Search the American Homebrewer's Association website for all registered and official competitions. Here are my four easy steps on how to get your beers in the hands of certified judges. Interested in entering a homebrew competition? The more feedback on my beers that I can get, the better. Along with my local Parkway Tavern ProAm that I had great success with, I entered three others: National Homebrewers' Competition, Fort George Homebrewers' Dinner, and the joint Puget Sound ProAm/Cascade Brewers' Cup. Now, in the Spring of 2013, it was once again home brew competition season. Beer lovers and professional brewers from all over the country flock to Denver every fall specifically for this festival. This time, my beer, my creation, my passion, was going to be on tap for all to drink. A three day beer fest, I had attended this same fest for the past few years. In October of 2012, I headed to Denver, Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival. Going through a keg in less than an hour was nothing less of flattering. Again, friends from near and far came out to drink up Irish I Was. This meant that my beer had to be on tap for everyone to drink. One of the stipulations was that my beer had to be commercially available prior to September 1. Since I had medaled in a certified AHA ProAm competition, I was able to pair up with a commercial brewery in order to enter the Great American Beer Festival ProAm in Denver, Colorado. In August, I had my beer on tap up at American Brewing Company in Edmonds, WA. I received my medal in June, surrounded by close family and friends. The next few months presented a whirlwind of events. Here the beer that I was the least fond of was apparently, spot on for style, color, taste, and aroma for a true Irish Red Ale. What I didn't expect to see was my name listed as a silver medal winner in the English Ales Category. With a laid back flippant attitude, I dropped off my bottles and went on my way.Ī few weeks go by and I receive the expected email from the competition organizer listing out the winners. Not hoppy enough for my taste, I figured I might as well enter it to see what the judges had to say. ![]() While I was in serious beer love with my IPA, I could take or leave my Irish Red. I entered my "Irish I Was" Irish Red and "The Beast" IPA. This time, I went in with the notion that I was going to get great feedback from some highly trained palettes. In the Spring of 2012, I once again entered the same beer competition. Over the next year, I continued to home brew, testing out new recipes and pushing the envelope when it came to using unique ingredients. Gaining perspective on my competition results, I began to look into what it took to be a beer judge. ![]() Looking back, that Big Beer staple of my youth just doesn't sound that appealing anymore. Our preferences mature and develop over time. It is inevitable that someone isn't going to like something that I made. In doing so, we tend to take it personal if someone doesn't like one of our beers. Brewing is this type of art form, whose creators put themselves into every batch. ![]() Much like parenthood, the conception of the idea, the maturing of the product, and the anticipated delivery all create a deep emotional connection. Any type of artist out there puts themselves into each of their creations.
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