Category: Competitions

We have to say a massive thanks to our own Brad, and his on-the-rise Left Barrel Brewing, for adding to the already impressive prize pool for the Winter Competition.

With just over two weeks till judging, don’t leave it too late to get your entries into the Competition Web Portal. Really, you want to win this one…

The Winter Competition web portal is now open for business.  You can check it out here.

If you registered on the site for the last competition then all your details should still be there, but if this is your first time using the portal then you will need to sign up.  As this competition is open judging, we do not need you to register as a judge, but we will need a few stewards, so if you are keen (and don’t want to judge), then please indicate this on you profile.

Please email competitions@sabrew.com if you have any difficulties with the portal.

SABC are pleased to invite all members to enter the upcoming Winter Competition.  This year we are brewing some good old English ales, befitting of the season, and also because you have to have a break from hops occasionally (some say).  Once again we will be running judging day in conjunction with the AGM, which will be announced soon, and all present will be encouraged to have a go at judging.  This is a way of giving those new to judging or with little experience a chance to sit alongside our more experienced judges and learn the process.

All the usual rules apply:

1. Entrants agree to be bound by the conditions of entry and competition rules.
2. Maximum of two entries per entrant per category.
3. Each entry is to be provided in single, clean bottle, not less than 500mL in capacity, or two, clean bottles each not less than 330mL in capacity.
4. Each entry is to be accompanied by an entry form attached to the bottle with a rubber band.
5. Entry fees are non-refundable.
6. Entries will not be returned to entrants.
7. Entries must have been brewed by the entrant.
8. Entries must not have been brewed on equipment that brews beer for commercial purposes.
9. Organisers shall not be held responsible for loss or damage to any entry, entry form, entry fee or other materials.
10. The top three places in each main category will be awarded points towards the SABC Brewer of the Year.
11. The major prize of a brew day at Little Bang Brewing will be awarded to the Beer of Show.
12. Closing dates for entries will be available on the entry website, which will go live not less than four weeks before the judging date.

So, without further delay, here are the categories for the competition (BJCP 2015).

1. British Bitter: Categories 11A, 11B, 11C
2. Pale Commonwealth Beer: Categories 12A, 12C (Note: 12B is excluded)
3. Brown British Beer: Categories 13A, 13B, 13C
4. Strong British Ales: Categories 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D

There’s plenty to choose from, so get brewing!

 

Thanks to The Wheaty, Beer Co, Gladfield Malts and Gigayeast, we had a swag of great prizes to hand out at last week’s meeting to the place-getters in the recent summer competition.  Without the support of great people like Jade at The Wheaty and Dermott from Beer Co, all we’d have for prizes would be the glory, and you can’t brew beer with glory…

Here are a few happy snaps from the night:

The score sheets have finally been uploaded to the competitions site.  Apologies for the delay, but work commitments have had to take priority lately.

Head over to comps.sabrew.com, log in to your account and you should be able to download a PDF of your score sheets.  Any hassles, just email competitions@sabrew.com

Cheers!

After finishing off the judging of the Summer Competition yesterday before the meeting, we were lucky enough to have Jade available amidst all the Fringe madness to give us a detailed rundown on the beers that were entered and also announce the winners of the main category.

So without further ado, here are the results:

Munich Helles:
1st place: Kieren Vercoe, 39.75 points
2nd place: Michael Handran-Smith, 38.13 points
3rd place: Nicky Thomas, 32.13 points

Other Categories:
1st place: Clint Fisher, 35.17 points (German Pils)
2nd place: Greg Wieder, 32.33 points (Dunkels Bock)
3rd place: Gary Waters, 26.17 points (Altbier)

Congratulations to all the place getters.  Kieren will be (once again) be brewing his beer on the Wheaty’s system later in the year, and the committee may well be discussing a handicap system for future competitions.  Prizes will be handed out at the March meeting, so if you have placed, be sure to be there to collect your loot!  The score sheets should be scanned and uploaded to the system by early next week, but there will be a follow up email to let you know when that has happened.

Our shiny new competition management website is now open for business.  Head over to comps.sabrew.com to submit your entries for the Summer Competiton. We have been beta testing the site for a while so hopefully any bugs have been ironed out, but if you encounter any problems please email us.

Here are the results  for this year’s Gawler Show (as yet unpublished by the organisers, so E&OE).  A good representation by our members, and congratulations to all that took part. The BOTY leaderboard should be updated in the next few days.

Wheat:
1. Lachlan Johnson (only entry)

Lagers:
1. Matt Wood
2. Dez Cook
3. Greg Wieder

Dark:
1. Michael Smith
2. Lachlan Johnson
3. Gary Waters

Pale:
1. Kieren Vercoe
2. Michael Smith
3. Gary Waters

Specialty:
1. Travis Campbell
2. Kieren Vercoe
3. Kieren Vercoe

Stout:
1. Gary Waters
2. Travis Campbell
3. Greg Wieder

SABSOSA is still looking for judges for this year’s competition.  You do not need to be an experienced judge to join in, but if you have an interest and some time available your help would be most welcome.  The details are:

10th and 11th September
9am till finish (usually around 1pm)
Lunch supplied
Holdfast Bay Bowling Club
583 Anzac Hwy, Glenelg North SA 5045

If you can help out, please contact Mike Leupold at mikeleupold@internode.on.net

 

After some technical issues, we’re happy to report that the score sheets for the winter comp are now available on the Compmaster website. Please let us know if you have any difficulties accessing them.

For those that entered the stout category, please note that the aggregate scores for that category have been calculated differently to the other categories due to a glitch.  The scores have all been checked manually and the placings (and indeed the scores within the category relative to each other) are consistent.  If you add the scores you got from the three judges, you will get a higher figure that the aggregate score on the website.  If you then divide by 4 and multiply by 3, you should get a matching figure.  This has happened because when entering the judge details, we ended up with a phantom fourth judge in the stouts category, which couldn’t be deleted.  The spreadsheet then expected four sheets per entry and calculated the totals as such.  If you are unsure about this or require further explanation, please get in touch.

We have certainly learned a few things from our first attempt using Compmaster, but on the whole it was a positive experience.  The site is under constant development, and we now have a good idea of what to look out for, so the next competition should be smoother.  If you have any specific feedback, please let us know.

The Winter Competition has been run and won, with a good number of members turning out to try their hand at judging.  The total number of entries across the four categories was 43, and the quality of beer entered was on the whole very high.  Here’s how it panned out:

Pale Ales:

1. Brendan Hennessy – British Golden Ale
2. Brendan Hennessy – Australian Sparkling Ale
3. Clint Fisher – Pale American Ale

 

India Pale Ales:

1. Kieren Vercoe – IPA
2. Gary Waters – English IPA
3. Tony Dichiera – IPA

 

Strong Ales:

1. Simon Rofe – Scottish Heavy
2. Lachlan Johnson – Scottish Heavy
3. Kieren Vercoe – Strong British Ale

 

Stouts:

1. Greg Wieder – Irish Stout (Tied on total points, and awarded on count back)
2. Brendan Hennessy – Irish Extra Stout
3. Brendan Hennessy – Irish Stout

Clearly, the floor was well and truly mopped by Brendan, who also took the Beer of Show prize. He has earned himself a brew day at Little Bang Brewing, where no doubt he’ll be doing some more floor mopping…

A huge thanks to our sponsors for coming up with some great prizes for this competition.  Grain and hops were provided by Beerbelly, grain by Country Brewer at Kilburn, gift vouchers by Country Brewer at Clovelly Park, and of course the brew day from Little Bang will no doubt be a hoot, knowing Ryan and Fil.  Thanks also to Ryan for coming along and judging the Beer of Show for us.

Score sheets will be scanned and emailed in the coming weeks, and the Brewer of the Year leaderboard should be updated in the next couple of days.