Michigan State Fair Home Brew Competition

	2007 Michigan State Fair Home Brewing Competition
From 324 entries in fifteen beer-only categories in 2004, the Michigan State Fair Home Brewing Competition has grown to 569 entries in all 28 beer, cider and mead categories in 2006, making it one of the largest competitions in the country. We expect even more entries this year. This competition is becoming an enormous undertaking and would be impossible without the support of our sponsors, judges, stewards, and volunteers, whose enthusiasm and hard work are responsible for its success. Please be courteous to those who volunteer their time and talent by reading following the directions completely. • We are adding category 29 – New Entrants – to the competition. This is to encourage broader participation from the home brewing community. This category will be open to those who have never entered the Mi State Fair competition before. Entrants will select one of their creations from any of the 28 BJCP categories to be judged to style against other new entrants in a format similar to a Best of Show. • Due to the large numbers of ciders and meads we received last year, we are adding a Best of Show for ciders and meads, in addition to the Best of Show for beer. • In order to continue to drag the competition into the information age, further encourage on line entry, and save on postage we will provide manual entry forms upon request only. • Due to the logistical difficulties of handling well over 1000 bottles of beer, we are restricting the entries to 10-22 oz bottles. We will still be as lenient as possible with the types of bottles, but we can no longer accept the big two liters and 750 ml bottles we got last year. Part 1 – How to Enter this Competition Who is eligible to enter? Any Michigan made, non-commercial, home produced beer, cider or mead is eligible. Entries may not be submitted in the name of another person. An entrant is defined as the one or more people submitting an entry that had an active role in brewing the entry. An entrant may not be an entire brew club. How much is required to enter? Each entry must consist of two (2) bottles of between 10 and 22 oz from a single batch of beer, with no labels or identifying marks. Caps with any markings must be blackened with a marker. Commercially available bottles from widely distributed beers are acceptable. Unique bottles will only be allowed at the discretion of the Competition Organizer. Which category should I enter? Enter your beer in the category and subcategory where you feel it will perform the best. The official style guidelines for this competition are the current (2004) Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Beer Style Guidelines. They can be found on the BJCP Website at http://www.bjcp.org/ . You may enter as many categories and subcategories as you like, but no member of an entrant (as defined above) may submit another entry of the same subcategory, whether as an individual entrant, a member of the same entrant, or a member of another entrant. For categories 20 (fruit beer), 21 (Spice/Herb/Veg), 22 (Smoke and wood aged), and 23 (specialty), entrants MUST specify both the fruit, flavorings, special ingredients used AND the underlying beer style. For meads and ciders (categories 24 through 28), entrants MUST specify carbonation and sweetness level as well as special ingredients. Please see http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/mead.html and http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/cider.html for more information on how to provide this information. Failure to list the additional information will result in disqualification. For category 29 (New Entrants), entrants must have never before participated in the Michigan State Fair Home Brewing competition. Qualified entrants may select their best beer to be judged to style. A new entrant may enter the beer separately in the regular categories, but must supply two separate entries. For example, New Entrant John Q Brewer wants to enter his English IPA in the competition, he will enter it in category 14A and it will be judged against other IPAs. If he considers it his finest work and wants to enter it in the New Entrants category, He must submit another set of bottles entered in category 29 - New Entrant, with the underlying style identified as 14A – English IPA. These beers will be evaluated to determine which is closest to the corresponding BJCP style (like a BOS round). Due to software issues, if you choose to enter this category, you will need to send us an e mail or note attached to the entry specifying which style you wish the entry to be judged as. Note that this category will not be eligible for Best of Show. What are the entry fees? The on line entry fee is $13 for the first three entries and $3 for each additional entry. The manual entry fee is $15 for the first three entries and $5 for each additional entry. Make checks payable to Phil Kitkowski – Competition Director When and where are entries accepted? Entries will be accepted between July 27 and 5pm, August 11. These dates are firm and no late entries can be accepted. We are working to identify multiple drop off sites; please check msfhomebrew.org for more details. The main drop off point and shipping point will be Dragonmead Microbrewery. Shipping details are found below. How do I enter? • We will be using on line entry again this year. If you have internet access of any kind PLEASE use the on line entry. It is much easier to manage the registration process when the entries are made on line. There is a link to the registration wizard at msfhomebrew.org, or you can go to this url: http://www.HordsOfFun.Com/hbc.rw/regwiz.aspx?w=051B09340C (Please note: some have had problems with registration when using browsers other than Internet Explorer. If you have problems, try IE version 5.0 or greater.) If you absolutely insist on manual registration, there will be forms available at msfhomebrew.org, or you can request a copy from Phil Kitkowski (contact information below). In either case, fill out an entry form and bottle labels for each entry. • Print your labels and attach one to each bottle using a rubber band. DO NOT USE TAPE OR GLUE TO ATTACH LABELS. USE RUBBER BANDS ONLY!!! Please note that neither the Community Arts entry form nor the W9 form is required to enter the Home Brewing Competition. • A recipe must be submitted for each entry. PLEASE submit electronic versions if at all possible (Word format preferred). A Word Template will be available at msfhomebrew.org. If for some reason you insist upon making it very difficult for the organizers and insist on hand written recipes, a template will be available at msfhomebrew.org, or can be requested from the organizers. • If you decide to ship your entries, pack them carefully. Line the box with a plastic bag. DO NOT USE foam peanuts!!! Do NOT ship your entries via the US Postal Service. Address all shipments to: MSF07 c/o Dragonmead 14600 East 11 Mile Road Warren , MI 48089 Part 2 – All the Other Stuff • Judging • A panel of two judges will evaluate each entry according to the category in which it was entered. No judge will be assigned to judge a category for which they are entrants. First, Second, and Third place may be awarded in each category at the judges' discretion. Categories may be expanded or contracted for judging purposes. Expansion or contraction will be performed in order to provide the best possible competition at the discretion of the Competition Organizer. • All entrants will receive the score sheets with the judges' comments for their entries. • All entries become property of the Michigan State Fair Home Brewing Competition and will not be returned. • The first round of judging will take place on Sunday, August 26 th at Dragonmead in Warren . We will be holding a judging session prior to that to judge meads ciders, and possibly some of the specialty beer styles. The time and place for this is TBD. Those interested in participating can contact the Judge Director, Rex Halfpenny. We welcome people interested in judging or assisting as stewards. Even if you have never judged before, we will pair you with an experienced judge to help you learn. BJCP points will be awarded to those in the Beer Judge Certification Program. • All first place winners will advance to the Best of Show Round. The Best of Show Judging and Awards Presentation will take place on Saturday, September 1, in the Community Arts Exhibit Hall contest area of the Michigan State Fairgrounds. Details are still being worked out, so check back at http://msfhomebrew.org/ for more details on the time and place. • Judging results will be available for pick up immediately after the Best of Show Judging and Awards Presentation or mailed to all entrants after the final round judging. • Awards • The Best of Show winners will receive an engraved glass carboy and an additional sponsor prize. • The brewer with the most winning entries (1 st , 2 nd , or 3 rd ) will receive the Rex Halfpenny Award with prizes provided by Briess Malting Co. • The AHA sanctioned homebrew club with the most winning entries (1 st , 2 nd , or 3 rd ) will win the Michigan State Fair Home Brewing Club of the Year Award. • First Second and Third place winners will receive a ribbon and engraved glassware. Additional prizes will be provided by several sponsors. • Honorable Mention ribbons will be presented to beers scoring 38 points or higher, but not placing in the top three. • Winners will be posted on http://msfhomebrew.org/ • Winners will be announced and prizes will be distributed during an Awards Presentation immediately following the public Best of Show judging on Saturday, September 1 st . If you cannot attend the Awards Presentation but would like to pick up your prizes, please contact the Competition Organizer to arrange for pick up. • Entry Classification – In past years we have required the MSF classification as well as the BJCP style. Since we are now judging all categories as a separate MSF class, and since everyone will be entering electronically (right?!?), this will no longer be required. There will still be a four digit classification assigned but the organizers will sort it electronically. • Contact Information – Please direct questions regarding entries, styles, etc to the competition organizers Phil Kitkowski , Competition Organizer (248) 735 5596 msf.homebrew@gmail.com Rex Halfpenny, Judge Director (248) 628 6584 mibeerguyd@aol.com Kevin Kutskill, Registrar msf.registrar@gmail.com This competition is sanctioned by the BJCP competition program American Homebrewers Association http://www.bertown.org/ The Beer Judge Certification Program http://www.bjcp.org/
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