Brewing Competition Structure

[Tony]

The comp scene in australia definatly needs some work.

I dont see any problems with state level competition or other major comps like the great ANAWBS. The NSW state comp was run very well IMO, and the last time i entered compl like beerfest and the ANAWBS they were very profesional.

JMO but it seems to me the problms lie in the bed of the AABC.

I had my qualifing Roggenbier refused entry because it wasnt in their list of aplicable beers

ITS A BLOODY BEER ISNT IT!!!

In the future, even if i get another qualifing beer for the AABC, they wont get the satisfaction of trying the stuff cause in boycotting them !!!!!!!!

Screw them and their system!

AHHHHHHH...... its like breaking something when your angry.

Its acomplishes nothing but makes you feel better

cheers

 

[bigfridge]

....with 2 of the 3 NSW delegates having Business interests in the Home brewing industry..how many of the other delegates have business interests in Home brewing??(Wonder how long a response from the AABA will take??)

Linz,

Not sure how many of the AABA comittee lurk here, but there have been a few changes recently. The lack of a AABA website makes the communication of these changes difficult.

There were three NSW Delegates to the AABA. When Scott Morgan and myself invested our money and time in a commercial brewery supply company we quieried our status with the AABA committee. While there was some hostility from some states to members of 'the industry' being involved in an amature organisation it was decided that the rules did not preclude our remaining as delegates. This hostility was a bit hard to understand as it is exactly this same 'industry' that is looked to for sponsorship and funding that make the competitions possible.

However due to our lack of time and other issues we resigned our positions after the NSW Championships last year. Andrew Walsh moved to Queensland, so there are now two, new NSW Delegates to the AABA. These have been drawn from the clubs and regions that have organised and supported the NSW Championships over the last few years.

If anyone would like to have input into the running of their State or National championship then the starting point is your local organising committee. The NSW committee may be contacted via their website at http://nsw.craftbrewer.org. It is the delegates role to facilitate communication between the State and National organising committees.

Hope that this has helped to clarify things.

Good Brew'n (and Judge'n)
David Lamotte

 

[Linz]

David,

Thanks for the prompt reply and clarification.

"This hostility was a bit hard to understand as it is exactly this same 'industry' that is looked to for sponsorship and funding that make the competitions possible."

I feel that it may have come across as a conflict of interest. Its like Coopers to assist running a brew organisation, theres the remote possibility to formulate a way to get coopers kits to win the comps they organise....long bow and all...but as a sponsor, theres no interference with oganising/running the comp, and it raises the sponsors name/awareness in their respective market

"However due to our lack of time and other issues we resigned our positions after the NSW Championships last year. Andrew Walsh moved to Queensland, so there are now two, new NSW Delegates to the AABA. These have been drawn from the clubs and regions that have organised and supported the NSW Championships over the last few years."

You say these new delegates were "drawn" from clubs and regions that have organised state comps...so you have to now hold a State comp for a chance to get on the AABA?? Doesnt this now start to sound like jobs for the boys??...what happened to democratic process??? and having the community have their say as to who passes on their thoughts??


"If anyone would like to have input into the running of their State or National championship then the starting point is your local organising committee. "

The State body is as faceless as the National body...

"The NSW committee may be contacted via their website at http://nsw.craftbrewer.org. It is the delegates role to facilitate communication between the State and National organising committees."

Thats not so much a website but rather the 2006 NSW comp page with a contact email...which I have contacted to find out the next meeting time and place...

Hope thats not too hostile.. but just the view of one of the little people in the big picture of things :super:

Brew on

Beerz

Linz

 

[bigfridge]

You say these new delegates were "drawn" from clubs and regions that have organised state comps...so you have to now hold a State comp for a chance to get on the AABA?? Doesnt this now start to sound like jobs for the boys??...what happened to democratic process??? and having the community have their say as to who passes on their thoughts??

When the NSW competition was abandoned 4 years ago, a number of clubs and individuals worked hard to pick up the pieces to give NSW brewers a chance to qualify for the AABC. It is fortunate that those same volunteers are still involved and using their experience to try to make each year's comp better than the last. However, anyone interested in assisting in the running of the state competition are always welcome to contact us, as are brewers with suggestions for improvements.

You say these new delegates were "drawn" from clubs and regions that have organised state comps...so you have to now hold a State comp for a chance to get on the AABA?? Doesnt this now start to sound like jobs for the boys??...what happened to democratic process??? and having the community have their say as to who passes on their thoughts??

As the purpose of the state comp is to qualify brewers for the AABC it would seem to be sensible that delegates need to have experience in running competitions of this size.

The State body is as faceless as the National body...

Not sure what you mean by this comment Lindsay. Anyone who was involved in helping at last year's comp knows who we are - our names and positions are all over the web site and entry form. Not sure how much more 'face' you would like to see. Similarly the AABA delegates are clearly listed in their documents.

"The NSW committee may be contacted via their website at http://nsw.craftbrewer.org. It is the delegates role to facilitate communication between the State and National organising committees."

Thats not so much a website but rather the 2006 NSW comp page with a contact email...which I have contacted to find out the next meeting time and place...

Sorry, but that's all that we do - run the NSW Championships once a year. We rarely need to meet as we can discuss all matter of things via eMail.

David
NSW Competition Organiser

 

[///]

There has never really been a body for the NSW Comp, more so a bunch of folks that have assisted to organise. In the past it was usually a Home Brew Shop and for the last few years fella's in Newcastle and the Illawarra have worked thru the organisation of the comp. We can continue to do this as things are running pretty efficiently and the comp is growing in number of entries, entrants and trained judges.

But, if there were a willing bunch of folks that wanted to form a body and incorporate, thus taking over the responsibilites of running the comp and addressing other matters for NSW Brewers then I would be all for it as I am sure others would.

The professional brewers in NSW (NSW Brewers Guild - http://nswbrewersguild.asn.au/ ) took this initial step last January and progressing forward with the agenda of a representative body. It is still fledgling days for the Guild, with the first year under the belt of the Guild and more work to do.

For the professionals, it only took 4 folks to say 'damm it, we are going to do something' and things started from there with about 9 people at the initial meeting. With now approx 40 members and with assistance of the NSW Government, the Guild will continue to grow and a number of the identified strategic goals will be initiated, developed and or completed in 2007.

It is not so much as having 900 people willing to be a part of something, it takes a few people to make a start with a workable structure, some organisation and strategy to get going. Before a snow ball can be made to roll down a hill it starts as but one snow flake!

Scotty

 

[Jazzafish]

Great Topic!

I'll just give my short opinions...

I believe that:

The BJCP is established and works. Why not use it? Sure there are beers in Australia that don't completely fit into a particular style. They can kinda fit in somewhere but simply taste different and suffer bacause they fall short in some of the expected tasting notes. My point is that a new syle can be entered into the BJCP. That is evolution. A bit late, but a step in the right direction in recognising the style and taste of the beer that most Australians drink. So I vote that we push for new sub categories eg: 1 LIGHT LAGER 1F Standard Australian Lager (crown lager, Fosters Lager)... 1G Dry Australian Lager (Tooheys Extra Dry, Pure Blonde)... You get the idea.

Each State should hold a competition in the same month, with the top 3 beers of each style qualifying to enter a national competition to be held the following month. A threshold of minimum points should be considered to limit the entries.

Each state and national competition should have a Beer Of Show Judging round consisting of a larger table of the most experienced judges.

 

[Jazzafish]

The comp scene in australia definatly needs some work.

I dont see any problems with state level competition or other major comps like the great ANAWBS. The NSW state comp was run very well IMO, and the last time i entered compl like beerfest and the ANAWBS they were very profesional.

JMO but it seems to me the problms lie in the bed of the AABC.

I had my qualifing Roggenbier refused entry because it wasnt in their list of aplicable beers

ITS A BLOODY BEER ISNT IT!!!

In the future, even if i get another qualifing beer for the AABC, they wont get the satisfaction of trying the stuff cause in boycotting them !!!!!!!!

Screw them and their system!

AHHHHHHH...... its like breaking something when your angry.

Its acomplishes nothing but makes you feel better

cheers

That has to hurt Tony,

The styles in all state comps should be available in the nationals.

On a seperate note... to anti style brewers h34r:

A beer competition is about judging beer to a style. It is also about challenging a brewer to make a particular type of beer as per the guidelines.

Imagine a dog competition, the class being judged is Labradors. Then the judges are presented with a Labrador cross German Sheppard. There is no way the entry will recieve full marks or ribbons.

This doesn't mean that you need to brew to guidelines to have a good beer. And I strongly encorage brewing to your own creativity and ignoring the guidelines. Just don't be hurt when you enter your "kinda like a bla bla beer" into a competition and doesn't perform.