Homebrew Competitions

[The Carbonator]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone knew of any Homebrew comps in Sydney...

My beer probably wont win, but a tasting from a pro would help to refine my system.

If these comps are rare, maybe Oliver should create a Homebrewandbeer comp for all of us forum users.

How good would that be?!!!!

Thoughts/ideas?

Cheers
C

[The Carbonator]

.....awesome

[gregb]

TCB are taking entries right now.

Cheers,
Greg

[MOFO]

Carbonater,

We could always set up an evening among people from Sydney in this forum - there has to be enough people from around Sydney to have a tasting evening and offer some feedback.

Although, I will admit - I don't really care what others think about my beers... as long as I like em

[drsmurto]

Thats why i love the grumpys stammtisches. A bunch of brewers, from noob K&K thru to experienced all grainers sitting around a table tasting each other brews with a few of the grumpys beers on offer to keep us going between tastings! And no K&K vs AG wars either!

In saying that, i just entered my first HB comp. At $1.50 per entry i ended up throwing in 5 different beers. All in the name of pro feedback!

Cheers
DrSmurto

p.s. Carbonator - the nationals are open for entries at the moment - Linky - whats even better, they have free collection from Sydney!

[Pale_Ale]

Hey Smurto,

Tell me more about the Grumpy's comp...I'd be interested in putting some of my brews in the competition, if only to gain an appreciation of the other brewers and identify areas for improvement in my own brews...

[drsmurto]

The grumpys stammtisches arent comps - a group of brewers get together and sample each others beers at Grumpys. In between we sample the beers on tap, all craft brewed on premises. Plus the best wood fired pizzas money can buy!

Its been very rewarding to get critical feedback on my beers, how the additions of spec grain and hops are working or not in some cases. Its all done in a very positive way. And i get to meet fellow brewers.

You should join us PA, would love to meet more brewers. Check out the forum here

Cheers
DrSmurto

[wee stu]

If anyone is wanting to enter a home brew competition, then the time is probably nigh. ANAWBS (the Australian National Amateur Wine and Beer Show) is still accepting entries, but time is running out.

Final closing date for entries to Adelaide (where the show is held) is 28 September. There are also collection points in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane - but you have to get your beer to these drop off points by 24 September. ANAWBS will pay the transport costs from the interstate collection points to Adelaide.

Full details, including drop off points, entry costs, forms, beer classes and style guidelines can be found on the anawbs web site at
http://www.anawbs.org.au

If you live in Adelaide and want to get more involved, send me a PM - we can always use more volunteers to help with the show. And yes, after the official judging, ANAWBS helpers do get to sample the winning beers

awrabest

wee stu
aka ANAWBS Beer Convener

PS Any questions, please ask - here, or by PM

[Boonie]

All my LCPA's are gone , well the good ones anyway.

Plus I can't get to Sydney this weekend just to drop off a couple of Bottles, my wife would kill me .

I've also got a cracker of a Strawberry Blonde which I reckon would go OK....IMHO, not one eyed here , Extremely "Creamy Head" Lovely aroma with a Tinge of Berry still there, Dry beer.........Slightly "Muddy" unless stored in Fridge for a week or so. "Thick Mouthfeel" mmmmmmm, I'm thirsty now.

Cheers

Boonie

[Heals]

Stu I'd like to enter one of my K&K brews, but I'm unsure exactly what category i'd enter it under (it's a coopers pale ale) or how much beer I need to drop off at the collection point? Just a single long neck or do they need more?

[drsmurto]

Heals - its all on their website. From memory its 2 longnecks per entry.

The CPA will depend on what hops you added as to what category you put it in. If you list the full ingredients we can help you figure that out.

[Heals]

Sorry Drsmurto, I had a good look around the site and at most of the PDF files they had there but must have missed it! Thanks.

As for ingredients..

They were,

Coopers Aussie Pale Ale Kit
Pale Crystal Grain
Wheat Malt
PoR Hops
Kit Yeast

It's probably not a terribly great brew compared to the others they'll get but I thought it would be good for some feedback at least. Do they give you feedback at all?

[wee stu]

Stu I'd like to enter one of my K&K brews, but I'm unsure exactly what category i'd enter it under (it's a coopers pale ale) or how much beer I need to drop off at the collection point? Just a single long neck or do they need more?

On the face of it it would probably be best placed in the Australian Sparkling Ale category (AUS3). If you mark it as a Pale Ale on the label we will try and ensure it gets judged in the flight before higher gravity versions that might overwhelm it.

Lots of the entry conditions are tucked away in the website under the entry forms tab - http://www.anawbs.org.au/index.php?mode=entry.

How much beer do we need - from the conditions of entry: "Beer entries must supply a minimum of 500ml, normally a 750ml bottle but two 375ml bottles or similar are acceptable." If you use a brewmaker 640ml bottle, or a coopers plastic bottle, a little creatures 500ml pint, two 330ml bottles - its all good, as long as we get the minimum 500ml.

When the beers are judged, the stewards actually pour beer out into a jug before it gets to the judges. So the judges have no idea what type of bottle it came from and cannot be influenced by it any way.

Thanks for the interest, guys.

[wee stu]

Do they give you feedback at all?

Sorry Heals, I missed that bit. For every beer you enter you will get judging sheets back from at least two judges. The whole idea is to provide feedback, and that is stressed heavily to all judges prior to the competition beginning.

Every beer gets a score, some get medals and a very few get trophies - but most of all, every brewer should be getting constructive feedback on the beer they brewed. That certainly is the intention.