Homebrew Competition Update: Electronic Registration

The competition is now open. Please visit this contest update for the competition link and information on how to enter.  

Judging last year's competition at Vivant

By Greg Johnson

This year marks year ten of Siciliano's annual homebrew competition. First off, I want to thank everyone who has participated in past contests, whether as entrants, judges, and/or stewards. The event would not be the success it is without all of you.

This is my 4th year overseeing this event and, as in every other year, we are working to refine the processes of entry submission and entry judging in order to provide the best possible feedback for our competition entrants. This year, thanks to our friend Dan Frechette from the Kuhnhenn Guild of Brewer's (KGB), we will be using the Beers To Fear online software for entry registration. We will begin accepting entries on Monday, March 25th and will stop on Sunday, April 14th, or once we've reached a total of 250 entries (more on this below). More information about the online entry format will be detailed as we near March 25th, including the website URL, directions on how to enter your beer, and label printing, which this website will fully facilitate.

The contest this year will be capped at 250 entries, with one entry per person, so that the judging load remains manageable. If we were to allow more than 250 entries, the amount of time we would need to judge the beers would increase significantly. Increased judging time means asking our volunteer judges and stewards to take more time out of their weekends than they already so graciously give us. So to help provide the best experience for our judges and ultimately provide the best possible feedback for our participants, we have chosen to keep the competition on the smaller side. There are other, larger competitions in the state that we help sponsor throughout the year for anyone looking to receive more feedback on their beer, namely the Michigan Beer Cup and Homebrew at the World Expo of Beers.

Important points for the 10th Annual Homebrew Competition:

• 1 entry per person
• 250 entry cap (NEW!)
• Entries accepted March 25th – April 14th (or until 250 entries is reached)
• $5 per entry, cash or check only
• BJCP Style Guidelines for categories 1-23 will be used
• Beer submission & bottle label printing will be web based (NEW!)

Good luck to all who enter!