[JKL]

My brewing buddy and I decided to enter an American Stout that we brewed last Oct. in the NHC.  We registrered and shipped it to Dallas on Monday.  If I'm not mistaken the judging in on April 9 for Dallas.  I've never entered a comp before and we were just curious what happens after that?  Do you get a score in the mail/e-mail?  How long does it usually take?  I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen but how do you know if you move on to the next round?
-J.K.L.   

[hopfenundmalz]

I remember that the results are posted for the 3 that place in each category.  Those move on to the second round.

You get your score sheets later.  Ribbons are sent if you place.

If you move on, you get instructions from the AHA on what to do for the next round.

Edit - The results are gathered and verified by the AHA.  Once all regions get the results into the AHA, there will be notification on where to find them when made public.

[Janis]

My brewing buddy and I decided to enter an American Stout that we brewed last Oct. in the NHC.  We registrered and shipped it to Dallas on Monday.  If I'm not mistaken the judging in on April 9 for Dallas.  I've never entered a comp before and we were just curious what happens after that?  Do you get a score in the mail/e-mail?  How long does it usually take?  I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen but how do you know if you move on to the next round?
-J.K.L.   

Hi JKL,

Congratulations on entering your homebrew in the National Homebrew Competition!

At the competition, your beer will be judged in one of 5 or 6 flights of stouts (due to the number of entries in this category).  Two or three judges will each evaluate a sample of your beer and fill out a Score Sheet with their observations and suggestions.  The judges confer on the scores and arrive at a consensus score for the entry.  If the entry scores above 30 points (out of 50) and is one of the top three entries in the flight (out of ~10 entries), the remaining beer will be preserved by capping or corking the bottle so it can be judged in a mini-Best-of-Show (mini-BOS).  All 5 or 6 flights will submit the top 2 or 3 entries in their flight for the mini-BOS.  The highest ranking BJCP judges from the flights will then evaluate each of the beers in the mini-BOS. There could be 10 to 18 beers in the mini-BOS.  this time, the judges do not fill out a score sheet for each beer.  Instead they evaluate the beers and begin to reduce the number of beers by consensus.  Ultimately the judges arrive at a consensus decision for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the category.

When the competition is completed, the organizer and their staff will send out your score sheets with a letter stating that the AHA will send another mailing of ribbons for the winners and certificates for qualifying scores for the entrants.  The mailing from the AHA will take place in May.  If your entry places in the First Round, the mailing from the AHA contains the ribbon for your award and a certificate based on how the beer scored.  You will also get all the information needed to submit your entry to the Final Round of the competition.

Good luck in the competition!

Cheers,
    Janis