberfest themed festival that consists of Craft Beer, BBQ, and Live Music.

Teams are responsible for observing prudent temperature and sanitary requirements as specified by Gaston County Department of Environmental Health and all Temporary Food Establishment (TFE) rules. You may access a copy of the GCDEH guidelines for food service at special events at the following web link, or by visiting your local GCDEH office for a hard copy of the information. https://www.gastongov.com/399/Environmental-Health.

All teams must check with the Gaston County Health Department and Department of Environmental Health to see if permitting is required at least eighteen (18) business days prior to the event.

PLEASE BE ADVISED – GASTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESERVES THE RIGHT TO INSPECT ALL FOOD VENDORS OPERATING WITHIN GASTON COUNTY. THIS DOES NOT MEAN AN INSPECTION WILL OCCUR, BUT ALWAYS BE PREPARED.

Bessemer City Brew & Que Rules

JoD Franklin is Event Point of Contact.
Each team will consist of a Pitmaster, Alternative Pitmaster and as many assistants as the Pitmaster deems necessary.
Each team will provide a grill/cooker to be used exclusively by that team within the confines of the team’s assigned cooking space.
Each team will bring their own products, seasonings, and cooking equipment. Meat must be kept in cold conditions prior to teams beginning to Pork Butts will be provided by the competition. Teams are responsible for ribs and chicken.
All seasoning and cooking of the product shall be done within the confines of the team’s assigned cooking space.
All teams must have a grease barrier underneath
Registration fees include a 20’ x 20’ cooking space and needed trailer

Contestants must adhere to all fire, health, and other codes whether local, county, state, or federal.
All teams must comply with the City’s Noise Ordinance, and therefore the use of radios or amplifying equipment will not be allowed during quiet hours of 11:00 m. to 7:00 a.m.
All teams must comply with City and State alcohol laws – no open
No fighting!
All contestants are expected to respect the rights of other Profane language or infringement on another team WILL NOT BE PERMITTED!
Teams must provide their own 50 ft outdoor rated and grounded extension cord, as well as food grade water hose.
Limited electricity Teams must be prepared to provide their own electricity.
All generators must be No exceptions!
Clean up your own area; do not leave any trash lying
All speakers must be turned so that amplified music or sounds are playing inward, toward the team No amplified music or sounds may be projected out of the team area.

PRIZE INFORMATION

	Pork	Ribs	Chicken
1st Place	$500	$500	$500
2nd Place	$300	$300	$300
3rd Place	$200	$200	$200

		Grand Champion	$1000.00
		Reserve Grand Champion	$500.00

Competition Guidelines

Check-In & Inspection:

Friday October 3^rd, 2025, from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Teams will be allowed to come in and set up at 2:30 p.m.

Cooks Meeting:

Friday, October 3^rd 2025 @ 5:00 p.m. at the Kiser Senior Center located at 123 W. Pennsylvania Ave. Bessemer City, NC 28016. Pitmaster must attend cooks meeting. Alternative Pitmaster may attend cooks meeting, but Pitmaster must be in attendance.

Load In and Setup:

Teams must make all deliveries of equipment, cookers, and needed supplies by 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 3^rd, 2025. No cooking or preparation for cooking shall take place prior to cooks meeting at 5:00 p.m. No vehicles associated with cook teams, except to pull trailers, etc., will be allowed to enter or exit the competition site for any reason after 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Parking of vehicles in areas other than that provided is prohibited. Vehicles of any kind other than passenger cars or trucks are prohibited on the grounds unless specifically approved by the organizers or for the transportation of certifiably handicapped persons. Use of any prohibited vehicle be a contestant; team member or guest will be grounds for disqualification.

We try to make it as easy on the cookers as we can with the knowledge that if we let cookers “do their own thing” we will get the best results. There are a few guidelines that make it fair for everyone, however. If you have an RV or are in need of a “larger” cooking space. Contact JoD Franklin, Event Representative and a spot can be found for you. Additional parking for trucks and passenger vehicles after load in will be provided near competition site. Those locations will be distributed to the teams prior to the event weekend.

Cooker Heat Source:

There is no requirement that any particular heat source be used in the preparation of barbeque. We leave the choice of the heat source to the cooker. It may be wood, gas, electric or any other reasonable heat source. We expect all cooking devices to be in working order and any cooking devices that may be found to be faulty or dangerous could be disqualified for use in the event. If electricity is required, please reference that on your application form. There will be a centrally located fifty (50) gallon drum for hot ash disposal. This location will be indicated on festival map sent to teams closer to the contest date. Disposal of hot ash not in the drum provided will not be allowed and will be grounds for disqualification.

Meat Categories:

The festival is a Southern BBQ Network BBQ Competition. Competition classes include:

Pork – Whole Shoulder, Boston Butt or Shoulder; cooked as a single piece, bone in or
Ribs – Bone in, excluding county style
Chicken – Cookers

The Barbeque within the turn in box may be chopped, sliced, pulled, shredded, ground or any way the contestant wishes to submit. Please remember to comply with local health regulations regarding internal meat temperatures.

Anything “Butt” Competition

As part of our competition, we are requiring our cook teams to participate in an Anything “Butt” Competition. This means each cook team will need to prepare a food item that is not a Boston Butt. This will be a people’s choice competition where select event attendees will go around and taste each item and then vote as to which was there favorite. THIS PORTION OF THE COMPETITION WILL TAKE PLACE FRIDAY EVENING. $50 of the $250 buy in will go towards the pot for this portion of the event. The pot will then be split three ways between 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place.

Entry/Turn-In Times:

The entry/turn-in times are set as follows for turn in at the receiving table:

Pork Competition – 8:55 m. – 9:05 a.m.
Ribs Competition – 9:55 m. – 10:05 a.m.
Chicken Competition – 10:55 m. – 11:05 p.m.

Awards will be announced from the Stage at Centennial Park on W. Virginia Ave. at approximately 12:00 p.m.

Judging:

Judging will be blind judging only; entries are submitted in an approved container with no external markings, drawings, signage, etc. A marking of any kind disqualifies the entry. Each entry is judged using three judging criteria of APPEARANCE, AROMA, TASTE, TEXTURE, and TENDERNESS. Meat may be sauced or un-sauced. A minimum of 8 separate and identifiable portions must be submitted.

Scoring:

Entries are scored in five areas: APPEARANCE, AROMA, TASTE, TEXTURE, and TENDERNESS. Scoring ranges from a low of 1 to a high of 10. An entry, found to be disqualified will receive a score of 1.0 in a category.

Judging Procedure:

Table captains deliver all sample boxes to their table. They announce each sample box number to be judged then opens each box and checks for rules violations such as marking, insufficient number of samples, etc. Table Captains then present each sample box to judges; judges score each box for appearance. This procedure is repeated for boxes 2 through the last sample box. Once all sample boxes are presented and judged for appearance; Table Captains begin with sample box # 1 and passes each box for judges’ samples; this procedure is repeated for boxes 2 through the last sample box. Each judge then begins to sample and score each entry. Once all entries are distributed, the table captain returns sample boxes to a designed area. Table Captains then collect judging slips, reviews judges’ scores for consistency, organizes judges’ score sheets in order of the judges’ sign-in sheet, and turns them over to the Event Representative for final score processing.

Disqualification:

The Event Representative is the only person that can disqualify an entry. The Event Representative can be made aware of possible rule violations by Table Captains and Judges. An entry may be disqualified for any of the following reasons:

Evidence of marking or sculpting. Marking is defined as: any handwritten or mechanically made mark inside or outside the turn-in box that identifies the submitting

team to any judge. Sculpting is defined as: carving, decorating, forming, or shaping of a meat entry, contained within a turn-in box, that identifies the submitting team to any judge.

Foreign material within the turn-in boxes besides the meat, no
Less than 8 separate and identifiable
Evidence of blood such that the meat is prepared below State Health Department’s safe consumption guidelines.
Entry is turned in after the officially designated
Not cooking pork as a single piece of
Not cooking the meat that was
The Event Representative reserves the right to disqualify any entry and or team based on any violation of rules and guidelines contained within his event packet.

Local Health Regulations

There are always various local health regulations that are imposed by the county, city and state. These regulations are the purview of the agency involved (generally the Department of Health). If any entry is disqualified by the local Health Department, then it is disqualified for entry into the contest and will not be judged. All cookers are expected to follow all the local health regulations that are imposed.

Each team is responsible for observing required temperature control and good hygienic practices. The internal temperature required for pork product is 155 degrees Fahrenheit. Other meat such as beef, poultry and exotic meat must cook to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Good hygienic practices (hand washing) must be observed by contestants. Provide a hand washing station (container with “lift up” spigot), catch bucket for dirty water, soap, and hand towels at each cook site.

The Bessemer City Brew & Que is a Southern BBQ Network BBQ Competition. We are providing two pork butts to teams to compete and vend your BBQ to the public if you choose too.

Vending Guidelines and Rules for Brew & Que Competitors:

Vending to the public will take place after final turn in for No vending to the public by any competition team will be allowed prior to final turn in.
No Competition Vendor will be allowed to set up late or leave early. This event is to be free of automobile traffic during the entire time frames open to the Vendors must adhere to the rules set forth for vendors by the City of Bessemer City.
Smoking is prohibited in booth spaces during
Grease – Used cooking oil/grease shall be disposed of in a centrally located barrel provided by the A map of the festival area will be sent to all teams and vendors at a later date. Dumping of grease on or around the festival site will result in a $500 penalty

from the city and will be payable on site prior to leaving the event. It is required that you put down floor covering (grease mat) if you are using grease/oil.

Wastewater: Wastewater containers must be used by food Do not pour wastewater down the storm drains or into flower beds.
Vendors and staff must use flowing water to wash Hand sanitizers can be used, but only as a secondary cleaning action. Use of disposable food handlings gloves is required.
Vendors are asked to maintain their both space clean and free of Trash containers are available to dispose of trash.
The city requires each food vendor have a working fire extinguisher at its booth throughout the festival.
Items brought on site are done so at the sole risk of the Vendor. The City of Bessemer City is not responsible for any loss, damage, or destruction of personal property, equipment, and/or I is recommended that vendors remove any valuable items from the booth at the end of each day.
Bessemer City Police Department will have police officers present at the festival but will not be responsible for security at each vendor location.
Vendors are responsible for complying with local and state tax regulations when
Vendors will retain all revenue from sales during the vending portion of the festival and are responsible for all currency-related issues.
Vendors must supply the City of Bessemer City with a certificate of general liability insurance listing City of Bessemer City as an additional This must be submitted with your application and issued by your agent, in order to be considered into the event. Coverage must be at least $1,000,000 general aggregate and $500,000 each occurrence.
If you are a competition BBQ Team and are not planning to be a food vendor post- competition, the liability insurance is not required with your Please insure this is clearly indicated on your application.

By completing the registration form below you agree to adhere to all rules and guidelines pertaining to the competition, as well as, the vending rules and guidelines listed in this application

The Gaston County Health Department MAY SHOW UP during the festival. There is no rain date for the Bessemer City Brew & Que and no refunds. Please make sure to include the following with your registration:

Completed Application
Registration Fee
Signed Hold Harmless Agreement

Copy of your current Certificate of Commercial General Liability Insurance for a minimum of $500,000 per occurrence/$1,000,000 aggregate indicating the City of Bessemer City as additional insured. If Applicable.

Bessemer City Brew & Que

Friday, October 3rd | 6pm-10pm | Downtown

About the Brew & Que Festival