National Homebrew comp...what are you entering?

lhd7osc said:

I just posted above....lost the tracking number, so I guess I'm on my own. I'm assuming we'll get our score sheet back IF it made it...correct?

Learning as I go....

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I've never had a competition where they send you a confirmation email that your entries arrived. Now if they show up in a broken state, you might get an email. They will send you your scoresheet and any ribbons following the competition but that can usually take a couple of weeks. Results should be posted within 24 - 48 hours following the competition.

lhd7osc said:

I'm assuming we'll get our score sheet back IF it made it...correct?

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If like in the past, you may (depending on region) get your score sheets before the AHA announces first round winners. But either way, other than tracking the shipment, score sheets are your only indication that your beer made it to the judging center.

Good luck!

Darwin18 said:

Results should be posted within 24 - 48 hours following the competition.

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I think the AHA delays posting results until all the judging center have gotten results to them. Something about giving everyone and equal amount of time to re-brew if they want to.

New York will be judging starting on the 5th of April, but some others won't be judged until a couple of weeks after that.


ex. Ohio is April 19th and 20th

Whoops, my bad AnOldUR! You're absolutely right about the delayed results. I believe Atlanta is doing their judging on April 13, but according to the AHA website the first round winners are being announced May 4th.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/competitions/national-homebrew-competition

Well, it's begun! NY started judging yesterday.

Good luck to everyone. Hope to see your beers in Philly in June.

So...my beers are being judged this weekend in Seattle. This is my first time entering the NHC. What do people do when they are lucky enough to advance? I know it is dependent on beer style but if you don't even find out until May 4th?? That doesn't give you a lot of time to rebrew something and some cases (lagers) you are DOA. I have a little bit in the kegs left and was wondering what to do if my beers did advance. I could bottle them now but I doubt if they will still be in great condition 2.5 months from now. I could always rebrew them now but....that's a little presumptious. More than likely my beers won't advance. I mean they are solid beers IMO but comps are always a bit of a toss up.

Phunhog said:

So...my beers are being judged this weekend in Seattle. This is my first time entering the NHC. What do people do when they are lucky enough to advance? I know it is dependent on beer style but if you don't even find out until May 4th?? That doesn't give you a lot of time to rebrew something and some cases (lagers) you are DOA. I have a little bit in the kegs left and was wondering what to do if my beers did advance. I could bottle them now but I doubt if they will still be in great condition 2.5 months from now. I could always rebrew them now but....that's a little presumptious. More than likely my beers won't advance. I mean they are solid beers IMO but comps are always a bit of a toss up.

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Yeah.... depends a lot on the style. I have some getting judged in St. Paul this weekend too.

I already rebrewed a pilsner and dortmunder I entered.... If they make it, great - I am prepared. If not, great - I have 10 gallons of my favorite light lagers to drink this summer.

I have a belgian Dark - no need to rebrew - if it makes it through it would be even better in a couple months.

I have a mild - that I will still have plenty of time to rebrew if it would make it.

Two that are problematic though are an american brown and S. Eng. Brown..... should really rebrew them the last two weeks of april in case they make it. To be honest, I would be plenty surprised if either did make it. So, I am torn between rebrewing and potentially sitting on 10 gallons of brown ale that I don't really want to drink in the summer, and the possibility that one would make it through and I don't have my beer at its best when it is time to send on. thinking about doing a couple 2.5 gallon batches maybe..... hoping maybe I get score sheets back in time to know.... guess I will just have to make the call in a couple weeks.

If they are good beers though, and ones you like - never hurts to have more of them on hand

I personally don't understand why there needs to be a two week delay in announcing winners of the first round, but it's their competition so they can do what they like. I suppose they're concerned that the sites that judged early would give winners an "unfair advantage" but I don't see it.

If you have a lager entered in this competition or a beer that takes time, send it out to a couple others and see how it scores. If it scores well and you think it might have a great shot at the first round of NHC start brewing now for the 2nd round.

AnOldUR said:

Well, it's begun! NY started judging yesterday.

Good luck to everyone. Hope to see your beers in Philly in June.

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Yep. I was there judging the bock category. It's kind of weird sitting there knowing that your decisions and opinions are going to affect the outcome of the largest beer competition in the world so profoundly. I know that's the entire reason the judges are there, but just the gravity of the situation, knowing that 16 brewers were counting on me to fairly and objectively judge their beer, was kind of surreal.

Also, the American Ale category was being judged right next to me and I had three beers entered in that category. It was a little nerve wracking hearing the other judges talking about the different beers and wondering if it was my beer they were talking about.

nukebrewer said:

It was a little nerve wracking hearing the other judges talking about the different beers and wondering if it was my beer they were talking about.

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Were you able to come home with your scoresheets?

Braufessor said:

Yeah.... depends a lot on the style. I have some getting judged in St. Paul this weekend too.

I already rebrewed a pilsner and dortmunder I entered.... If they make it, great - I am prepared. If not, great - I have 10 gallons of my favorite light lagers to drink this summer.

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Ditto here. Two lagers and a Kolsch are now fermenting. This coming weekend two more lagers get brewed. If nothing else, I'll also have plenty of beer for summer!

iBrewR said:

Were you able to come home with your scoresheets?

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I had to leave before the afternoon flight was judged so I didn't get mine back, but I don't think anyone gets them back the day of, even if you're a judge/steward. I imagine it's part of the unfair advantage thing. If I get my score sheets back and have really high scores I have a pretty good idea of how to proceed as far as rebrewing whereas someone who wasn't there wouldn't know until later when the scores are released to everyone.

nukebrewer said:

I imagine it's part of the unfair advantage thing.

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This is true, but I don't really agree. As others have said. If it'll need to be rebrewed for the second round, just do it. Most bigger or dark beers don't necessarily need to be rebrewed. And smaller lighter beers would just be more beer for summer consumption.

I asked because, I know that last year some of the judging locations returned score sheets, but didn't release official results, waiting for the AHA to do that. That's about the same as letting judges and stewards go home with their sheets.

I entered my Spiced Porter in three categories, regular porter, vegetable/spice and holiday beers. The spices were somewhat subtle, so I figured it'd go for the regular porter category along with the other two. My first comp, just really looking for good feedback with a win just icing on the cake.

iBrewR said:

This is true, but I don't really agree. As others have said. If it'll need to be rebrewed for the second round, just do it. Most bigger or dark beers don't necessarily need to be rebrewed. And smaller lighter beers would just be more beer for summer consumption.

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You can't reasonably expect someone to re-brew any beers because they might advance. I agree that bigger beers (except DIPA) probably don't need to be re-brewed, but I don't think it's anyone's place to tell someone they should re-brew a beer that may not even advance. What if they want different beer for their summer drinking? Are you suggesting that people should plan their NHC entries around what they want to drink during the summer?

nukebrewer said:

You can't reasonably expect someone to re-brew any beers because they might advance. I agree that bigger beers (except DIPA) probably don't need to be re-brewed, but I don't think it's anyone's place to tell someone they should re-brew a beer that may not even advance.

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No one is telling them anything. They did that when they chose to enter a style that needed to be judged fresh. But the truth is that most styles will be fine for the second round if properly stored. If your point is giving everyone and equal chance to read their scoresheets and rebrew using those suggestions, then there should be six months or more between the first and second round. I don't think that is what the AHA has in mind.

nukebrewer said:

What if they want different beer for their summer drinking? Are you suggesting that people should plan their NHC entries around what they want to drink during the summer?

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What you're suggesting is that people are brewing beer that they don't enjoy drinking for competition purposes only. If that's the case, I feel sorry for those people. Rebrew a small batch and have some variety to choose from over the summer.

If you're serious about the competition and your beer needs to be fresh for the second round, you've already planned that into your brew schedule. Releasing results as they become available shouldn't effect that. You might be jealous that you're not from one of the early judging centers, but you'll get over it.

Anyone got an update on Atlanta? If they made it through or maybe got close?