[gordonstrong]

And not to slight Gordon, but how would you handle his contribution to the Saint Paul Homebrewers when he lives hundreds of miles away.

I belong to their club.  I was the club president.  I go to several meetings a year.  I judge in their competitions.  I proctor exams held there.  I'm active on their email list.  I hang out with them at the conference.  I bring kegs to serve in their booth at club night.  I wear the club shirt at club night.  I go to outside social events with them.  I'll match my interactions with this group with anyone who lives within a couple miles of any other club.  Most importantly, I'm a member of the club because I choose to be.  And I continue to be a member even though I'm done entering the NHC.  Same as I was before I entered the NHC.

And for those keeping count, they would have won Club of the Year even if I didn't enter at all.  Check the numbers from Cincinnati for the best example.  Something like 8 different club members medalled in the 2nd round, many of them golds.  They won it with people with St. Paul zip codes. Don't take that achievement away from them.

[theDarkSide]

Now the BN is like the New England Patriots.  After they won their Superbowls, everyone said they cheated and started gunning for them.

Everyone knows the Pats cheated.

I can't hear you over the sound of the Superbowl rings clicking together 

[tschmidlin]

Now the BN is like the New England Patriots.  After they won their Superbowls, everyone said they cheated and started gunning for them.

Everyone knows the Pats cheated.

I can't hear you over the sound of the Superbowl rings clicking together 

My team's got more.

[bluesman]

How about those Yankees. 

[tschmidlin]

The one thing that is a little weird is that first and final round medals are weighted the same.  Wouldn't this skew the results toward any of the big clubs, not just the BN?  Seems like it rewards quantity, not quality.

There are 10 regions... final round medals should be worth 10x as much, no?

I see what you're saying, but that would make the club only competitions and first round much less meaningful, and everything would be based on how you do in the finals.

[theDarkSide]

How about those Yankees. 

Now you're just being silly.

[bluesman]

How about those Yankees. 

Now you're just being silly.

Not me...no way...never. 

[theDarkSide]

[I belong to their club.  I was the club president.  I go to several meetings a year.  I judge in their competitions.  I proctor exams held there.  I'm active on their email list.  I hang out with them at the conference.  I bring kegs to serve in their booth at club night.  I wear the club shirt at club night.  I go to outside social events with them.  I'll match my interactions with this group with anyone who lives within a couple miles of any other club.  Most importantly, I'm a member of the club because I choose to be.  And I continue to be a member even though I'm done entering the NHC.  Same as I was before I entered the NHC.

And for those keeping count, they would have won Club of the Year even if I didn't enter at all.  Check the numbers from Cincinnati for the best example.  Something like 8 different club members medalled in the 2nd round, many of them golds.  They won it with people with St. Paul zip codes. Don't take that achievement away from them.

I never intended to take anything away from them.  I was just making a point about how you don't need to be in the same region to belong to a club.  I apologize if it was taken that way.  Pretty impressive resume though.

[Janis]

Hi everyone,

I have posted the point totals for the top 25 clubs for 2011.  The table is posted on the NHC Winners page and the Club-Only Winners page. 

Anyone suggesting the rules should be changed should download a copy of the Rules & Regulations and reference the section and paragraph for the change, and please include the changes you think should be made to the rule.  I believe there are still links to the Rules & Regulations on the NHC Participate and other NHC pages.

The Competition Sub-Committee of the AHA Governing Committee will be looking at rule changes for the National Homebrew Competition from now until ~November 2011.

I appreciate your input!

Cheers,
     Janis

[johnf]

The one thing that is a little weird is that first and final round medals are weighted the same.  Wouldn't this skew the results toward any of the big clubs, not just the BN?  Seems like it rewards quantity, not quality.

There are 10 regions... final round medals should be worth 10x as much, no?

I see what you're saying, but that would make the club only competitions and first round much less meaningful, and everything would be based on how you do in the finals.

Sure, but that's how Ninkasi works. Also that is how most sports work. The regular season qualifies you for the playoffs, but it doesn't matter after that.

[Paul Gagnon]

Hi everyone,

I have posted the point totals for the top 25 clubs for 2011.  The table is posted on the NHC Winners page and the Club-Only Winners page. 

Anyone suggesting the rules should be changed should download a copy of the Rules & Regulations and reference the section and paragraph for the change, and please include the changes you think should be made to the rule.  I believe there are still links to the Rules & Regulations on the NHC Participate and other NHC pages.

The Competition Sub-Committee of the AHA Governing Committee will be looking at rule changes for the National Homebrew Competition from now until ~November 2011.

I appreciate your input!

Cheers,
     Janis

Wow, 18 points separating 1st from third. Could have gone to any of the top 3 clubs. What an exciting finish.

1   202   The Brewing Network   Pacheco, CA
2   188   Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)   Concord, CA
3   184   QUAFF   Carlsbad, CA

[tschmidlin]

Sure, but that's how Ninkasi works. Also that is how most sports work. The regular season qualifies you for the playoffs, but it doesn't matter after that.

Yes, but this is different.  I like it this way for a bunch of reasons, but for example it rewards making good beers consistently and not one killer beer, more like NASCAR and golf than the Stanley Cup which is head-to-head elimination.  If you want to do it that way then why include the club only competitions or first round at all?  Just go by whoever gets the most 2nd round points.

I have posted the point totals for the top 25 clubs for 2011.  The table is posted on the NHC Winners page and the Club-Only Winners page.  

Janis, thanks for working on your day off.

Wow, 18 points separating 1st from third. Could have gone to any of the top 3 clubs. What an exciting finish.

1   202   The Brewing Network   Pacheco, CA
2   188   Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE)   Concord, CA
3   184   QUAFF   Carlsbad, CA

Thanks Paul, I couldn't find the link.  That was really close, it looks like it definitely could have gone to any of them!  A beer here or there and things would be different.  I don't see there's much room to complain, if they won by eleventy billion points that would be one thing, but if QUAFF or DOZE had entered another great beer or two they could easily have squeezed by.

Well, congratulations to everyone who participated, but especially to my club members and friends Mike and Steve Brown for their silver in the APA category, and of course my friend Randy Scorby, the 2011 Homebrewer of the Year who was kind enough to give me a bottle of the winning beer when I congratulated him at his table.  If you were at my table or the one next to us, you got a sample.

[bluesman]

Well, congratulations to everyone who participated, but especially to my club members and friends Mike and Steve Brown for their silver in the APA category, and of course my friend Randy Scorby, the 2011 Homebrewer of the Year who was kind enough to give me a bottle of the winning beer when I congratulated him at his table.  If you were at my table or the one next to us, you got a sample.

Strange happenings at the NHC.

I was sitting at the same table as Randy Scorby when Ted Hausotter and I were tasting Randy's winning beer. Janis then called out the winner for 2011 Homebrewer of the Year, as Randy jumped up out of his chair in surprise while Ted and I toasted the winning beer at the same time. The timing was incredible.  

Congrats to all the winners!

[koelschbrewer]

While I understand BeerPal's concerns, I believe that changing the rules to favor the traditional (stereotypical?) concept of a homebrew club would be a mistake and lead to rather arbitrary rules as to what constitutes a club and what doesn't. My club doesn't have officers, regular meetings, or dues. We are simply a group of friends who run into each other at the shop, bars, the occasional party, or beer tastings, and we feel that changing this would take the fun out of it for us. The same applies to the BN, except that it is national. Any change in rules will disadvantage any club, no matter the size, that doesn't fit the mold of the traditional club, not just the BN. Enforcement is another matter entirely - we are talking about the AHA here, which can't even ensure that round 1 of the nationals is run in a fair and effective manner in all regions (looking at you, NY!)
Should the BN defend its title, I am sure that the other clubs will respond by either focusing on the Gambrinus award or forming their own extra-regional alliances to even the playing field.

[gordonstrong]

Should the BN defend its title, I am sure that the other clubs will respond by either focusing on the Gambrinus award or forming their own extra-regional alliances to even the playing field.

Or they could do it the old-fashioned way: brew better beer and more of it.  Brew more styles. Get more of the club to brew under-represented styles. Judge the beers before entering them so you can enter them more appropriately. Take care of packaging and shipping. A successful club effort takes focus and effort from individual members plus more coordination at the club level to maximize coverage of the judging categories.