Aussie Brewer of the Year?

[newguy]

Is there such a thing as the Aussie Brewer of the Year? Just curious because in Canada, mainly due to the near impossibility of getting entries across the border into the states (especially since 2001), we started a Canadian Brewer of the Year a few years back. It's just an informal thing but it does come with a trophy that the winner gets to keep for the year that they're the winner. Our experience is that it really helped to boost entries to participating comps, which helps their fundraising efforts.

 

[barls]

yes its the winner of the nationals.
i believe it was michael wallace form sydney last year, even though qld tried to claim him.

 

[Econwatson]

I declare myself Aussie brewer of the year. We have a winner!

 

[newguy]

Ours is based on points earned in the participating competitions. 3 for gold, 2 for silver and 1 for bronze. The incumbent won again this year with a cirrhosis-inducing 117 points. Still can't believe the total. If you add the totals from the previous two years' top placing finishers, you get about that number.

 

[Josho]

How may points did bum get?

 

[QldKev]

Ours is based on points earned in the participating competitions. 3 for gold, 2 for silver and 1 for bronze. The incumbent won again this year with a cirrhosis-inducing 117 points. Still can't believe the total. If you add the totals from the previous two years' top placing finishers, you get about that number.

I think to be a fair system it should also deduct points for beers that get a bad placing. Otherwise it almost comes down to who ever enters the most beers in the most comps.

 

[manticle]

You still have to place Kev. Bad beers don't count for any more than they should count against.

Having just worked out the 2012/2013 champion Brewer for our brewclub, I'd be buggered if I'd willingly take on the job of working out overall AU.

 

[QldKev]

You still have to place Kev. Bad beers don't count for any more than they should count against.

<<snip>>

But what I'm looking at is
Brewer 1.
Enters 10 comps with 10 beers in each comp, so 100 entries total.
Then they result in only 5 placings.

Brewer 2.
Enters 2 comps with 2 beers in each comp, so only 4 entries.
Then they result in 4 placings.

Who would be the better brewer?

 

[MastersBrewery]

Ours is based on points earned in the participating competitions. 3 for gold, 2 for silver and 1 for bronze. The incumbent won again this year with a cirrhosis-inducing 117 points. Still can't believe the total. If you add the totals from the previous two years' top placing finishers, you get about that number.

Hell be buggered if I could brew that much beer for other people to drink, that's like 40 first places, obviously several different categories entered in several different comps, Hats off to the guy, that takes some kind of commitment, just not why I brew.

 

[MartinOC]

I think to be a fair system it should also deduct points for beers that get a bad placing. Otherwise it almost comes down to who ever enters the most beers in the most comps.

Kev, the "shotgun" approach to winning prizes in competitions was dealt-with in Victoria MANY years ago & is now known on the Vicbrew committee as the "MJ-Rule", after a guy that did exactly that (if someone mentions the person's name at committee meetings, they have to buy a round for the whole committee!). Now we have the "two entries per category, one per sub-style" standard in order to prevent this.

You still have to place Kev. Bad beers don't count for any more than they should count against.

Having just worked out the 2012/2013 champion Brewer for our brewclub, I'd be buggered if I'd willingly take on the job of working out overall AU.

Agreed, Manticle. That's why (at Vicbrew, at least!) we have the 3-2-1 points for 1st-2nd-3rd with count-backs & allocation of point for overall impression to decide overall winners. Since that system was implemented, we haven't had any draws or disputes over unfair results.

The same system is used to decide winners/places for the AABC (or at least it SHOULD have been used in the past, but that's another argumentative thread completely!)

 

[newguy]

When I was in 1st year university we had to take a geology course which had the same grading philosophy.....multiple choice exams where every wrong answer negated a right answer. Back then we referred to that style of grading as "c__t scoring", but to tell you the truth, when it comes to brewing, I quite like it.

Only problem is, the rules have already been laid out that only medals count. Only medals are reported, not overall entries.

Reminds me of a friend in the club some years ago. We travelled to a neighbouring club to help judge their comp and after the medals were awarded he asked me if I had won any medals. "Yeah, 2." "Me too. How many did you enter?" "2. How many did you enter?" "Geez, I suck. 23."

I like the method but given the reporting difficulties (and by that I mean that no one - NO ONE - bothers to report the results at all), it will be impossible to implement. That said, the shotgun approach isn't all bad. After all, it's the beer that's evaluated. If the beer is pick of the litter, that's all that matters in the end.

 

[manticle]

@ Kev: Brewer 2 might have brewed even more **** beers - just not entered them anywhere. I know what you mean but I think it's rocky ground. Would need to change rules for all champion brewers.

Would 4th then start to be included? Is 3 x 4th better than 2 x first and 2x last?

 

[Maxt]

If you are good enough to have a stack Of your beers make it to nationals,then you deserve to be champ. I challenge anyone who disagrees to try and get 10 or 12 beers into the national's

 

[rehab]

Interesting to see how things are dealt with over there. We had the rule that it was marks off for poorly placed beers to penalise flooding the comp. This is how best beer and Brewer of the year were completely different people.

 

[MartinOC]

If you are good enough to have a stack Of your beers make it to nationals,then you deserve to be champ. I challenge anyone who disagrees to try and get 10 or 12 beers into the national's

Absolutely agree with you!

This maybe a bit of a rant, but please bear with me & please don't say: TLDR....

For the nay-sayers, let's put this into a competition-running/logistics perspective & have a bit of a reality-check, OK?:

For the record (& those who don't already know me), I'm the Chief Steward for Vicbrew & AABC (when in Vic). Vicbrew is the largest competition in the Southern Hemisphere, where we can expect circa 400+ beers to be entered.

We can expect from 10-50 entries in any given category, depending on what is "flavour-of-the month" (Wheat beers used to be up-there years ago, then Pale ales, then APA's & now Baltic Porters are popular). That's OK, we can deal with it all, but it's still a LOT of beers to get through over the space of a weekend & places a big demand on the judges & stewards (particularly if large categories have to be split-judged over the two days).

From a logistics perspective, it's ridiculous to ask competition organisers to collect/allocate/sort/store/serve everything that everyone wants to enter, unless there were some restrictions on numbers. That's why we have the "2 entries per category, 1 per sub-style" rule (the "MJ" rule). "Shotgun"-entries are therefore excluded, as it's expected that brewers will enter their "best-shot".

I've said this before, but I'll say it again, just so folks get it - I once judged 120+ pale ales in one day (INCLUDING IPA's) & henceforth INSISTED that the states have a pre-qualifying competition for National qualification. If you reckon I was wrong in this assertion, then you're a complete *******.

The purpose of the State-based competitions is to narrow-down the field. We then determine the best in Australia from a limited number of beers that the judges can actually take time-over & do real justice-to in the national arena.

OK. I've ranted & rambled enough.

Does anyone have any queries?

PS. I have NO problems with anyone entering their beer into a State competition for feedback, as long as it's their "Best".

 

[Maxt]

There was a bit of whining about ACT brewer 'Stagger', winning Champion brewer at the Nats a few times because of his 'carpet bombing' of the ACT comp. If you can get beers from 8-10 styles to win at (what was then), one of the toughest regional comp around, then full credit. To then have those beers judged at the highest level and do well....you are a bloody good brewer. Remember, we are not talking about 'ok', beers, but ones good enough to place first or second in a comp. Seems to me most of the complaining came from less able brewers..green eyed monster perhaps?

 

[MartinOC]

There was a bit of whining about ACT brewer 'Stagger', winning Champion brewer at the Nats a few times because of his 'carpet bombing' of the ACT comp. If you can get beers from 8-10 styles to win at (what was then), one of the toughest regional comp around, then full credit. To then have those beers judged at the highest level and do well....you are a bloody good brewer. Remember, we are not talking about 'ok', beers, but ones good enough to place first or second in a comp. Seems to me most of the complaining came from less able brewers..green eyed monster perhaps?

QED!

 

[Mardoo]

*******

I can't find ******* in the BJCP guide. Is that a lambic wheat?

 

[MartinOC]

I can't find ******* in the BJCP guide. Is that a lambic wheat?

Ah, Mardoo..you have to take everything in context:

Most Lambics were/are traditionally made with a proportion of (raw) wheat. If you didn't already know that, then I'd have to classify you as a partial/complete (<insert subjective degree) *******, I'm afraid...

 

[Fatgodzilla]

I was thinking about what's been said (QEDs and Fuckwits aside). When I think of the success of a number of great brewers at recent Nationals such as Mick Wallace, Barry Cranston, Stagger from ACT, Asher from WA (and many more I can't remember, but feel free to add to the list) .. what they had in common were they were bloody good brewers. And good men to boot too!

You couldn't single anyone of the best 20 homebrewers in the country and call them better than the other. Maybe even the best 100! :beerbang: