Beer & Bones

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

Power ranking

#4626

of 6,413 rated · rankings

Rating

1470

peak 1470 · rated over 9 contests ⓘ

Contests

in the data

First seen

2015-05-02

latest 2024-04-26

Best ToY finish

#906

Master 2016

Grand champs

0 reserve

Category wins

1 podiums

Overall top-10s

of 10 contests

Avg finish

top 68%

overall standings

Best overall

676.0004 / 720

Master · Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival

Perfect 180s

Current form

648.06 ▲

last 5 Master vs avg 623.95 (+24.11)

Walk rate

40%

contests with a top-10 call

Best single call

177.1772

Pork Ribs · Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival

Consistency

±57.47

std dev of Master overall scores (lower = steadier)

Strongest meat

Pork

avg 163.03 · weakest Pork Ribs (148.77)

Road miles

8,525

mi across 10 mapped stops · furthest 4687 mi

Schedule strength

21%

of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1528)

State championships

0 🏅

GCs in 1 state-championship entries

Master avg

623.95 / 720

9 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.

High-water mark

676.0004 career-best overall

93.9% of a perfect 720

Their best day on record: 676.0004 at Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival — 93.9% of a perfect 720.

Master
2016-07-23

A tough matchup

6–0 behind in the head-to-head

BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS ahead in 100% of their meetings

BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS has come out ahead in 6 of their 6 shared contests.

The weak link

−14.3 points behind their best meat

Pork Ribs is where the weekend gets away from them — it averages 14.26 points below their pork, and turns into a call 33% of the time against 22%.

Pork Ribs avg 148.77
Pork avg 163.03
3 calls in 9 entries

The comeback

5.6 yrs off the trail, then back

Off the trail for 5.6 years, then back at Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest (2024-04-26).

last seen 2018-09-14
back 2024-04-26

Pork nemesis

5 of 6 shared pork entries lost

BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS ahead 83% of the time

Even in their strongest meat, BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS has out-cooked them in 5 of 6 shared pork entries.

Boom or bust

±7.98% swing around their own average

Their overall swings ±7.98% of a perfect score around its own average — when it lands they're dangerous, and when it doesn't the weekend is gone by lunch.

averages 86.7% of a perfect score
best 93.9%

The long haul

8,525 road miles between contests

Contest to contest, they've covered roughly 8,525 miles across 10 mapped stops — the longest single trip being 4,687 miles to Smokin Q at Lynwood Ranch.

10 mapped stops
furthest 4,687 mi

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.

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

Split Borders BBQ

#4606 of the rated field

1470 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 46
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 4%
Peak: 1470

0–1 in 1 shared contest (0% to Beer & Bones)

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

rated over 45 contests
last seen 2026-08-21

⚔ Head-to-head

MATES & PLATES BARBECUE TEAM

#4637 of the rated field

1469 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1469

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 2019-09-21

⚔ Head-to-head

HAMMERHEAD USA BBQ

#4622 of the rated field

1470 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1470

No shared contest yet.

Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 6 years before Beer & Bones's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.

rated over 10 contests

⚔ Head-to-head

STINKY PIGGY BBQ

#4619 of the rated field

1470 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 10
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1501

No shared contest yet.

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

rated over 10 contests
last seen 2016-04-01

⚔ Head-to-head

Greenlight BBQ

#4634 of the rated field

1469 ▼ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 13%
Peak: 1500

No shared contest yet.

They turned up 8 years after Beer & Bones did, first appearing in 2023.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2025-10-25

⚔ Head-to-head

BAR BQ POSSE

#4601 of the rated field

1470 ▲ 0 power rating

Contests: 8
GCs: 0
Top-10s: 0%
Peak: 1470

No shared contest yet.

Level with Beer & Bones on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.

rated over 8 contests
last seen 2019-06-21

⚔ Head-to-head

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

Opponent	Meetings	Ahead	Behind	Win rate
BBQ LONGHORN RANCH HANDS	6	0	6	0%	⚔ compare
MISS PIGGY'S U.K.	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
DRAGON BBQ	5	1	4	20%	⚔ compare
SOUTHERN DUTCH BBQ	5	0	5	0%	⚔ compare

By meat

Category	Entries	Calls	Wins	Podiums	Best	Worst	Average	Avg finish
Chicken	9	0	0	0	170.8228	141.1428	157.57	top 78%
Pork Ribs	9	3	1	1	177.1772	20.0000	148.77	top 53%
Pork	9	2	0	0	171.9772	150.8572	163.03	top 51%
Brisket	9	0	0	0	164.0232	142.7196	154.58	top 70%

“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	Avg finish
DE	2	top 33%
MO	1	top 68%
BZ	1	top 33%
NR	1	top 79%
CH	1	top 90%

By contest size

Field	Contests	GCs	Avg finish
Medium (20–39)	6	0	top 71%
Large (40+)	3	0	top 63%

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

Contest	Visits	Best	GCs	Avg finish	Last visit
Smoke By the River	2	16	0	top 85%	2016-04-30

The story so far (16 numbers that describe this team)

On the trail 9 yrs 2015-05-02 → 2024-04-26

Busiest season 2016 4 contests

Contests a season 2 across 5 seasons in the data

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

Contests visited 8 1 of them cooked more than once

Most-entered meat Chicken 9 entries · 0 wins · 0 calls

Strongest meat Pork averages 163.03 · weakest Pork Ribs (148.77)

Walk rate 40% a top-10 call in 4 of 10 contests

Overall top-10 rate 10% 1 of 10 contests

Master average 623.95 out of 720 · 9 contests · 0 GCs

Opponents faced 234 115–211 across every shared overall standing

Road miles 8,525 10 mapped stops · furthest 4,687 mi

Schedule strength 1528 average field rating faced — tougher than 21% of rated contests

State championships 0 from 1 state-championship entries

Longest layoff 5.6 yrs 2018-09-14 → 2024-04-26

Power rating 1470 peak 1470 · #4626 of 6,413 rated

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

2015
May 2 First tracked contest Smoke by the River
May 2 First call Smoke by the River
May 2 Peak power rating (1491) Smoke by the River
2016
Jul 23 First category win (Pork Ribs) Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival
Jul 23 First overall past 90% of a perfect score676.0004 Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival
Jul 23 Career-best overall score676.0004 Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival
Jul 23 Career-best single call (Pork Ribs)177.1772 Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival
2017
Jan 14 First overall top-10 W.E.S.T.Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest
2024
Apr 26 10th tracked contest Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest
Apr 26 Most recent contest Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest

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

📈 Biggest rating jumps

Swing	Contest	Date
+12.4	3rd Ruhrpott BBQ 2016	2016-09-24
+7.5	W.E.S.T.Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest	2017-01-14
+5.4	Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival	2016-07-23

📉 Toughest weekends

Swing	Contest	Date
-15.1	2nd Ruhrpott BBQ 2015	2015-09-25
-14.1	Smokin Q at Lynwood Ranch	2018-05-12
-10.9	Smoke By the River	2016-04-30
-8.7	Smoke by the River	2015-05-02
-5.8	EUregio Barbecue Festival	2016-08-20

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	Category wins	Walk rate	Avg finish	Best overall (% of perfect)	Avg overall (% of perfect)
2024	1	0	0	0%	top 68%	93.2%	93.2%
2018	2	0	0	0%	top 100%	84%	84%
2017	1	1	0	100%	top 33%	92.9%	92.9%
2016	4	0	1	50%	top 59%	93.9%	89.8%
2015	2	0	0	50%	top 90%	83.9%	75.3%

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

Date	Event	Overall	Chicken	Ribs	Pork	Brisket
2024-04-26	Smokin' in the Creek BBQ Contest 🏅 Sugar Creek, MO	30 / 44 (671.3144)	24 (170.8228)	22 (170.8344)	17 (171.4172)	37 (158.2400)
2018-09-14	*Riverfest BBQ and Music Festival Decatur, AL	—	—	—	—	—
2018-05-12	Smokin Q at Lynwood Ranch Aldersyde, T1A5H8	30 / 30 (604.5944)	30 (145.6916)	17 (158.8800)	14 (157.1772)	30 (142.8456)
2017-01-14	W.E.S.T.Winter Extreme South Tyrol BBQ Contest Rein in Taufers, BZ	10 / 30 (669.1204)	18 (164.5600)	9 (170.8916)	6 (170.8228)	15 (162.8460)
2016-09-24	3rd Ruhrpott BBQ 2016 Waltrop NRW, DE	14 / 67 (656.5372)	45 (158.8112)	23 (164.5944)	7 (171.9772)	26 (161.1544)
2016-08-20	EUregio Barbecue Festival Waldfeutch-Haaren/NRW, NR	22 / 28 (638.7312)	25 (158.8112)	25 (157.6572)	22 (161.7028)	20 (160.5600)
2016-07-23	Black Forrest Smoke & Wine Festival Millheim, DE	13 / 29 (676.0004)	23 (165.1200)	1 (177.1772)	15 (169.6800)	16 (164.0232)
2016-04-30	Smoke By the River Brugg, CH	18 / 20 (614.7428)	13 (162.8916)	18 (152.0116)	13 (157.1200)	17 (142.7196)
2015-09-25	2nd Ruhrpott BBQ 2015 Herten, NRW,	67 / 67 (480.4456)	60 (150.2516)	67 (20.0000)	43 (156.5256)	43 (153.6684)
2015-05-02	Smoke by the River Brugg,	16 / 20 (604.0804)	20 (141.1428)	4 (166.9260)	16 (150.8572)	17 (145.1544)

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
2017 ↗	Master	#1666 (130 pts)	#2088 (90 pts)	#1716 (140 pts)	#1561 (170 pts)	#2006 (105 pts)
2016 ↗	Master	#906 (377 pts)	#1178 (282 pts)	#819 (482 pts)	#882 (442 pts)	#1057 (322 pts)
2015 ↗	Master	#1528 (150 pts)	#1713 (130 pts)	#1214 (255 pts)	#1630 (150 pts)	#1629 (145 pts)