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Author Topic: Beer Comp Entries Up?  (Read 6530 times)

Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Beer Comp Entries Up?
« Reply #30 on: March 13, 2011, 06:12:50 pm »
I think that the availability  of better ingredients and especially  all of the info in these forums being so easily accessible probably has at least something to do with it (not to mention the high cost of a lot of the commercial brew out there).   I think that more people are finally discovering that making really good beer just isn't all that that hard to do once you get the hang of it. 

I really think that the easy availability of forums like this one have a lot to do with fueling the interest, or at the very least, encouraging the newbies to keep it going past the first batch. 

I agree, theres a lot of help available and having a beer come out decent on the first go-around is a big plus as far as keeping a newbie interested.

Another thought regarding raising entry fees.  This might have the effect of reducing the number of entries slightly.  That might be a good or bad thing depending on where the comp is at with numbers of entrants.  It'd be a free market alternative to limiting entry numbers by an alternative method.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline MDixon

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Re: Beer Comp Entries Up?
« Reply #31 on: March 14, 2011, 06:38:17 am »
I scanned through most of the thread. Entries are up because the economy is down and people are turning to homebrewing. It's cyclic in nature and IME has been a slight up and down, but with the recent dip it's brought in all kinds of people. OTOH craft brewed beer is becoming more and more popular and when I started homebrewing if you mentioned hops to someone they didn't know what you were talking about and now a majority of beer drinkers have some idea it is used for bittering, flavor and aroma in beer.

As far as entries, our numbers have grown and we have increased fees for more than a certain number of entries. It's worked pretty well to achieve the goal, but has irritated some who feel we are gouging. To them I say, don't enter more than the number of low cost entries. Next year we are planning to put a cap on the number of entries. We don't know yet if that magic number will be 5 or 4...

Tom - hope your mead exam results are excellent. One day I'll worry about it, but no time soon ;)

 - -

FWIW - another National judge and myself judged 21 entries in a "best beer no style" competition on Saturday using the AHA NHC 2nd Round ticksheet in about an hour and forty-five minutes...our push to BOS took second ;)
« Last Edit: March 14, 2011, 06:41:45 am by MDixon »
It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!