Comp Trail: Jacks Creek Wins Brew-B-Q by a Single Point
⚓ SMUGGLER'S LOG — ENTRY No. 483
Dated this 10th day of November, 2026.
Position: Tied up off Gosford, NSW, reading a results sheet while the ink's still wet.
Conditions: A one-point gap at the sharp end of a fourteen-crew field, and a brisket category too close to call without a magnifying glass.
Today I made port at Brew-B-Q, back on the Gosford calendar for another year, and the hold's half-full of a result I didn't see coming. Fourteen crews turned up, four proteins went under the judges' forks, and the gap between first and second came down to a single point. Fresh ink on the manifest, crew. Let's read it out.
Short answer: The Jacks Creek BBQ Team won the Brew-B-Q Cook Off in Gosford, NSW on 7 November 2026, beating Big Smoke BBQ by a single point for the Grand Champion title. It's the closest finish of the new Australian Barbecue Alliance season so far, with brisket the tightest-fought category of the day.
Brew-B-Q, Gosford: gold by a single point
Brew-B-Q returned to Gosford on 6–7 November, with fourteen teams judged across Chicken, Pork Ribs, Pork and Brisket under the Australian Barbecue Alliance's Heat Beads Pitmaster Championship Series. And the top of the table came down to the finest of margins.
Grand Champion: The Jacks Creek BBQ Team, on 1,391 points. Reserve Grand Champion: Big Smoke BBQ, on 1,390. One point, across four meats and a full weekend of cooking — tighter even than the three-point split at Forbes last month.
Third went to Triple B BBQ on 1,387, with Dusty Que fourth on 1,383 and Butterbeard BBQ rounding out the top five on 1,370. Fourteen crews turned up, cooked four proteins and handed in on time — every one of them earned a cold drink after turn-in.
Brisket: the category that nearly broke the scoreboard
If one box decided the weekend, it was brisket. The Jacks Creek BBQ Team took it on 354, with Dusty Que two points back on 352 and Big Smoke BBQ a single point further on 351. Three teams, three points, one protein. Big Smoke actually matched Jacks Creek stride for stride on taste (180 each) — the overall margin came down to appearance and texture instead. That's comp barbecue at the pointy end: a cleaner box and a firmer bite is the whole ballgame.
Full scoresheets for every protein are on the ABA's own site if you want to see how the rest of the field stacked up (linked below).
The season race
The ABA's published Heat Beads Pitmaster Championship Series ladder was last updated on 23 October, after the Ellesmere (NZ) and Forbes events, and doesn't yet carry Brew-B-Q's points. As it stands: Dusty Que and Big Smoke BBQ are locked together on 41 points at the top, with The Jacks Creek BBQ Team third on 35. I don't print a placing I can't prove, so I'll wait for the ABA to post the updated ladder before calling how Brew-B-Q shuffles that order — but on this weekend's form, it's going to move.
Worth a mention: Butcher's Axe BBQ — the 2019 national champions, and a name we're proud to stock — sit on 20 points on the same ladder, a touch under the four-competition minimum for ranking but very much building a season. Their Bullseye Beef Rub is in the hold if you want a taste of what they cook with.
For the full Forbes-and-Gerogery form guide, see last month's Comp Trail dispatch.
Across the Tasman
The NZBA's 2026 National Championship Leaderboard has held steady for weeks now: BEERS Championship BBQ still out in front on 43 points, Cook Cartel on 41, and Rum and Que on 39. Four points covers the podium, so don't be surprised if that order moves before the season's out. Rum and Que's Bull Dust and Blackout Beef Rub are both on the shelf, for anyone keen to cook like a podium team while they chase the next result. More on the trans-Tasman season so far in this earlier Log.
What's next on the trail
Brew-B-Q was the last confirmed event of the calendar year — the trail goes quiet over the Christmas break before firing back up with Smoked Rockhampton (5–6 February 2027) and Smoked Sunshine Coast in Nambour (19–20 March 2027). Plenty of time to practise a brisket of your own before the next scoresheet drops.
RECIPE — Backyard Burnt Ends
Serves: 6 · Prep: 15 min (plus overnight seasoning) · Cook: about 4 hrs · Total: about 4 hrs 15 min, plus overnight
Gear: A smoker or a kettle set up for indirect heat, a disposable foil tray, an instant-read thermometer, a sharp knife.
Ingredients: 1.5–2kg beef brisket point (ask your butcher for "the point end," or use a well-marbled chuck roll if a point's hard to find); a generous coat of Meat Church The Holy Gospel, plus a little extra for the second coat; about 1/2 cup Hardcore Carnivore Burnt Ends Sauce.
Method:
- Trim the point to an even 5–8mm fat cap. Coat it all over with The Holy Gospel and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight.
- Smoke at 120°C, fat side up, until the bark's set and the internal temperature hits about 70°C — usually 2.5–3 hours on a point this size.
- Pull it off, cube into roughly 3cm pieces, and tip them into a foil tray.
- Toss the cubes through the Burnt Ends Sauce and a fresh dusting of Holy Gospel, then back on the smoker uncovered at 135°C for 45–60 minutes, until the sauce has tacked up sticky and a cube probes tender around 95°C.
- Rest 10 minutes before serving.
Darryl's tip: don't crowd the tray on that second stint. Give the cubes room to catch bark on every side, not just the top, or you'll end up steaming them instead of finishing them.
The Smuggler's Secret
Keep every scrap of fat that renders into the tray on that second stint. Strain it through a sieve, chill it until it sets, and fry your Sunday chips in it instead of oil. A proper beef-tallow chip is the kind of thing nobody at the table can quite explain, and nobody can stop eating.
Reader level: Everyone. Whether you've never lit a smoker or you've got your own trophy shelf, this one's for you.
Grab the gear: Meat Church The Holy Gospel · Hardcore Carnivore Burnt Ends Sauce · Butchers Axe Bullseye Beef Rub
Support the scene: full Brew-B-Q scoresheets are on the ABA's site (Brew-B-Q results · full scoresheet · season ladder · Instagram @ausbbqa), and the NZ ladder is at the NZBA. Follow the teams, get to a comp, and shout someone a drink after turn-in.
One point. Fourteen crews. A brisket box that'll be argued over for a fortnight. The Smuggler has left the dock.
— The Rub Smuggler ⚓ — the whole haul's at the Rub Hub →
