Competition Corner – June 2014

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So, you have witnessed the Kings win the Stanley Cup, Logo-rev0 World Cup soccer is now occupying your attention, and we have reached the summer solstice. What next? BREW NOW!!  The 2014 Pacific Brewers Cup is almost here! But what about the hot weather? Not to worry, there are plenty of styles that do well in to heat. Hefeweizens, Belgian specialties and even some American ales can do well in the warm weather. And there are plenty of tricks to keep your beer cool. For more details, check out the hot weather brewing article in the Picobrewery archives.

But, while you are contemplating your next brew, take a moment to check out the Pacific Brewers Cup website! Tad Johnston and Kip Barnes have done an outstanding job getting it up and running. We’ve got all the information, rules and sponsorship info posted and will be putting up more content as the deadlines arise. You can sign up for judging or stewarding now and soon will be able to register your beers too. What, you don’t know what you are entering? Well for heaven’s sake, BREW NOW!!  You have just enough time with some of those quicker beers. The entry deadline is August 22nd, with judging on September 6th at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church. We are looking for everyone to put their best foot forward and get those fermenters going.

Along the way, we have a few other competitions to mention.  Congrats go to Michael Patterson, Read more →

State Fair Entries due Noon Thursday May 8th

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Thanks to Ryan Penrod from Strand Brewers, we have locked down transportation of State Fair homebrew competition entries.

Please drop off your entries at the Culver City Home Brewing Supply Co no later than Noon, Thursday, May 8th and they will get personal attention.

If you miss this deadline, you can still ship entries to Sacramento, provided they arrive by May 16th.  Shipping details can be found here:  http://www.northerncalbrewers.com/homebrew-competition

Good Luck
Carl Townsend
Competition Coordinator

Competition Corner – May 2014

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May is almost here and it is time to get the last competition entries ready for the spring rush.  Registration for the California State Fair is now open and closes on May 1st.  Entry information and registration is available at http://www.northerncalbrewers.com/homebrew-competition.   Your physical entries are due at the Culver City Home Brewing Supply Co no later than Noon, Thursday, May 8th.  Thanks to Ryan Penrod from Strand Brewers, your entries will get personal attention.  Read more →

Mayfaire Preliminary Judging Session Wed, April 23rd

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Please join us on Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 PM for a preliminary judging round for the Mayfaire Homebrew Competition.   The Falcons have over 500 beers to judge and will need all the help they can get.  If you  have ever wanted to learn about judging beer this is an ideal opportunity in a less formal setting.  I’m looking for about six judges and two stewards.

We will be gathering at
Culver City Home Brewing Supply Read more →

AHA NHC Competition Entries Due Friday 3/14.

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Just a quick reminder that AHA entries that are going to San Diego are due at the Culver City shop by the close of business Friday  March 14th (7:00 PM.)

If your entries are going anywhere else, you need to ship them off ASAP.  Beers must arrive at their destination by March 17th.

Good Luck!
Carl Townsend
Competition Coordinator

Competition Corner – March, 2014

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As the Ides of March approach, it is time to check up on the homebrew competition schedule.    If you have entries for the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition, here are the submission instructions.

For the San Diego region ONLY, you may drop off your entries at the Culver City shop no later than Friday, March 14th. .  (Note new address:  4234 Sepulveda Blvd, next to Dominoes Pizza.)  Mike Patterson has volunteered to hand-carry them to San Diego.   For any other region, you will need to ship your entries.  The regional addresses can be found here: http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/competitions/national-homebrew-competition/competition-information/.  All entries must arrive by March 17th, regardless of site.   Also, if anyone is interested in judging in San Diego, I’ll be driving down for the Friday and Saturday sessions on April 4th and 5th.

Results are now out for America’s Finest City homebrew competition, hosted by QUAFF.  Congratulations are in order for Mike Patterson  for Flanders Red (3rd place) Kingsley Toby and Brian Holter for their Sled Dog Imperial Stout (3rd place) and Carl Townsend for his Earthquakes are Common (2nd place).  Full results can be found  at http://www.quaff.org/AFC-2014/.

Looking into April, registration is now open for Mayfaire hosted by the Maltose Falcons.  Entries are eue April 10th at the Culver City Shop.  On-line registration is up and running at http://www.maltosefalcons.com/comps/2014Mayfaire.  Please sign up to judge and steward too; they will need our help.   Judging will take place on Saturday April 26, 2013 9:00 AM at St Martins in the Fields Church 7136 Winnetka Ave Winnetka CA, 91306 (click for map).

Also due in late April is the California State Fair.  We are looking for a road trip volunteer to deliver these entries, so if you are interested, please contact me at Competitions@PacificGravity.com.

Looking ahead we will be tallying wins in the same set of competitions as last year, though please note the AHA “club-only” series has been discontinued.   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/.

2014 Pacific Gravity Brewer of the Year Competition Schedule

March 14th:         AHA Nationals entries due at the Culver City shop for San Diego ONLY.
March 17th:         AHA Nationals entries due by shipping by all other sites.
April 10th:             Mayfaire entries due at the Culver City shop
April Date TBD   California State Fair
July                        Los Angeles County Fair
September         Pacific Brewers Cup
October               California State Homebrew Competition

AFC Entries Due Friday Feb 7th

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Entries are now due for America’s Finest City homebrew competition, hosted by QUAFF. Bottles can be dropped off at the Culver City shop any time before February 7th.   Entry registration is up and running now at http://www.quaff.org/AFC-2014/ .  Two bottles are needed per entry, and the cost is $7.00.  This is a great tune-up competition for the AHA Nationals, and typically draws the same judge pool. 

Pacific Brewers Cup – Kickoff Meeting Thursday Jan 30th

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Pacific Gravity is holding our Kick-Off meeting Logo-rev0 for the 2014 Pacific Brewers Cup this Thursday, January 30th at 7:30 PM.  Although it seems like Pacific Brewers Cup is a long ways off, you’ll hear a lot about it in the upcoming months because this year, we are running it!    The last two years Strand Brewers Club and Long Beach Homebrewers did a bang-up job and have set the bar high.  This is one of the best competitions we have going.

Everybody is welcome to attend.  We will be meeting at Kingsley Toby’s place at 11169 Braddock Ave in Culver City.  We are soliciting help from folks who can help out with the organization.

We need help with several of the key positions, including soliciting sponsorships, steward coordination, publicity, finance and a host of other details.   As we go forward, we will be asking for help in the bottle organizing session, and help day-of with judging, stewarding and clean-up.   And or course, you need to brew and enter!

If you can attend, please RSVP to Kingsley at VicePresident@PacificGravity.com and me at competitions@pacificgravity.com.

Thanks, and hope to see you there.

Carl

Competition Corner – January, 2014

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Well, a new year is upon us as well as a fresh brewing competition season.   Each year, Pacific Gravity honors the brewer (or team) with the most homebrew competition wins.  See the official rules below for which competitions are eligible and how the points are totaled.  We are less than a month into 2014 and already we have two big competitions to get ready for.

First up is registration for the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition.  As a result of the massive registration overload they had last year, Read more →

Beer Judge (BJCP) Class and Exam – Sign up by Dec 31st

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bjcp_pint_logo_headerQuite a few of you have expressed interest recently in learning how to become a beer judge.  Looking ahead into 2014, there are a couple of opportunities coming up. For new judges and existing judges wishing to advance, Jim Wilson of Strand Brewers Club, BJCP Grand Master Level II will be holding classes for the beer judging exam in December 6th, 2014 .  See his details below.  Drop him a line at

jim7258 (at) gmail dot com  no later than Dec 31st

and please cc: me at competitions@pacificgravity.com.   Read more →