BN AHA CLUB OF THE YEAR!

[TampaBrew]

There are certain big clubs out there where some big players who don't live ANYWHERE near the club entered as that club in the past and won lots of awards doing so. I'm not going to name or names of clubs, but it happened and probably still happens. Until the AHA defines the rules governing club "radius", then rules is rules.

[TampaBrew]

I'd also like to add that in this day and age, with social networking, texting, facetime phone calls, fast shipping, internet radio, instant gratification, lightning fast internet all at our finger tips ... I am able to contact, keep in contact, get feedback, ship my beer, talk "face" to "face", share information, share recipes, get ideas, listen to professional brewer's advice, have conference calls over skype, talk to 100s of people at once in chat formats.

I have to say, I've been a member of my local club for years, but I have tried more beer and made more friends and gathered more info with the BN than the guys than my local club.

My local club is great but busy life issues make it tough to physically gather for me. I would miss months and months of meetings. That's not helping me or my beer and paying a due and never showing seems hardly like being in a club. but technically I AM in that club.

Tuning in on a Sunday night at my leisure seems to work better for me.

[SoCalBrewer]

CONGRATS to the ARMY!!! I was happy to be in the house for the announcement and I had to explain to the people at the table that were pissed and said that we are not a club. I pretty much told them the same thing Justin said in his speech we encourage for those that are fortunate to be in a club to represent their club over the BN. Same bitching no meetings, dues, and yada yada yada. By supporting the the BN those are like dues. We meet pretty much a weekly basis, and we have had club brews (community brew comps). So if you are unhappy just brew better beer than you can make a difference instead of sitting there whining. Congrats to everyone one that entered. Brew Strong and Brew Proud. See you guys in Seattle.

[Sgt_cerevisiae]

This has been an entertaining thread.

I appreciate the Gordon Strong response to him winning Ninkasi with blended beers: "Brew Better Beers"

Bring it strong, and brew better beer. Your club win.

I don't enter under the BN, as I am part of a small local club. My club doesn't vote for officers. We don't have dues. There aren't meeting minutes. Had we brewed better beer as judged in the blind tasting, we would have won club of the year. There is some weird logic that looks like 'my beer is just as good as your beer'. Sorry, it's obviously not.

The Fool

Being a member of The Fool's same small club; if we are required to have officers, dues, meeting minutes and a "board" to remain in contention for the AHA CotY, I doubt any of us would be motivated to play by those rules.

I entered under my local club, and really enjoy their camaraderie and the feedback they provide. I also donate monthly to the BN, and have done so for at least 1.5yrs now because the information and resources the BN have opened up to me have done more for the quality of my brewing than any other single thing I can name (and the hours of asshatery I consider a bonus). Running a close second would have to be becoming BJCP certified and actually judging a lot of shitty homebrew. That can be a great reference for how NOT to win.

And as a member of a club that got beat by the BN I say congrats on the win - and "We're coming for you."

[Junket]

This debate is putting the cart before the horse. Let's see the BN win a few more years in a row before we start changing the rules and calling foul, because (as several previous posts show) the rules haven't been entirely fair and stringent in the past, since the format of the club competition does not account for size.

My first two years entering NHC, 2008 & 9 were under the BN (was it still a "write-in" back then?), because there was no local club in my area, and the only other brewers that I "knew" were BN'ers. I placed a beer into the final round both years and felt proud, and part of a REAL community.

Specifically because of that involvement, I had the passion to join with some other local brewers and put effort into gaining club status with the AHA. In 2010, I entered under that tiny club name, just for the spirit of it, even though I still interacted more frequently with my BN comrades. Then in 2011 I moved to an area with a huge club, and even though I had only gone to two meetings, I entered under their name in order to show my passion and support.

My point is - I evolved. The BN was a HUGE part of that evolution, and my two other clubs have been as well. I feel loyalty to all three, and even some other clubs that I've become involved with tangentially.

So, when the BN won the award this year, I was proud for my friends. I even felt that I would have been in the right if I had joined my fellow Army members on the stage.

But I didn't leave my table, because I was enjoying my evening with my Boulder club which had 9 members present, and had 9 kegs at club night, even though we live 850 miles from San Diego, and even though I've only been in town long enough to attend 3 meetings.

And I heard a guy at the next table say "where's the BN from?", to which his buddy replied "they're a podcast and they have tons of members from all over the country... not a real group... not cool." I understood what he meant, but I also felt that he was mistaken. He was mistaking a part of the truth for the whole. The snapshot of the BN winning, ostensibly with an unfair numbers advantage, neglects the past reality, and is, like all of us, ignorant of the future.

I posit that many of the BN entrants might, like me, find their BN experience so positive that they seek/create clubs in their own areas. This will strenghten the homebrewing community as a whole. And the BN Club might find its own numbers decrease as a result. It will evolve on its own - there's no need for us to call foul just yet.

Congrats BN - I'm glad to be a part of you. And SCUBA and HBA - let's get some medals next year. Same to you guys in NYCHBG and WHO, even though I've only hung out with you at NHC. To those of you who are so concerned with winning... "brew better beer!" I'm sure a medal around your own neck will take some of the bitter taste from your mouth.

After all - "it's just beer".

[spiderwrangler]

+1 Junket.

I'd only entered one small comp under the BN, but have just recently joined SODZ (although apparently they don't meet much during the summer). They tied for 15th this year. As much as I love and support the BN, now that I'm tied in to a local club, any future competitions I submit to, I'll probably be putting them down.

[bigdan]

I wonder how many folks actually entered under the BN.

[CRBrewHound]

If winning awards is that important to you, figure a way to raise the bar. The BN winning, and DOZE and QUAFF before them have been marks on how the hobby has progressed and improved overall.

Love you BeerPal, but in arguing the spirit of the award, you've lost the spirit of the hobby.

+1

And I'll submit that if beerpal had kicked in about 14 points for DOZE, we wouldn't be having this conversation. You can spend the year trying to change the rules, or spend the year brewing beers that can win in the first round. I know what I would do.

Let's not forget that beer comps are not just about good beer, there are many other factors involved in advancing to the next round. Yes obviously the beer has to be good. However, I am assuming that this being the nationals that everyone entering is bringing their 'A' game to the table. So after that there are many things that factor in. Who you get as judges, your position in your flight, judges preferences, etc....

Why should people not be interested in winning an award for their craft. Why would you not want your peers the others who brew great beer as well to honor you by saying your beer is great. That is what nationals and the NHC is all about. It is a conference, but above all it is the national competition event for our craft, where we recognize the beers of excellence.

But to just say that people are just here to win awards is silly. I don't think anyone would brew for just a silly medal to hang on your wall. It is is the recognition from your peers that everyone here is interested in. Those who are saying "oh stop your whinning", tend to be the ones on the other side of the fence, in a club with very large numbers and the ones who are contending for the award every year. I met many of you at the conference and it was a pleasure to hang with each of you. Please just try to keep focus on what some are saying here. My little club and the members in it, could brew every weekend and enter every beer (even though many would not be worthy) and still we would only be entering at most 25% of the beers of those entered under the BN name and as has been said on BN shows, beer comps are not just about quality beer there are many other factors. So in many instance it is about numbers (again assuming everyone is bringing their 'A' game).

I can see how it is hard for people to take that one of the national awards is beyond their grasp for reasons other then their beer was not good enough. It sucks for it to be beyond their grasp because their club was just not big enough to win.

Now before you guys start to ride me, saying your just sour because you didn't win. I did not enter anything this year, nor did most of the members in my club. None of our members who were at NHC entered. Because those of my crew who were there for NHC this year, we brew for ourselves because we love good beer and enjoy brewing. I just hate to see a competition that is not a level playing field for all participants.

Just remember, in the end, we are all brewing brothers and sisters, one big club of drunks!