Homebrew Competitions How to Run One & How to Enter One

Transcription

1 The Beer Barons of Milwaukee Dedicated to the Education and Enjoyment of Fermented Malt Beverages Homebrew Competitions How to Run One & How to Enter One Bruce Buerger & Brian Joas NHC

2 Topics What We ve Done Set a Vision Competition Basic Must Haves Proven and Failed Practices Tips for Entering 2

3 What We ve Done Competition Midwinter 151* Stein Challenge * TBD NHC First Round 702 Schnapp Hans Cup 97 TBD MCAB Championship 204 We Had A Lot Of Help From Others * Heavy lifting done by others 3

4 Set a Vision Rule #1 What kind of a comp do you want to have? It s all about the planning folks. Two Things Bad Comps Have In Common Bad Planning Bad Organization Can t Plan or Get Organized If You Don t Know Where You re Going 4

5 Vision Drives. Entry Limit Number of Judges Needed Number of Managers & Support Staff Number of Judging Dates & Sessions Judging Facilities Budget $$$ 5

6 Our Comp s Vision Open to all BJCP categories. Each entry to be judged by two BJCP Recognized or higher judges. All Meads by two BJCP Mead Judges. Pro brewers & mead makers too. Mini-BoS to have at least one National Judge. BoS by Master or higher. No third chair judges. Affiliated with beer fest benefiting Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer. One beer ramped up by Milwaukee Brewing Company, one mead ramped up by Moonlight Meadery. Mid February. Open to all German style BJCP categories and specialty with a German base. Affiliated with German Fest, major weekend festival on Milwaukee lakefront, in late July. BJCP base beer style categories only. No specialty, spice herb vegetable, fruit, or sour beers accepted. Best of Show takes home the Schnapp Hans Cup & will be ramped up by the Delafield Brewhaus with winner participating. Early October. 6

7 Vision Drives. Entry Limit Judges & Staff # Managers Dates & Sessions* Location Budget Judges 35 Staff 5 4 days 9 sessions Clifford's & Lower Level of Revere s For 2 days Just over $8K Judges 20 Staff 5 4 days 7 sessions Private Residence, Keggles, & Summerfest Stage Just over $2K Judges 20 Staff 5 2 days 5 sessions Delafield Brew Haus Just over $2K * Includes Best of Show 7

8 Must Have Five Managers Roles Coordinator Head Judge Head Steward Cellar Master Office Manager How We Do It. Mostly.. Register the comp, manage internal & external communication, set the schedule, get sponsors, get drop off locations, secure facility, schedule food, print labels, make sure everything is getting done, keep the peace, and try not to wig out. Manage budget & report comp results. Recruit & schedule judges, create judging categories & schedule to sessions, create pull sheets, source cups & crackers, maintain judging pace (good/bad cop), BoS setup, and tally BJCP judge points. Recruit & schedule stewards, source & coordinate judging supplies, and set table layout. Coordinate printing of all judging forms. Maintain judging pace (good/bad cop) and coordinate turning of the tables. Day of issue resolution and Steward BoS round. Coordinate & conduct entry processing, receive entries, transport entries to judging locations, and coordinate entry cooling. Manage pulling of entries, pull BoS flight, dispose of bottles & beer that is no longer needed. Recruit & schedule staff. Coordinate auditing of score sheets and stuffing of score sheets into mailing envelopes as judging sessions are completed. Prep awards and mail out score sheets. 8

9 Must Have Judges Registered BJCP Competitions in US & Canada, 29 others globally Source: BJCP 9

10 Must Have Judges Registered BJCP Competitions in US, Canada, and Mexico. Approximately 4,100 Active Judges Source: BJCP 10

11 Must Have Judges Australia 15 in in Active Judges South America 0 in in Active Judges Europe 0 in in Active Judges Source: BJCP 11

12 Must Have Judges Japan 1 in in Active Judge South Africa 2 in in Active Judges Source: BJCP 12

13 What Judges Consider Is the comp ran well? Have I had fun at the comp before? Who else is going? What is travel going to be like? What else could I be doing with the time? - Bottom Line - There are plenty of comps to choose from, why go to yours? 13

14 Homebrew Comp, BJCP Training Schedule, Some Festivals (Actual Dates Might Vary) January 3, 2014 BJCP Flaws / Troubleshooting January 17, 2014 BJCP Style Analysis February 28, 2014 BJCP Style Analysis February 7, 2014 BJCP Style Analysis March 14, 2014 BJCP Style Analysis April 11, 2014 BJCP Style Analysis March 28, 2014 BJCP Style Analysis April 25, 2014 BJCP Exam Prep May 10, 2014 BJCP Exam May 10, 2014 WI State Fair Competition June 7, 2014 Barons World of Beer Festival July 26, 2014 German Fest Stein Challenge October 18, 2014 BJCP Ingredients September 20, 2014 Analyzing Beer October 18, 2014 BJCP Exam November 8, 2014 BJCP Process December 6, 2014 BJCP Recipe Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec January 25, 2014 Upper Mississippi Mash Out March 15, 2014 Drunk Monk Challenge April 18, 2014 First Round Chicago February 18, February 22, 2014 Midwinter Judging Week Apr 26, 2014 MCAB Championship April 18, 2014 First Round Twin Cities July 19, 2014 Firkin Fest June 10, June 14, 2014 NHC Grand Rapids August 9, 2014 Great Taste of the Midwest September 6, 2014 Barons Picnic September 6, 2014 Schooner October 11, 2014 Schnapp Hans Cup September 13, 2014 Great Lakes Brew Fest Does not include Baron monthly meetings, planning meetings, holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries. November 8, 2014 Land of Muddy Waters TBD November 8, 2014 Badger Brew Off 14

15 Must Have - Judges Small flights 6 to 8 max. Offer 3 flights a day 1.5 Judging Points! Flex scheduling. Come early, come late. Stay on schedule. Don t drag out day. Good food & hospitality beer. Good speakers & workshops. Good night time activities. Labels Judge name & Entry info. Freebies! 15

16 Must Have - Judges Number of Judges & Entries Allowed Should Go Hand in Hand. Don t burn out judges. Put some thought into scheduling flights! Mornings meads, ciders, stout, light lager, pilsners. Mid day browns, Scottish, pale ales, Belgians. Late IPA, SHV, specialty, smoked, fruit, strong ales. 16

17 Vision Eight to Six Months In Advance Management Team Dates Initial Budget Location Logo 17

18 Three to Four Months in Advance Register with BJCP Website & social media Posters & cards for homebrew shops blasts Forum blasts Initial speaker list Glassware design & order Hotel blocks Awards 18

19 One Month Before Registration Opens Session schedule Speaker schedule Sponsors Drop off locations Drop off location pickup schedule Menu Raffle items Ramp Ups Sorting schedule Judging blast Entry cooling 19

20 Registration Opens Second blast Second forum posts Entrant questions & issues Printing Sorting Entry transportation Cups, crackers, table runners, dump buckets 20

21 Competition Judging EXECUTE THE PLAN Problems or Issues Address them and note for next year. Don t repeat the same mistake twice. 21

22 Post Judging Don t drop the ball at the end Post winners immediately & entrants Mail out score sheets and awards within 5 business days Report results to BJCP within 5 business days Note issues for next year Pay bills promptly Sponsor invoices & thank you notes Google yourself. See what others are saying! 22

23 Proven Practices Four week registration window max Sort entries as they come in Labels for everything (bottles, mailing, judge name, entry) Early weeknight judging sessions Color code forms Third bottle for ramp up / pro am categories 23

24 Proven Practices Record scores & winners in system as score sheets come in File score sheets into mailing envelopes as they come in. Label with entrant name & # of entries on front and lip of envelope Pull BoS bottles after each session BoS grid placemat with labels Try new ideas out on a small scale 24

25 Proven Practices Entry Sorting Touch entries as little as possible Set up cases for each BJCP category Number dot labels for neck and cap of each bottle. Barcode for entry label. Entry processing team 3 people 1. Unpackage 2. Apply labels 3.Put in case 25

26 Proven Practices Entry Sorting Strip entry label off one bottle entry bottle Leave entry label on one bottle BoS bottle Store bottles side by side in case Pull bottles for flights at judging using pull sheets. Only cellar master has access. 26

27 Tools & Tricks 27

28 Tools & Tricks 28

29 Failed Practices Raffles timing issues & frustration points Four judging sessions in a day Overthinking entry sorting Too many stewards & volunteers Custom score sheet to some extent Weather related have contingencies Keep people on site for events Ruled out using glass and bio-degradable 29

30 Tips For Entering Not cheating presentation, this simple Send early enough. Don t wait. What style? BJCP guidelines Package correctly Bubble wrap around each bottle Absorbent material around inside of box Bubble wrap around inside of box Newspaper between the bottles Don t over stuff 30

31 Questions 31