Nsw Amateur Brewing Competition

[Jay Cee]

If you place do you get into Nationals?

Yes, you are correct. More info & entry form available at the following link:

http://www.aabc.org.au/

Good Luck !

 

[Brend0]

Placing (1st, 2nd or 3rd) in any category at your State Qualifying Competition qualifies entrant to submit an entry, in the same category, at AABC 2012.


I am all out of stout, and that is what I qualified in...

 

[mikk]

Hey Michael,

If you're interesting if having your "award winning" beer(s) on show at the Bitter & Twisted in November let us know. We'll have a stand there again this year and more than happy to have some more great beers on show!

FOR SURE! I'm meant to be working that weekend, but will see what i can do. Will PM you with my details so you can let me know what the plan is...
Thanks for that.

 

[drmush]

At present I am in the UK visiting a few friends and 'rellies', so had dropped off several entries at Mark's home brew in Newcastle before leaving. A couple of days ago I was in London and called into a pub in Drury Lane and tried a wheat beer...I said to my wife I reckon my wheatie is almost up there with this one. She had a sip and said don't think so, this has more banana flavour and is not as thick as yours. To my delight I discovered the next day that my wheatie had taken first place...Yoohoo...I have been giving her c**p ever since..It has taken me four years to get from un-drinkable to 1st place in this category...so I am stoked. Many thanks to all the organisers and judges.

Cheers

Geoff

 

[barls]

are full results going to be posted with scores anytime soon. just wanted to see how my beers scored in comparison.

 

[Jay Cee]

Any answer to the post above ? It's been two and a half weeks since the event was to have officially concluded, and there's no full results, nor scoresheets been dispatched.

By comparison, full results for Castle Hill were wrapped up on the same day. Is there a problem with something on the HUB side of things ?

 

[bigfridge]

Any answer to the post above ?

If you would like to contact the organisers then you should use the details provided on the entry form as not may of them visit AHB these days.

It's been two and a half weeks since the event was to have officially concluded, and there's no full results, nor scoresheets been dispatched.

By comparison, full results for Castle Hill were wrapped up on the same day. Is there a problem with something on the HUB side of things ?

Castle Hill had "190 entries all judged in just under a day and a half" thanks to probably having a dozen Sydney judges at a guess ?

NSW comp had 320 entries judged over 5 session due to only having 4 sydney judges/stewards.

Judging was completed a week ago, with all scoresheets sorted into addressed envelopes ready for mailing - certificates being printed this week and prize situation being double chcked due to complaints from last year.

Some competitors have now claimed that they paid the wrong amount and would like a refund, so all envelopes need to be opened to check who paid $10 so that the $3 refund can be organised before they are posted back. This has all delayed the finalisation of the comp. I was able to take a week's leave from work to help with the competition, but when it extended into a second week I had worrk and travel committments that only allow things to be finalised at weekends.

There have been many offers of asitance from the local brewing community, but help is most needed on the day to prevent clerical errors from occuring.

I can assure you that everyone associated with the comp has been doing their best and can only appologise if this has not been good enough.

 

[piraterum]

If you would like to contact the organisers then you should use the details provided on the entry form as not may of them visit AHB these days.


Castle Hill had "190 entries all judged in just under a day and a half" thanks to probably having a dozen Sydney judges at a guess ?

NSW comp had 320 entries judged over 5 session due to only having 4 sydney judges/stewards.

Judging was completed a week ago, with all scoresheets sorted into addressed envelopes ready for mailing - certificates being printed this week and prize situation being double chcked due to complaints from last year.

Some competitors have now claimed that they paid the wrong amount and would like a refund, so all envelopes need to be opened to check who paid $10 so that the $3 refund can be organised before they are posted back. This has all delayed the finalisation of the comp. I was able to take a week's leave from work to help with the competition, but when it extended into a second week I had worrk and travel committments that only allow things to be finalised at weekends.

There have been many offers of asitance from the local brewing community, but help is most needed on the day to prevent clerical errors from occuring.

I can assure you that everyone associated with the comp has been doing their best and can only appologise if this has not been good enough.

Squabbling over $3 FFS

I reckon this should be pooled to shout a few beers for the judges!

Top work fellas, seems alot of people forget this event is run by people volunteering their own time. Often taking time out of work and other commitments and travelling at their own expense to make this event possible. A bit of appreciation wouldn't go astray! :angry:

 

[black_labb]

By the sounds of things the judges had enough beer already between the 4 of them!

 

[barls]

NSW comp had 320 entries judged over 5 session due to only having 4 sydney judges/stewards.

at least you should acknowledge one point here. people have things planned out well in advance these days. Announce the comp dates earlier than one month before and you might get more people show up. personally i would of come up for a drive but had booked flights to new zealand back in march for that date.

you keep making this point, how many judges for newcastle have we seen in Sydney the last couple of years for any of the other comps, including when the states was up here.
i can count them on one hand.
hell we even moved one of the case swaps up to port Stephen’s as the common complaint from those in newcastle was its too far to drive up for a day and we only got one newcastle person involved and that was mugus.

there ive said it now.

i do appreciate the effort put in by all involved but can we do it without the whinging and pointed comments.

 

[petesbrew]

For the organisers, judges & stewards it's a labour of love. They have personal lives, jobs & families as well, so hats off to them for arranging the time to fit in the comp for us to enter.
I know I was one of the ones checking every 15 minutes for the results to get posted. Can't help getting excited, can we?

Would've loved to help steward in this (despite the distance) and the Castle Hill comp, but I just couldn't do it this year with family commitments.
I'm now patiently looking forward to see the judges comments on my Belgian PA and where I may have gone wrong with my Altbier.

 

[lagerman]

I don't usually make any comments on the forum but regarding these competitions I feel I would like a say.
As most of you would know we ran a very successful comp. here in Bathurst for many years with great success.

We don't do it any more for many reasons. Getting judges to travel to Bathurst was getting difficult. I understand that these guys and gals take time off their work and travel and accommodate themselves usually at their own cost. Without ample judges it is hard to get thru all the beers. Once we got over 500 entries in Bathurst one year and had judges up until 2.00am in the morning judging. Also you do loose you taste buds after too many beer tastings.

One of the most annoying things for us was you would always get someone on line on Sunday afternoon wanting to know the results. I see it still happens. I know what is involved in getting results out and double checking scores and additions. My wife had a great team behind her to help do this and we were always proud of the fact that we would get results, judges sheets and prizes sent out within a week of the comp.

My point is that these guys from HUB and that run the Castle Hill comp. are doing there best so instead of being critical just give them a pat on the back for having a go. I do agree that the 2 comps. were too close but these guys have to do the best they can with work committments and the availability of judges. With the BJCP thing now there are more judges available but they are not always able to make a comp. for various reasons.

Onother factor is you have no idea how many entries you are going to get. In Bathurst we could get 100 entries or 500 (in 1 case). I think a good system now with the Internet would be to have entrants nominate what beers they are putting in say 3 weeks before closing date and then you will know how many beers you will have in plenty of time. Most brewers will have beer on hand for a comp. We all know the classes and styles for most comps. so you have plenty of time to make that particular beer you might want to enter.

From my experience most brewers are after feed back on their beers and are not "Trophy Hunters".

So maybe more time to notify when comps. are on and an early regristration of entries and that will give organizers some time to get prepared.

My rave is over and all the best to all winners and those who are running these comps.

The Bigfella

 

[MattC]

I think a good system now with the Internet would be to have entrants nominate what beers they are putting in say 3 weeks before closing date and then you will know how many beers you will have in plenty of time.

This is a good idea

 

[bigfridge]

at least you should acknowledge one point here. people have things planned out well in advance these days. Announce the comp dates earlier than one month before and you might get more people show up. personally i would of come up for a drive but had booked flights to new zealand back in march for that date.

Sorry but it is not up to me to acknowledge anything about how the AABC is organised.

For as long as I can remember, the AABC has been held in October - which means that the state qualifying events are held in August to give entrants the time to re-brew any qualifying entries.

So it was always going to be difficult for you to assist as you had decided back in March to be out of the country during the 'comp season'.

you keep making this point, how many judges for newcastle have we seen in Sydney the last couple of years for any of the other comps, including when the states was up here.
i can count them on one hand.

I don't know about other years but I have certainly bought a car full down to judge at Castle Hill.

But from my perspective - the Castle Hill comp is a regional comp run by the Sydney brewers to benefit the brewers of the Sydney area.

The NSW state comp was run by the Hunter Brewers to benefit the brewers from the whole of the state - hence they needed the support of the whole state.

Ask not what the state comp has done for you - ask what you can do for the state comp.

 

[Gough]

Sorry but it is not up to me to acknowledge anything about how the AABC is organised.

For as long as I can remember, the AABC has been held in October - which means that the state qualifying events are held in August to give entrants the time to re-brew any qualifying entries.

So it was always going to be difficult for you to assist as you had decided back in March to be out of the country during the 'comp season'.



I don't know about other years but I have certainly bought a car full down to judge at Castle Hill.

But from my perspective - the Castle Hill comp is a regional comp run by the Sydney brewers to benefit the brewers of the Sydney area.

The NSW state comp was run by the Hunter Brewers to benefit the brewers from the whole of the state - hence they needed the support of the whole state.

Ask not what the state comp has done for you - ask what you can do for the state comp.

Your last line says it all Dave.

The effort put into this comp is obviously misunderstood by you guys. Every panel of judges had at least one bjcp certified judge. This isn't easy to achieve. Feedback was long and detailed for each entrant. No judges were asked to judge inappropriate categories for their skillset. The BOS was held days later with a very experienced panel with fresh palates. Every possible thing was done to make this the best comp possible. Care is now being taken to ensure results etc aren't stuffed up. And yet you guys whinge...

Dave I understand why after so many years you aren't up for this again. You are a vital contributor to the home brew scene and have been for longer than I can remember. These guys and craft beer in Australia owe your efforts a lot. I hope these guys contribute half as much to the brew community as you some day.

I'll be back to help out again next year if needed but all this has left a sour taste.

Shawn Sherlock

Head Brewer
Murray's Craft Brewing Co.

 

[Keith the Beer Guy]

While I was composing a post I notice that Shawn has beat me to it.



Volunteer organisations rely on people to put their hand up and do work.


I want to express my appreciation to all the HUB team, Mort, Graheme, Kelly, Barry and to Dave in particular for their time & hard work over the competition & the days that have followed.


My constructive advice to those of you who want to enact change is to to put your hand up and volunteer to do some work. The whining does not do credit to the passion and hard work put in by so many members of the brewing community.



Keith Grice

Head Brewer
Hunter Beer Co.

 

[bigfridge]

Thanks Keith & Shawn for the kind words of support - but I realise that any critisism is the product of a lack of experience rather than any ill-feeling. ... more to be pitied than despised ... as PM Paul Keating yelled at Andrew Peacock.

We have tried to run a quality comp, focussing on accuracy and feedback.

One aspect we are particularly proud of is the Beer of Show evaluation where 2 BJCP Certified Professional brewers (Shawn and Keith) and an internationally qualified professional brewer who trains other brewers in flavour analysis (Geoff) spent 2 hours tasting and debating the merits of all the individual category winners to arrive at the eventual Champion beer. This takes a lot more effort than just taking the beer with the highiest score, but is well known to produce a far fairer result given the spread of scores assigned by the different judging panels.

He is too modest to mention it, but we finished around 8pm and Shawn had to be up and brewing at 4am the next morning - all for the warm glow of helping the Home Brewing community.

Anyway we are in the final stage of this month long journey so everyone should be very happy soon.

Dave

 

[Jay Cee]

Good God, talk about an over-reaction! People are enquiring about the full results, there is no crime in that ! We are told time & again of the great sacrifices Bigfridge has made (by Bigfridge himself) and praise has been stated accordingly across many pages. Trying to assign blame for clerical delays on another city's judges non-attendance at short notice is poor form, and the woeful defensiveness does no justice to the future of the NSW amateur brewing.

Clearly those involved are doing what they can with present resources available, but you cannot begrudge entrants their anticipation.

Sour taste indeed, but maybe not from the same glass that you guys are drinking from.

 

[Gough]

Fair enough, life's too short...

I hope you did well in the comp and that you are happy when you receive your certificates etc. We put the effort in for what it's worth and I think those who did well at this comp should be very happy with their results. They earned them.

Definitely enough input on this from me. I stand 100% by my earlier post, Dave, and the efforts of the HUB boys.

Cheers and proudly 'regional' Beers,

Shawn

 

[Weizguy]

I'd like to add my input to the bitch-fest but can't be bothered, other than to state that I'm glad I was part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Cheers to HUB, however slow and shabby we may appear to the rest of the state, we have big hearts and broad shoulders.