Beerfest 2011 - Online Entries And Deadline Extended

[Siborg]

... and an Oatmeal stout...

Game on, Ferg! B)

All will be revealed on the day - but that is usually a pretty big cat!!

Yeah... expecting it to be. Got my accommodation all booked. Stayin at the pub in the centre of town

 

[brendo]

Well entries closed last Saturday and we finished up the bottle registration last night in preparation for the big competition this weekend.

The number of entries was outstanding - over the 200 mark (approx 209 I think), which is great to see - we haven't had that many entries for a few years now (last year was approx 160, and 180 the year before).

Further to that, there was a great uptake for the online system, with around 1/3 of the entries being lodged online - great to see such a big uptake for a new approach.


So... it looks like it is going to be a big one, with a good spread across the categories and I am sure plenty of stiff competition within them.

I have seen the prize allocation lists and am pleased to announce that in response to a strong level of sponsorship for the event, the prize packages are better than ever with lots of useful stuff for brewers - so look forward to getting your hands on some great goodies from one of our great sponsors - who include:

Grand Ridge, Jamieson Brewery, Kooinda, Mountain Goat, Cryer Malt, The Brewers Den, Greensborough Homebrewing, Bintani, Grain & Grape, Purvis Cellars and Beer & Brewer magazine.

For those of you heading up this weekend (or thinking about it) there will be plenty to keep you busy:

• Golf on Friday arvo
• Judging Friday night, Sat morning and Sat arvo
• BBQ's and Spit Roasts for dinner, with Breakfast on sunday
• Sulubrious accomodation at the Scout Hall
• The slops table - get in good with the Stewards so you always know when the good beers come off the table
• Gippsland Cup - a comp especially for Gippsland based brewers
• Rumors of a dart board
• And finally, more beer talk than you can poke a stick at!!

Have a great weekend guys and thanks for helping to make the comp such a success so far - it can only get better from here!!

Cheers,

Brendo

 

[DU99]

remember not to drink and drive and check the road conditions

 

[geoffd]

no need for a dartboard, in a novel turn of events Linton has agreed to catch the darts

hows about his first post after being on AHB for 5 years...it's always the quiet ones you gotta watch.

on a serious note, yes I can bring 1 board, unless my new one arrives tonight. Not sure how much we'll get to use it given all the rain forecast, maybe they'll find a spot in the pub to hang it up, I have an el cheapo cabinet too.

200+ entries, great showing, homebrewing is definitely on the rise. My dad made a batch back in the 70's with his neighbour, the whole batch exploded in the cupboard, needless to say they gave up, I think the steady revival is down to better ingredients & better results brushing off the old stereotype of nasty cheap piss. seems to be gaining a fair bit of momentum in the past 5 years or so with more mainstream media & food matching raising awareness.

 

[Siborg]

remember not to drink and drive and check the road conditions

Staying at the pub in the centre of town... no driving for me until Sunday arvo.

 

[Fourstar]

Further to that, there was a great uptake for the online system, with around 1/3 of the entries being lodged online - great to see such a big uptake for a new approach.

I was thinking it was the other way around, around 1/3 of them being off-line entries? Once again, great work Andyd on the entry system. :icon_chickcheers:

In other news, those who are from the Gippsland region are encouraged to enter the FREE Gippsland cup. This is a 'best of show' open category flight for brewers living in the Gippsland region. All you have to do is bring along a bottle of your finest to Grand Ridge on Saturday at 2PM to take out the special category of Gippslands Greatest Brewer! (Prizes too!)

Again, the only restriction on entering is you must be a resident of the Gippsland region. It's as simple as that and best of all its FREE!

See the poster attached. C'mon Gippsland brewers, lets see who is the best brewer out there!

 

[brett mccluskey]

I was thinking it was the other way around, around 1/3 of them being off-line entries? Once again, great work Andyd on the entry system. :icon_chickcheers:

In other news, those who are from the Gippsland region are encouraged to enter the FREE Gippsland cup. This is a 'best of show' open category flight for brewers living in the Gippsland region. All you have to do is bring along a bottle of your finest to Grand Ridge on Saturday at 2PM to take out the special category of Gippslands Greatest Brewer! (Prizes too!)

Again, the only restriction on entering is you must be a resident of the Gippsland region. It's as simple as that and best of all its FREE!

See the poster attached. C'mon Gippsland brewers, lets see who is the best brewer out there!

View attachment 44118

By 3pm you'd hope most if not all of the main show entries would have been judged,Has a judging/stewarding roster been drawn up for this comp ? Just a 'little' concerned there might be a few exhausted taste buds amongst people who judged during the day

 

[brendo]

I was thinking it was the other way around, around 1/3 of them being off-line entries? Once again, great work Andyd on the entry system. :icon_chickcheers:

Quite right mate - it was 2/3's, such a small typo has a significant impact on the message h34r:


Toper - I believe that the Gippsland session is sorted - hard to know what to expect given it is the first time around, but the idea is to get people along and have them hang for the award ceremony, so the local brewers can meet some like-minded individuals.

Brendo

 

[manticle]

Do I give my bribe money to you Brendo? Forgot to pass it onto Fourstar

 

[Maple]

By 3pm you'd hope most if not all of the main show entries would have been judged,Has a judging/stewarding roster been drawn up for this comp ? Just a 'little' concerned there might be a few exhausted taste buds amongst people who judged during the day

Isn't that what the Stewards are doings? Judges palate fatigue, so swap with the stewards for the Gippy-brew?

 

[Maple]

Do I give my bribe money to you Brendo? Forgot to pass it onto Fourstar

Hey Mants, your beer needs no bribe money bro. just send more in - that'll cover it!

 

[geoffd]

silly question & definitely too late to consider for this year,
Why have a seperate category, why not treat it like best novice brewer, the best scoring entry from the region across all categories?

just a suggestion, not a criticism, BTW it is a great concept.

 

[brett mccluskey]

Quite right mate - it was 2/3's, such a small typo has a significant impact on the message h34r:


Toper - I believe that the Gippsland session is sorted - hard to know what to expect given it is the first time around, but the idea is to get people along and have them hang for the award ceremony, so the local brewers can meet some like-minded individuals.

Brendo

Isn't that what the Stewards are doings? Judges palate fatigue, so swap with the stewards for the Gippy-brew?

Sounds like a great idea Brendo. :beer: Just couldn't see anything on the Beerfest site,so had no idea about the arrangements.Lets hope for a big turnpout from the locals

 

[brendo]

silly question & definitely too late to consider for this year,
Why have a seperate category, why not treat it like best novice brewer, the best scoring entry from the region across all categories?

just a suggestion, not a criticism, BTW it is a great concept.

It's not a silly question and it is highly likely that it is something that will evolve mate - it is an initiative we have been talking about for a while and felt that having something specifically targeted for Gippsland Brewers might help create more of a community out there and create a bit of rivalry for bragging rights. Posters were sent out to Gippsland hbs's and we really tried to position it as their own comp.

Of course there is nothing to stop these same brewers entering the same categories as everyone else and cleaning up the pool on us.

Hopefully we get a good take up on it, but time will tell :beer:

Cheers,

Brendo

 

[HoppingMad]

no need for a dartboard, in a novel turn of events Linton has agreed to catch the darts

Let the games begin!

 

[geoffd]

HoppingMad, you have too much time on your hands

Brendo, the only major difficulty I see in having a regional category is the judges possibly having to judge quite a wide variety of styles in one flight, obviously working pale to dark, mild to bitter, weak to strong, but it still seems a lot for the taste buds.

I'm sure you guys have been pondering the pros & cons of these issues for some time though.

 

[brett mccluskey]

Let the games begin!

:super:

 

[brendo]

Brendo, the only major difficulty I see in having a regional category is the judges possibly having to judge quite a wide variety of styles in one flight, obviously working pale to dark, mild to bitter, weak to strong, but it still seems a lot for the taste buds.

I'm sure you guys have been pondering the pros & cons of these issues for some time though.

Spot on mate...it is an issue, hence why we are really approaching it as a BOS type approach - no worse than judging the specialty cat at Vicbrew/AABC, etc.

In reality, I suspect we will see a glut of particular styles (US PA, stout, etc) so it may not be too bad. Just gunna hang it out there for this year, see how it goes and look to refine it moving forward if there appears to be enought interest.

Live and learn...

 

[Fourstar]

see you all there tomorrow fellas! :icon_drunk:

 

[brett mccluskey]

Don't forget your darts ... :beer: