Attendance at competitions?

[Naked_Eskimo]

If a person wants to submit his/her beers to a competition for some educated/experienced constructive criticism, does that person HAVE TO attend the event, or can they just send their beers and receive their feedback and scoresheets via mail?

 

[jessup]

they just send their beers and receive their feedback and scoresheets via mail

1234567890

 

[KellyK]

Even if you attend a competition, you almost never will get your feedback right then. Some competitions will have score sheets sorted and ready to take with you after the awards are announced. Most won't. Just send your beer in and score sheets (and maybe a medal) will following in the mail a couple weeks after judging.

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

Thanks Kelly....appreciate the insight.

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

1234567890

A very concise, waste of a reply. Thanks for the productive contribution.

 

[Shooter]

He was quoting your question to show that you can send your beers and receive feedback via mail. You have to include 10 characters in your response and that's why he did the 1234567890. I usually just use 10 spaces.

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

Thanks for the clarification, Shooter. Apologies to jessup!

 

[Teromous]

Forum newb

 

[Shooter]

It does take some time to get used to the subtleties of HBT!

 

[david_42]

It would get rather crowded at the Heart of the Valley competitions, we run 300+ entries. Mostly, you just get the judges, stewards and a few companions attending the judgings.

 

[billvon]

If a person wants to submit his/her beers to a competition for some educated/experienced constructive criticism, does that person HAVE TO attend the event, or can they just send their beers and receive their feedback and scoresheets via mail?

Nope. I wasn't at the Hangar 24 competition; just picked up the scoresheets later. (One gold and two silver!)

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

So how does the shipping work? I've read a bunch of threads on this forum, and it seems it is illegal to ship via USPS, and against company policy to ship via FedEx or UPS.

Doesnt seem to leave too many options?

 

[stubbornman]

So how does the shipping work? I've read a bunch of threads on this forum, and it seems it is illegal to ship via USPS, and against company policy to ship via FedEx or UPS.

Doesnt seem to leave too many options?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/tutorial-shipping-beer-93042/

 

[Naked_Eskimo]

Yeah, I've read that...but I wasnt asking about how to package my beer, but rather through what means to ship. Based on that thread, what is being advised is lying on the shipping manifest. As one member stated:

If you ship beer through USPS, FedEX, or USPS, you at best are violating their terms of service, and at worse, possibly committing a felony (in the case of a felony alcohol state).

Disclaimer, I am not a lawyer, this is just my interpretation of their rules.

 

[remilard]

It is certainly not a felony to ship beer through UPS or Fedex though they would rather not do it.

They are certainly aware that beers are shipped to competitions, because the AHA has lobbied them to make it easier to do so. Their concern is shipping beer to people under 21.

You don't have to lie per se. You have two options.

1. Tell the truth sortof. Say you are shipping non perishable food, yeast samples etc.
2. Avoid being asked what is in the box. Buy a shipping scale, print out the labels and leave it somewhere for pickup. Tasty McDole posted on the BN Forum that he will order something off of Amazon with two day shipping (so he knows what day the company is coming), print out his labels, and leave the box on the porch that day. Brilliant.

 

[Sigafoos]

Yeah, shipping beer sucks. I labeled mine 'yeast samples' and got into a LONG discussion with a very nice lady about what exactly it was. She called the UPS hazmat line. I'm not a good liar and felt like a ****** when I left.

And then the beer was %&^$^% flat when it got to saq anyway!

 

[TheMan]

Tell them you're shipping homemade rootbeer. They can't tell the difference.

 

[Homercidal]

At work we wrap our skids with plastic wrap. The leftover tubes are great for shipping 2 beers in! I simply wrap each beer in a UPS/FEDEX foam envelope, then stuff into the tube. Tape the ends and it's ready for shipment!

It's also nice to ship from the UPS account at work because they never ask questions.

And, I have entered a few comps where it was not even an option to show up. However, if I did enter a comp where there was attendance, I would want to go. If I couldn't make it, no biggie. You are not required to attend. Last year's Suds on the Shore beer festival the other 2 people who placed weren't there. I took 3rd and was very pleased when 2 ladies wanted to get their picture taken with me! (Homebrew groupies! Who would have guessed?)

This year I entered again and even though the festival is coming up this weekend, I have already gotten my scoresheets and prizes (2nd place!) And I'm still plannign on attending, because I like to sample all of the great Michigan beers and chat with the brewmasters and people at the event. Plus there is live music and food...