Club only Competitions 2012

Meetings, Beer Festivals, etc.
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alikocho
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Club only Competitions 2012

Post by alikocho »

A new initiative brought forward by the CBA(UK), based on a very successful model in the US.

Clubs select their best beer and send it to be judged by the host club. 3x500ml bottles (or equivalent). Entries are free. Any club affiliated to the CBA may enter. 1 entry per club per competition.

Beers are placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd, with points awarded to contribute to Club of the Year at the National Competition (1st=12 points, 2nd=8 points, 3rd=4 points).

March 2012: Bitters - Hosted by Bristol Brewing Circle - judging on 18 March, entries due by 15 March

June 2012: Wheat Beers - Host tbc

September 2012: India Pale Ale - judged at the National Homebrew Competition, 15 September.



Volunteer club for hosting in June?
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
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I_used_to_brew
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by I_used_to_brew »

alikocho wrote:A new initiative brought forward by the CBA(UK), based on a very successful model in the US.

Clubs select their best beer and send it to be judged by the host club. 3x500ml bottles (or equivalent). Entries are free. Any club affiliated to the CBA may enter beer. 1 entry per club per competition.
Out of interest, how does a club become affiliated to the CBA(UK)? Is there a published list of affiliated clubs, the CBA(UK) website is a bit too 'secret squirrel' and doesn't say much.
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MapperMatt
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by MapperMatt »

Hmm... my first thoughts are that this places the emphasis on the clubs to get organised and chose an entry for every competition.

Personally I think that 5 competitions in a year is too many to retain any element of 'fun' in the process.

It could make the club calendar quite cumbersome and to a degree it would become dictated by the CBA.... or in fact the CBA competition co-ordinator.

It would also mean that there is little time for other competitions such as last year's winter warmer comp. There is, after all only so much beer that a club can brew in a year.

That said, if there is no obligation to compete in all competitions then it might be worth participating in one of the events.

As for hosting, this would need to be agreed by all BCB members at a meeting and I will raise it tonight for discussion
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alikocho
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by alikocho »

MapperMatt wrote:
That said, if there is no obligation to compete in all competitions then it might be worth participating in one of the events.
There'd be no obligation whatsoever for clubs to compete in any or even all of the competitions.

And the calendar could be cut, and in fact has been to three.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
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MapperMatt
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by MapperMatt »

Three would be more manageable and could tie in better with club mini-comps:
I am thinking that a BCB mini-comp could be used to select the entries to however many we decide to participate in.
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alikocho
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by alikocho »

MapperMatt wrote:Three would be more manageable and could tie in better with club mini-comps:
I am thinking that a BCB mini-comp could be used to select the entries to however many we decide to participate in.
I think you're right, hence the cut down numbers. Bitters for March could work well as a BCB mini-comp for selection, then judging against other club's entries two weeks later.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
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alikocho
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by alikocho »

Trunky wrote:
alikocho wrote:A new initiative brought forward by the CBA(UK), based on a very successful model in the US.

Clubs select their best beer and send it to be judged by the host club. 3x500ml bottles (or equivalent). Entries are free. Any club affiliated to the CBA may enter beer. 1 entry per club per competition.
Out of interest, how does a club become affiliated to the CBA(UK)? Is there a published list of affiliated clubs, the CBA(UK) website is a bit too 'secret squirrel' and doesn't say much.
Pretty simple - they tell the CBA that they exist and wish to affiliate. The website for local groups needs some updating, but the list in Brewers Contact is fairly up to date.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
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I_used_to_brew
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by I_used_to_brew »

I was trying to determine how many potential entries there were. The information on which clubs are affiliated isn't freely available so difficult to say whether there are 3 or 30 potential entries. Hence difficult for a club to make a decision on hosting or not.

Saying 'it's in brewers contact' is of no use unless you are a member of CBA(UK) and have access to it.
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alikocho
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by alikocho »

Trunky wrote:I was trying to determine how many potential entries there were. The information on which clubs are affiliated isn't freely available so difficult to say whether there are 3 or 30 potential entries. Hence difficult for a club to make a decision on hosting or not.

Saying 'it's in brewers contact' is of no use unless you are a member of CBA(UK) and have access to it.
Fair comment, and something that needs to be rectified. This initiative might breathe some life into making the information more accessible.

Realistically, there are probably a dozen or so active groups, but I doubt all would enter every competition (one might expect 8 entries or so). There are 2 clubs in Bristol, 2 in London, one in Oxford, Cambridge, Devon, Hampshire, Midlands CBA, Northern CBA, Scottish CBA, Shed Brewers in East Anglia. There may be others that appear over time, but these are the most active of them.
Ali

BJCP National Judge
BJCP Assistant Regional Director (North-East/Europe)
American Homebrewers' Association International Subcommittee
Organizer, National Homebrew Competition
CBA UK Competition and Training Coordinator

http://serenbrewing.com
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I_used_to_brew
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Re: Club only Competitions 2012

Post by I_used_to_brew »

As far as I can tell neither Bristol club was ever officially affiliated to the CBA and nobody quite knows how the CBA(UK) is going to work. I know of a few people who have cancelled direct debts whilst they wait and see.

On that basis restricting it to affiliated clubs might be a bad move, perhaps allowing all brewing groups to participate in order to let them see how the new CBA works.

I'm certainly not yet convinced enough about the new CBA to join. Individual clubs would also need to meet and decide whether to affiliate or not, after deciding what benefits, if any, there are in doing so.

This could be a good opportunity to promote the new CBA, but there needs to be some clear information on what the benefits to members of affiliated clubs are (if any), otherwise it's just a clubname on a list somewhere. It also might just be too early in the development of the new CBA to try this out.
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