Competition Corner – February 2017
Ahh, I love the cool winter months where I actually have to keep by beer WARM to ferment well. My mash tun does double duty this time of year, keeping the fermenter warm with the help of a small submersible aquarium heater.
We have a bunch of competition dates coming up sooner than I had thought, so take note.
TODAY is the last day to apply for entry slots to the AHA Nationals. You must be an AHA member, in which case you should have gotten a personal notice (well, actually an automated message) with the application details. Your entry authorization and payment must be done by February 15th. Physical entries will need to be shipped off by the last week of February. Like last year, we will be asking for a volunteer to drive them down to San Diego. Drop me a line at Competitions AT pacificGravity.com if you can make the trip. We’ll reimburse you gas money.
Next up, surprisingly enough is the California State Fair. On-line registration is open now and runs only until February 11th. Physical entries can be dropped off from February 13th through the 19th at the Eagle Rock Homebrewing Supply Co or South Bay Brew Supply. Do NOT leave entries at the Culver City shop.
Judging for America’s Finest City (AFC) Homebrew Competition has been completed. Check back soon for results at https://quaff.org/AFC-2017/ .
Next up on the radar is the 3rd annual Belgian Brew Challenge. Entries will be due on March 17th, with judging on March 26th. Look for more details from Brian on this competition for volunteering, stewarding and judging opportunities at http://belgianbrewchallenge.com/. Best of show this year will be brewed at Los Angeles Ale Works. Speaking of volunteering, we will be running Pacific Brewers Cup this September and will need everyone’s support. The balance of the official list of competitions for accumulating Brewer of the Year is listed below. Check back frequently as exact dues dates become known.
For those of you who can help out with other competitions, the Romancing the Beer Competition needs judges Monday Feb 6th and Saturday Feb 11th.
If you are hard-core competition junkie, there are a bazillion other contests to enter. The AHA has their master list at http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/competitions/aha-bjcp-sanctioned-competition/.
2017 Pacific Gravity Brewer of the Year Competition Schedule
February 5th: AHA Nationals Pre-registration
February 11th California State Fair on-line registration deadline
February 15th: AHA Nationals registration and payment
February 19th California State Fair Entry Drop off
Late February: AHA Nationals entries due
March 17th: Drop-off deadline for Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge
March 26th: Judging for Los Angeles Belgian Brew Challenge
April Mayfaire
July Los Angeles County Fair
September Pacific Brewers Cup
October California State Homebrew Competition
