From the Judges Table
Matt Brown
The competition committee has tried to implement as many of your suggestions as possible planning ASH's 2014 competitions. It's going to be an incredible year! Springfest Competition The best of show winner for our big Springfest Competition is going to get to brew a pro-am with Four Peaks that will be entered in GABF in 2014. Admission to the festival will be included as well. Here are the dates you need to remember: 3/7 - Entry Deadline 3/15 - Judging 3/16 - Judging 3/29 - Winner Announced at Springfest This is intended to be a big competition, just like our Oktoberfest one has been, and with a GABF pro-am opportunity up for grabs we're probably going to be inundated with entries. You can register your entries here, which is also where you can sign up to help. We're going to need lots of judges and stewards, and whether you're BJCP ranked or not, we'll find a place for you! K�lsch Kup We will still be holding the annual K�lsch Kup homebrew competition in remembrance of longtime ASH member Mark Helm's passing, but it will be partially incorporated into our Springfest Competition. The K�lsch entries submitted at the Springfest Competition will be formally judged and scored then, but the best of show round will take place live at our Springfest gathering. It will be informal, just like in years past. Anyone who enters a K�lsch scoring above a certain cutoff number at the big competition will eligible for the Kup, though we encourage everyone to plan on bringing their K�lsch entries to Springfest regardless. Like before, your beer must be in a keg or other non-glass container because glass is not allowed at the park. You should also bring two gallons or more so you can share. The whole point of this particular competition is to encourage ASH members to brew and enjoy with other members the style of beer that Mark Helm loved the most. Although that alone should be plenty of reason to enter, the prize is going to be brewing your K�lsch at OHSO. How's that for incentive? 2014 Homebrewer of the Year In 2014, there are going to be some huge changes to the HBOY competition. It is now going to involve only three ASH-member-only competitions plus our big Springfest and Oktoberfest competitions. Here are the three smaller competitions: May: English Ales BJCP categories accepted: 8 English Pale Ale and 11 English Brown Ale Due: May 20, 2014 Prize: Brew day with Mother Road July: American Ales BJCP categories accepted: 2C Classic America Pilsner;4A Dark American Lager;6D American Wheat or Rye Beer;10A American Pale Ale; 10B American Amber Ale;10C American Brown Ale; 14B American IPA Due: July 15, 2014 Prize: Brew day with Professional Brewery TBA November: Holiday/Winter Beers BJCP categories accepted:19A Old Ale and 21B Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer Due: November 18, 2014 Prize: Brew day with Professional Brewery TBA There's a good chance the two TBA brew days are each going to involve a pro-am of some sort, and everything should be ready to announce next month. Start preparing now! Details about 2014 HBOY and our other big competitions are available here (http://club.azhomebrewers.org/page/competitions-1). We are working on arranging a prize that will make previous years' prizes pale in comparison. 2013 Homebrewer of the Year Finally, you probably all know by now that Ken Forrey won the award overall. Congrats, Ken! What we haven't announced yet are the brewers of the highest-scoring beers in each of the individual competitions: 3/19 - Light Hybrid - Dennis Mitchell 4/16 - Extract Beer - Matt Jacobson 5/21 - English Brown - Dennis Mitchell 6/18 - Fruit Beer - Christian Chandler 7/16 -Pilsner - Barry Tingleff 8/20 - European Amber Lager - Robert Walsmann 10/15 - Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer - Ken Forrey 11/19 - IPA - Darrin Schauble 12/13 - Light Lager - Bryan Gold A lot of people brewed some really impressive beers, and it was especially great to see such an awesome turnout for the IPA competition. Contact me Darrin so I can send you what you need to set up your brew day at San Tan! Oktoberfest Competition It's a long way away, but Oktoberfest has been ASH's biggest competition of the year for as far back as I can tell. Here are the dates to keep in mind: 9/19 - Entry Deadline 9/27 - Judging 9/28 - Judging 10/19 - Winner Announced at Oktoberfest I can guarantee the best of show prize is going to make Oktoberfest more than worthwhile, just like it has in years past; it'll just be a little bit longer before I can announce it. | 
