Well, after talking to some of you after the AHA National Homebrew Competition registration fiasco, I know that at least some of you got registrations confirmed.  Now is the time to get your physical entries ready to go.   You can drop them off assuming they are going to San Diego, by Monday March 18^th at the Culver City shop.    If you are entering bottles to any other location (which several people did last year), you must ship them off yourself.   Peter Moran has graciously volunteered to drive to San Diego, but alas, not all the way to Zanesville Ohio.  Remember that this year you need TWO bottles for each entry.   Please check the AHA website for due dates at other regions.

Coming up in April are two more events.  Read more →

The entry window for the AHA Nationals opens at NOON (PST) on Tuesday February 26^th this year.  I point out the exact time, because last year, the entire competition was filled with entries after about 36 hours.  Many worthy entrants got shut out last year by the sudden surge in the registration rate.  So make sure you are ready to jump on-line when the window opens.

There are a couple of significant changed to the rules this year.  Most notably is that TWO bottles are needed for each entry.  Another is that they have raised the entry fee to $12 for AHA members and $17 for non-members.  Details of the competition can be found here:
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/competitions/national-homebrew-competition/competition-information
The on-line link for registration will appear magically once registration is open, so please check back on the homebrewersassociation website.  (I’ll try to update this blog entry with the link, but please don’t wait for me!)

You can drop off the physical entries at the Culver City shop assuming they are going to San Diego, by March 18^th.  If you are entering bottles to any other location (which several people did last year), you must ship them off yourself.   You can select any regional site you want, so if San Diego is full, go ahead and enter wherever space is available.

Coming up in April are two more events.  First up is the annual Mayfaire competition hosted by the Maltose Falcons. On line registration will be available March 30^th and your entries must be received no later than April 18^th.  Also sign up for judging on Sat, April 27^th.  Details can be found at  http://maltosefalcons.com/comps/2013mayfaire .  This competition uses the Maltose Falcons guidelines, so check the style listings before entering.   We might also do a preliminary judging round on the westside, so check back here for details.

Also coming up in April is the next Club-only competition.  The April selection is all extract beers.   Entries must be brewed with at least 50% extract.  All styles are eligible.   Bring your entries to the April 18^th meeting.  Please fill out the entry form here: http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/0326/entry_recipe.pdf.   The club picks up the entry fee for this competition, so there is no cost to you.    All entries must have the official rubber band label, which you can down load here:  http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/0325/bottleid.pdf  If you can’t make it to the April  meeting, drop your beers off at the shop and drop me a line at Competitions@PacificGravity.com.

Looking more into the 2013 schedule, we will stick with the same seven main competitions we had in 2012 as well as the six upcoming COCs.  Of these, the three used by Anchor Brewing are the California State Fair, Mayfair and the California State Homebrew Competition.  If you have a limited amount of beer to enter, try hitting these three.  The winter season is a good time to get those beers going with clean-fermenting cool weather.

Like in past years, we have tried to align the monthly club styles with the COC competitions.  An updated schedule can be found at: http://pacificgravity.org/monthly-stylesclub-only-comps/.  All styles are welcome at any club meeting.  However, the best beer in the listed styles is eligible for the best beer of the evening award, which comes with a $25 gift certificate to Culver City Home Brewing Supply Co.  We are also looking for folks to lead the monthly style tasting for the club meetings.  If you are interested, drop Dean Sussman a line at Styles@PacificGravity.com.

2013 Brewer of the Year Competition Schedule
February 26^th – AHA Nationals (registration opens at NOON) Physical entries due by March 18th.
April 18^th –       Mayfaire
April 18^th –      COC  Extract Beers(All BJCP Cats)
May 3^rd            California State Fair
July                  Los Angeles County Fair
July COC  – Porter BJCP,  Cat #12
August COC – Style TBD
September       Pacific Brewers Cup
September COC – Amber lagers, BJCP Cat 3
October           California State Homebrew Competition
October  COC– Style TBD

The first competition of the 2013 brewing year is upon us.  Entries are due Friday, February 1^st for the America’s Finest City Homebrew competition organized the QUAFF.  You can drop off your entries at the Culver City shop.  Registration is up and running at
https://quaff.org/AFC-2013/ .  You need 2 bottles per entry and the entry fee is $7.00.  The competition uses the BJCP style guidelines and represents an excellent test bed for any entries you might have for the AHA Nationals.

Speaking of which, the entry window for the AHA Nationals opens on February 26^th this year.  Last year, the entire competition was filled with entries after about 36 hours, so make sure you are ready to jump on-line when the window opens.  This year TWO bottles are needed for the first round of this competition.  You can drop off the physical entries assuming they are going to San Diego, by March 18^th.  If you are entering bottles to any other location (which several people did last year), you must ship them off yourself. Read more →

Entries for the California State Homebrew Competition are due at the shop on Friday October 5^th.  Thanks to Peter Moran, your entries will get personal delivery up to the bay area, so they will get plenty of TLC.  This is one of the competitions used to determine the 2012 Anchor Club of the Year award, so keep some bottles ready to go.  Details are all on the website:  http://www.nchfinfo.org/state-comp.html .

Although this competition uses the BJCP styleguide for judging, they have them grouped in a different order.  Please make sure you check out the rules package before assigning category numbers to them.

Sorry for the late notice, but we’ve had a few problems with the website. If you need a bit more time, drop me a line and I’ll hook you up directly with Peter.
Good Luck
Carl Townsend

Just a quick reminder that the entry deadline for Pacific Brewers Cup is this Thursday, September 6th.   According to Strand Brewers, who are organizing the event this year there will be some “really spectacular prizes”!  The entry window is now open online at http://www.pacificbrewerscup.com/.  Your physical entries can be dropped off at the Culver City shop, or the Eagle Rock shop, as well as six other homebrew shops.   Pacific Gravity always has a great showing in this competition and we hope to keep it up.  Strand is also asking for help on judging day, Saturday, September 22, 2012, at the Four Points Sheraton by LAX, the Beer Hotel.  They will need every judge and steward we can supply, so please sign up now.   The hotel is located at 9750 Airport Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045, next to LAX. (Map).