[jvoeltz]

You need to clearly be among the top 2 or 3 beers in that category. Then you might be in a crap shoot.

Good clarification on my comments, thanks!

Yes, you still need to make quality beer to get into the crap shoot of mini-BOS.

Just entering something into a region because you believe that region is under represented in certain categories isn't going to work for NHC. It still needs to be a quality brew to get to mini-BOS.

[klickitat jim]

You need to clearly be among the top 2 or 3 beers in that category. Then you might be in a crap shoot.

Good clarification on my comments, thanks!

Yes, you still need to make quality beer to get into the crap shoot of mini-BOS.

Just entering something into a region because you believe that region is under represented in certain categories isn't going to work for NHC. It still needs to be a quality brew to get to mini-BOS.

Cool, that I can understand and not debate. Some, however, oversimplify and have the view that contests are a crap shoot, period. I dont buy that at all. A murky stank bomb is not just as likely to win as an excellent example of the style.

On the other hand, this year's NHC has an opportunity for true crap shoop in action. Cat 26 Specialty. There are 13 sub cats! 3 of each placing at each site for round one, means many of those sub cats will be at the final mini-BOS. If there is one world class example of each, or even just 9 of those sub cats... its just going to probably come down to which sub cats the mini-BOS judges tend to like better. Maybe they will medal three American Wild Fruits? Or maybe none. That will be a fun table, and I'll bet there will be some debate.

[toby]

seems like the only way to even off the categories in each first round site is that when you apply for the NHC, you'd have to specify what categories you want to enter.  That way they can accept a specific number for each category at each first round site.

Logistical nightmare.  If you enter the max, are they going to split your entries among 5 or 6 sites to balance it out?

On the other hand, this year's NHC has an opportunity for true crap shoop in action. Cat 26 Specialty. There are 13 sub cats! 3 of each placing at each site for round one, means many of those sub cats will be at the final mini-BOS. If there is one world class example of each, or even just 9 of those sub cats... its just going to probably come down to which sub cats the mini-BOS judges tend to like better. Maybe they will medal three American Wild Fruits? Or maybe none. That will be a fun table, and I'll bet there will be some debate.

That's the definition of a nightmare for me.

[dbarber]

On the other hand, this year's NHC has an opportunity for true crap shoop in action. Cat 26 Specialty. There are 13 sub cats! 3 of each placing at each site for round one, means many of those sub cats will be at the final mini-BOS. If there is one world class example of each, or even just 9 of those sub cats... its just going to probably come down to which sub cats the mini-BOS judges tend to like better. Maybe they will medal three American Wild Fruits? Or maybe none. That will be a fun table, and I'll bet there will be some debate.

Cat 26 is by far the largest cat in the Northeast this year.  Not looking forward to that mini-BOS.

[reverseapachemaster]

There's a blog somewhere out there that tabulated the entries and results at each site and broke down the probability of taking a ribbon by category and site. I believe there was some difference between the sites in several categories.

I would expect some regional factors to play into judging in some categories. Judges are more likely to fancy beers that are reminiscent of what they normally drink and less likely to appreciate beers brewed with other regional preferences in mind. IPA is a really good example of this. In San Diego I had a lot of IPAs heavy on centennial and plenty of the newer fruity hops while in Oregon I found lots of cascade and piney hops in IPAs although both are west coast IPA by style. I would probably not enter an IPA loaded with chinook into San Diego as much as I would not enter a Vermont/NE/murky IPA in either region. People often can't help but think what they normally drink is representative of a given style and give preference to what is familiar. I would use that strategically to pick where to send beers. May not help you but unlikely to hurt you by trying to play up to the region.

[udubdawg]

I appreciate the impossible job Janis has had to deal with, making everyone happy, but I did last year and still do feel like too much attention was paid to previous entry numbers in determining the current categories. No, there weren't a lot of Wild Ales last year...because there wasn't a home for them.  Unfortunately I feel like another tweak will need to be made to the categories as those Specialty styles aren't exactly getting less popular.

[brewinhard]

You need to clearly be among the top 2 or 3 beers in that category. Then you might be in a crap shoot.

Good clarification on my comments, thanks!

Yes, you still need to make quality beer to get into the crap shoot of mini-BOS.

Just entering something into a region because you believe that region is under represented in certain categories isn't going to work for NHC. It still needs to be a quality brew to get to mini-BOS.

Did you get any beers through to the final round this year or just ciders?