The Connecticut Homebrew Club Competition is back for 2021*
*= if the world isn’t burning from the Galactic Federation wiping out what’s left of our species.
2020 sucked the life out of a lot of stuff, including our fledgling comp, but we’re determined to bring it back for 2021. Read on for more info!
2019 Homebrew Club Competition Winner
1st. Paul Hayslett – Baltic Porter – Underground Brewers of Connecticut
2020 Homebrew Club Competition Winner
COVID-19
Competition Information:
The Connecticut Homebrew Club Competition will take place on Sunday, March 28, 2021 at New England Brewing Company in Woodbridge, CT.
The goal of this competition is to bring Connecticut-based homebrew clubs together in a fun way. We are limiting styles by design to keep things simple yet engaging. Each participating club should put forth the top 3 beers, as they see fit, for entrance into the Competition (full rules below).
This is a BJCP sanctioned competition. All entrants must be homebrewers who are members of an AHA-recognized homebrew club based in the state of Connecticut (hence the name of the comp). The competition entries are limited to BJCP (2015) Categories 4 & 5, and their respective substyles. Please, no wood-aged, fruited, spiced or vegetable versions, or mixed fermentations will be accepted.
As we did in the first year, we are recruiting BJCP-ranked (preference) and novice judges, as well as stewards. Judging will take place in the morning at New England Brewing Company. Due to the pandemic and uncertainty around that, and in accordance with current State of CT guidelines, we are not currently planning any sort of awards party. It is what it is, but we’ll get winners their prizes and such (see below for prize sponsors). Please contact organizer to volunteer.
The cost of entry is a flat fee of $20.00 per club, which covers up to the three entries being judged.
Rules and guidelines:
Each club to hold its own initial judging to identify their top 3 entries to submit to the Club-Only challenge. Each club will contact Organizer to declare the club name, and details for each of up to three entries including brewer(s) name and BJCP style category. Payment must be made by PayPal (brewhavenct@gmail.com) no later than March 13, 2021, or entries will be forfeited.
Entries must be dropped off at to the organizer or a drop location no later than Friday, March 26, 2021 by 6:00pm EST. We WILL NOT accept entries the day of the competition. Seriously, just don’t. Drop locations are:
Andy O’s house, 138 Lawncrest Road in New Haven (right off exit 59 from the Merritt, about a mile from NEBCO- convenient!)
Brew and Wine Hobby, 12 Cedar Street, East Hartford, CT
Please submit two (2), 10-16 ounce bottles per entry. All identifiable caps, markings, etc. should be blacked out or removed. Bottles must be labeled using the BJCP label form: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/SCP_BottleID.pdf
All brewers must be a member of a homebrew club based in Connecticut and registered on the AHA website. No entries may be brewed professionally and/or at a facility such as a brew on premise.
Each club must declare the total number entries, up to three (3), by March 15, 2021 to the organizer.
If you cannot get entries to one of the drop locations, email or call the organizer, who may be influenced to meet you somewhere if there’s beers involved. Let me repeat: Entries may not be brought the day of competition. Seriously, dealing with that sucks, so we’re just not doing that again.
Judging will be via BJCP guidelines on BJCP score sheets (new version). Judges will be recruited via the BJCP website and electronic notifications. This is a sanctioned competition so all judges and stewards will be awarded points appropriately. **We have all the judges we need, though happy to take on one more steward.
We’re going to rely on the honor system that if your beer is in the final round, you won’t sign up to judge.
Best of show will earn the Connecticut Homebrew Competition Cup for that year. Winning club promises to return the cup prior to the next year’s competition. There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awarded to the individual brewers. Of course everyone who enters is a winner because we all share in the sacred art of manufacturing tax-free booze!
Contact:
Organizer is Andy Orefice, treasurer, Brew Haven. Email me at andyorefice@gmail.com or call at 203.640.5502
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors!
We got some seriously kickass prizes and/or volunteer shwag from these awesome companies: