Brew Wars!

[DrFaustus]

It's time to start seriously considering your entry to Brew Wars.

We'll be conducting a beer brewing competition this year at DC. As stated last year, all entries will be judged against the winning beers from the Great American Beer Festival. A list of the winning beers can be found here -

http://beertown.org/events/gabf/gabf06_winners.pdf

The winner of the contest will receive a glass carboy for brewing beer in. I'm going to have the DC logo etched in to the glass.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Brew Wars!

what do you think the merits would be of running this contest at the same time (and in the same place) as the Beer Cooling Contraption competition? my thoughts are as follows:

pro...

1. both events are linked by the beer theme
2. similar crowd for each... uniformity of interest and 21+ ages
3. my event consists of some stretches of downtime (while people calibrate and get ready, etc.) punctuated by brief moments of frenzy and energy (when a timed test run happens) this way we could draw everyone together, then allow the taste-testing to happen at a liesurely pace, while things perk up often in terms of either entries in the Brew Wars being announced/described for the crowd or a BCCC entrant doing a run

con...

1. perhaps you will not wish mix a high-class, connoisseur-focused event with a raucous melee that involves pabst blue ribbon at 90+ degree temperatures
2. the BCCC takes place at noon on friday... is that too early in the day for consumption of that much alcohol? (it's not for me, but i can't speak for your judges or bystanders) is that too early during con for your entrants to be present, accounted for, and ready to pour?

[Gadsden]

Re: Brew Wars!

Finally.. an event that would be right up my alley... except for the goddamn TSA rules about liquids. Any ideas on getting the brew there *unharmed*? (Keep in mind that 100F+ temps kill the brew.)

Deviant: One downside to mixing a brewfest with the cooling contest is that many homebrew beers do not taste right when cooled down like crazy. That opens a couple new doors...

1: Have a contest for accuracy on the cooling.. who can get this beer closest to 48F the quickest?

2: Wasn't there a breathalyzer contest last year? Maybe see how much one's BAC is raised after drinking a homebrew?

[russ]

Re: Brew Wars!

Someone should say something to Justabill and noid to see if they're planning on entering as well.

[DrFaustus]

Re: Brew Wars!

[QUOTE=Deviant Ollam;84633]what do you think the merits would be of running this contest at the same time (and in the same place) as the Beer Cooling Contraption competition? my thoughts are as follows:

I have no problems with this. I'm not suggesting we mix the two events as far as contestants go. I doubt anybody will want to subject their home brews to your machines.

I believe the final word on this goes to Russ. He is in charge of events, and therefore scheduling events as well.

[DrFaustus]

Re: Brew Wars!

It's time to remind everyone of Brew Wars again. The very first Brew Wars will happen this year at Defcon 15.

The rules are simple. Just bring twenty four ounces of your home brew to Defcon. A judging panel of three people, including myself, will drink and rate each brew. The beer will be rated on a scale of 1-10. Each beer will be judged in it's catergory. The standard of each category of beer is last year's winner of the Great American Beer Festival in the style you have entered. A list of those winning beers can be found at the URL below.

http://www.beertown.org/events/gabf/...medalists.aspx

The judges will be blind tasting the beers. The only information given to the judges will be what style of beer it is.

Judges will not be allowed to enter their own brews.

Judges have already been selected. All judges are were at the GABF and sampled all winning brews. Extensive tasting notes were taken at the time.

I have sourced a glass carboy for the winner. This carboy will be etched will a logo commemorating the event. If your beer is good enough, you could soon be brewing your next batch in a unique carboy.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Brew Wars!

a side by side with the BCCC would work well... but also there was a call that went out for events that could run during the ToxicBBQ. maybe it would work well there?

or, perhaps it would run well sort of between occasions... entrants show up at the BBQ with their brews, judges get to sample, rate, etc etc. then, the final winner could be announced and given some fanfare during the BCCC.

that's just another idea. perhaps kick it around with any possible participants who have expressed interest to you already... see if their schedules even bring them into town on thursday. also a valid concern to discuss with them is the fact that at the hotel they can keep brew properly cooled and stored in a controlled manner in their rooms, directly adjacent to the con space, while the park is exposed out in the elements... transport and temperature regulation of brew entries could prove more difficult out there.

[DrFaustus]

Re: Brew Wars!

a side by side with the BCCC would work well... but also there was a call that went out for events that could run during the ToxicBBQ. maybe it would work well there?

While beer and BBQ go well together, having it on a Thursday would limit other participants too much. I need to stick to Friday or later.

[Synapse]

Re: Brew Wars!

a side by side with the BCCC would work well... but also there was a call that went out for events that could run during the ToxicBBQ. maybe it would work well there?

or, perhaps it would run well sort of between occasions... entrants show up at the BBQ with their brews, judges get to sample, rate, etc etc. then, the final winner could be announced and given some fanfare during the BCCC.

that's just another idea. perhaps kick it around with any possible participants who have expressed interest to you already... see if their schedules even bring them into town on thursday. also a valid concern to discuss with them is the fact that at the hotel they can keep brew properly cooled and stored in a controlled manner in their rooms, directly adjacent to the con space, while the park is exposed out in the elements... transport and temperature regulation of brew entries could prove more difficult out there.

Yeah, the difficult part is going to be keeping the beer at the correct temperature.
Which is why a later day then Thursday would be decent, to give the beer more time for refridgeration.
The issue of transporting from here to NV, and having the beer get warm in the first place... is still in question.

[DrFaustus]

Re: Brew Wars!

Yeah, the difficult part is going to be keeping the beer at the correct temperature.
Which is why a later day then Thursday would be decent, to give the beer more time for refridgeration.
The issue of transporting from here to NV, and having the beer get warm in the first place... is still in question.

Yes. Refrigeration during transport may be the difference between winning and losing. That's one of the reasons I'm glad that I'm judging instead of competing!

[Pyr0]

Re: Brew Wars!

I love this contest.

[DrFaustus]

Re: Brew Wars!

I received the following advise from Rman. It may be of interest to you!

-

Just registered, so wont be able to post for a while.

I think the contest is a fantastic idea, I'm planning on bringing out a brew or two to throw my hat in the ring.

A lot of people seem to be concerned about keeping their brew cool and having a way to get it to the con so you might want to pass along this advice that I've received for getting samples to beer contests.

I would suggest doing it the way brewshops sell liquid yeast. Small UPS box, just agianst policy there not illegal so you dont have to deal with any issues if the box gets ripped open, brew along with a few gel ice packs, wrap in bubble wrap and have it sent to your hotel in Vegas. Should keep it well within the good beer temperature range if done right.

[DrFaustus]

Re: Brew Wars!

This is just a reminder!

We will be running this contest outside, by the EFF dunk tank, at noon on Friday.

We will be running it along side the beverage cooling contraption contest.

No, we will not be using the contraptions to cool your beer. I highly recommend you bring it at the temperature you want it to be judged at. I'd also recommend having it in some sort of container that will hold up to the heat of Las Vegas, at noon, in August!