Question about a Home Brew contest

Has anyone ever heard of a Homebrew contest asking for 35 (THIRTY FIVE) 12 oz bottles to be submitted? Along with a $20 entry fee!

This seems a bit... uh??? F*cking Retarded!!!!

Am I the only one here?

Lol.. I'll be hosting one at my house this weekend. You must sumbit 2 cases of your finest with a $5 taped to each one as the label.

There has to be a mistake there. Probably 3, MAYBE 5.. even 5 seems like a bit much. A typo for sure.

Yeah, seems fishy to me as well. Hopefully, a typo. But $20 also seems excessive.

yeah, seems a bit much.

Here is an excerpt from the compitition email... They make it plain and well known that 35 bottles is required.

Rules and Regulations


1. Anyone 21 years or older may enter

2. More than one entry may be made per category; however they must be from
different
fermentations or of different ingredients.

3. All entries will be judged on an individual basis. The judging is done
blind. The only
thing the judges know is what style you entered the beer
as.

4. The competition is opened exclusively to home brewers. No beers brewed
on
commercial brewery equipment will be accepted

5. Each entry shall consist of (35) thirty five 12 oz. bottles. Since the
judges will not see
your bottles, bottles may have logos and designs.

6. An entry fee of ($20.00) twenty dollars shall be paid for the first entry.
An additional
($5) five dollars per entry is required. Make checks payable to:

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It seems like a big price to pay, but the winner will have 30bbl's of their beer brewed at a local brewery and sold as a seasonal brew...

So the reward is nice... but damn! That's alot of loss if you don't win!

Yes, that's correct. Send me 35 12 oz bottles along with a $20 entry fee to my place...:rockin:...nah, just kidding.

That's got to be a typo.

I won a HB contest once (first time) and got to brew 250 gals at one of the local brew pubs.

mmurray said:

It seems like a big price to pay, but the winner will have 30bbl's of their beer brewed at a local brewery and sold as a seasonal brew...

So the reward is nice... but damn! That's alot of loss if you don't win!

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Makes a little more sense now that you post this. I think they want not only judges, but their customers to sample the beer since it will be part of their lineup. What do you get aside from the fact that your beer is that brewpubs seasonal? Is there a link you can provide with more info on the contest? If you end up spending over $100 (at least) in brewing/entering this contest I'd hope the top prize is more than just the satisfaction of knowing that your beer is good enough for a brewpub to make money selling. I'd want some kind of compensation if I won.. maybe 1bbl bottled and shipped to my door? A % of the profits?

I'd need to know more to decide if its worth entering if I were you.

This sounds like some sorta elitist homebrew exclusionary brewry scam only for the rich Lambrogini homebrewist.Count me out.I need the 20 smackers for a bag of bottle caps, and the beer for a shindig on my patio this weekend.

That sounds very excessive. So basically you and whoever else enters are providing them AND their customers with free beer for the night, and paying for the privilege to do it. I wouldn't be surprised if they were charging people an entrance fee for a "special exclusive tasting".

The reward is OK for you, but you also gotta remember the only thing you're getting out of it is recognition that your beer was good. They're getting the rights in perpetuity to sell it every year, and make as much money as they possibly can for it. And if your beer really was that good, they're taking 2/3 of it so you won't even get to enjoy it.

Hey...I'll have a contest over at my place! Bring me a case or tow of your finest homebrew and enough money for a couple of pizza's as well.

BTW, Everyone who enters...you'll get an award. Some kind of award.

But everyone gets one!

dap325 said:

What do you get aside from the fact that your beer is that brewpubs seasonal?
If you end up spending over $100 (at least) in brewing/entering this contest I'd hope the top prize is more than just the satisfaction of knowing that your beer is good enough for a brewpub to make money selling.

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Oh... you do get a t-shirt for your entry fee! and there is no prize money so yeah, just the satisfaction of seeing your beer sold in stores!

stageseven said:

I wouldn't be surprised if they were charging people an entrance fee for a "special exclusive tasting".

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They are chargine entrance to the event to taste the beers as well!


I will say this, this has been touted as a Charity event! But no charity has been listed!

dap325 said:

Is there a link you can provide with more info on the contest?

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I PM'd you.

mmurray said:

I PM'd you.

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Yea great, keep it secret. Great job. Otherwise, everyone will palletize a case-and-a-half of their beer and submit it to the contest.

If they had a killer prewpub and I got to drink there free while they are serving my winning recipe, I may consider. Oh...and it must be within crawling distance from my home.

There must be some compensation if you win. Other than them using your recipe to make money.

Thirty five 12oz bottles. Seriously, you need 3.5 gallons of beer for submission? They need 3.5 gallons to decide if they like it?

Why not just say, "Tape a $20 to your keg at leave it by the door. We'll call you when we're sober."

That has got to be one of the best scams I've seen in a while. "Pay us to get hammered off of your beer."

Why didn't I think of it first?

What a scam! The MOST expensive comp I've entered so far cost $10 for each entry and you had to send 4 bottles. I thought this was pretty expensive! But it's for The United Way. It's a charity event, so I don't mind.

Plus, the BOS gets to have their beer brewed at a local brewpub, and winners last year got some decent swag. I took second, and got a hat, T-shirt, and medal. (And some ladies wanted to have their picture taken with a "celebrity"... Yeah, it was a good time!)

The only reason they wanted 4 bottles was so that they could have 2 for each round.

I would pass on this one it seems like a joke to me.

passedpawn said:

Yea great, keep it secret. Great job. Otherwise, everyone will palletize a case-and-a-half of their beer and submit it to the contest.

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I agree, why don't you post the link so we can check it out? If it's a scam we'll know. We often police these things, whether it's a vendor, or other odd seeming thing. People post the links on here, and those of us with experience, take a look. We've even reported brewing ebay scams to ebay before. So why the "mystery?"

I have a hard time keeping the requisite 7 bottles of some of my best beers onhand some Longshot time. So, 30 plus is excessive.

What it seems like is a popularity contest for the brewery. Without actually seeing the contest, it looks like they want you to send a bunch of beer for their customers to sample. The customers then choose their favorite and they brew your recipe for them.

BJCP judges would never require that much beer.

Spend your money on a few other legit comps. There are MANY out there. I think the AHA website has a list by state.

mmurray said:

Has anyone ever heard of a Homebrew contest asking for 35 (THIRTY FIVE) 12 oz bottles to be submitted?

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Seems pretty strange. On the plus side, it would let me get rid of some of the towering piles of beer slowly going stale in my garage.

billvon said:

Seems pretty strange. On the plus side, it would let me get rid of some of the towering piles of beer slowly going stale in my garage.

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I have an idea. Why not have a bunch of people over, and charge them $5 for a costume contest. Your beer gets drank, and it doesn't cost you $20. Plus, you have a bunch of strangely-dressed drunks having a wild time. Make sure you have a camera on hand too. The video could be worth $10,000!

http://www.kegandbarrel.com/Keg_and_Barrel/Home.html

I was curious so I went internet surfing to find the competition. Link is above for anyone who wants to see it.

Homercidal said:

What it seems like is a popularity contest for the brewery. Without actually seeing the contest, it looks like they want you to send a bunch of beer for their customers to sample. The customers then choose their favorite and they brew your recipe for them.

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That's exactly way it is.

Btw, I noticed the name of charity to whom proceeds will be donated was left out. Thats am important question to ask. And what % is going to the charity.

Homercidal said:

I have an idea. Why not have a bunch of people over, and charge them $5 for a costume contest. Your beer gets drank . . .

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It would have to be the right people. I'm getting a little tired of the "what do you have that's most like Corona?" questions.

billvon said:

It would have to be the right people. I'm getting a little tired of the "what do you have that's most like Corona?" questions.

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I understand. But then you could say, "Man up and have some of this! You'll be feeling it in no time!" Then after they get drunk, steal their wallets.

KellyK said:

http://www.kegandbarrel.com/Keg_and_Barrel/Home.html

I was curious so I went internet surfing to find the competition. Link is above for anyone who wants to see it.

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Posting the misquote of Ben Franklin and promoting SA beer on tap on the homepage. I'd run.

Everyone misquotes Ben. It's no worse then calling a Huntsman bug a "Daddy-long-legs spider". It's just what everyone thinks.

EDIT: I meant a "Harvestman" bug. Which is an arachnid, but not a spider. The Huntsman is a different spider.

It's not so much of a hb comp as a hb tasting the way I read it..."tables provided, bring a cooler for your beer, etc" kinda looks like fun.

DurangoHomeBrewMafia said:

It's not so much of a hb comp as a hb tasting the way I read it..."tables provided, bring a cooler for your beer, etc" kinda looks like fun.

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That is what I was thinking. Though I live in Colorado so I guess I am used to seeing stuff like that. Aspen festival requires you to bring 5 gallons of beer. Though they give you free entrance for the whole weekend, which includes the concerts.

It just sounds bad when they put the amount in bottles.

ChristianAlpha-RuBrew said:

This sounds like some sorta elitist homebrew exclusionary brewry scam only for the rich Lambrogini homebrewist.

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quoted because the owner of a local brew pub around here actually does drive a lambo.

The only reason i would think sending in 35 bottles would be acceptable is if each entrant would be a judge and get to taste every other entrants beer. and of course the 20 bucks would be to pay for food at the brew pub hosting.

KellyK said:

http://www.kegandbarrel.com/Keg_and_Barrel/Home.html

I was curious so I went internet surfing to find the competition. Link is above for anyone who wants to see it.

Click to expand...

Ok... I was trying to not put them out there like that for a few reasons. But now that they are I'll make a few other points to the contest.

It's called an Outlaw contest, because it takes place in Mississippi and homebrewing is illegal in Mississippi! Not sure I'd like to be at a place that is blatantly breaking the law as it may be the sight of a bust!!! It seems to me like calling the cops and telling them when and where you'll be robbing a bank! Not the smartest move out there!

Then the icing on the cake... Mississippi law prohibits ABV of Beer to 6% or less. Not only are they encouraging that law to be broken (compounding the issue) they are going to brew that high ABV beer in thier brewbup! Again... I would assume actions like that would put their license on the line! (If Busted)...

I agree that the laws in Mississippi are old and rediculous and need to be changed... I'm just not sure an action like this is helping!

I hope for them that the event is a success and the charity (whoever it may be) receives alot of money, but it just seems shady and too risky to be involved.

mmurray said:

Ok... I was trying to not put them out there like that for a few reasons. But now that they are I'll make a few other points to the contest.

It's called an Outlaw contest, because it takes place in Mississippi and homebrewing is illegal in Mississippi! Not sure I'd like to be at a place that is blatantly breaking the law as it may be the sight of a bust!!! It seems to me like calling the cops and telling them when and where you'll be robbing a bank! Not the smartest move out there!

Then the icing on the cake... Mississippi law prohibits ABV of Beer to 6% or less. Not only are they encouraging that law to be broken (compounding the issue) they are going to brew that high ABV beer in thier brewbup! Again... I would assume actions like that would put their license on the line! (If Busted)...

I agree that the laws in Mississippi are old and rediculous and need to be changed... I'm just not sure an action like this is helping!

I hope for them that the event is a success and the charity (whoever it may be) receives alot of money, but it just seems shady and too risky to be involved.

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Wow, that makes sense. Sorry for my sarcasm earlier.

they've got some balls. good for them

A local brewpub held a similar contest but they only wanted $10 and four bottles. One of the guys in our club won and brewed a 10BBL batch. They also got two growlers and a coupon for 4 more fills or something like that. The beer menu had a nice little write up and it sold out just as quick as their stock offerings.

With 35 bottles the entry should be free for the brewer. Even then, F that.

Beer and sweat in Cincy it's 1 keg to enter and $20 bones unless you judge/ steward. Of course then everyone gets to drink everyone elses beer and its a huge friggin' awsome party that will leave you hurting.

mmurray said:

Ok... I was trying to not put them out there like that for a few reasons. But now that they are I'll make a few other points to the contest.

It's called an Outlaw contest, because it takes place in Mississippi and homebrewing is illegal in Mississippi! Not sure I'd like to be at a place that is blatantly breaking the law as it may be the sight of a bust!!! It seems to me like calling the cops and telling them when and where you'll be robbing a bank! Not the smartest move out there!

Then the icing on the cake... Mississippi law prohibits ABV of Beer to 6% or less. Not only are they encouraging that law to be broken (compounding the issue) they are going to brew that high ABV beer in thier brewbup! Again... I would assume actions like that would put their license on the line! (If Busted)...

I agree that the laws in Mississippi are old and rediculous and need to be changed... I'm just not sure an action like this is helping!

I hope for them that the event is a success and the charity (whoever it may be) receives alot of money, but it just seems shady and too risky to be involved.

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I'd steer clear. You are in a state where it is illegal to homebrew - and you are risking getting caught and you don't even get anything even if you win the stupid contest.

Sounds like entrapment to me. Easy way to round up a bunch of "criminals." The outrageous number of bottles / fee is their way of not being too attractive to a law abiding citizen and therefore cover their bases on entrapment.

They do **** like this all the time for dead-beat dads and parole offenders. You get a prosecutor / police chief with an itch on his ass or want to tack something on their resume. Send them a letter telling them that they have won a prize. Usually they call the contest something related to their crime (Outlaw Home Brew Competition). They show up and get arrested.

That is just my take. The risk is not worth the reward.

passedpawn said:

Wow, that makes sense. Sorry for my sarcasm earlier.

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No don't worry about that... You didn't have all the facts, but as you could see I was trying to keep the actual names involved out of it. Maily because if they do get busted I didn't want a bunch of PO'd people looking at me.

Oh well... It's their butts on the line, unless it's a set up. My gut is telling me it's not a setup and just some misguided ambition.

We are all fighting these laws and trying to get them repealed, but there is a right way and a wrong way!


Our #1 hurdle is the Chair of the Finance Committee. The bill has died on his desk for the last 2 years. He's a Baptist and therefor can't openly support bills that reduce the regulation on Alcohol! But he has no problem taking lobby money from anheuser busch to keep the ABV at 6% and below to reduce the risk of competition in the state! He recently had a heart attack so hopefully he won't run again or stand down from his position to reduce Stress. I've thought about driving 4 hours to his precinct and actively campaigning against him. But unfortunatly it's up to his constituants to actually vote him out! And in the Bible belt that's hard to do.

I actually entered a contest with rules that are somewhat similar: $27 entry fee and thirty six bottles required. The difference is that it's limited to 20 entries and there's $1,000 of prize money at stake. The judges award $800 to their favorite and the paying public awards $200 to their favorite. Guests pay $20 and get a taster of all the beers and a plate of food.

Should be fun: http://brooklynwort.com/