Beer Forum

I've never entered any comps and I'm starting with NHC. am I correct that you only send one 12oz. bottle? any inside tips on entering comps would also be appreciated. deadline is creeping up and I just read that they are only taking the first 750 entries in each region. in the unlikely occurance that my beer moves on, how many bottles total do I need? can i put a dubbel that was brewed with chokecherries in the belgian strong category or only the fruit beer category?

According to the rules:

http://www.beertown.org/events/nhc/pdf/ ... s_Regs.pdf

you only need to send one bottle ( 10 - 14 oz. ) in for first round.

I'm in the same boat and was going to automatically send 2 bottles, so I'm glad someone is paying attention.

I just read through the rules as well.....

2. How many bottles do I need?
Send one (1) bottle for each entry competing in the First Round. Three (3) additional bottles will
be required for each entry that advances to the Final Round.
3. What are the entry fees?
For U.S. and international entries (except Canada), AHA members pay $9 per entry; nonmembers
pay $14 per entry.
• Online Payment: Entry fees and membership dues must be paid online using a Visa,
MasterCard, or American Express card at the time you register your entries online.
• There is no additional fee for entries advancing to the Final Round.

straight cash homey wrote:any inside tips on entering comps would also be appreciated.

Make sure the category in which you enter matches how the beer tastes, not what you were thinking when you brewed it.

Hand deliver your entries if possible. If not, lay down major cash for overnight shipping. I suspect many, many entries are ruined during the 3-5 days in a hot UPS truck. There is a reason A-B installed icehouses all along the railroad tracks way back in the day. Heat ruins beer, and it's worth the $ to keep the beer from getting overheated.

bubble wrap each bottle so they don't clink together. When you are done, you should be able to shake your box and not feel or hear anything move.

Line the whole inside of the box with a trash bag. That way if you do have a leaker, there is at least a chance of the box making to your destination anyway. If the box is soggy and leaking they will probably throw it away.

Don't use packing peanuts. The registrar on the other end will hate you. Use bubble wrap or crumpled up paper instead. I've also used bottles from bottled water, drained of contents, with the tops screwed back on.

straight cash homey wrote: can i put a dubbel that was brewed with chokecherries in the belgian strong category or only the fruit beer category?

whatever category it resembles more, if it's obviously a cherry beer then put it in fruit beer, if the cherries are light enough to taste like a fermentation character then put in in Belgian Strong

or just enter it in both, there is nothing wrong with doing that if you are unsure of the style

it says to use a brown bottle that is clean from labels, but what if the bottle has some logo in the glass? do I need a plain brown bottle or can I use the deschutes bottle that has charachteristic hop vines in the glass?

edit: called beertown, any brown bottle will be ok as long as all labels and paint have been removed.

Another tip is to send your beers at the last possible chance you can. Even if it takes three days to get there. Two days will not make that much of a difference (unless you believe that you only make great beers and all other factors destroy it). I save my boxes and bubble wrap from my Morebeer and NorthernBrewer shipments to send to different comps. Also, UPS delivers to businesses first in the AM. Figure out when UPS picks up your delivery form the UPS store and plan to arrive in time for the least amount "truck time".

I have sent bottles to the second round of NHC and my brother and Myself are currently in lead of New York State Homebrewer of the year with this strategy. Just send your Great Beer and relax and watch the tracking info with a homebrew.

Best of Luck!

however, I do have one exception to the above rule. I ALWAYS hand deliver my entries in cider. Just works!