Competition Corner – April 2011
The thick part of the competition season is here! Entry deadlines have been announced for California State Fair (April 17th) and Mayfaire (April 22nd).
Entries for the California State Fair must be packaged for shipping, but you can drop them off at the Culver City shop. Since these are going to Sacramento, make sure there is plenty of padding. The club will cover the shipping, but any entries not properly packaged will not be sent.. You can download an entry form at http://www.bigfun.org/pdfs/competitions/home_brew/HomeBrew_Forms.pdf, as well as find additional information. (Make sure you get the Homebrew form, not the commercial form or the label form. On-line entry is theoretically available at http://www.calstfairhomebrewing.com/, though the website ends up giving you the commercial entry form.) Entry fee is $10 and checks should be made out to California Brewers Guild LLC. This competition uses the BJCP styleguide.
Mayfaire registration is up and running. You can register on-line at http://www.maltosefalcons.com/comps/2011Mayfaire. This competition uses the Maltose Falcons styleguide, so don’t confuse the categories. Entries for this one don’t have to be packaged for shipping. Entry fee is $7.00 each. If you are into judging, registration is also open. Judging will be up in the Valley on May 7th.
And if two big competitions aren’t enough, we have another Club-Only competition. This month’s style is Wood-Aged beers, BJCP Category Sub-Category 22C. Bring your entries to the Club meeting on April 21st. If you have any of these bring three 12 oz. bottles to the meeting and make sure you let Carl know they are here. If possible, please also fill out an entry form, which you can download from http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/0326/entry_recipe.pdf. The club picks up the entry fee, so it is free to you. If your entry is selected, we’ll ship off the two remaining bottles to the national judging site. If you lose, you can take back the two extra bottles. Or if you prefer, you can pop them open to console your losses. Do not enter this competition with base styles where barrel-aging is a fundamental requirement for the style (e.g., Flanders Red, Lambic, etc.). If your beer is based on a classic style (e.g., Robust Porter) then the specific style must be specified. Classic styles do not have to be cited (e.g., “porter” or “brown ale” is acceptable). The type of wood must be specified if a “varietal” character is noticeable (e.g., English IPA with Oak Chips, Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Stout, American Barleywine in an Oak Whiskey Cask). . Looking forward, there is still time to brew for the LA County fair. And, don’t forget Pacific Brewer’s Cup in September. Pacific Gravity will be running the competition this year. Look for a separate article on how to volunteer for this prestigious event.
2011 Brewer of the Year Competition Schedule
April 17th California State Fair – Must be packed for shipping
April 21st COC – Wood-Aged Beers, BJCP Cat #22c
April 22nd Mayfaire
July Los Angeles County Fair
August COC – Meads, BJCP Cats 24, 25 and 26.
September Pacific Brewers Cup
September COC – Specialty/Experimental/Historical Beers, BJCP Cat. 23.
October California State Homebrew Competition
November COC – Hefeweizen, BJCP categories 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D.
