Messages

16

Events / Re: NHC Direct links email

« on: February 26, 2013, 12:00:40 PM »

Thanks for pointing that out!

Please disregard that category, as it is not a category in the NHC.  That is an artifact of the software, and it will be removed before online registration begins.

Cheers,
Janis

17

Events / Re: NHC Direct links email

« on: February 26, 2013, 11:50:25 AM »

Note: Online reg opens TODAY at 1:00 PM MST (3:00 PM EST).
Note: Please upgrade your browser to IE 8 minimum, and/or the latest version of any other browser before trying to register online.

Here are the cities and the links that go with them.

Seattle, WA                        http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region1
Pleasanton, CA             http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region2
San Diego, CA                    http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region3
Denver, CO                         http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region4
Tulsa, OK                             http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region5
Kansas City, MO               http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region6
Saint Paul, MN                  http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region7
Milwaukee, WI                 http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region8
Atlanta, GA                         http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region9
Zanesville, OH                   http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region10
New York City, NY            http://www.brewingcompetition.com/region11

Final Round (for judges)               http://www.brewingcompetition.com/final

The main landing page                   http://www.brewingcompetition.com

Good luck in the competition!

Cheers,
Janis

18

Events / Re: NHC Direct links email

« on: February 26, 2013, 11:42:46 AM »

Thanks Janis,

My email must be being slow. I will keep my eye out for it.

hmmm,

still no go for me.

My membership expires at the end of February, keep meaning to renew. Could this be the problem? your not filtering out NEARLY expired folks are you?

Are you crazy?  That e-mail went out to EVERYBODY who has ever contacted the AHA.  It's a huge list.  Check your Spam/Junk folder. Or, I suppose I can post it here...

Cheers,
Janis

19

Events / Re: NHC entry registration - how fast does it fill up?

« on: February 26, 2013, 11:20:19 AM »

this may have been asked/answered elsewhere but I can't find it....   how fast do the slots fill up when the bell rings at 3pm EST next Tuesday?  do i have a day, or 6 hours, or only 1 hour???

FYI, I live in NY so would have to register in the NYC area?  or can I ship to say, Ohio or Atlanta if NYC fills up?

-red

Hi Red,

Typically the competition closest to where the Homebrewers Conference (Philadelphia) takes place fills up first, so that will be the New York competition.  After that fills up (and I expect it will only take a few hours for that to happen), the next closest competitions will begin to fill up; that will be the Zanesville, OH and Atlanta, GA competitions.  Plan accordingly when you register.  You'll be able to see how many entries have been logged against the competition on the main landing page, as well as the landing page for the individual competitions.

Good luck in the competition!

Cheers,
Janis

20

Events / Re: NHC Direct links email

« on: February 26, 2013, 11:13:47 AM »

Hi guys,

The e-mail with the links was sent out at 11:00 AM MST.  This should give everyone enough time to upgrade their browser and have their member number and entry information handy when the online registration opens at 1:00 PM MST.

Good luck in the competition!

Cheers,
Janis

21

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: January 25, 2013, 09:50:08 AM »

That was a great idea putting out the left over bottles.  Are you the first to do that or does that happen every year?

Having the scoresheets available was pretty awesome too.  I'm sure it is a pretty massive undertaking to get them ready by that time, but think of the postage savings!

Hi James,

The ability to have the score sheets available immediately after the Awards Ceremony is completely dependent on the local organizer having a system with experienced volunteers in place during the competition.  As the entries are judged, the scores are entered into the competition database, and the score sheets are given to the collating crew to assemble the packages for the brewers. 

There isn't really any savings on postage, since I mail out a letter with the score sheets to every Final Round entrant.  If there are no score sheets, I still mail out the letter.  The winning entrants get their score sheets, and a letter, plus a press release for each winning entry, in addition to the medal and prizes if they didn't collect those at the awards ceremony.  It's still great for the entrants to get their score sheets quickly, rather than having to wait for 2 to 3 weeks for the shipment back to the Brewers Association, the printing, and finally the packaging to happen.

Cheers,
Janis

22

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: January 25, 2013, 09:02:57 AM »

Hi Stephen,

Because there are a lot of leftover beers from the Final Round, the organizers make sure it is put out following the Awards Ceremony; otherwise they have to haul it back home and figure out what to do with it.

Jeff,

You're right, there were a lot of leftovers in Seattle because last year the number of competitions went from 10 to 11.  With 10 competitions there are 840 possible entries in the Final Round, and for the previous 3 or 4 years, only 760 were actually submitted to the Final Round.  With 11 competitions there are 924 possible entries, and last year 871 were actually submitted.  That's an increase of 111 entries, so 333 additional bottles.

Cheers,
Janis

23

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: January 24, 2013, 11:30:42 AM »

Gary was on The Brewing Network last Sunday and explained the reasons behind some of the changes. The changes seem to have been made for good reasons.  I was surprised that a lot of the Canadian qualifiers didn't send their beers to the 2nd round.

I love the tiebreaker rules for Ninkasi too, with a coin flip at the end ( but very unlikely to ever reach that point ).

Hi Stephen,

We had 53 of 84 Canadian entries submitted (31 not submitted) in 2012 to the Final Round which is ~63%.  There were another 22 entries from all of the U.S. competitions (840 entries possible) that were no shows.  I know that some of the Canadian no shows were held up at Customs and returned to Canada, and I have to think the extra effort involved with shipping and having to get through Customs can be a deterrent to Canadians entering.

For the Ninkasi tiebreaker we have added 7 levels including the coin flip.  I'm fairly certain that we will never end up using the coin flip, but you never know.  I'm glad you caught Gary's interview on the Brewing Network!

Cheers,
Janis

24

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: January 24, 2013, 09:37:17 AM »

Thanks Clint.

In addition to Clint's summary, here are the rest of the changes for 2013:

+ Two (2) bottles per entry are required in the First Round.
+ The tiebreaker rules for the Ninkasi Award have been changed/expanded due to the 15 entries per person rule.
+ There are 11 Judge Centers in the U.S. this year.  These have been registered with the BJCP, but here is the list of cities with First Round competitions: Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, Tulsa (OK), Kansas City (MO), Saint Paul, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Zanesville (OH), and New York City.

Cheers,
Janis

25

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: January 09, 2013, 11:45:51 AM »

Hi Michael,

Based on all of the feedback from last year's competition, there are a number of changes being implemented this year.  The AHA will be making the changes known on the front page of our web site, through social media, on the Forum, etc. in the next week or two.

Good luck in the competition!

Cheers,
Janis

26

Homebrew Competitions / Re: NHC Competition question...

« on: December 05, 2012, 09:28:13 AM »

Hi Michael,

That's great that you are already brewing for the competition!

The online registration opens February 26th at 1 p.m. Mountain Time.  After you enter the brews, you must pay for your entries within 24 hours, or the entries will be deleted and you'll have to input the information again.  Once your paid entries are registered, the registration system will allow you to edit your entries until noon (12 Mountain Time) on Friday, March 15, 2013.  The registration will still allow you to print your labels until the end of the shipping window which is 5 p.m. Mountain Time on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

Good luck in the competition!

Cheers,
    Janis

27

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Gotta give the Club some love

« on: November 06, 2012, 10:41:26 AM »

Hi Jon,

You didn't say your club's name, but I looked it up and think you're talking about the Greenbelt Brewers Association.  Congratulations; I know the Anchor Brewing California Homebrew Club of the Year is a great honor!  Enjoy the party!

Cheers,
Janis

28

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Dry moss?

« on: August 23, 2012, 09:43:45 AM »

Hi Andrew,

I did this once with a mead.  I boiled the Irish moss in a cup of water, cooled it and put it in the bottom of the secondary.  Then I racked the mead on top and swirled it gently to get the mixture integrated.  It worked like a charm for me.  Good luck.

Cheers,
Janis

29

Homebrew Competitions / "The Working Man's Ale" Porter August Club-Only Results

« on: August 22, 2012, 01:05:59 PM »

Hi everyone,

The AHA thanks Steve Dockter and the Snake River Brewers (Nampa, ID) who judged "The Working Man's Ale" Porter competition on Saturday August 18, 2012.  There were 91 entries in the competition (not what you'd call a small, manageable competition) representing clubs from 37 states, and the winners are.....

1st place: Derek Immekus of Seattle, WA representing the Homebrewers Guild of Seattle Proper with his 12C Baltic Porter called, "Polecat Porter"

2nd place: Aaron Spotswood of Albany, OR representing the Heart of the Valley Homebrewers club with his 12B Robust Porter called, "Crystal Porter"

3rd place: Bob Bernard of Keene, NH representing Monadnock's Original Nurturing Krausen Squad with his 12B Robust Porter called, "Cuddle Bear Porter"

Congratulations to the winners!  Thanks to all of the entering clubs and brewers!

Cheers,
Janis

30

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Ken Schramm in Hospital

« on: August 03, 2012, 02:51:26 PM »

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for posting this to the Forum!  I read your message out loud to the office, and I will definitely be keeping Ken in my thoughts this weekend as I observe Mead Day. 

Good luck and be well, Ken Schramm!

Cheers,
Janis