[theDarkSide]

most of the regions and dates are on the BJCP calendar, just fyi.

bummer no KC region, but they deserve a break.  Also sucks Easter is in the middle there and so many regions are on one weekend, but I suspect there's nothing else that could be done - the spring gets awfully busy with events/comps.  Still, those 4/10 regions are going to have to store entries for 5 weeks or so before they ever judge them.   

cheers--
--Michael

Darn it...I was going to send my entries to KC this year since you guys gave me a couple medals in cider in your comp last year.

[Janis]

most of the regions and dates are on the BJCP calendar, just fyi.

bummer no KC region, but they deserve a break.  Also sucks Easter is in the middle there and so many regions are on one weekend, but I suspect there's nothing else that could be done - the spring gets awfully busy with events/comps.  Still, those 4/10 regions are going to have to store entries for 5 weeks or so before they ever judge them.   

cheers--
--Michael

Hi Michael,

Yeah, the competition dates for 2015 are March 13 to April 12, 2015.  Easter (4/5) and also the Craft Brewers Conference in Portland (4/13-18) kind of hurt the schedule a bit, but there isn't anything I can do about that.  I have 2 more competitions to register; Austin, TX and Saint Louis, MO.  I don't have dates or shipping/judging info for either right now.

Cheers,
Janis

[klickitat jim]

Cool! Seattle moved to Bellvue which is awesome! Really looking forward to it!

[udubdawg]

Thanks Janis!

small request:  is it too late for a software update?

the software makes us choose between Dry, Semi-Sweet, or Sweet for Mead/cider.  This works OK with mead, as they are judged on 3 levels.

however, for us cidermakers, we are judged on a 5-level scoresheet:
http://bjcp.org/docs/SCP_CiderScoreSheet.pdf
Sweetness:  Dry  Semi-Dry  Medium  Semi-Sweet  Sweet

Effectively, the only ones we are allowed to choose are 1, 4, and 5 on the 5-pt scale...

I would request one of the following in order of preference:

1. A software change that lets us enter all 5 sweetness levels present on the scoresheet.
2. A smaller change:  change the middle of the 3 from "semi-sweet" to "medium" so that at least we can enter the actual midpoint of the 5 levels: 1, 3, and 5.  Note this would fit perfectly with the mead scoresheet which uses  Dry  Medium  Sweet
3. A request that all organizers tell their cider judges that entrants were not allowed to enter 2 of the 5 sweetness levels. 

...it sounds like a non-issue but I've gotten hammered in each of the last two Finals for "You entered this as semi-sweet but it is really semi-dry."   

thank you
--Michael

[braufessor]

Still, those 4/10 regions are going to have to store entries for 5 weeks or so before they ever judge them.   

cheers--
--Michael

What is the rationale behind requiring all entries to arrive at the same time, regardless of when they are going to be judged?  That makes very little sense to me, but I could be missing something.  Why couldn't each regional accept entries by a date most reasonable for them.  Bottling a beer 6 weeks before it is going to be judged is not at all in the best interest of the beer.  Plus, I would think the regionals would rather not have to find a place to store them for that long either.  Seems a simple fix would be to simply have a "beer must arrive by" date that is 2-3 weeks before each regional competition - just like every other competition all year long.

[brewinhard]

Still, those 4/10 regions are going to have to store entries for 5 weeks or so before they ever judge them.   

cheers--
--Michael

What is the rationale behind requiring all entries to arrive at the same time, regardless of when they are going to be judged?  That makes very little sense to me, but I could be missing something.  Why couldn't each regional accept entries by a date most reasonable for them.  Bottling a beer 6 weeks before it is going to be judged is not at all in the best interest of the beer.  Plus, I would think the regionals would rather not have to find a place to store them for that long either.  Seems a simple fix would be to simply have a "beer must arrive by" date that is 2-3 weeks before each regional competition - just like every other competition all year long.

Totally agree.  Maybe that can be changed...

[klickitat jim]

The info for 15 seems to be trickling out. Its possible that each regional comp will have their own ship dates by that time.

[Janis]

Hi all,

No, there are no specific ship dates for each competition.  All entries are due at the same time.  Sorry.  If you knew what a monumental task it is to put this whole thing together, you would understand.  Possibly.

Cheers,
Janis

[Tim Thomssen]

Thanks Janis!

small request:  is it too late for a software update?

the software makes us choose between Dry, Semi-Sweet, or Sweet for Mead/cider.  This works OK with mead, as they are judged on 3 levels.

however, for us cidermakers, we are judged on a 5-level scoresheet:
http://bjcp.org/docs/SCP_CiderScoreSheet.pdf
Sweetness:  Dry  Semi-Dry  Medium  Semi-Sweet  Sweet

Effectively, the only ones we are allowed to choose are 1, 4, and 5 on the 5-pt scale...

I would request one of the following in order of preference:

1. A software change that lets us enter all 5 sweetness levels present on the scoresheet.
2. A smaller change:  change the middle of the 3 from "semi-sweet" to "medium" so that at least we can enter the actual midpoint of the 5 levels: 1, 3, and 5.  Note this would fit perfectly with the mead scoresheet which uses  Dry  Medium  Sweet
3. A request that all organizers tell their cider judges that entrants were not allowed to enter 2 of the 5 sweetness levels. 

...it sounds like a non-issue but I've gotten hammered in each of the last two Finals for "You entered this as semi-sweet but it is really semi-dry."   

thank you
--Michael

I think the problem is that the score sheet does not seem to match up with the style guidelines.  The score sheet shows 5 sweetness levels while the current guidelines only have 3, dry, medium & sweet.

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/ciderintro.php

[hopfenundmalz]

Still, those 4/10 regions are going to have to store entries for 5 weeks or so before they ever judge them.   

cheers--
--Michael

What is the rationale behind requiring all entries to arrive at the same time, regardless of when they are going to be judged?  That makes very little sense to me, but I could be missing something.  Why couldn't each regional accept entries by a date most reasonable for them.  Bottling a beer 6 weeks before it is going to be judged is not at all in the best interest of the beer.  Plus, I would think the regionals would rather not have to find a place to store them for that long either.  Seems a simple fix would be to simply have a "beer must arrive by" date that is 2-3 weeks before each regional competition - just like every other competition all year long.

My $.02 is that all the beers your's are judged against are just as old.

[klickitat jim]

Still, those 4/10 regions are going to have to store entries for 5 weeks or so before they ever judge them.   

cheers--
--Michael

What is the rationale behind requiring all entries to arrive at the same time, regardless of when they are going to be judged?  That makes very little sense to me, but I could be missing something.  Why couldn't each regional accept entries by a date most reasonable for them.  Bottling a beer 6 weeks before it is going to be judged is not at all in the best interest of the beer.  Plus, I would think the regionals would rather not have to find a place to store them for that long either.  Seems a simple fix would be to simply have a "beer must arrive by" date that is 2-3 weeks before each regional competition - just like every other competition all year long.

My $.02 is that all the beers your's are judged against are just as old.

It will push more folks back to bottle conditioning too. Filling off a keg may be tough to get it to survive that long without oxy

[Jimmy K]

I think the problem is that the score sheet does not seem to match up with the style guidelines.  The score sheet shows 5 sweetness levels while the current guidelines only have 3, dry, medium & sweet.

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/ciderintro.php

That should be OK, although judges should be told that the entrant only had three levels to pick. Still, if they don't it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Having the term for 'medium' changed to 'semi-sweet' presents a problem though when 'semi-sweet' has a different meaning on the scoresheet.

[Jimmy K]

Thanks Janis!

small request:  is it too late for a software update?

the software makes us choose between Dry, Semi-Sweet, or Sweet for Mead/cider.  This works OK with mead, as they are judged on 3 levels.

however, for us cidermakers, we are judged on a 5-level scoresheet:
http://bjcp.org/docs/SCP_CiderScoreSheet.pdf
Sweetness:  Dry  Semi-Dry  Medium  Semi-Sweet  Sweet

Effectively, the only ones we are allowed to choose are 1, 4, and 5 on the 5-pt scale...

I would request one of the following in order of preference:

1. A software change that lets us enter all 5 sweetness levels present on the scoresheet.
2. A smaller change:  change the middle of the 3 from "semi-sweet" to "medium" so that at least we can enter the actual midpoint of the 5 levels: 1, 3, and 5.  Note this would fit perfectly with the mead scoresheet which uses  Dry  Medium  Sweet
3. A request that all organizers tell their cider judges that entrants were not allowed to enter 2 of the 5 sweetness levels. 

...it sounds like a non-issue but I've gotten hammered in each of the last two Finals for "You entered this as semi-sweet but it is really semi-dry."   

thank you
--Michael

'Medium' is the middle descriptor on both the cider and mead scoresheets, so simply changing 'semi-sweet' to 'medium' in the software would probably help a lot and should be relatively easy. (I mean easier than reprogramming to include 5 levels.)

[udubdawg]

I think the problem is that the score sheet does not seem to match up with the style guidelines.  The score sheet shows 5 sweetness levels while the current guidelines only have 3, dry, medium & sweet.

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/ciderintro.php

That should be OK, although judges should be told that the entrant only had three levels to pick. Still, if they don't it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Having the term for 'medium' changed to 'semi-sweet' presents a problem though when 'semi-sweet' has a different meaning on the scoresheet.

exactly.

I could have also said:
4:  Allow entrants to add specialty information to all ciders and meads.  Currently there is no ability to add such information to 27A and 27D.  I've always thought entrants should be allowed to list apples/pears, especially if single-varietal cider.  "semi-dry Golden Russet SV, lightly carbonated" solves the problem...

[reverseapachemaster]

My $.02 is that all the beers your's are judged against are just as old.

I think it is ultimately a logistics issue for the organizers but the product of the rule is certainly a level playing field for beer age. It may not be in every beer's best interests but it's more fair than letting people game their proximity or mailing options to get a fresher beer into the judges' hands. It is a rule that cuts against people who would brew a hop-forward beer in styles where there can be a range of hop character (like saison) but knowing the rules well in advance allows the brewer to decide whether he or she wants to risk sending that beer to the competition.