To refresh everyones memory, I was the guy who posted on Tech Talk last May, bringing up some issues about Jamil entering his beers in the AHA NHC first round, Great Lakes region. Contrary to some responders in the thread, I have no issues with Jamil entering any competition he wants, with as many entries as he wants. I had only one reason to broach this subject, and that was to point out the imbalance in accumulating club points for Homebrew Club of the Year. It is an imperfect system, and I had several rounds of very cordial and constructive e-mails with Gary Glass about it, and I realize how hard it is to implement a point system that is fair to all involved.
I brought up the subject to stimulate discussion on how to improve the system, not to piss and moan that I did not win. As a matter of fact, I did not receive one nasty e-mail as a result of the orginal post, so it comes as a shock to stumble across a thread such as this. All of you had no problem adding to the thread, flaming me to no end, but no one e-mailed me directly to discuss the issues, and I would guess no one jumped on Tech Talk with some constructive suggestions to make the Homebrew Club of the Year system more fair.
I have no issues with Jamil, his brewing, or his awards. He is a respected and valuable resource in the homebrewing community. I don't have a Jamil "voodoo doll" that I tourture on a nightly basis. The next time I see Jamil I will be polite, friendly, and offer him a homebrew, like any other homebrewer. I may even try to sneak a few brewing tips out of him.
As a matter of fact, I had an Eisbock entered in the AHA NHC Great Lakes first round, and took 3th place with a score of 44. Jamil, by taking first place, knocked me from second place to third place. I don't care! We have had a Michigan brewer for a number of years by the name of Rick Georgette, who pretty much monopolized any local/regional competition he entered. Rick beat me on a number of occasions, and I don't hate him, it just inspires me to brew a better beer next time. The same thing applies to Jamil, and I wish him luck in this year's AHA NHC.
Kevin Kutskill
AHA Lifetime Member and BJCP Certified
beer-geek at comcast.net
