I think it was Todd_K who proposed this idea in the "Resolutions for 2007" thread, so I'll give him his props first.
Toot got me thinking about this with the whole "Lobuck / $3.41/gallon" proposed homebrew contest.
What I think we should do is have a full-bore homebrew competition this year. Target the middle part of the year, maybe May 31st or June 30th, for a deadline, so that people have time to develop recipes, experiment, do lagering, etc. This would also give time to maybe get some prizes together, maybe try and get mentioned on some podcasts, get the word out generally.
Include the "Lobuck" competition as a separate category; "Beers Costing Less Than $10 Per Batch". To really do that right, people are going to need a lot of time to play around with recipes and procedures. No other major rules other than defining what gets included in cost. A style must be specified, and each "Lobuck" beer is judged versus its style, with one winner. Define two price limits, one for AG, one for extract, otherwise, leave that as open-ended as possible.
Judge more-or-less according to established guidelines, but with common sense applied as well. Stouts versus stouts, pale ales versus pale ales, etc.
Twist the arms of some of the respected folk around here to act as judges; BrewPastor, I'm sure, would be more than happy to judge all wheat and Belgian-style entries.
Perhaps in lieu of an entry fee, participants must be paying members of HBT?
I've never sent beer to a competition, I've never been involved in a competition, so I don't know everything that would be involved. But, I'd be more than happy to do whatever was necessary to get something going.
Any thoughts? Take Toot's idea and make it BIGGER?
Toot got me thinking about this with the whole "Lobuck / $3.41/gallon" proposed homebrew contest.
What I think we should do is have a full-bore homebrew competition this year. Target the middle part of the year, maybe May 31st or June 30th, for a deadline, so that people have time to develop recipes, experiment, do lagering, etc. This would also give time to maybe get some prizes together, maybe try and get mentioned on some podcasts, get the word out generally.
Include the "Lobuck" competition as a separate category; "Beers Costing Less Than $10 Per Batch". To really do that right, people are going to need a lot of time to play around with recipes and procedures. No other major rules other than defining what gets included in cost. A style must be specified, and each "Lobuck" beer is judged versus its style, with one winner. Define two price limits, one for AG, one for extract, otherwise, leave that as open-ended as possible.
Judge more-or-less according to established guidelines, but with common sense applied as well. Stouts versus stouts, pale ales versus pale ales, etc.
Twist the arms of some of the respected folk around here to act as judges; BrewPastor, I'm sure, would be more than happy to judge all wheat and Belgian-style entries.
Perhaps in lieu of an entry fee, participants must be paying members of HBT?
I've never sent beer to a competition, I've never been involved in a competition, so I don't know everything that would be involved. But, I'd be more than happy to do whatever was necessary to get something going.
Any thoughts? Take Toot's idea and make it BIGGER?