Club Competition

Competition Documents & Info
Competion Rules (pdf)
Entry Form (pdf)
Selected Styles for 2008
2004 BJCP Style Guidelines
Current Standings
2007 Final Standings Additional Documents
Beer Fault Sheet (pdf)
Competition Judging Guidelines (pdf)
Checklist Scoresheet Instructions (pdf)
Beer Checklist Scoresheet (pdf)
Cider Scoresheet (pdf)
Mead Scoresheet (pdf)

New for 2008

We are adding a Mead/Cider competition for categories 24 thru 27 that will be held outside the meetings between the Mar-Apr, Jul-Aug, and Nov-Dec meetings.

The top 4 scores throughout the year for each entrant count for the Open and Styles comps, and the top 2 for the Mead/Cider comp. The top 4 scores in the Open competition will count for the New Brewer award. This gives you a chance to mess up - either scoring low or missing a comp - and still have a chance to win.

We are adding a Best on the Table competition - an informal monthly vote for the best beer brought to the meeting for sharing, whether it be homebrew or commercial beer. Monthly prizes will be awarded, plus a year end prize as well.

We are adding additional monthly and year-end prizes for Styles, Open, and Mead competitions, and an additional year-end prize for the New Brewer award winner.

Qualifications for New Brewer have changed. All members are eligible for the New Brewer award during their first two calendar years of club membership.

Judge Qualifications and training sessions. See details below.

The competition is administered by a committee selected during the September meeting:

Competition Committee

The competition committee is made up of volunteers who will be responsible for defining the competition styles for the following year; running the competition at the meetings; providing all the necessary equipment; and reporting the results. This doesn't mean that the coordinator MUST be the steward, but that he MUST provide the necessary equipment, forms, glasses/cups, styles guides, etc. He can ask for a volunteer to steward the comp in the case that he would like to judge.

Any competition related expenses assumed by the Stewards will be reimbursed from the club treasury.

The committe members will operate on a rotating basis, per the schedule below. The backup will need to be prepared to run the competition in the case that the primary is a no show. Primaries who know they will miss the meeting should notify the backup as soon as they find out. Backups may want to contact the primary to ensure they will show. As always, if you would like to volunteer to be one of the rotating stewards, step up. It is really pretty easy to do.

Schedule for 2008:
Month	Competition	Primary	Backup
Jan	- Open -	Ben Cowan	Greg Stallard
Feb	Category 8: English Pale Ales	Jaime Maginnis	Dick Fortney
Mar	- Open -	Greg Stallard	Ben Cowan
Mar-Apr Category 24-27: Mead and Cider
Apr	Category 2: Pilsner	Dick Fortney	Jaime Maginnis
May	- Open -	Ben Cowan	Greg Stallard
Jun	Category 14: IPA	Jaime Maginnis	Dick Fortney
Jul	- Open -	Greg Stallard	Ben Cowan
Jul-Aug Category 24-27: Mead and Cider
Aug	Category 18: Belgian Strong Ale	Dick Fortney	Jaime Maginnis
Sep	- Open -	Ben Cowan	Greg Stallard
Oct	Category 13: Stout	Jaime Maginnis	Dick Fortney
Nov	- Open -	Greg Stallard	Ben Cowan
Nov-Dec Category 24-27: Mead and Cider
Dec	Category 19: Strong Ale	Dick Fortney	Jaime Maginnis

Judging & Stewarding

We will implement judge qualifications beginning in 2008
In order to judge, a club member MUST be qualified in one of the following manners:
- BJCP certification
- AHA/BJCP sanctioned homebrew comp experience
- Pro brewer
- Attend an SFH judge training session, held two or three times a year.
Judge training sessions will concentrate on the concepts & strategies of judging rather than the details. These will be led by an experienced judge and should include:
- Walk-thru of judge instructions
- Walk-thru of checklist scoresheet
- Discussion of how to interpret a style guideline
- Discussion of faults
- Discussion of problems encountered in judging
  - Palate fatigue
  - Domination of big beers
  - Learning to evaluate a beer against a guideline and not against another beer
- Evaluation of a commercial example
- Possibly off-flavor samples – at least diacetyl, DMS, oxidation, lactic, acetic, skunked
Club Competition packet
- We will keep a competition packet at Depot Street for use by the stewards in running the competition
- Monthly stewards will be responsible for ensuring that the package is kept supplied
- It should contain:
  - An adequate supply of checklist scoresheets
  - A supply of entry and recipe forms (for those who forget to fill one out before the meeting)
  - 8 copies of BJCP Styles guidelines
  - 8 sets of Judge instructions
  - 8 sets of Fault sheets
  - 8 Pencils & erasers
  - 8 sampling Glasses
  - Crackers
  - Bottled water
  - Dump bucket
Always keep in mind the following table when judging. You should be able to look, sniff, sip, and immediately be able to determine to which of the scoring ranges that it belongs.

World Class (45-50)	A world class example of the style. A beer with great character and no flaws. These are the beers that everyone talks about after the competition.	Most AHA/BJCP sanctioned comps will never have an entry in this class
Excellent (38-44)	Beers in this range may have no flaws but may be missing the intangibles for that world class beer.	Many AHA/BJCP sanctioned comps winners will be in this class
Very Good (30-37)	Beers in this range may have a minor technical flaw, or may be lacking in balance or complexity.	Most AHA/BJCP sanctioned comps gold, silver, and bronze winners will be in this class
Good (21-29)	A satisfactory beer that is generally a good beer. Scores near the upper end of this range may have only a few minor flaws and also may be lacking in balance or complexity. Scores near the lower end of this range tend to have more flaws.	The majority of entries in most AHA/BJCP sanctioned comps will be in this class
Fair (14-20)	This beer has its share of problems that may include off flavors and aromas, balance problems, contamination, or other major flaws. Scores near the lower end of this range exhibit more major flaws.	There are usually a significant number of entries in this class in all but the most prestigious AHA/BJCP sanctioned comps
Problematic (0-13)	A beer with a major problem (usually contamination) that overwhelms all other flavors and aromas. For our competition no scores will be awarded in this category.