How many brewing competitions do you enter per year?

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How many, on average, brewing competitions do you enter per year?

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  • 4-6

  • 7-9

  • 10-12

  • 13-15

  • 16+


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Q2XL

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I started brewing all-grain this past spring and have entered 2 competitions so far and was pleased with the results. So, I started to think about entering more brewing competitions, not so much for the prizes but for the feedback. That led me to wonder how many competitions the average brewer enters. So, this is my question. How many comps do you enter per year on average?
 
I know this sounds counter-intuitive... but if you have a beer that really SUCKS... and you don't know WHY... send it into a comp. You will get valuable feedback. It's worth it.

I send my best and worst brews into comps. The best hoping to compete, and the worst to figure out what I can do to improve.
 
I haven't entered any yet so I didn't vote. I plan to start entering them when I feel more confident and start to repeat brewing different beers.
 
I know this sounds counter-intuitive... but if you have a beer that really SUCKS... and you don't know WHY... send it into a comp. You will get valuable feedback. It's worth it.

I send my best and worst brews into comps. The best hoping to compete, and the worst to figure out what I can do to improve.

This question is to those that are BJCP certified. Do you get mad when someone sends in a "loaded" sample in hopes to figure out what is wrong with it? Just curious as it would be a great way refine your brewing.
 
I know this sounds counter-intuitive... but if you have a beer that really SUCKS... and you don't know WHY... send it into a comp. You will get valuable feedback. It's worth it.

I send my best and worst brews into comps. The best hoping to compete, and the worst to figure out what I can do to improve.

It'd be even better if you could watch the judges when they're tasting. Send in something totally infected and funky and watch their reactions. "Yup... they just got to mine!" :D
 
Though I'm not a judge, I bet they taste plenty of bad beer. Some brewers are proud of their creations despite the flaws. Others just want help identifying the flaws. It'd be tough to accurately pinpoint the motivation for an entry without interviewing the brewer.
 
The only thing I don't like about competitions, is waiting for the next one to start. ;)

It really gets addictive.
 
It'd be even better if you could watch the judges when they're tasting. Send in something totally infected and funky and watch their reactions. "Yup... they just got to mine!" :D

LOL.... Funny stuff!

Though I'm not a judge, I bet they taste plenty of bad beer. Some brewers are proud of their creations despite the flaws. Others just want help identifying the flaws. It'd be tough to accurately pinpoint the motivation for an entry without interviewing the brewer.

Yeah I realize it would be next to impossible to tell the motivation behind someones entry. I simply thought they might not appreciate tasting all this "bad" beer. Also, the next beer they sample might taste better and score better than it normally would. Just thoughts and curious how judges actually feel about it.
 
I've only entered one. Nobody that had tasted my beer knows more about beer than me. I really wanted some feedback. I'm still waiting on score sheets but I think they are good. I've got three ribbons coming with them. I might send some into the NHC next year. There will not be any local competitions here. I can't see ever entering much more than one a year.
 
There was no choice for 0-1, so I didn't vote. I entered 1 in 2007, 0 in 2008, and 1 in 2009. I'm not a contest person. I like my beers, and I like the feedback I get from beerswaps. I liked the feedback I got from the NHBC, but the one non national contest I entered a while back was disappointing. I mean, some of the judges comments had me scratching my head. Like, "diacetyl detected- try to keep it on the yeast after primary" in an ale that spend 4 weeks in primary and then was cold conditioned and had not one HINT of diacetyl. Oh, there were other flaws, don't get me wrong! But I entered for constructive feedback, and found the judges comments were opposite and sometimes just strange. I was like, " I PAID for this? Gimme a break!" so it soured me on competitions.

I entered the HBT competition, though, because I would love some good feedback on my beer!
 
I usually enter a lot in the beginning of the year, then trail off during the summer, and then back into gear for the end of the year. Summer is a time for drinking all my beer...not giving it away. :mug:

that's how it seems to work out anyway.
 
I have a really hard time finding competitions...Im really disappointed I didnt notice the HBT one...duh!
 
I love entering competitions and I think everyone should enter to get feed back. Yes I know some of the feed back is on the lame side but that is the fault of the judge not your beer or the competition. I recently got feed back from Gordon Strong a Grand Master V judge for my helles and gave me good feed back on how to take my beer from a 40 point beer to a 45 point beer. Remember every pallet is different and what you or I may think is a great beer it may not be so when trying to hit a style per BJCP guide. I am taken Fred Bonjours class to prep for the BJCP examine and there is a ton of stuff to learn on tasting so I give credit to the judges who have passed the test. Take it with a grain of salt if you get a novice ranking on your score sheet or at least I do.
 
I know this sounds counter-intuitive... but if you have a beer that really SUCKS... and you don't know WHY... send it into a comp. You will get valuable feedback. It's worth it.

I send my best and worst brews into comps. The best hoping to compete, and the worst to figure out what I can do to improve.

I dont know what you are talking about, I have never had a bad batch :p:p ok, maybe once.... Honestly though, thats a really good idea, I mean as long as its not some just nasty a$$ infection. But a beer that really just didnt turn out, I like that idea. I need to start entering more comps. The painful part, I wanted to enter the state fair this year (ended up being to late for the dead line) and I have a 21% DFH 120 clone that I wanted to enter but at the same time I didnt, I only got 36 bottles out of the brew and its hard to let those go, it was a hell of a brew. Then you get your favorites, that you dont want to send off a drop, lol, I dunno. My great brews I never want to let go. Then again, my friends drink their fair share, may as well share with some judges...
 
You can send entries from just about anywhere unless it's expressly setup for a local group. I enter all the AHA sanctioned events that my club awards HB of the year points for. That's Splitrock, Buzz Off, War of Worts and the NHC. I'll usually send 2-3 entries each. I also enter the AHA club only comps if I have something that fits the theme of that quarter. My best placement so far has been 2nd place at the Buzz off this year for an oaked English Barleywine.
 
I started brewing in 1994.

In 1997 I entered my FIRST competition...MUGZ club (Quad Cities, IL/IA), members only competition. I got Best of Show and Best of Style for my Hefe Weizen, (34 days primary, no secondary necessary ;)).

Got to brew 250 gals at the local brew pub (The Blue Cat Pub in Moline, IL) and bragging rights.

Never entered another contest. ;)
 
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