I QUE & BREW

At a glance (everything the results say about this team, in numbers)

Power ranking

#5028

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1461

peak 1461 · rated over 10 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-04-19

latest 2016-10-14

Best ToY finish

#740

Master 2013

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

0 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 70%

overall standings

Best overall

661.7488 / 720

Master · Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

640.24 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 636.85 (+3.39)

Walk rate

60%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

170.3088

Chicken · Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival

Consistency

±14.14

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Brisket

avg 159.47 · weakest Chicken (158.72)

Road miles

788

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 156 mi

Schedule strength

27%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1537)

Master avg

636.85 / 720

10 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (7 found in this team's record)

Each card leads with the number that made it a story — read straight out of their results, no editorialising.

They almost always walk

60% of contests with a top-10 call

A call in 6 of 10 contests

A top-10 category call in 60% of their 10 contests — they get to the stage more often than not.

Their season

2013 their best year

2013 was the year it came together: 4 contests, 0 Grand Championships and 0 category wins, at an average finish in the top 55%.

4 contests
1 overall top-10s
0 category wins
average top 55%

A tough matchup

7–0 behind in the head-to-head

BOSS HAWG BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

BOSS HAWG BBQ has come out ahead in 7 of their 7 shared contests.

A strong matchup

4–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of BAD NEWS BEER 'N' QUE in 4 of their 4 shared contests.

Brisket nemesis

6 of 6 shared brisket entries lost

BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ has out-cooked them in 6 of 6 shared brisket entries.

A September team

Top 59% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 59% across 3 contests, versus top 70% the rest of the year.

3 September contests
top 70% the rest of the year

The metronome

±1.96% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±1.96% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 88.5% of a perfect score
10 contests

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The nearest teams in the power rankings, with a different reason on each card — six teams on one rating are rarely on it for the same reason. Rating decides who makes the list; where teams tie on it, the ones this team has actually cooked against come first, then teams at a similar point in their own career. KCBS doesn’t publish where a team is from, so nothing here is inferred from geography.

132 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.

Blacktop BBQ

#5022 of the rated field

1462 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1462

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 10 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2024-03-23

⚔ Head-to-head

THE BREADMAN

#5037 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 11 contests to 10, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2025-03-28

⚔ Head-to-head

AJAK BBQ

#5029 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 11
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 9%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

Level with I QUE & BREW on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 11 contests
last seen 2021-06-04

⚔ Head-to-head

GigaBite BBQ

#5019 of the rated field

1462 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1462

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 11 years after I QUE & BREW did, first appearing in 2024.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-07-25

⚔ Head-to-head

Great Shepherd BBQ

#5042 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2026-07-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Onlyfansbbq

#5041 of the rated field

1461 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 9
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1461

No shared contest yet.

This is the highest they've ever been rated, 9 rated contests in — a team sitting at its own career peak.

rated over 9 contests
last seen 2025-04-25

⚔ Head-to-head

Familiar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
RUB IT, SMOKE IT, LOVE IT	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
BOSS HAWG BBQ	7	0	7	0%	⚔ compare
BLAZIN' BLUES BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
4 SMOKIN' BUTTS	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
ST. LOUIS BLACK IRON BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
PITMASTERIQ BBQ	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
OKLAHOMA JOE'S SERIOUS QUE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
QUAU	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
OUTLAW HAWGS BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	10	3	170.3088	142.8000	158.72	top 64%
Pork Ribs	10	2	167.9884	146.2512	159.31	top 63%
Pork	10	2	167.4056	146.8570	159.35	top 63%
Brisket	10	4	166.2856	145.6228	159.47	top 55%

“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.

By state / province

Where	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
MO	6	0	top 63%
IL	4	0	top 79%

By contest size

Field	Contests	Avg finish
Small (<20 teams)	1	top 72%
Medium (20–39)	4	top 54%
Large (40+)	5	top 82%

The story so far (15 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 3.5 yrs 2013-04-19 → 2016-10-14

Busiest season 2014 4 contests

Contests a season 2.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in MO 6 of 10 contests · 2 states/provinces in all

Contests visited 10 0 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 10 entries · 0 wins · 3 calls

Strongest meat Brisket averages 159.47 · weakest Chicken (158.72)

Walk rate 60% a top-10 call in 6 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 10% 1 of 10 contests

Master average 636.85 out of 720 · 10 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 225 108–270 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 788 10 mapped stops · furthest 156 mi

Schedule strength 1537 average field rating faced — tougher than 27% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1.5 yrs 2015-04-17 → 2016-10-14

Power rating 1461 peak 1461 · #5028 of 6,413 rated

Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)

2013
Apr 19 First tracked contest Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest
Apr 19 First call Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest
May 10 First overall top-10 2013 Optimist Kick-Off Cook-Off
Sep 27 First overall past 90% of a perfect score661.7488 Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival
Sep 27 Career-best overall score661.7488 Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival
Sep 27 Career-best single call (Chicken)170.3088 Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival
Sep 27 Peak power rating (1499) Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival
2016
Oct 14 10th tracked contest CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ
Oct 14 Most recent contest CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ

Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+8.5	Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival	2013-09-27
+5	2013 Optimist Kick-Off Cook-Off	2013-05-10

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.5	CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ	2016-10-14
-9.4	6th Annual Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest	2014-04-11
-9.3	Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest	2013-04-19
-5.8	Hermann Bar-BQ and Brats Festival	2014-09-26
-5.3	Casino Queen BBQ Competition	2014-10-17

Category scores over time

Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Team of the Year rank by season

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2016	1	0	0%	top 93%	87.8%	87.8%
2015	1	0	0%	top 71%	87.6%	87.6%
2014	4	0	50%	top 78%	90.4%	88.9%
2013	4	1	100%	top 55%	91.9%	88.3%

Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016-10-14	CIBR-BBQ Central Illinois Bragging Right BBQ Authur, IL	51 / 55 (632.4456)	55 (146.8112)	33 (163.4172)	42 (161.1084)	41 (161.1088)
2015-04-17	7th Annual Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO	35 / 49 (630.7660)	43 (155.9660)	34 (158.8572)	32 (157.6456)	28 (158.2972)
2014-10-17	Casino Queen BBQ Competition Greater St. Louis, IL	35 / 44 (645.0404)	41 (154.8000)	21 (165.1544)	26 (162.8228)	28 (162.2632)
2014-09-26	Hermann Bar-BQ and Brats Festival Hermann, MO	28 / 37 (642.1256)	16 (166.8344)	28 (162.2628)	10 (167.4056)	37 (145.6228)
2014-06-26	Legacy State BBQ Championship Cook-Off Effingham, IL	13 / 18 (650.8224)	13 (162.2856)	7 (167.9884)	15 (154.2628)	7 (166.2856)
2014-04-11	6th Annual Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO	39 / 46 (623.3600)	43 (152.5256)	41 (153.1428)	30 (160.5372)	32 (157.1544)
2013-09-27	Hermann BBQ & Brats Festival Hermann, MO	11 / 39 (661.7488)	7 (170.3088)	17 (165.1428)	23 (162.8572)	10 (163.4400)
2013-09-13	Q the Lou Litchfield, IL	18 / 25 (620.4684)	24 (142.8000)	23 (146.2512)	7 (166.8456)	7 (164.5716)
2013-05-10	2013 Optimist Kick-Off Cook-Off Florissant, MO	10 / 25 (646.8570)	5 (166.8574)	10 (162.8570)	20 (153.1426)	6 (164.0000)
2013-04-19	Main Street BBQ & Bluesfest Washington, MO	40 / 50 (614.8568)	10 (168.0000)	39 (147.9998)	45 (146.8570)	34 (152.0000)

Career map (orange GC · green top-10 · grey the rest — tap a pin)

Team of the Year standings (rank per category by season — year links to the full board on kcbs.us)

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016 ↗	Master	#2274 (60 pts)	#2353 (60 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#2326 (60 pts)	#2345 (60 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#2158 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#2225 (60 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1017 (305 pts)	#999 (350 pts)	#959 (370 pts)	#960 (370 pts)	#954 (350 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#740 (419 pts)	#595 (549 pts)	#876 (364 pts)	#865 (379 pts)	#603 (534 pts)