Entering a homebrew contest

OK, you've made a decent batch of beer and you want to know how it compares to others. Do you want some feedback on what you have made? How can you make it better? Maybe you just like competition. All of these are good reason to enter a homebrew competition. You may say, "Hey now, what a good idea. How do I do that?" Keep reading and I will tell you.

First thing you have to do is make beer. Easy enough. You probably have some sitting around that you made recently. If you are fresh out... then time for a new batch anyway. Decide on a recipe and have at it. Most beer competitions are for beers brewed to style. Meaning you have to be trying to make something of a particular style (IPA, Schwarzbier, Tripel, Bavarian Wheat) and have the end result close to one of those styles. There are some competitions that allow fun categories or experimental beers. The Dixie Cup is one of the biggest that has a novelty category. The deal is this: they set guidelines and you make something that you feel fits. It is a lot of fun. I tend to like this category as I usually brew for me - not to a particular style. I will say I like the hops of this one and the malt of that one and then give it a shot and see what happens. I digress... As I was saying, first you need beer. So get brewing.

After you have a beer you are happy with, the next thing you need to do is find a contest to enter. Check out the events section of brew-monkey.com and pick one. I would start with a smaller contest just to get your feet wet. Some contests have a newbie category for those who have never entered a contest before. Of course you can enter in any contest you wish, but the smaller contests offer a better chance of taking home a ribbon/medal, as there are fewer entrants and well, less competition. Check out the website for the contest, are they accepting beers from the category you want to enter? Some contests are club only (only for those in homebrew clubs) and others are restricted to certain categories. Can you get the beer to them between the dates specified? Some stop taking entries about a month before the contest takes place.

Now that you have chosen the contest for your beer, you need to register. A number of the contests have on line registration. You can fill out the forms on line and print out the labels you need right there. Always check the instructions on the site for particulars. Generally, 2 or 3 bottles of each brew are required for submission. One bottle is for the preliminaries, the second is for the category contest and the third is for best of show if you happen to take first in your category.

Alright, you have your beer and you have chosen the contest, now what? You need to pick the required number of bottles and get them ready. The bottles should be filled to approximately 1 inch from the top. The bottles should be clean and free from labels (other than the one required for the contest) or bottle designs (lettering or graphics) and without distinguishing marks. The cap should also be free of any markings. If the cap has writing on it - use a black permanent marker or paint to cover it up. I have also be successful with fine grit sand paper and acetone in removing the writing. Silver or gold caps are what I have seen as recommended. Each bottle should have a bottle tag rubber banded to it. Do not use tape or glue or there is a good chance you will be disqualified. Some contests require additional documentation, so be sure to check that. You need to submit a check for the entries, typically between $5.00 and $8.00 per entry.

In order to get the beers where they are going, you need to ship them or hand deliver them to a specified location. Some contests specify a place or a few places where you can deliver the entries, or an address to ship to. Since is it illegal to ship beer via the United States Postal Service, you may use a different carrier. I have used FedEX Ground with decent results, but you may use UPS or other carrier of your choice. Get a box big enough to easily hold the entries plus packing material. Wrap each bottle in bubble wrap and line the box with it as well. Put the bottles in a plastic bag (garbage bags work well here) and place it in the box. Fill the box and the bag with packing styrofoam (aka peanuts). Seal the bag well. This is to keep any breakage contained as best as possible. I have had a broken shipment and one that never made it to the destination - some one had a party on me I guess. Be sure to enclose your check and any other documentation required. Seal the box, mark it fragile (not that it does anything, but it should make you feel better) and send it off. When you send it - the shipper may ask what the contents is. Samples for analysis works well, or use your judgment.

Now comes the hard part. Waiting. Check back on the contest website for results. Some contests are very good about posting results, others take a while. A few weeks later you should receive a package containing a medal/ribbon if you have won and your results. There are typically two judges per category, sometimes more. You will get two or more score sheets with comments back per entry. The comments are generally helpful, but I have seen some that are less helpful than others. Judges are encouraged not to put negative comments down, but hints and ways to improve your brew. I would suggest entering the same brew in several contests and comparing results.

There are different ways of scoring the entries. Some HBCs require a minimum score to be eligible for a certain place, while others rate you against the other in the category, regardless of a minimum score. Don't be discouraged if you do not win. That is not what it should be about. Learn from the comments and the experience and most of all, have fun. If you win, excellent - that is an added bonus.

Brew on, enter often and good luck.