[MDixon]

Less than 10 per region 

Astounding math skills! 

Amazing isn't it, works out to exactly the number of fingers I have 

[a10t2]

Amazing isn't it, works out to exactly the number of fingers I have 

Doing division on your fingers is hard though. Well, maybe not hard, but you can only do it once.

[Beertracker]

...the most I've heard of is about 50 beers from Jamil and Gordon, since Jamil didn't even enter, and since Gordon is in the East region - which didn't even fill up, I'm not sure what the complaint even is...

I agree. If someone wanted to enter in one of the regions that CAPPED then they should've got off of their duffs. I'm sure the situation will be assessed for next year, but I'm not sure an entry CAP is the answer?   

[MDixon]

I don't speak for anyone with the AHA, but as someone who has been involved with the NHC regionals before I'm fairly confident the cap is to allow the comp to finish in time. When we held in in NC I judged on 5 or 6 different days to work our way through the 600+ entries. 750 would be a nightmare and would not be something we could confidently achieve. I think a note went out the South (in GA) was going to judge 3 days in a row to pull it off this year...

[denny]

That's pretty much it, Mike.  I've asked Janis to weigh in on this.  She won't be able to do it til next week, because she's judging this weekend!  It was a topic of our last GC conference call, and I'm sure it will be a major topic at our meeting in Minneapolis.

[marty]

I agree. If someone wanted to enter in one of the regions that CAPPED then they should've got off of their duffs. I'm sure the situation will be assessed for next year, but I'm not sure an entry CAP is the answer?   

The closed North East region was only at 500 entries a week before the entry window closed (4 or 5 WEEKS into the entry window), I know because I added more beers at that time. The last 250 entries came in the last week. The region closed 3 days before the entry deadline. Any beers entered after it closed would have required 2 day or overnight shipping and would've cost an arm and a leg.

No one got shut out because of mythical people entering 80 beers

[MDixon]

Denny - my suggestion would be to take a look at a cap on how many entries per person and see if that would change so no area ends up with a cap. IMO, 25 entries from one brewer is a gracious plenty.

[babalu87]

Any beers entered after it closed would have required 2 day or overnight shipping and would've cost an arm and a leg.

You're not real familiar with UPS shipping maps are you?

This map is for shipments originating from just outside of Boston

[senorpantalones]

That's pretty much it, Mike.  I've asked Janis to weigh in on this.  She won't be able to do it til next week, because she's judging this weekend!  It was a topic of our last GC conference call, and I'm sure it will be a major topic at our meeting in Minneapolis.

I'm glad you guys are talking about it, Denny. My intention wasn't to complain, and I realize that no one is actually entering 80 beers. My thought was just that since judging more than 750 beers in a weekend is a nightmare, and since regions are bumping up against that cap, the few people who do enter more than 20 or 30 beers (which is A LOT) are just taking more than their share of the resources. Since the huge monetary commitment of entering that many beers is not a deterrent, it seems like there should be some other type of limit.
Just my 2 cents.

[rabid_dingo]

For rich people...Hmmm....I still don't like that at club night you have to pay to give your beer away.

 

I will never pay to give something away...Sorry, still a sore point from when the Conference was in Denver.

[dbeechum]

Eh, I never view it (Club Night) or our annual SoCal Homebrewer's Festival in the light of "paying to give something away". I tend to look at it from the pov, I'm paying to enjoy my time and the other brewer's beer and I'm offering my beer to let them do the same. (ETA - I also view these events as life savers. If I tried to drink anywhere near the amount of beer that I brew - I'd be dead in a few months)

On the subject of the regions: an entry cap on entrants is interesting. Whether or not it would be effective would be entirely dependent on the number of large entrants per region you have. I know both Gordon and Jamil have entered in the 50 beer range, but I'm not aware of there being large numbers of folks entering similar numbers.

[bluesman]

OK, so how many people enter 80 beers?  I'd be willing to bet not too many.

My bet is none.

[marty]

Any beers entered after it closed would have required 2 day or overnight shipping and would've cost an arm and a leg.

You're not real familiar with UPS shipping maps are you?

This map is for shipments originating from just outside of Boston

North East region closed the night of 3/29

shipping would have originated on 3/30

overnight would get it to Philly (from Boston) on 3/31

2 day would get it to Philly (from Boston) on 4/1

Deadline was 5:30 on 4/1

2 day or overnight shipping, to get it there by 5:30 on 4/1 just like the map I'm supposedly not too familiar with says

Ground shipping isn't guaranteed to arrive within the days shown on that map. I've had shipments take 3 or 4 days to get to a 2 day zone. 2day and overnight is guaranteed.

[babalu87]

I work with the shipping department at work

Shipments from business to business taking longer than what UPS says they will are like hens teeth.
Twice in about ten years and one of those was due to weather.

Bottom line, anyone in the Northeast could have got their beers to Philly in plenty of time as it would be a max of 2 days going ground (the cheapest)
There wouldnt be a need for a 2 day shipment as ground gets it there in 2 days

[Janis]

This isn't a dig at the NHC. I think the costs for submitting entries is fair considering how much they have to do for this thing. I just wonder if the way some people blast the competition with entries, makes for a less welcoming kind of competition. Especially when in the Midwest region this year, they reached their max. I can guarantee you there were a number of people who spent literally hundreds of dollars on entry fees to enter beers in almost every category. Meaning some people who wanted to enter, could not. Seem silly to anyone else?

I'd like to see the NHC put a cap on how many beers you can submit. The competing for the Ninkasi award just seems like it gets a little out of hand. Anyone else? This is just my 2 cents.

Hi Senor Pantalones,
Thanks for your suggestion on how the National Homebrew Competition (NHC) can be improved.  I will add your suggestion to the list that the the AHA Governing Committee's Competition Sub-Committee will consider for next year's competition.
Cheers,
    Janis

Janis Gross
National Homebrew Competition Director
AHA Project Coordinator
janis@brewersassociation.org