A quick survery for those who have never entered a homebrew comp

[GalBrew]

Hi All,
The recent Beer Cartel homebrew survey revealed that 72% of respondents had never entered a comp before which when combined with some of the discussion around why that might be, got some of us in the Vicbrew committee at the latest meeting to wonder why this is the case and to how we can increase these numbers moving forward. I have included a brief survey for anyone who has never entered a comp to answer in an attempt to get some feedback around this issue. The survey is rather limited (due to the fact I could only have 3 questions) but if anyone wants to elaborate with any further details on why the might not have entered comps in the past, please feel free to post your thoughts. This is probably a good opportunity to open a bit of a dialogue between at least one group of comp organisers and the homebrewing public.

I appreciate any feedback at all.

Cheers

Adam.
(and the Vicbrew committee).

 

[Airgead]

One note...

Putting this in under competitions and results pretty much guarantees that people who don't care about such things will never see it... (after it drops off the recent posts box anyway)

 

[mr_wibble]

The logistics of getting my beer there is always the biggest issue.
For the NSW state comp' I could take my beer to the LHBS who sent a bunch of them. If it wasn't for this I would not have entered at all.

 

[GalBrew]

One note...

Putting this in under competitions and results pretty much guarantees that people who don't care about such things will never see it... (after it drops off the recent posts box anyway)

Yes, I am aware of this. None of the other sub forums seemed an appropriate place to start this thread though.

Do any mods have any suggestions to give this thread a little more exposure to the non comp people?

 

[GrumpyPaul]

You could try "first entry free"

 

[malt junkie]

1.AFAIK there are no HB clubs out my way.
2. I usually find out about comps here, and mostly with barely enough time to brew let alone plan or order specific ingredients.
3 I get paid fortnightly so from the time I find out a bout a comp it maybe 3 weeks till I have ingredients to brew.
4. I really don't like sending beer in the post... to anyone, let alone when I want it to be at it's best.

 

[Fraser's BRB]

1.AFAIK there are no HB clubs out my way.
2. I usually find out about comps here, and mostly with barely enough time to brew let alone plan or order specific ingredients.
3 I get paid fortnightly so from the time I find out a bout a comp it maybe 3 weeks till I have ingredients to brew.
4. I really don't like sending beer in the post... to anyone, let alone when I want it to be at it's best.

Whilst I've been in one comp, points 2 and 4 ring true for me.

Many comps have limited notice periods (at least to those not with their finger on the pulse) which makes brewing schedules difficult. Drop off points make life simpler and allow a little extra time that postage doesn't.

 

[labels]

The questions are very resaonable and should give you the data you need. I'm running a comp too so this interests me. Ask admin to make this posty sticky

 

[wereprawn]

I've entered one HB comp, basically just for shits 'n' giggles , but also for the feedback on a style I'd never attempted before. Generally I'll ask for feedback from other brewers locally though, if the beer is slightly obscure ( a rauchbier I did recently for example ). And finally , I rarely brew to style. Just brew beer I think I'll enjoy for my own consumption, ( and I suspect many brewers fall into this category ) so I don't really care what others opinions are.

Edit -spelling .

 

[Mr B]

An option of "Im aware of competitions and wouldnt mind putting a few beers in, but have never really pulled my finger out and sent any in" would get at least one vote

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

I had to put "none of the above" in the first section, you didn't touch on my reasons for not entering.

My major problem with the comps as currently constituted is that they are conducted under BJCP rules (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and IMO that makes them overly restrictive. I've judged a few comps now and find that I'm often forced to downpoint a perfectly good beer because it doesn't exactly fit the style description.

I don't know that there is a solution to this problem: there are inevitably more ways of making good beer than there are of describing what that beer should be.

 

[Benn]

Some of the entry requirements seem a bit confusing and may intimidate or deter potential first time entrants.
The Compmaster process as utilised by Merri Mashers (IPA Comp) is fairly straight forward but other comps I've looked at take a bit of re-reading to get my head around. To seasoned competitors this may not be apparent but it's easy to get lost in the details of how to actually present your bottle if you've never entered that particular comp before.
Every comp seems to have a different set of requirements. Then there's how many bottles of a minimum to maximum volume that are required for each category with additional bottle(s) required if your beer should advance to the next round for further consideration.

I understand that each competition is run differently within different clubs/associations with different constraints and available resources/volunteers etc, so of course one size may not fit all when it comes to entry process.

I have entered the Merri Mashers IPA comp twice and have enjoyed and been grateful for the feedback via the scoresheets. As a result I've gained an interest in actually "tasting" beer and also the variety of beer styles beyond the offerings at the local supermarket therefore I find myself spending more money at small independent bottle shops.
I believe there are several reasons one might enter a home brew competition other than the goal of taking first place and these people probably make up a sizeable chunk of the 72% of home brewers that are interested enough to complete a survey but reluctant to put a bottle of beer in the mail. If more involvement is the objective then perhaps tapping into the community outside of the home brew club scene may prove worthwhile.
Cheers,

 

[GalBrew]

The questions are very resaonable and should give you the data you need. I'm running a comp too so this interests me. Ask admin to make this posty sticky

Not a bad idea, I will do that.

 

[GalBrew]

An option of "Im aware of competitions and wouldnt mind putting a few beers in, but have never really pulled my finger out and sent any in" would get at least one vote

I wanted to have something like that as an option, but I could only put 10 options in. I think that is definitely a valid option (and I suffered from that myself).

 

[GalBrew]

I had to put "none of the above" in the first section, you didn't touch on my reasons for not entering.

My major problem with the comps as currently constituted is that they are conducted under BJCP rules (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and IMO that makes them overly restrictive. I've judged a few comps now and find that I'm often forced to downpoint a perfectly good beer because it doesn't exactly fit the style description.

I don't know that there is a solution to this problem: there are inevitably more ways of making good beer than there are of describing what that beer should be.

I think you have a point here, and I tried to touch on that with one of the options (perhaps if we get good numbers participating here we can out together a larger more comprehensive survey). I also agree though that I'm not sure how you have a comp without some sort of style guidelines. Food for thought though.

 

[Mr B]

You could do a Surveymonkey survey to do something more comprehensive.

That way you can start out with "Whats your favorite colour" and go from there.



Forgive my levity, I think competitions are potentially fertile ground for a lot of good stuff. Serious suggestion indeed.

 

[labels]

I think you have a point here, and I tried to touch on that with one of the options (perhaps if we get good numbers participating here we can out together a larger more comprehensive survey). I also agree though that I'm not sure how you have a comp without some sort of style guidelines. Food for thought though.

The newer 2015 guidelines overcomes most of these restrictions with much broader categories and interpretation. These days I don't see that as problem.

 

[GalBrew]

Some of the entry requirements seem a bit confusing and may intimidate or deter potential first time entrants.
The Compmaster process as utilised by Merri Mashers (IPA Comp) is fairly straight forward but other comps I've looked at take a bit of re-reading to get my head around. To seasoned competitors this may not be apparent but it's easy to get lost in the details of how to actually present your bottle if you've never entered that particular comp before.
Every comp seems to have a different set of requirements. Then there's how many bottles of a minimum to maximum volume that are required for each category with additional bottle(s) required if your beer should advance to the next round for further consideration.

I understand that each competition is run differently within different clubs/associations with different constraints and available resources/volunteers etc, so of course one size may not fit all when it comes to entry process.

I have entered the Merri Mashers IPA comp twice and have enjoyed and been grateful for the feedback via the scoresheets. As a result I've gained an interest in actually "tasting" beer and also the variety of beer styles beyond the offerings at the local supermarket therefore I find myself spending more money at small independent bottle shops.
I believe there are several reasons one might enter a home brew competition other than the goal of taking first place and these people probably make up a sizeable chunk of the 72% of home brewers that are interested enough to complete a survey but reluctant to put a bottle of beer in the mail. If more involvement is the objective then perhaps tapping into the community outside of the home brew club scene may prove worthwhile.
Cheers,

I agree with the lack of standardisation between comps, they are all their own entities run by different people with different requirements. I also agree with trying to get opinions outside of the club scene, there is a large somewhat untapped (pardon the pun) segment whose opinions on comps and home brewing in general would be invaluable.

 

[capsicum]

I plan to enter a few competitions to get feedback on my brewing, but the feedback I would be most interested to hear is on my brewing techniques rather than how well I've managed to make a beer in a specific style. I think this is probably because I usually brew to taste (brew to drink might be more accurate...)

I'd be most interested hearing from experienced tasters and certified judges what off flavours they find, then I could try to better my brewing in general which could improve all my beers.

As I mentioned in the Beer Cartel survey discussion, I've been a bit put off by everyone sitting around scrutinising BCJP guidelines at club tastings. I could see very nice beers being rated poorly because they didn't fit the style, but I understand for large comps you need a framework. On idea could be to have a few less serious categories like "best quaffer", "beer you'd pay the most for" etc.

 

[Benn]

Case swaps and the like may be a good platform for broad peer review outside of the competition environment for those that prefer to brew outside of the set style parameters but wish to be involved in something larger than their regular garage quorum.