# Great Australian Beer Festival (GABF) home brew comp 2016



## RoneMac (18/1/16)

Hi everyone,

Entries open today for the GABF home brew competition.

For details check it out here. 

The winner gets to come along to Little Creatures - Geelong and have a work with one of their brewers to brew their recipe up on the Little Creatures tinker kit. This brew will them be made available for all to try at next year's GABF!

See the website for entry forms. Bottles can be dropped off at Geelong Home Brewing Supplies (164 Bellerine Street, Geelong) or Wallington's WRG (370 Grubb Road, Wallington).

Alternatively they can be mailed to:

Tyrone McDonald & Chris Muggeridge
Little Creatures - Geelong
221 Swanston Street,
Geelong VIC 3220

Cheers,
RoneMac


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## fraser_john (18/1/16)

Excellent RoneMac,

looking forward to another great event, hopefully the competition is growing well. Have quite a few entries for this year.


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## Killer Brew (18/1/16)

Looks good. Do judging sheets get returned to the brewer post comp?


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## Yob (18/1/16)

still no drop off point?


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## DU99 (18/1/16)

> Bottles can be dropped off at Geelong Home Brewing Supplies (164 Bellerine Street, Geelong) or Wallington's WRG (370 Grubb Road, Wallington).


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## fraser_john (19/1/16)

Killer Brew said:


> Looks good. Do judging sheets get returned to the brewer post comp?


My understanding from prior years is no feedback, no sheets returned, just results at the end of day


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## Black n Tan (19/1/16)

I won this last year and recently brewed my winning beer at Little Creatures. It was a great day and they treated me very well; thanks to Chris Muggeridge at LC. As FJ said they do not provide any written feedback, but this year they will be judging the top 5 beers in each category on the day and are happy to meet with the brewers to give feedback. So I guess the message is if you want feedback you should attend GABF.


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## NealK (19/1/16)

I entered this a couple of years ago, never again! They will only tell you the winner of each category. You may have come second or third but you will never know. They do not claim to have any BJCP judges and most of the judging is done behind closed doors. There is no transparency.
I asked for the results to be published and they said that they could not do that due to privacy issues, but the rules clearly state that they want to be able to publish any details you give them. 
The prize for winning is good but I certainly will not be giving them $10 and 2 bottles of my beer. Seriously, if they cant be bothered publishing results or giving feedback to anybody except the winners of each category then what are they doing with your money?
Good to luck to any of you that are thinking of entering, you will need it (or maybe a pineapple taped to your bottle, as integrity does not seem important to the organisers)
Keep your good beers and enter them in to Melbourne Brewers Beerfest.


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## RoneMac (19/1/16)

Hi NealK,

I'm sorry you have not had a pleasant experience with this competition in the past. In the previous years the competition has been organised by the GABF festival organisers. This year they have reached out to us at the Grog Cobras home brew club. This is the first year we have organised this competition. We left the rules mostly the same as last year however we do intend on greatly increasing the transparency of the competition.

These changes definitely include:

1) Score sheets will be sent back to all competitors.
2) A result table will be made public.
3) The top five beers in each category will be judged live at the festival.
4) Judges will be at the festival to answer questions and give feedback.

In regards to where your money goes, the current projections are that most of it will go to getting trophies made (actually reimbursing the club for getting trophies made) and mailing results back out. Any remaining money will go into our (non-profit) home brew club's funds.

We will not be using BJCP judges, but will be using industry professionals as our judges.

There is no need to bribe us to win. Just brew a good beer and you will be fine.

Unfortunately I do not have access to previous years scores and results so I am unable to help out there, but I am super happy to help out with any questions you may have about the competition.

If you have any questions or feedback please do not hesitate to call me on 0432 902 991 or email me at [email protected] and I will be happy to help you out as quickly as I can.


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## NealK (19/1/16)

I am happy to hear that the competition has new organisers. Good luck with it.


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## Black n Tan (19/1/16)

NealK said:


> I entered this a couple of years ago, never again! They will only tell you the winner of each category. You may have come second or third but you will never know. They do not claim to have any BJCP judges and most of the judging is done behind closed doors. There is no transparency.
> I asked for the results to be published and they said that they could not do that due to privacy issues, but the rules clearly state that they want to be able to publish any details you give them.
> The prize for winning is good but I certainly will not be giving them $10 and 2 bottles of my beer. Seriously, if they cant be bothered publishing results or giving feedback to anybody except the winners of each category then what are they doing with your money?
> Good to luck to any of you that are thinking of entering, you will need it (or maybe a pineapple taped to your bottle, as integrity does not seem important to the organisers)
> Keep your good beers and enter them in to Melbourne Brewers Beerfest.


Neal I promise I didn't tape a pineapple to my winning bottle. I agree with many things you said but I don't think there is a reason to question the integrity of the organisers. Sounds like things are on the improve on any count.


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## goatus (19/1/16)

I got this...


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## fraser_john (5/2/16)

Geelong Craft Brewers will once again be on-site, with a three tier and BIAB brewing demonstration on the day. Swing past under the grand stand and say hello!


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## Killer Brew (5/2/16)

Sent 3 entries over, can't be there so hopefully someone updates results here tomorrow. That's if Oz Post managed to get my parcel there within a week .... :unsure:


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## Black n Tan (5/2/16)

Look forwarding to catching up John. I will be serving my hefeweizen brewed at little Creatures in the home-brew area at the festival.


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## Yob (5/2/16)

Killer Brew said:


> Sent 3 entries over, can't be there so hopefully someone updates results here tomorrow. That's if Oz Post managed to get my parcel there within a week .... :unsure:


only if you sent express probably.. tracking?


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## fraser_john (5/2/16)

Black n Tan said:


> Look forwarding to catching up John. I will be serving my hefeweizen brewed at little Creatures in the home-brew area at the festival.


Looking forward to a sip, we will be right next door


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## Killer Brew (5/2/16)

Yob said:


> only if you sent express probably.. tracking?


Confirmed they got there. Sweet!


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## Black n Tan (5/2/16)

Killer Brew said:


> Sent 3 entries over, can't be there so hopefully someone updates results here tomorrow. That's if Oz Post managed to get my parcel there within a week .... :unsure:


Hope they got there by the 29th Jan as that was the deadline.


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## Killer Brew (5/2/16)

Black n Tan said:


> Hope they got there by the 29th Jan as that was the deadline.


All good. They contacted me because they had the parcel but no payment because I had paid in to the original bank account they published which turned out to be wrong. Sorted.


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## RoneMac (6/2/16)

fraser_john said:


> Geelong Craft Brewers will once again be on-site, with a three tier and BIAB brewing demonstration on the day. Swing past under the grand stand and say hello!


The Grog Cobras will be sharing the big old bar under the Gargan Stand. The live judging of the finalists will be kicking off not long after 1200. It seems like it might be a good destination for home brewers to check out.



Killer Brew said:


> Sent 3 entries over, can't be there so hopefully someone updates results here tomorrow. That's if Oz Post managed to get my parcel there within a week .... :unsure:


The finalists will all be judged tomorrow for best beer in each category as well as best in show. I may not be able to get the results published tomorrow as I will be manning our area at the festival and most likely away from my computer for the day. I will have a physical copy of the results on hand and will be around to talk to any of the entrants who come by. Feel free to shoot me an email ([email protected]) on the day to ask how you went. I'd be more than happy to tell you.
I'll bring the judging sheets with me on the day for any entrants who want to pick them up and meet some of the judges and have a chat. I'll email any remaining judging sheets out to their owners in the next day or so.



Black n Tan said:


> Look forwarding to catching up John. I will be serving my hefeweizen brewed at little Creatures in the home-brew area at the festival.


Chris and I had a final taste of your brew about an hour ago and it is an absolute ripper.



Killer Brew said:


> All good. They contacted me because they had the parcel but no payment because I had paid in to the original bank account they published which turned out to be wrong. Sorted.


The bungle with the bank account details caught a few people out (us included).


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## RoneMac (6/2/16)

Hi everyone.

The winners have been announced at GABF today.

http://www.grogcobras.com/2016/02/gabf_2016_winners/

Full results will be up tomorrow.

Congratulations to the winners.


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## Black n Tan (6/2/16)

What a day! I had a great time and felt like a rockstar serving my hefeweizen (brewed at Little Creatures) :beerbang: . Congrats to the winners and the hospitality of the Little Creatures crew, the Grog Cobras and Geelong Craft Brewers.


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## Mardoo (6/2/16)

Well done B&T! Two in a row!


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## Black n Tan (6/2/16)

Mardoo said:


> Well done B&T! Two in a row!


Not me this year (I didn't enter this year, but wish I had of now). Another Grant, Grant Smith.


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## bronson (7/2/16)

I Won't be entering. Did last year and they lost my score sheets. They said that they spilt something on the sheets and some where unreadable. Took a while for them to get back to me. Hopefully the new organisers have there shit together for those who have gone to the effort of entering. Good luck.


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## RoneMac (7/2/16)

Hi bronson,

Sorry that you don't feel like entering. The competition has already ended for this year.

I can assure you that all entrants will receive their score sheets. All of them are in good (enough) condition. I personally hand delivered many of the sheets yesterday at the festival. The rest will be emailed to entrants in the very near future. I must ask that all involved be patient as my scanner is a pretty slow machine and it will take me some time to complete it, but it will happen.

Hopefully you will change your mind on entering next year. We are more than happy for feedback, comments or suggestions for improvement for next year. We want all involved to enjoy the process.

Regards,
Tyrone


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## Mardoo (7/2/16)

Mardoo said:


> Well done B&T! Two in a row!





Black n Tan said:


> Not me this year (I didn't enter this year, but wish I had of now). Another Grant, Grant Smith.


Well then Mr. Grant Smith, congratulations!!! And oops... :wacko:


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## RoneMac (7/2/16)

All the scores are listed up at www.grogcobras.com

Here is a cut and paste from the site:


Final winners

Champion home brewer
Grant Smith


Champion Lager
Dominic Tyley-Miller (126)

Champion Wheat Beer
John Fraser (121)

Champion Pale Ale
Timothy Ivan Ward (102)

Champion IPA
Grant Smith (127)

Champion Dark Beer
Timothy Ivan Ward (112.5)

Champion Specialty Beer
Deon Smit (107)


Final runners-ups

Lager
2nd Jordan Elwell (96)
3rd John Fraser (93)

Wheat Beer
2nd Dominic Tyley-Miller (111)
2nd Adrian de Leiros (111)

Pale Ale
2nd Sam Harvey (97)
3rd Dominic Tyley Miller (84)

IPA
2nd Scott Hunt (123)
3rd Adam C North
4th Aaron Whitehand

Dark Beer
2nd James Rimmer (112)
3rd John Fraser (73)

Specialty Beer
2nd Dominic Tyley-Miller (98)
3rd Roddy Nash (96)


Non-finalist placings


Wheat Beer
4th Sam Harvey (119)
5th Timothy Ivan Ward (100.5)
6th Gerald Gierer (96)
7th James Rimmer (73.5)

Pale Ale
4th Dean Pierce (95.25)
5th Robert Green (92.5)
6th Grant Smith (91.5)
7th Aaron Whitehand (90.75)
8th Damien Mark Carroll (87.75)
9th Grant Cadwallander (78)
10th John Fraser (75.75)
11th Sean Keneally (53.25)

IPA
5th Damien Mark Carroll (115)
6th Sam Harvey (107)
7th Dan Koorey (105)
8th Dominic Tyley-Miller (100)
9th Adrian de Leiros (91)
10th Deon Smit (85.5)
11th John Fraser (70)
12th Sean Keneally (31)

Dark Beer
4th Aaron Whitehand (100.5)
5th  Clayton Morrison (99)


Specialty Beer
4th Sean Keneally (126)
5th Grant Smith (117)
6th James Rimmer (115.5)
7th Damien Mark Carroll (110.25)
8th Clayton Morrison (107.25)
9th Grant Cadwallander (96.75)
10th Leon Douglass (94.5)
11th Adrian de Leiros (82.5)
12th John Fraser (78)
Please note that the beers were judged in two rounds. In the first round the beers were judged and the top three beers in each category were selected to proceed to the final round.
In the final round the beers were judged to a stricter criteria by a panel of three brewery professionals. The scores reported for the finalists are for the second round of judging. This may have resulted in a finalist having a lower score than a non-finalist. All finalists have placed higher than non-finalists regardless of score.


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## fraser_john (8/2/16)

RoneMac said:


> All the scores are listed up at www.grogcobras.com
> 
> Here is a cut and paste from the site:
> 
> ...


RoneMac this was a great improvement over the prior years competitions and I congratulate you and your team on its execution, running a comp is never easy.


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## hoppinmad (8/2/16)

Well done to all winners and thank you to the Grog Cobras for running the competition in such a professional manner. It was great to be part of and I look forward to participating again next year.

Special congratulations to John from Geelong Craft Brewer's for placing 1st in the Wheat Beer category.

Also, to last year's winner Grant, serving up his Hefeweizen on the day, great beer mate! I hope you enjoyed the day.

Cheers :icon_cheers:


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## fraser_john (14/2/16)

Just to add a cross reference within this site, this WAYB 2016 post, was the first place getter in Wheat beer


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## RoneMac (29/2/16)

All of the score sheets have been emailed out.

Sorry it took so long. If anybody hasn't received their sheets, please let me know and I will re-send them out.


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## RoneMac (5/10/16)

Hi everyone,

It is with mixed feelings that I am announcing that the organiser's of GABF have decided not to accept the Grog Cobras proposal to organise the home brew competition in 2017.
The club and I had a terrific time running the previous competition on short notice and had already taken much of the entrants feedback into account when planning for 2017, however, this is sadly not to be.
I am unsure of who will be assuming control but I would to thank you all for the kind feedback from our (brief) foray into competition organisation.

Regards,
Tyrone McDonald


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## malt junkie (5/10/16)

Lets hope the new organisers can continue your good work of a well run open and transparent competition.

I'd have liked your post but considering the not so good news.....

cheers

Mike


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## slcmorro (11/10/16)

Sorry to dredge up an old post - I should have given you this feedback ages ago.

The scoring system and the subsequent awarding of points was very confusing.
To state beer A was awarded 90 points and beer B was awarded 75 points, yet beer B was the overall winner after a 2nd round of judging took place is rather strange i my own personal opinion.

Outside of that, the entry process was simple, quick and easy and the communication was spot on between organisers and entrants. Interested to have another go next year


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## RoneMac (15/10/16)

slcmorro said:


> Sorry to dredge up an old post - I should have given you this feedback ages ago.
> 
> The scoring system and the subsequent awarding of points was very confusing.
> To state beer A was awarded 90 points and beer B was awarded 75 points, yet beer B was the overall winner after a 2nd round of judging took place is rather strange i my own personal opinion.
> ...


We thought that splitting the judging into two rounds was the best way to get live judging on the day without overwhelming the judges. The first round just found our best three and focused on being really encouraging to entrants. The finalist round brought in a fresh panel of judges with a LOT of tasting experience and were instructed to be a lot more critical as everyone there was already a winner. This lead to a few position changes which may have been frustrating for anyone who dropped down a spot,
It is strange, but it was the best way we could think of doing it while engaging the community on the day.

We worked really hard to keep communications open and we were really thankful for feedback. We took a lot on board to make next year's even better, but sadly we will not have the chance to enact them ourselves. Although it will be nice not to be on home brew competition 24 hour Q&A phone service.

Good luck with the brewing.


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