2010 SOBA National Homebrewing Competition

[Greig McGill]

SOBA, New Zealand’s consumer beer advocacy group, is pleased to announce the fourth annual SOBA National Homebrewing Competition.

Full details are yet to be confirmed, but keen homebrewers can expect entries to be accepted from the first of October, closing on the 22^nd, with judging to take place on the weekend of the 30^th of October.

As in previous years, the best of show beer will be brewed commercially by Steve Plowman at Hallertau Brewbar – a glittering prize indeed, in a competition where bragging rights are often the key motivation for entry.

Other prizes are yet to be confirmed, but homebrewers often enter for the valuable experience of having their beers critiqued by world class judges, with the feedback they receive enabling them to hone their brewing skills further.

SOBA have secured the services of some serious judging talent. Graeme Mahy (head brewer of 666 Brewing, and brewing consultant) has judged at the World Beer Cup – the ultimate international beer competition. “Even though people know about me being a commercial brewer, they often can’t believe that the fantastic beer they are drinking is made at home”, says Mahy. “A national hombrewing competition is important for a number of reasons - certainly the social aspects that go with a competition but also comparing brewing notes and techniques is also important.  Of course there's also the judging of your beers against others to see how they compare, but most importantly the possibility of 'bragging rights' for the next 12 months!”

SOBA was formed in 2006 in order to increase awareness of and appreciation for flavourful crafted beers. While not a homebrewing focused organisation, SOBA has many homebrewing members and
has always supported this great hobby.

[Greig McGill]

Just to head off a few questions before they are asked:

* This is just an initial press release - lots of details are still to be finalised. Updates will be published as they come to hand. The main thing is to give you all as much notice of the dates as possible so you can plan your brewing.

* This year, the competition is being held in Hamilton. Sorry Wellington brewers, now you'll have to feel the pain of shipping your entries the rest of us have felt! ;)

* Prizes and sponsors are still being finalised. Any input on what you consider good and poor prizes would be welcomed. Do you even care? I know for me, I just wanted feedback! :)

* Besides Graeme, we have some excellent judges lined up. This will probably be the best opportunity homebrewers in NZ have ever had to get some serious "as-good-as-it-gets" evaluation and feedback on their beers. Judges are pending availability confirmation, and will be announced here as they confirm.

Cheers,

Greig.

Feel free to ask other questions in this thread, but as I've stated above, there's not much more info yet.

[Matt Smith]

Hi Greig, thanks for this !
I'm a pretty new brewer and love the idea of having some proper feedback on my beer.

I have a couple batches on the go, just wondering if there's any specifics required regarding bottles for entry eg. glass/plastic, size, minimum amount of bottles.

Cheers !
Matt

[Greig McGill]

As in previous years, two bottles will be required, with each bottle being a minimum of 330ml. Yes, we do need two separate bottles. :)

Good stuff Matt. There's no better way to hone your skills than get detailed feedback from experienced judges.

[martin w]

i'm keen to enter as well,if for nothing else other than the feedback,its hard to get a decent/honest opinion from speights drinkers!

[Matt Smith]

I know what you mean. My flatmates/ neighbours will happily quaff a batch of my beer in a week if it's around 4%, blonde and lightly hopped but cringe at almost anything else.

My flatmate entered a porter of mine in the bfm homebrew comp on my behalf, the judges response was "very mac's blackish". haha

[Matt Smith]

Cheers for that !
I'll start storing up some entries.

[Andrew]

Grieg,
Will there be set styles to brew to? Or is just brew whatever your "weapon of choice" is and enter it?

[Greig McGill]

Hi Andrew,

It'll still be style based. It's important to enable the judges to accurately and objectively compare beers that there's a style to judge against, otherwise it just becomes "who likes which beer the best", and descends into a nightmare of subjectivity.

You'll be pleased (I hope) to know that we'll most likely be doing away with any distinction between kit/extract and all grain beers. A great IPA is a great IPA - previous competition winners in the "advanced" category have actually been extract beers, who chose to enter in that category. Do your best, and be judged! :)

Another change will be less of a focus on prizes, and much more on great judging by "rock star" judges. The real value of this competition will be in the quality of feedback you'll get back from the judges. It is my mission to ensure everyone gets the most out of this experience. There will still be prizes, we just hope to de-emphasise them in favour of quality feedback and "bragging rights". I can't quite announce all the judges yet, but I will say there are six of them and three are previous World Beer Cup judges. Graeme Mahy and (SOBA President) Geoff Griggs are two of them. All are brewers of the highest calibre (except Geoff, who is just of the highest calibre!).

It's all shaping up nicely. I hope to have the rules up soon, but yes, select a style carefully. :)

There's always the "specialty beer" class.

Cheers,

Greig.

[Greig McGill]

Judges now confirmed! Hold on to your hats guys, this is an AWESOME lineup. Imagine having your brew judged by:

Graeme Mahy - World Beer Cup judge, one of NZ's most experienced brewers, and a former NHC champion himself!
Geoff Griggs - Another World Beer Cup Judge, SOBA president, Beer writer, tasting guru, and all round legend.
Steve Plowman - Brewing's "Nature Boy", creator of Maximus Humulous Lupulus, and the man behind Hallertau
Ben Middlemiss - A piece of NZ brewing history. What Ben doesn't know about beer isn't worth knowing. Brewer of THREE beers in Michael Jackson's top 500. Not a bad effort that! Currently brewing for the New Zealand Natural Brewing Company.
Albrecht van Walmoden - Home and commercial brewing legend, brewing consultant, and possessor of a palate tuned with German precision.
Kieran Haslett-Moore - Home, and now commercial brewer, epicure, Regional Wines and Spirit's "beer guy", and previous BeerNZ and Nelson Beer Awards judge.

How's THAT for a lineup eh?

[Greig McGill]

VON Wallmoden. Sorry Albrecht, I keep doing that. :)

[Reviled]

That is a truely awesome line up, I wasnt going to enter this year but may have to re-consider...

[nzbrewer]

Will you be using a points system or the World Beer Cup system for judging?