NHC Canadian Qualifier competition

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 11:28 am

The Ale and Lager Enthusiasts of Saskatchewan is once again hosting the NHC Canadian Regional Qualifier/ALES Open homebrew competition from April 13 to 18, 2009 at the Bushwakker Brewpub in Regina, Saskatchewan. Not only is this the largest competition in Canada, but it is the only way for Canadians to advance to the AHA National Homebrewers Competition, which is the largest homebrew competition in the world (5600+ entries last year). Our competition is sanctioned by the American Homebrew Association and Beer Judge Certification Program. Judging is conducted by certified BJCP judges in accordance with BJCP competition guidelines.

The competition is open to all 28 BJCP categories of homebrewed beer, mead and cider. Medals and prizes are awarded to Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in each category. Major prize packages are awarded to Best of Show, Homebrewer of the Year, Cider Maker of the Year, and Mead Maker of the Year. Don’t forget about Club of the Year; the winner earns the right to claim best in Canada for the next 12 months!

Entry fees remain at $5 per entry, and we require 2 bottles per entry. Should you win a category medal and advance to the AHA NHC, you will have to pay their Canadian entry fee and ship 3 additional bottles per entry to their competition site in the US (the AHA will email you detailed rules and instructions). Keep these bottle counts in mind as you brew this year; make sure you stash away 5 bottles from each batch! While the competition is still several months away, you need to start planning (and brewing) now!

We are always looking for certified BJCP judges that are interested in judging. As well, guests are welcome to attend and participate; we will find something for you to do and get involved… whatever it is, it will be fun! Out of town guests will have billeting accommodations available to them with our ALES members. The competition wraps up on April 18th with an Awards Ceremony and the always incredible, multi-course Brewers Dinner hosted by the Bushwakker. Last year we had guests from California, Calgary and Edmonton, and a great time was had by all. Let us know if you would like to judge/attend this year!

We use an online registration system that should be launching in February. You will receive an update when it is ready. Deadline for receiving entries is April 9th, 2009, and they must be shipped directly to:

Bushwakker Brewpub
2206 Dewdney Ave
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4R 1H3

Please contact us (competition@alesclub.com) if you have any questions. Full competition details, information, rules, sponsor list and online registration will all be available at www.alesclub.com. If you would like more information on the AHA NHC please visit www.beertown.org/events/nhc

viggo · Post by **viggo** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:40 pm

Sweet, should try to get in on this this year.

jaymack · Post by **jaymack** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:44 pm

I entered this contest last year (my first competition) and I will definitely enter again.

I didn't do so great, but the feedback was definitely positive. It's certainly the best way to see whether your "to spec" or not, but I guess as long as I have satisfied drinkers, I'm not so hung up on style profiles

Cheers,
J

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:24 pm

The online entry system is now up and running at http://www.alesclub.com/registration

Full competition details can be found on our homepage at http://www.alesclub.com

If you have any questions, send them to competition@alesclub.com

If you are interested in attending or judging, please contact me (the sooner, the better) at radford_77@hotmail.com

Good luck to everyone! And don't forget that we need all entries received at the Bushwakker no later than April 9th.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:57 am

viggo wrote:Sweet, should try to get in on this this year.

Congrats!

http://www.alesclub.com/index.php/compo ... on-results

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:21 am

Derek wrote:
viggo wrote:Sweet, should try to get in on this this year.
Congrats!

http://www.alesclub.com/index.php/compo ... on-results

19: Strong Ale - Eric Ecclestone (Biergotter) - Old Ale
23: Specialty - Eric Ecclestone (Biergotter) - Barleywine with Malted Rye
Best Of Show - Eric Ecclestone (Biergotter) - 19A Old Ale

AWESOME!

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:12 am

Way to go Eric!

grub · Post by **grub** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:15 am

that old ale is pretty damn good... and to think i debated whether to enter it since my stash is almost gone. fortunately eric hadn't gone through his as fast as i did. glad we have another 10 gallons in fermenters. this is one i'd be happy to have on tap permanently.

the rye barleywine was a biergotter collaborative effort. the brewday was a train wreck, but at least the beer turned out well!

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:39 pm

That Old Ale is superb, I got to sample the remnants from the Best of Show round on Saturday. I hope you send some to the NHC in Oakland.

The overall quality this year was incredible, which made the judging quite difficult. Lots of good beers did not win, we had to really nitpick on the finer points of each beer and adhere to style guildelines.

Thanks to everyone that entered!

grub · Post by **grub** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:44 pm

markaberrant wrote:That Old Ale is superb, I got to sample the remnants from the Best of Show round on Saturday. I hope you send some to the NHC in Oakland.

yeah, we're definitely going to send down whatever we can (assuming both that and the rye barleywine scored over the 30 point minimum).