BONES 'N BREWS BBQ

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

Power ranking

#2417

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1522

peak 1522 · rated over 6 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2013-05-24

latest 2016-10-14

Best ToY finish

#1197

Master 2014

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 6 contests

Avg finish

top 42%

overall standings

Best overall

651.8856 / 720

Master · Smoke on the River

Perfect 180s

Current form

637.39 ▼

last 5 Master vs avg 638.11 (-0.72)

Walk rate

83%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

173.1200

Pork · Smoke on the River

Consistency

±10.89

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 166.48 · weakest Brisket (151.29)

Road miles

114

mi across 6 mapped stops · furthest 39 mi

Schedule strength

15%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1522)

Master avg

638.11 / 720

6 Master contests · 0 GCs

⚔ Compare with another team

Storylines (3 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.

A tough matchup

6–0 behind in the head-to-head

SON OF SMOKE ahead in 100% of their meetings

SON OF SMOKE has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

The weak link

−15.2 points behind their best meat

Brisket is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 15.19 points below their chicken, and turns into a call 0% of the time against 33%.

Brisket avg 151.29
Chicken avg 166.48
0 calls in 6 entries

A strong matchup

5–0 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 100% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of PIPIN' HOT SMOKERS BBQ in 5 of their 5 shared 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.

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

JaBs

#2411 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 6
GCs: 1
Top-10s: 50%
Peak: 1523

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 6 contests
last seen 2026-08-15

⚔ Head-to-head

Evans Family Ranch

#2414 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 57%
Peak: 1530

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after BONES 'N BREWS BBQ did, first appearing in 2021.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2025-11-21

⚔ Head-to-head

Italians Do it Better

#2421 of the rated field

1522 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 43%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

Level with BONES 'N BREWS BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2025-10-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Smokin Co

#2416 of the rated field

1522 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2018-04-06

⚔ Head-to-head

Smoke Eatrs BBQ

#2409 of the rated field

1523 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 7
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 29%
Peak: 1528

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 7 contests
last seen 2015-07-24

⚔ Head-to-head

Firestarter

#2433 of the rated field

1522 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 5
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 80%
Peak: 1522

No shared contest yet.

Careers of much the same size, 5 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 5 contests
last seen 2024-11-02

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
Smokey and the Pirate	6	2	4	33%	⚔ compare
TOO ASHAMED TO NAME	6	1	5	17%	⚔ compare
SON OF SMOKE	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
PIPIN' HOT SMOKERS BBQ	5	5	0	100%	⚔ compare
PIRATES OF THE PIG	5	2	3	40%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	6	2	0	170.8572	162.2856	166.48	top 32%
Pork Ribs	6	2	0	166.3084	149.6800	157.23	top 54%
Pork	6	3	1	173.1200	152.5028	163.11	top 36%
Brisket	6	0	0	157.0856	139.9200	151.29	top 60%

“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 contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	5	0	top 46%
Large (40+)	1	0	top 24%

Contest-by-contest record (recurring contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke on the River	2	12	0	top 31%	2016-10-14

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

On the trail 3.4 yrs 2013-05-24 → 2016-10-14

Busiest season 2015 2 contests

Contests a season 1.5 across 4 seasons in the data

Cooks most in CA 6 of 6 contests

Contests visited 5 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 6 entries · 0 wins · 2 calls

Strongest meat Chicken averages 166.48 · weakest Brisket (151.29)

Walk rate 83% a top-10 call in 5 of 6 contests

Overall top-10 rate 17% 1 of 6 contests

Master average 638.11 out of 720 · 6 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 136 129–80 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 114 6 mapped stops · furthest 39 mi

Schedule strength 1522 average field rating faced — tougher than 15% of rated contests

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs 2015-09-18 → 2016-10-14

Power rating 1522 peak 1522 · #2417 of 6,413 rated

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

2013
May 24 First tracked contest Blues, Brews & BBQ
May 24 First call Blues, Brews & BBQ
2014
May 2 First overall top-10 Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship
May 2 First overall past 90% of a perfect score649.6684 Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship
2015
Sep 18 Career-best overall score651.8856 Smoke on the River
Sep 18 Career-best single call (Pork)173.1200 Smoke on the River
2016
Oct 14 Peak power rating (1522) Smoke on the River
Oct 14 Most recent contest Smoke on the River

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+10.5	Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship	2014-05-02
+9.4	Smoke on the River	2015-09-18
+5.1	Smoke on the River	2016-10-14
+4.9	Blues, Brews & BBQ	2013-05-24

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-4.4	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour	2014-03-28
-3	Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship	2015-05-01

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	100%	top 37%	88.2%	88.2%
2015	2	0	100%	top 43%	90.5%	88.4%
2014	2	1	50%	top 45%	90.2%	88.8%
2013	1	0	100%	top 38%	89.1%	89.1%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2016-10-14	Smoke on the River Sacramento, CA	14 / 38 (635.3600)	9 (170.8572)	32 (149.6800)	7 (163.9772)	23 (150.8456)
2015-09-18	Smoke on the River Sacramento, CA	12 / 49 (651.8856)	12 (167.3828)	29 (155.4400)	2 (173.1200)	26 (155.9428)
2015-05-01	Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	20 / 32 (621.5656)	12 (168.0228)	9 (161.1200)	20 (152.5028)	27 (139.9200)
2014-05-02	Elk Grove Western Festival & BBQ Championship Elk Grove, CA	7 / 33 (649.6684)	14 (162.8800)	8 (166.3084)	12 (163.3944)	12 (157.0856)
2014-03-28	Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Sacramento, CA	20 / 29 (628.4456)	13 (162.2856)	22 (154.2628)	22 (156.5372)	19 (155.3600)
2013-05-24	Blues, Brews & BBQ Brentwood, CA	13 / 34 (641.7138)	6 (167.4282)	18 (156.5716)	6 (169.1428)	21 (148.5712)

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	#1965 (115 pts)	#1736 (145 pts)	#2349 (60 pts)	#1664 (165 pts)	#2291 (70 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1636 (125 pts)	#1742 (125 pts)	#2209 (60 pts)	#1215 (260 pts)	#2214 (60 pts)
2014 ↗	Master	#1197 (242 pts)	#1314 (227 pts)	#1348 (222 pts)	#1493 (192 pts)	#1397 (207 pts)
2013 ↗	Master	#1739 (119 pts)	#1446 (174 pts)	#1947 (94 pts)	#1442 (174 pts)	#2016 (79 pts)