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Skunkworks Lounge · 2027
Skunkworks Lounge is an experimental beer competition for breweries that want to push the boundaries of flavor and aroma. No style limit. No ABV requirements. Use at least one Abstrax ingredient, make something rad, and earn your way through blind judging to the Craft Brewers Conference where the final beers are poured blind and the industry picks the champion.
Intent to Compete due September 30. Competition beer received at Abstrax by December 4.
What is Skunkworks?
Skunkworks is an experimental beer competition built for ideas that do not fit neatly into a style guideline, a sales forecast, or the phrase “that is how we have always done it.” If it pushes flavor and aroma somewhere interesting, we want to taste it.
Skunkworks is built for experimental beer. In 2026, 45 breweries entered beers designed to push flavor and aroma somewhere new. For 2027, we want the idea you have been holding onto because it was too hard to explain on a style sheet, too ambitious for the normal tap list, or simply needed the right excuse. This is your chance to go beyond.
No style lane. The creative target is flavor, aroma, originality, and a beer people want another sip of.
Finalists pour blind at CBC · Henry B. González Convention Center · April 5–7, 2027.
Why enter?
The champion leaves with $5,000 and a permanent place on the Skunkworks Lounge trophy. Every finalist gets free publicity and the opportunity to have their peers try their beer. This is an opportunity to compete with the big dogs in front of all of the craft beer world.
Permanent trophy recognitionYour brewery becomes part of the competition’s history.
CBC visibilityYour finalist beer gets poured for industry attendees in San Antonio.
Abstrax media exposureFinalists are spotlighted across Abstrax channels and event coverage.
The path to San Antonio
Tell us you’re in. Complete the Intent to Compete form during the September submission window. Then make the beer, get it physically to Abstrax by December 4, and earn your way through blind judging.
Complete the Intent to Compete form during the September 1–30 submission window.
Your competition beer must be physically received at our Southern California offices by December 4.
Our trained sensory panel evaluates the field blind and selects the beers that advance to CBC.
At CBC in San Antonio, attendees taste the finalist flight blind, scan the code, and vote for their favorite.
Inside the judging room
In 2026, 45 breweries entered. Our blind-judging team, trained by Abstrax’s on-staff Master Cicerone Craig Thomas, evaluated the beers without names or branding and whittled the field down to the final six for CBC.
Skunkworks Lounge · CBC 2026
Philadelphia raised the bar. Skunkworks Lounge at CBC 2026 was our biggest yet, with some of the best experimental beers we’ve poured and a packed room tasting them blind. This is what it looked like.
The reigning champion
Forty-five beers entered the 2026 competition. After three rounds of blind judging, Reformation Brewery made the field for Philadelphia... and Tangerine Steam finished the job.
The win put Reformation’s name permanently on the Skunkworks trophy and sent them home with $5,000. In 2027, that spot is open again. San Antonio gets the final vote.
2026 CBC Philadelphia
Different styles. Different ideas. Reformation Brewery’s Tangerine Steam took the final vote and the trophy.
Your Abstrax toolbox
Any Abstrax Hops collection can satisfy the ingredient requirement. Use one or combine them. Let’s get weird with it.
Hop-derived varietal aroma, concentrated for brewing efficiency.
Explore Quantum → 02 · HOP FLAVOR + AROMAConsistent hop flavor and aroma built with terpenes.
Explore Omni → 03 · NATURAL FLAVORSHigh amplitude natural flavor designed for beer and craft beverages instead of fruit.
Explore Skyfarm → 04 · CANNA FLAVORSCannabis-inspired flavor and aroma. No THC. No CBD.
Explore BrewGas →Eligibility + deadlines
There are a few things we need from the brewery. We are deliberately not telling you what kind of beer to make.
Skunkworks is a commercial brewery competition.
Any Abstrax Hops collection qualifies. Use just one or mix-and-match.
Put the idea you believe in most into the field.
Complete the Intent to Compete form during the September 1–30 window.
Received (not postmarked) in our Southern California office.
Make whatever you want. Push the boundaries of flavor and aroma, use Abstrax, and make something rad.
Skunkworks FAQ
If the answer affects whether you qualify, it should be easy to find. Here are the questions we expect breweries to ask first.
Enter Skunkworks 2027No. You can enter without an existing Abstrax account or purchase history. The competition beer itself must use at least one Abstrax ingredient.
The 2027 finalist count is still being finalized. The selected breweries will be contacted after the blind judging process.
No. The beer must be physically received at Abstrax’s Southern California offices by December 4.
The finalist beers are served blind at the Craft Brewers Conference. CBC attendees vote without brewery branding influencing the decision.
April 5–7, 2027 at the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Intent to compete · September 1–30
This is the Intent to Compete step. Get your brewery into the field during September, then go make the beer you want the industry to taste.
Loading the Intent to Compete form…
The brief
Intent to compete closes September 30. Beer must be received by December 4.
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