BAR-BEAM-QUE

BAR-BEAM-QUE is a competition barbecue team with 20 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2015 and 2022. Their best overall finish is 10th of 31 at the Grillin and Chillin BBQ (2021). They are ranked #3180 of 6,476 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “Bar Beam Que”.

⚔ Compare with another team

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

#3,180

of 6,476 rated · rankings

Rating

1501

peak 1501 · rated over 20 contests

Contests

in the data

First seen

Jun 5, 2015

latest Aug 19, 2022 · 7.2 years on the trail

Best ToY finish

#699

Master 2019 · every season

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

4 podiums

Overall top-10s

10% of 20 contests

Avg finish

top 63%

overall standings

Best overall

685.6228 / 720

Master · Grillin and Chillin BBQ

Perfect 180s

Current form

664.24 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 657.82 (+6.41)

Walk rate

40%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.7028

Pork Ribs · New Albany Blues Brews and BBQ Festival

Consistency

±16.16

spread of their Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Chicken

avg 165.43 · weakest Pork (163.88)

Road miles

3,607

across 20 mapped stops · furthest 498 mi

Schedule strength

67%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1585)

Purse competed for

$69K

listed at 9 contests — purses, not winnings

State championships

0 🏅

won from 9 state-championship entries

Master avg

657.82 / 720

20 Master contests · 0 GCs

Storylines (9 found in their record)

Each card leads with the number behind the story, straight from their results.

High-water mark

685.6228 career-best overall

95.2% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 685.6228 at Grillin and Chillin BBQ — 95.2% of a perfect 720.

Master
Sep 17, 2021

The one to beat

2× one call ahead of them

HOGTOWN BARBECUE has finished one call ahead of BAR-BEAM-QUE 2 times — their closest competition in the data.

A tough matchup

16–0 behind in the head-to-head

BLUE CHIP BBQ ahead in 100% of their meetings

BLUE CHIP BBQ has come out ahead in 16 of their 16 shared contests.

A strong matchup

6–2 ahead in the head-to-head

Ahead in 75% of their meetings

They've finished ahead of ACME BBQ in 6 of their 8 shared contests.

Chicken nemesis

16 of 16 shared chicken entries lost

BLUE CHIP BBQ ahead 100% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BLUE CHIP BBQ has out-cooked them in 16 of 16 shared chicken entries.

Looking over their shoulder

2× one call behind them

Z SMOKE has landed one call behind them 2 times.

A September team

Top 52% average finish in September

Something about September: average finish in the top 52% across 9 contests, versus top 63% the rest of the year.

9 September contests
top 63% the rest of the year

Show 2 more storylines

The long haul

3,607 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 3,607 miles across 20 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 498 miles to 38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN).

20 mapped stops
furthest 498 mi

The metronome

±2.24% swing around their own average

Their overall lands within ±2.24% of a perfect score of their own average — whatever the field, you know roughly what they'll turn in.

averages 91.4% of a perfect score
20 contests

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

Year	Series	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2021 ↗	Master	#730 (191 pts)	#707 (231 pts)	#536 (366 pts)	#896 (141 pts)	#764 (191 pts)
2020 ↗	Master	#842 (65 pts)	#889 (65 pts)	#774 (110 pts)	#861 (75 pts)	#846 (75 pts)
2019 ↗	Master	#699 (453 pts)	#748 (448 pts)	#449 (763 pts)	#762 (423 pts)	#574 (588 pts)
2017 ↗	Master	#2212 (60 pts)	#2286 (60 pts)	#2304 (60 pts)	#2260 (60 pts)	#2266 (60 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#1418 (190 pts)	#1406 (210 pts)	#1593 (175 pts)	#1476 (205 pts)	#1173 (275 pts)

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

The teams rated closest to BAR-BEAM-QUE, each with one reason worth a look.

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

All Four Aces BBQ

#3,201 of the rated field

1500 power rating

Contests: 19
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 5%
Peak: 1523

1–0 in 1 shared contest (100% to BAR-BEAM-QUE)

One contest in common so far: too few to settle anything, but a team BAR-BEAM-QUE has actually stood beside rather than a stranger on the same rating.

rated over 19 contests
last seen Jun 21, 2024

⚔ Head-to-head

SMOKE'M IF U GOT'M

#3,191 of the rated field

1501 power rating

Contests: 44
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 18%
Peak: 1538

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to BAR-BEAM-QUE)

They've been 1538 at their best, 37 points above where they sit today — they're arriving at this rating from above.

rated over 42 contests
last seen Jun 11, 2021

⚔ Head-to-head

Belly Up BBQ

#3,174 of the rated field

1501 power rating

Contests: 17
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1511

Careers of much the same size, 17 contests to 20, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.

rated over 17 contests
last seen Sep 8, 2023

⚔ Compare careers

HEAVY D BBQ

#3,171 of the rated field

1501 power rating

Contests: 15
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 33%
Peak: 1542

Their last contest in the data was back in 2019, 3 years before BAR-BEAM-QUE's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 15 contests

⚔ Compare careers

Q+BREW

#3,200 of the rated field

1500 power rating

Contests: 14
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 21%
Peak: 1518

14 contests and no Grand Championship yet — a rating made of 21% top-10 finishes rather than wins.

rated over 14 contests
last seen Aug 23, 2019

⚔ Compare careers

CLOUD OF SMOKE BBQ

#3,185 of the rated field

1501 power rating

Contests: 29
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 7%
Peak: 1550

Level with BAR-BEAM-QUE on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 29 contests
last seen Jan 16, 2026

⚔ Compare careers

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BLUE CHIP BBQ	16	0	16	0%	⚔ compare
WeQ4U	14	0	14	0%	⚔ compare
SCUFFLETOWN SMOKERS	13	0	13	0%	⚔ compare
Extra Mile BBQ	11	3	8	27%	⚔ compare
CONTINENTAL BARBEQUE CO.	10	1	9	10%	⚔ compare
HOBBIE BAR-B-Q	9	5	4	56%	⚔ compare
EAT MOR BUTT BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
GREY STREET BBQ	9	0	9	0%	⚔ compare
ACME BBQ	8	6	2	75%	⚔ compare
WARREN COUNTY PORK CHOPPERS	8	1	7	13%	⚔ compare
Pappy Q	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
THUNDER HOG BBQ	8	0	8	0%	⚔ compare
OWENSBORO PORK PULLERS	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
Z SMOKE	7	4	3	57%	⚔ compare
SON SEEKERS BBQ	7	1	6	14%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	20	1	0	0	174.2628	155.9656	165.43	top 60%
Pork Ribs	20	7	1	3	177.7028	145.6800	164.23	top 52%
Pork	20	1	0	0	175.4628	152.4800	163.88	top 61%
Brisket	20	2	0	1	173.7144	152.4916	164.28	top 52%

“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 field size and state

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	11	0	top 61%
Large (40+)	9	0	top 65%

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Where	Contests	Avg finish
KY	11	top 64%
IN	5	top 67%
KS	2	top 40%
OH	1	top 61%
IL	1	top 73%

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

Contest	Visits	Best	Avg finish	Last visit
Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival	2	23	top 62%	Aug 19, 2022
Fire on the Mountain	2	10	top 58%	Jul 24, 2020
Jim Beam BBQ Classic	2	35	top 85%	Oct 4, 2019

More numbers

Busiest season 2019 5 contests

Contests a season 2.5 across 8 seasons in the data

Most contests held in KY 11 of 20 contests · 5 states in all

Contests visited 17 3 of them more than once

Opponents faced 899 finished ahead 747 times, behind 771

Longest layoff 1.1 yrs Jul 24, 2020 → Aug 20, 2021

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

20221 milestone

Aug 19 Most recent contest Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival

20211 milestone

Sep 17 Career-best overall score685.6228 Grillin and Chillin BBQ

20194 milestones

Jul 26 First overall top-10 Fire on the Mountain
Sep 20 Peak power rating (1501) Grillin & Chillin BBQ
Sep 27 First category win (Pork Ribs) New Albany Blues Brews and BBQ Festival
Sep 27 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.7028 New Albany Blues Brews and BBQ Festival

20171 milestone

Sep 22 10th tracked contest Grilling & Chillin BBQ

20161 milestone

Sep 23 First call Grillin and Chillin

20152 milestones

Jun 5 First tracked contest Bourbon City BBQ Festival
Jun 5 First overall past 90% of a perfect score648.4228 Bourbon City BBQ Festival

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+9.6	Grillin and Chillin BBQ	Sep 17, 2021
+9.4	38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	Sep 1, 2017
+8.8	Fire on the Mountain	Jul 26, 2019
+8.3	Grillin and Chillin	Sep 23, 2016
+5.3	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN)	Sep 15, 2018

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-9.7	Bourbon City BBQ Festival	Jun 5, 2015
-8.9	First Annual Operation Stand Down KY BBQ Smoke Off (TEAMS FULL)	Apr 7, 2017
-7.5	Jim Beam BBQ Classic	Oct 4, 2019
-5.2	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festisval	Aug 19, 2016
-5	Wabash Ribberfest BBQ Championship	Apr 22, 2016

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

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

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

Season	Contests	Top-10s	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2022	1	0	0	100%	top 51%	93.4%	93.4%
2021	2	1	0	100%	top 52%	95.2%	93.4%
2020	1	0	0	0%	top 77%	91.3%	91.3%
2019	5	1	1	60%	top 63%	94%	92.1%
2018	1	0	0	0%	top 45%	92.3%	92.3%
2017	4	0	0	25%	top 60%	93.2%	91%
2016	4	0	0	25%	top 67%	93.5%	89.6%
2015	2	0	0	0%	top 76%	90.9%	90.5%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
Aug 19, 2022	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival 🏅 Madison, IN	23 / 45 (672.4804)	12 (172.5600)	34 (159.9660)	9 (174.8572)	27 (165.0972)
Sep 17, 2021	Grillin and Chillin BBQ 🏅 Owensboro, KY	10 / 31 (685.6228)	6 (174.2628)	3 (177.1544)	20 (166.2400)	15 (167.9656)
Aug 20, 2021	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festival 🏅 Madison, IN	31 / 43 (659.3144)	35 (162.2628)	10 (170.8344)	33 (159.9428)	20 (166.2744)
Jul 24, 2020	Fire on the Mountain 🏅 Leburn, KY	23 / 30 (657.6912)	23 (160)	14 (169.1200)	21 (164.0228)	21 (164.5484)
Oct 4, 2019	Jim Beam BBQ Classic 🏅 Springfield, KY	37 / 42 (646.0684)	37 (160.5028)	33 (162.2400)	29 (162.2400)	31 (161.0856)
Sep 27, 2019	New Albany Blues Brews and BBQ Festival 🏅 New Albany, IN	16 / 23 (663.8628)	17 (165.7028)	1 (177.7028)	21 (152.4800)	12 (167.9772)
Sep 20, 2019	Grillin & Chillin BBQ 🏅 Owensboro, KY	19 / 34 (662.1944)	18 (168.5256)	3 (173.1544)	21 (162.2400)	22 (158.2744)
Aug 2, 2019	Our Lady of Victory Holy Smokes BBQ Competition 🏅 Cincinnati, OH	19 / 31 (666.1484)	13 (170.8456)	22 (159.9428)	12 (171.4056)	18 (163.9544)
Jul 26, 2019	Fire on the Mountain 🏅 Leburn, KY	10 / 25 (676.4572)	17 (167.9772)	10 (169.6800)	16 (165.0856)	2 (173.7144)
Sep 15, 2018	39th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	212 / 467 (664.4572)	204 (167.4172)	378 (157.6456)	108 (170.2744)	127 (169.1200)
Sep 22, 2017	Grilling & Chillin BBQ Owensboro, KY	21 / 42 (659.8744)	27 (161.0972)	9 (168.5600)	18 (167.9772)	23 (162.2400)
Sep 1, 2017	38th American Royal World Series of Barbecue (OPEN) Kansas City, KS	139 / 407 (670.8112)	186 (167.4172)	254 (162.2628)	31 (175.4628)	183 (165.6684)
Jun 2, 2017	Smokin For Garrett Boonville, IN	21 / 31 (656.4572)	29 (157.6688)	14 (166.2628)	24 (163.3828)	11 (169.1428)
Apr 7, 2017	First Annual Operation Stand Down KY BBQ Smoke Off (TEAMS FULL) Bowling Green, KY	36 / 40 (632.4572)	35 (160.5256)	36 (154.2628)	38 (153.1088)	25 (164.5600)
Sep 30, 2016	Jim Beam BBQ Classic Springfield, KY	35 / 43 (654.1716)	34 (165.1084)	41 (154.2400)	30 (164.5488)	14 (170.2744)
Sep 23, 2016	Grillin and Chillin Owensboro, KY	15 / 39 (673.0284)	17 (169.1200)	10 (170.2856)	27 (163.9428)	10 (169.6800)
Aug 19, 2016	Madison Ribberfest BBQ & Blues Festisval Madison, IN	48 / 63 (640.3660)	35 (166.2400)	29 (166.8228)	56 (154.8116)	57 (152.4916)
Apr 22, 2016	Wabash Ribberfest BBQ Championship Mt. Carmel, IL	22 / 30 (611.8628)	18 (155.9656)	26 (145.6800)	19 (155.9772)	16 (154.2400)
Sep 25, 2015	Grillin N Chillin BBQ Owensboro, KY	24 / 38 (654.6744)	21 (166.8228)	15 (166.2516)	23 (163.3828)	24 (158.2172)
Jun 5, 2015	Bourbon City BBQ Festival Bardstown, KY	30 / 34 (648.4228)	17 (168.5484)	32 (152.5488)	24 (166.2284)	26 (161.0972)

BAR-BEAM-QUE

At a glance (the record in numbers)

Power ranking

Rating

Contests

First seen

Best ToY finish

Grand champs

Category wins

Overall top-10s

Avg finish

Best overall

Perfect 180s

Current form

Walk rate

Best single call

Consistency

Strongest meat

Road miles

Schedule strength

Purse competed for

State championships

Master avg

Storylines (9 found in their record)

High-water mark

The one to beat

A tough matchup

A strong matchup

Chicken nemesis

Looking over their shoulder

A September team

The long haul

The metronome

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

Overall rank by season

Teams like this (closest power rating)

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

By meat

By field size and state

By contest size

By state / province (where the contests were held)

Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)

More numbers

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

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

📉 Toughest weekends

Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)

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

Where they finish (overall)

Best vs average (by meat)

How entries end (by meat)

Season by season

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

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