NHBC 2011

[Toast]

Dear All,

 

The SOBA National Howe Brew Competition has been announced and is to be judged at the home of many of the country’s best breweries, Christchurch. Ally McGilvary, Nathan Crabbe & James Pinamonti have gallantly stepped forward to organise the event this year.

Here is a summary of the pertinent dates and information:

• 1st - 21st October 2011 for receiving entries.
• Judging to be held 29th - 30th October 2011.
• Costs: $5 SOBA members, $10 non-members per entry.
• Location: Christchurch (and we will do everything possible to ensure Mother Nature doesn’t shake the bottles up too much!)

To reduce the postal costs, the competition organisers will accept 1 bottle (minimum 330ml) per entry but this will be at the entrants own risk. Sending two bottles is your insurance policy and neither SOBA nor the organisers accept any liability for loss.

 

The attached press release contains the same information as this post.

 

Martin Bulmer

Press Officer, SOBA

 

[Chad Keven]

good thanks for the update

[JR]

Hows the contest going?  All done or is it a 2 day event? Many entries?

[Ralph]

I think there were over 400 entries and I think about 300 judged today and the rest will be done tomorrow. Some interesting entries, some very good and some not so good. Great experience being involved with it all tho!

[Reviled]

wow, 300 judged in one day is a pretty good effort!!

[SR]

any more interesting tidbits of information would be much appreciated... there may be a few homebrewers about holding their breath for news on how things went!

[Ralph]

Soz, but we were sworn to secrecy. No leaking of tidbits of who might have done well and who might have won what. All will be revealed at the appropriate time. 

 

To be honest I dont really know anything more, but the sworn to secrecy sounds better!!

 

I did write some of my thoughts on the experience up here, but it does not really tell you much more! http://inzanebrew.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/2011-national-home-brew-...

[JR]

Just so we know what sort of wait we are in for, do you know if results are due in the next few days or will it be closer to the prize giving?

[Ralph]

Sorry, no idea. I just turned up and helped out and was not involved in organising anything. You would have to ask one of the organisers for that sort of info.

 

 

[JR]

....I'll just have to learn to be patient... there is a reason I don't make a good wine maker.

[James P]

Sorry all but results will not be released before 6pm 26th November, which is the end of the release party. This will coincide with the next release of Pursuit of Hoppiness so you get to see some names in print!

Whilst the delay is not ideal, it will give us time to get the printing etc (certificates, mailouts, sponsors media etc all sorted).

[Greig McGill]

Because the orgy-nisers will be flat out, I'll offer some insight into the time between judging and results.

First, if you've not been involved in running one of these things, it can be tempting to think the results should be available straight away. I mean, your beer has been tasted, and forms have been filled out, right? Pretty simple? In practice, nope, not at all. There is a tendency to ignore the sheer logistical nightmare involved in judging so many beers, then making results available. People think about it as "just their entry". The pressure of judging so many beers in such a short time can lead to errors, the results all need to be carefully checked.

Then there's the issue of many prizes being judged on accumulated points. It's necessary to calculate these carefully, and this calculation requires all the results to be available in a collated format for ease of reference. This also means that (given the awards ceremony is meant to preserve some element of surprise) it can be a giveaway if individual results are announced in advance. I'm not sure if the organisers are worrying about that aspect this year though. I believe it is an important aspect in order to preserve some value for the sponsors in supporting the awards event itself. No sponsorship of ceremony = less need for concern.

Finally, there's the sheer amount of time involved in stuffing hundreds of large envelopes with result sheets and certificates (which need to be printed), and addressing these. It ain't fun, and it ain't quick! :)

Anyway, hope that helps assuage some of your anxiety. The guys will get it all done as fast as they possibly can, rest assured.

[SR]

thanks ralph, james p & greig... much appreciated!

well, that makes a lot of sense - the job of labelling the competition entries correctly was a job in itself!

looking forward to the results :o)