Cascade Brewer’s Guild™ Presents the Thirteenth Annual Pacific Northwest AHA/BJCP Sanctioned CASCADE BREWER’S CUP™ Homebrew Competition Contest Rules We are now officially a WHOTY qualifying event through WAHA! Last Update: January 17, 2009 - subject to change without notice

 

Location

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The final rounds of the competition will be held April 4th in conjuction with the ExBeerience beer festival at the Redhook Brewery in Woodinville. Preliminary judging will begin on March 22nd to ensure that final judging is completed prior to the start of festival.  The public is invited to attend the surrounding ExBeerience beer festival and get live announcements of the winners as judging is completed.  

Find out more about the festival and purchase advance tickets at Brown Paper Tickets.  Space is limited but purchasing advance tickets not only guarantees you entry but also gets you an additional taste for free.  Local Homebrew club, W.A.B.L., and Ratebeer members get one additional free tastes.

Eligibility

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This competition is open to all non-commercial, home produced beers, meads and ciders. Beer, mead and cider produced at commercial breweries or "Brew on Premises" are ineligible. Professional brewers may enter, however their entries must have been brewed at home. Competition staff, judges, and stewards are eligible to enter. Judges and stewards may not participate in the judging of their own entries. Safeguards will be taken to prevent judges from knowing who brewed the entries they are judging. Enter as often as you wish and in as many categories as you wish. At the discretion of the competition staff, entries not meeting these eligibility or entry requirements will be disqualified.

Awards & Prizes

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One Entry shall be judged Best-Of-Show (BOS). Winners shall receive a Certificate of Award, customized tap handle, plus additional awards and gifts provided by our sponsors.

The first, second, and third place winners of the Best of Show round will be awarded the following prizes.  All prizes and gift certificates will be redeemed at Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply
1st place - 60 qt. Polar Ware Brewpot and 4" Grain Gobbler Grain Mill or $500 Gift Certificate
2nd place - NEW 5 gallon corny kegging system or $250 Gift Certificate
3rd place - Shirron Wort Plate Chiller or $100 Gift Certificate

Entrants scoring below 30 will not be advanced to the Best-of-Show round. Typically only one entrant per flight will advance, and that advancement will be decided by the judging panel (may not be based on points in the case of a tie). (Entry Drop-Off Points)

Categories

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The latest 2004 BJCP Style Guidelines Version 2005-A will be used by judges. All entries will be judged according to the style entered. Categories receiving fewer than five entries will be combined with a related category. This information is subject to change from year to year.

Entry Forms

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Brewers are encouraged to use the Online Registration Wizard. The alternative is to fill out the paper Entry Form. When using this method a fully completed, legible Entry Form must accompany each entry. Incomplete or illegible forms will result in disqualification.

Attach one Bottle ID label to each bottle with a rubber band; Do not use tape!

Recipes are not required to enter the competition, however the Best-of-Show winning beers will need to submit their recipe upon winning so that we can have the batch recrafted.  If a recipe is not produced, the next runner-up shall qualify to be brewed. Recipes shall be held in confidence by the brewer. Special ingredients must be identified, as must dryness/still/sparkling/classic style where applicable.

Below are web-versions of the AHA forms for the competition. They are provided in case you cannot find a form in your locale. Forms are formatted for PRINTING on 8½ x 11 inch paper (you may need to adjust the margins of your printer).

Entry/Recipe Form (HTML) | (PDF)
Bottle Identification Form (HTML) | (PDF)

Entries, fees & deadlines

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An entry consists of 3 (three) bottles for Beer (two will be used in the first round, the third for determining Best of Show if required). Mead and Cider entries require only 2 (two) bottles. All entries must have Bottle ID labels attached. See Entry Forms for more information.

Bottles must be clean 10-12 oz brown glass, free of labels, or other identifying markings (raised lettering is OK if from a significant American brewery like Bridgeport or New Belgium). Any markings on cap must be blacked out. Swing top bottles (such as Grolsch-type) are not permitted. Corked bottles meeting the above standards are permitted provided they are capped over the cork.

Each Entry fee is $6.00 (US). Make check payable to "Cascade Brewer’s Cup". All entries become property of the to Cascade Brewer’s Cup. No bottles will be returned. Entries that bounce checks will not receive judge reports or awards until corrections are made.

Packing & Shipping

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Out-of-State and out-of-area entries: It is legal to ship your entries via UPS, FedEx, or other airfreight carrier. It is not necessary to state specific contents of your package of non-perishable food. We recommend you clearly state: "GLASS-FRAGILE THIS SIDE UP NON-PERISHABLE FOOD". Pack entries in a sturdy box. Pack each bottle and line the inside of the box with a plastic trash bag. Mark the box "Fragile, Glass". Refer to the Winter 1997 Zymurgy for suggestions on packing and shipping hints. Packages with postage due or C.O.D. charges will be returned to sender.

Sponsors of styles shall have their name appear on the award certificates, published on our posters that will have national distribution (deadline to be determined), and on our web site. It's not too late; Sign up now!

Judging

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This competition is AHA and BJCP sanctioned. All beers will be judged and score sheets returned within one month of the competition. The results of the competition will be posted on the Cascade Brewers Guild Website. At the discretion of the judges some categories may not have a winner. All questions and disputes will be settled by Jim Lanning, the competition organizer. All decisions are final. Prospective judges and stewards are requested to register online, or fill out the typical form. A limited number of beds are available to out-of-town judges/stewards, please contact us early to set up a place to stay. Please use the Online Registration.

Or use the old hand-written Judge Registration/Waver Form. Send Judge forms to , Competition Organizer.

Mission statement

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It is the intention of the Cascade Brewer’s Cup to provide homebrewers with an opportunity to participate in a first-rate competition. All entrants are assured of receiving timely, constructive feedback from qualified beer judges. We intend to provide a forum for experienced judges to exercise their skills, and provide experience training for the next generation of beer judges. In teaming up with Mountain Homebrew & Wine Supply and our official sponsors, we hope to bring greater awareness to the public about the hobby of homebrewing, mead, and cider-making. We welcome suggestions on how we can improve our competition.

Additional information: Send email to , Competition Organizer.

Tips & Tricks

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Based on experience of running competitions, we've put together a list of tips and tricks that help in the processing and handling of entries. Please consider these carefully.

• Correctly identify the style, substyle, and any special ingredients used (if applicable)
• Entries that arrive in their own six-pack carriers allow for better handling
• Plain brown bottles between 10 to 12 ounces in volume are best accepted by judges.
• Blacken out any inscription on bottle caps (if applicable)
• Do not use tape to secure Bottle ID forms; use rubber bands ~ please!
• Submit the correct amount of money with your entries
• Submit the correct amount of bottles with each entry
• Allow enough time for your entry to arrive

Good Luck!         Competition Organizer, Cascade Brewers Guild