Messages

31

Events / Re: NHC 2013 Entry Problems - Possible Solutions?

« on: February 27, 2013, 01:13:06 PM »

Don't bump the price. That would make the amount you can throw at this a big part of your chances to win.



Kai

+1  Turning it into a rich man's game defeats the purpose IMHO.

I don't think so at all. What it will defeat is....I have 15 beers ready to enter. 10 average ones, 4 very good ones, and 1 outstanding beer but.....WTF....I will enter ALL of them!  If you really, truly believe your beer is that good and could medal you will spend 30-50 dollars on a single entry.  Let's emphasize quality and NOT quantity.  If you are just looking for feedback on your beers....well there are a lot of other BJCP comps that will give you that and guess what??.....Many, many times it is the same judges as the NHC.  As it stands now are the winners at this years NHC really the "best" or are they the "luckiest" for being able to get their entries in.

disagree.  I have a bunch of beers I think are medal-worthy, and wouldn't pay that much for one entry, let alone the 8 I registered yesterday.  It's too much money, and I would just sit out.  How is that making it about quality?

But that is under YOUR control!! Right now the only people who got in had all afternoon to sit at their computers( i.e. didn't have other commitments).  A lot of people got shut out due to no fault of their own! If you raised the price to 30-50 dollars an entry and published it six months in advance....you could budget for it. If you choose not to enter because it costs too much...well that is YOUR choice and at least you were given ample chance to enter the NHC.

32

Events / Re: NHC 2013 Entry Problems - Possible Solutions?

« on: February 27, 2013, 12:01:48 PM »

Don't bump the price. That would make the amount you can throw at this a big part of your chances to win.



Kai

+1  Turning it into a rich man's game defeats the purpose IMHO.

I don't think so at all. What it will defeat is....I have 15 beers ready to enter. 10 average ones, 4 very good ones, and 1 outstanding beer but.....WTF....I will enter ALL of them!  If you really, truly believe your beer is that good and could medal you will spend 30-50 dollars on a single entry.  Let's emphasize quality and NOT quantity.  If you are just looking for feedback on your beers....well there are a lot of other BJCP comps that will give you that and guess what??.....Many, many times it is the same judges as the NHC.  As it stands now are the winners at this years NHC really the "best" or are they the "luckiest" for being able to get their entries in.

33

Events / Re: NHC 2013 Entry Problems - Possible Solutions?

« on: February 27, 2013, 10:33:44 AM »

Actually the solution is MUCH easier!! Just bump up the entry fee to 50 bucks per beer.  That will pretty much eliminate anyone entering just for feedback....you will only enter if your beers are really, really good and you think you might win. As someone else said....if you want feedback you can enter any BJCP comp and get that. I believe the GABF does this for the commercial beer comp...except the entry fee is something like 500 dollars!!  It keeps most breweries from  "carpet bombing" the competition and entering every single beer they make.

34

Events / Re: Re: NHC Direct links email

« on: February 26, 2013, 09:48:51 PM »

Don't worry about it.  You "paid twice" but in the end you will only be charged once.  There are a lot of problems being worked through, some people paid way more than twice because the system wasn't updating.  If you have a receipt saying you paid, you paid.  It will get worked out but it will take some time.

beat me too it Tom.

First step is to resolve these issues.  On payment,   and I'll back all the actions the AHA staff have taken,  all issues will be straightened out. In the end only correct payment will be taken.
Obviously I have no immediate knowledge of who paid what but I know all will be straightened out.

Fred

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

So does that mean I don't have to go and try to "pay again"?  The website says I haven't paid BUT I have an email receipt from Janis that says I DID pay.  I don't want to to create any more work for the AHA, or myself, by paying multiple times "just in case". I trust it will be all worked out in the end but I will be extremely upset if my entries are denied for "non payment".

35

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: wlp001 for Scottish 60/ or 70/

« on: February 25, 2013, 06:39:22 PM »

I brewed the Scottish 70-/ from BCS with WL 001.  It came out great!! Scored a 38 and 39 at a local club comp.  Nice, easy drinking (yet interesting) session beer.

36

Yeast and Fermentation / Re: mr. malty and yeast calulator

« on: February 23, 2013, 07:30:09 PM »

I recently had my yeast samples counted. I grow up the yeast and decant into sanitized White Labs vials. When I am done the vial look identical to the vials at the LHBS....so I thought.  The cell count showed that my sample wasn't nearly as dense as fresh WL vial....only about 50 billion cells or roughly half. I usually use YeastCalc but I found out that my results were only about 75% of the calculators growth rate.
The other thing is that I believe those calculators use 100 billion cells as the starting point. I think that White Labs say their vial contain on average 100 billion cells but can be as low as 80 billion and as high as 120 billion. A 20% difference at the very beginning would have a huge impact, especially with stepped starters, on your final cell count.  Now....how much does it really matter?  I have been making award winning beer using "flawed" cell counts and underpitching healthy yeast.

37

Equipment and Software / Re: I am not sure where to post this but...

« on: February 08, 2013, 09:55:38 PM »

You can always just make your own with one of those screw in inserts like this....http://morebeer.com/view_product/16297/102248/Dual-Threaded_Insert_for_Wooden_Taphandles

38

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: BJCP Tasting Exam: Wow! That was hard!

« on: January 27, 2013, 10:49:02 PM »

As I study and prepare for the tasting exam I thought of something that might help me and possibly others. It is BJCP score sheets filled out for the commerical examples cited for each beer style.  My thinking is that I could judge one of the classic beer styles, fill out a score sheet, and then compare my score sheet to what other BJCP judges (ideally high ranking) scored the beer. It would help me compare my tasting/judging skills on classic examples. I realize this is essentially what the Commecial Calibration section in Zymurgy is about...it just seems like they rarely review BJCP classic examples.  So does anything like this exist?

39

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: BJCP Tasting Exam: Wow! That was hard!

« on: January 22, 2013, 08:19:53 PM »

What did I get myself into??   I just passed the online test a few weeks ago and have a tasting exam in August.  How much did you study/taste/prepare? I am trying to do 2-3 hours a week of concentrated studying/tasting using all the materials on the BJCP site.   
On another note...does it really take 6 months to get your results?  Why does it take so long? Wouldn't the proctors know within a day or two of how you scored? My friends have gotten their results from the Bar Exam in a faster time frame than that!!

40

Equipment and Software / Re: What 10 gal fermenter?

« on: January 21, 2013, 10:01:34 AM »

True.....important to get them from legitimate sources.

41

Equipment and Software / Re: What 10 gal fermenter?

« on: January 20, 2013, 09:04:23 PM »

IMO...a Sanke keg is the solution. I have two and I just treat them like giant carboys. A drilled #10 stopper fits perfectly. 
Pros-
- Stainless
-Cheap (Find them on Craigslist for 50 bucks)
- Unbreakable/Indestrucible
- Easy to Clean (just build a ghetto keg washer with a bucket and a fountain pump)
- Easy to sanitize ( Boil a few gallons of water in it for 10 minutes)
- Can transfer using CO2
Cons
- Heavy when full ( I put mine on wheeled tray)

Other than the ability to drop out trub/harvest yeast I don't see the advantage of a conical for a homebrewer. Especially when you factor in the price!!

42

General Homebrew Discussion / Re: Looking for a Good Online Supply Store

« on: January 20, 2013, 03:05:50 PM »

My favorite online retailers is MoreBeer. Free shipping with any purchase over 59 bucks!!

43

Going Pro / Re: Beer volume vs. Profit margin.

« on: January 13, 2013, 07:28:13 PM »

That is why I see small breweries as economically viable...if you have a tasting room.  It actually seems like the easiest way to go. You don't have to worry about food and food service like you do in a brew pub. Most breweries near me just have a local food truck out front, let you bring in outside food, and/or have food delivered to the brewery.  I would rather sell my beer for 5 bucks a pint than sell it for a dollar pint and have to sell 5x as much.  Not to mention of all the other potential hassles of either self distributing or losing even more profit by going through a distributor. 

44

Ingredients / Re: Belgian Pale Ale Malt vs. Maris Otter??

« on: January 12, 2013, 05:43:03 PM »

C'mon....someone must have some experience or an opinion

45

Ingredients / Belgian Pale Ale Malt vs. Maris Otter??

« on: January 10, 2013, 09:48:40 PM »

Just curious on what you guys think are the differences(if any)?  I found this article where the late Dr. George Fix made it seem like they were somewhat interchangeable.http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue1.1/fix.html  I can buy sacks of MO at my LHBS but they sell Belgian Pale Ale malt only by the pound (at almost double the price). Your thoughts?