Bramble BBQ IA
Rating
1675
peak 1687
Contests
31
in the data
First seen
2023-05-19
latest 2026-06-19
Best ToY finish
#11
Backyard 2025
Grand champs
3
3 reserve
Category wins
5
14 podiums
Overall top-10s
21
of 31 contests
Avg finish
top 26%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
1 🔥
Current form
546.10 ▲
last 5 vs career avg 427.97 (+118.13)
Walk rate
81%
contests with a top-10 call
Top-10 streak
6
best run (overall)
Consistency
±145.31
std dev of overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Chicken
avg 172.17 · weakest Brisket (165.94)
Road miles
4949
mi across 31 mapped stops · furthest 283 mi
Storylines
🎯 The one to beat
Son of a Boar BBQ has finished one call ahead of Bramble BBQ 3 times — their closest competition in the data.
👀 Looking over their shoulder
Bar-Down BBQ has landed one call behind them 2 times.
⚔️ A tough matchup
HOT DADDY'S BBQ has come out ahead in 11 of their 15 shared contests.
⚔️ A strong matchup
They've finished ahead of Bucknutz BBQ in 12 of their 12 shared contests.
🏕️ Happy hunting ground
Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) is their spot: an average finish in the top 10% across 2 visits.
💔 The heartbreaker
Came within 4.0344 points of the Grand Championship at Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (2024-07-12).
🗡️ Giant slayer
Took the Grand Championship over a 58-team field at Minnesota in May.
📅 A June team
Something about June: average finish in the top 17% across 6 contests, versus top 26% the rest of the year.
🃏 Against the odds
Their Grand Championship at Art of the Que (Backyard 2) (2025-06-27) came as the ratings underdog — roughly a 24-in-100 shot against the field's top-rated team, WEEZ'S GROOVIN' BBQ.
Teams like this (closest power rating, IA first)
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 28 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 180.0000 🔥 | 159.9544 | 172.17 | top 32% |
| Pork Ribs | 31 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 176.5600 | 163.3944 | 171.32 | top 32% |
| Pork | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 178.8800 | 165.0856 | 170.71 | top 48% |
| Brisket | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 173.1316 | 162.2400 | 165.94 | top 72% |
“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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IA | 14 | 2 | top 28% |
| IL | 4 | 0 | top 14% |
| MN | 4 | 1 | top 29% |
| MO | 4 | 0 | top 33% |
| WI | 2 | 0 | top 24% |
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (<20 teams) | 9 | 2 | top 25% |
| Medium (20–39) | 12 | 0 | top 27% |
| Large (40+) | 7 | 1 | top 27% |
The story so far
- Busiest season: 2025 (17 contests)
- Cooks mostly in IA (14 of 31 contests)
- Most-entered category: Pork Ribs (31 entries)
- First Grand Championship in the data: Minnesota in May (2025-05-09)
- Wins it all in 10% of contests
- All-time average overall score: 427.97
- 1 perfect 180 on the books 🔥
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
Category scores over time
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
Team of the Year rank by season
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Category wins | Best overall | Avg overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 681.6572 | 546.10 |
| 2025 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 693.0972 | 390.94 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 671.3028 | 424.65 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 668.5032 | 422.53 |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-19 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 5 / 41 (350.2628) | 10 (174.2628) | 6 (176.0000) | — | — |
| 2026-05-08 | Minnesota in May St. Peter, MN | 47 / 77 (677.0172) | 65 (166.8344) | 22 (171.9656) | 65 (165.0856) | 18 (173.1316) |
| 2026-05-01 | SmokeHouse Barbeque Showdown (OPEN FORMAT) (REGISTRATION FULL) Cambridge, IA | 6 / 17 (681.6572) | 13 (171.9772) | 8 (171.9772) | 12 (173.1428) | 22 (164.5600) |
| 2026-04-17 | Knox Co. 4-H/FFA Ring of Smoke Edina, MO | 17 / 25 (676.4684) | 12 (172.5600) | 8 (170.2628) | 16 (166.8228) | 14 (166.8228) |
| 2026-04-03 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 7 / 42 (345.1088) | 2 (177.7144) | 21 (167.3944) | — | — |
| 2025-10-03 | La Belle MO Show Me BBQ Showdown La Belle, MO | 13 / 39 (693.0972) | 6 (176.5600) | 14 (175.4172) | 2 (178.8800) | 32 (162.2400) |
| 2025-09-19 | Tri-City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 5 / 26 (327.3716) | 5 (159.9544) | 5 (167.4172) | — | — |
| 2025-09-13 | Trekking for CDH Pierron, IL | 8 / 27 (335.9316) | 9 (167.3944) | 6 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2025-08-22 | Up in Smoke on the Square (BACKYARD ONLY) Lincoln, IL | 2 / 31 (350.2628) | 13 (173.7028) | 2 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2025-08-16 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 5 / 17 (342.2516) | 1 (178.8572) | 12 (163.3944) | — | — |
| 2025-07-12 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 2) Miles, IA | 1 / 16 (353.1316) | 4 (177.7144) | 1 (175.4172) | — | — |
| 2025-07-11 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) (Day 1) Miles, IA | 11 / 18 (339.3484) | 8 (170.8228) | 10 (168.5256) | 6 (172.0000) | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Art of the Que (Backyard 2) Spencer, IA | 1 / 17 (350.8456) | 2 (176.0000) | 1 (174.8456) | — | — |
| 2025-06-27 | Art of the Que (Masters and Backyard 1) Spencer, IA | 4 / 15 (343.3944) | 6 (171.9656) | 3 (171.4288) | — | — |
| 2025-06-20 | Rhythm & BBQ Festival (BACKYARD ONLY) Morris, IL | 3 / 36 (353.7028) | 4 (177.7028) | 4 (176.0000) | — | — |
| 2025-06-14 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 2 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 12 / 36 (337.6572) | 7 (171.9772) | 22 (165.6800) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon Day 1 (MASTER & BACKYARD) West Salem, WI | 5 / 36 (347.4288) | 15 (171.9772) | 2 (175.4516) | — | — |
| 2025-06-13 | Bring'n Home the Bacon (ONE MEAT RIBS) West Salem, WI | — | — | 14 (169.7028) | — | — |
| 2025-05-16 | King of the Corn Ottumwa, IA | 9 / 33 (687.3716) | 2 (180.0000) | 16 (170.8228) | 12 (170.8344) | 25 (165.7144) |
| 2025-05-09 | Minnesota in May St. Peter, MN | 1 / 58 (350.8572) | 5 (176.0116) | 1 (174.8456) | — | — |
| 2025-05-09 | Minnesota in May (ONE MEAT RIBS) St. Peter, MN | — | — | 24 (168.5372) | — | — |
| 2025-04-04 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 3 / 49 (351.4172) | 6 (174.8572) | 4 (176.5600) | — | — |
| 2024-09-20 | Tri City BBQ Fest Denison, IA | 3 / 30 (335.3712) | 6 (164.5256) | 3 (170.8456) | — | — |
| 2024-07-12 | Great River Threshers BBQ Contest (BACKYARD ONLY) Miles, IA | 2 / 11 (349.6800) | 1 (177.7028) | 6 (171.9772) | 7 (165.0972) | — |
| 2024-05-17 | King of the Corn Ottumwa, IA | 24 / 36 (671.3028) | 33 (166.8228) | 19 (168.5256) | 18 (169.6800) | 22 (166.2744) |
| 2024-03-29 | Iowa State BBQ Championship Altoona, IA | 9 / 42 (342.2284) | 15 (170.8228) | 8 (171.4056) | — | — |
| 2023-09-08 | Anchor City Cook-Off Centralia, MO | 2 / 13 (334.8000) | 4 (162.8228) | 2 (171.9772) | — | — |
| 2023-08-19 | Boomer Backyard BBQ Cookoff (BACKYARD ONLY) Canton, MN | 4 / 16 (339.9772) | 9 (169.1200) | 6 (170.8572) | — | — |
| 2023-07-07 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off Cameron, MO | 4 / 30 (346.8344) | 6 (172.5600) | 4 (174.2744) | — | — |
| 2023-07-07 | Cameron Elks BBQ Cook Off (ONE MEAT RIBS) Cameron, MO | — | — | 14 (170.8228) | — | — |
| 2023-05-19 | King of the Corn Ottumwa, IA | 30 / 45 (668.5032) | 31 (167.4172) | 39 (163.3944) | 11 (174.8572) | 35 (162.8344) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 ↗ | Backyard | #67 (466 pts) | #70 (511 pts) | #96 (406 pts) | — | — |
| 2026 ↗ | Master | #553 (150 pts) | #596 (175 pts) | #543 (220 pts) | #575 (155 pts) | #499 (200 pts) |
| 2025 ↗ | Backyard | #11 (1309 pts) | #36 (1095 pts) | #3 (1334 pts) | — | — |
| 2025 ↗ | Master | #601 (263 pts) | #507 (433 pts) | #537 (398 pts) | #503 (383 pts) | #967 (118 pts) |
| 2024 ↗ | Backyard | #105 (590 pts) | #123 (520 pts) | #119 (515 pts) | — | — |
| 2024 ↗ | Master | #1157 (65 pts) | #1242 (60 pts) | #1190 (90 pts) | #1089 (95 pts) | #1144 (75 pts) |
| 2023 ↗ | Backyard | — | #128 (463 pts) | #95 (688 pts) | — | — |
| 2023 ↗ | Master | #1255 (60 pts) | #1319 (60 pts) | #950 (170 pts) | #950 (130 pts) | #1296 (60 pts) |