Castle Hill and NSW State Competition 2013

[Stuster]

So, the sponsors have turned up with pockets full of cash, and I've finally got some time to get together all the information for this competition.

This year the Castle Hill and Hills District Homebrew Competition will double as the NSW State Competition. It will be held on Saturday 24th and Sundy 25th August at the Castle Hill showground.

There will be the 18 AABC categories plus categories for meads and ciders (some entrants may be happy, some judges may be sad with that last bit!).

Our kind sponsors (who have promised us some great prizes) are:
ESB
The Brew Shop
Dave's Home Brew
Absolute Homebrew
Mark's Home Brew
Rocks Brewing Co
White Labs

All the information is in the PDF but just to point out a few things.

Judges and stewards are essential for getting the beers scored and feedback given to the entrants. We need as many judges and stewards as possible to make sure those who do turn up don't work like slaves, and that the feedback to entrants is as good as it can be. Please let me know as soon as possible if you can come along to help out. BJCP judges are preferred of course, but also those in the industry or who have experience.

It's also a great event to come along to even if you are new to the hobby. You can learn quite a bit by listening to the judges and having a quick sip of the beers they are judging. Even if you can only come for half a day, that would be great. We provide lunch. And beer of course. :beerbang:

(BTW, if you have done one of the BJCP courses I have run in the last few years, I am expecting you to pay me back by turning up at some point over this weekend - or have a good reason not to. The course was free - it's time to pay that back now. :lol: )

Also, I have included an online entry form for the comp. This is in addition to the paper version but this should help to reduce the admin load at our end, and more importantly make sure all the information about you and your beers is correct. Sometimes entry forms are incorrect, and addresses and names can be hard to read. This should help to avoid issues around that. The link to that is in the information.

I hope I have everything correct and in enough detail but do let me know here or by email at [email protected] if you need any more information or you are willing to be part of the competition.

View attachment Castle Hill and NSW Competition Information 2013.pdf

 

[Dan Pratt]

 

[Barry]

Just to clarify entry rules the AABC states the following:

D2. Entries. No more than two entries are allowed from each entrant in any one Category.
Within this rule, no more than one entry is allowed in any one style. (This rule would
normally be enforced in State/Territory Qualifying Championships.)

This means that you can enter only one entry for each style and a maximum of two entries for each category.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks for that, a recent poster in another thread thought he could enter 3 per category.

Any overall limits or is it carpet bombing territory

Just asking, my carpet has retired.

 

[Stuster]

Carpet bombing it is. I was initially thinking it would be 3 per category, but that was the rule I put in with the Castle Hill comp. With the state, the national rules of 2 per category apply. And with that many categories, 3 per category could get a bit silly. So 2 per category, and only 1 in each individual style.

Minor mistake in the flyer fixed up now (or perhaps first one fixed!).


View attachment NSW Castle Hill 2013 Competition Flyer.pdf

 

[Bribie G]

When the entries have been received and registered, do they all go into cold storage until the day?

Good to know for bottle conditioning "scheduling" as all mine will be primed, sold my CPBF a couple of years ago.

 

[barls]

room temp storage till the day before i think mate, if last years anything to go by.

 

[Stuster]

Barls is right. The showground is so well used there is no way we can get access to the fridges there until the day before. Bottles will be stored out of the light in crates on the concrete floors of the show sheds until then. Would be good if we could store them in fridges, but at least with it being held in August they should stay pretty cold until the day.

 

[citizensnips]

May be a dumb question but can this event be entered by those outside NSW, even though if they win they may not be able to send them to the nationals?? Just interested to know

 

[waggastew]

I submitted my entries last year at Asquith HB and I believe they kept them in a fridge. At least thats where they got put when I dropped by. They are however not a drop off point this year.

I too am trying to plan my storage strategy etc. Last year my AIPA got 3rd at NSW due to diacetyl but sitting around at RT for a month or two longer cleaned it up and it got 1st at the Nats. Given thats a hoppy style that should fade I probably should have stored it cold. Go figure!

This years AIPA entry is being bottled tomorrow. I figure 2-3 weeks for full carb, a few weeks to settle and comp time.

Stew

 

[Bribie G]

Egad, Sir Edward22, dare ye suggest the crossing of the sealed off borders of our colonies, thus endangering the very marrow of our British Empire transplanted here to the Southern Climes? Shame ye rascal.

 

[waggastew]

The last time we let you Mexicans enter one of our comps you took the Winfield/NRL Cup home for a few seasons...............

 

[citizensnips]

My apologies, although because it was the Castle Hill competition before it became this years NSW states, thought it seemed like a reasonable question. Live and learn.

 

[EvilTwin]

So a completely noob question but in regards to competitions can you only submit All grain and partial grain homebrews ? Is it considered bad form to submit brews made from kits / cans ?

 

[barls]

enter away, theres some damn good kit beers out there

 

[petesbrew]

So a completely noob question but in regards to competitions can you only submit All grain and partial grain homebrews ? Is it considered bad form to submit brews made from kits / cans ?

Hell no, ET.
You'll find most comps are for all brewing methods, from Kit to All-grain.
Some comps are for all grain only, but they're always stated as such, say if the winner gets to be produced at a brewery.

You'll get back some judges notes, and while you think your beer is fantastic, they might write it off as crap. But sometimes you'll brew a winner and you'll leave other All grain beers for dead.
Part of the fun of coming last is to get a score lower than Barls.

 

[EvilTwin]

Hell no, ET.
You'll find most comps are for all brewing methods, from Kit to All-grain.
.
Part of the fun of coming last is to get a score lower than Barls.

Cool I'll go through my fridge and cellar and see what might be worthy of entering (I'm sure I could submit something that comes last) but I'd rather submit the ones I'm happier with

 

[Stuster]

May be a dumb question but can this event be entered by those outside NSW, even though if they win they may not be able to send them to the nationals?? Just interested to know

Usually we don't limit the Castle Hill competition but for the state competition the rules are that the entrants must be from the state. I am sorry to not let people get feedback on their beers, but we will probably be very hard pressed to get through all the entries we have from NSW folk, judges will probably have long days of judging to get through.

So please not out of state entries this year but we'd love to have your beers in our comp next year.

Stuart

 

[EvilTwin]

So being new to the idea of entering competitions - and not wanting to break the rules. If I have a Christmas Beer, but I also have a Chamomile Tea Infused Pilsner.

Do they both fall under the same style so can't be entered ? (the Vegetable/Spice/ etc style). I haven't even tasted the chamomile tea brew yet letting it condition a bit more (it might not even be worth it.)

 

[barls]

if they are both spiced beers go for that catagory, just make sure you list what the base style of the beer is.
for the christmas ale id go bjcp 21b or 18.3 aaba christmas/ winter specialty ales
as for the tea infused 18.2