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Occasionally we post notices about homebrew competitions here and in our discussion areas. If you are a newer home brewer you may have heard people talking about competitions and judging but you may not really know what they are all about. The short answer is that home brew competitions are an organized way for home brewers to receive feedback on their beer from people who have studied beer styles and beer defects and have taken certification exams to test their knowledge. The BJCP, or Beer Judge Certification Program is the organization that oversees most competitions, provides guidelines on beer styles and provides certification exams to potential beer judges.
If you are interested in becoming a better brewer, or learning more about beer in general, you should look into home brew competitions. Entering your beers is a great way to get honest feedback about your beer, what problems are in your beers and how you may go about trying to eliminate some of those problems. In addition to entering your beers, volunteering at a home brew competition is a fantastic way to interact with other experienced home brewers and to learn about the home brew competition process. There are lots of volunteer positions that require no previous knowledge, experience or certification!
Here are a few upcoming homebrew competitions you may want to consider entering, or volunteering to help at! If you have questions about any of these, feel free to ask on our email list or facebook page, or ask any of the club leadership for more information!
State Fair Homebrew Competition
If you have time this weekend, there may still be a need for volunteers to help at the State Fair Homebrew Competition. Judging starts, Friday the 15th so you have to act quick. Send an email to [email protected] immediately for more information. Note: Signup on the web has been disabled so if you want to help, email now.
Beer Dabbler Home Brew Competition
If you are thinking of attending the Summer Beer Dabbler on September 6, consider entering a homebrewed beer into the Beer Dabbler Summer Home Brew Competition. The entries are dropped off at the beer festival and winners announced the same day!
Byggvir’s Big Beer Cup Home Brew Competition
At the end of September is the Renaissance Festival Home Brew Competition. This is a home brew competition with judging happening at the Renaissance Festival. This competition is specifically geared to newer brewers and to introduce people to beer judging. It’s a perfect opportunity to get feedback as a brewer and to see what a homebrew competition is all about.
Read MoreThis Saturday, come join other members of the Minnesota Home Brewers Association for our celebration of Mead Day at Midwest Supplies!
Several award winning mead makers from the MHBA will doing demonstrations and giving tricks and tips to mastering the art of fermenting honey. Come join us in the parking lot to ask questions and start your mead making!
Read MoreIt’s that time again! The Minnesota State Fair Home Brew Competition needs your help to sort bottles on Sunday, Aug 3 at 11am. Check out the event page for location information.
Definitely a case of “Many Hands Make Light Work!” and it’s a great way to get to know some of the other home brewers in the community.
If you can spare two or three hours, please RSVP to Amanda Kutzke at [email protected]
You can find out more about the Minnesota State Fair Homebrew Competition at the competition website.
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The Minnesota Home Brewers Association had a great turnout at Mighty Axe Hops this passed Saturday.
Eric Sannerud, a co-founder of Mighty Axe Hops played host and tour guide for the club. Eric showed the club the way their farm operates now and discussed how they hope to grow in the future. Currently Mighty Axe is growing exclusively Cascade hops and is working on trying to determine exactly how their plants behave on their farm. One area of the farm has hops attempting to grown diagonally, as opposed to the traditional method of growing them straight up.
In the main area of the farm, all the hope plants are in their first year and are showing great signs of growth. Eric discussed how even though all the watering and fertalizing is the same across all plants, some of the new plants are about 6 feet tall now and very poky while another plant right next door is over 20 feet tall and already showing signs of producing the ‘puff-balls’ that will turn into hop cones!
The photos below are from Dave Royer and Al Boyce
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The Arboretum will be hosting a Mead Event with our very own Steve Piatz as the guest speaker on Saturday, September 13th. Along with the talk about mead and a tasting of commercial and homemade meads, there is an option to make a 1 gallon batch during the event to finish at home. Steve’s new book will also be available for purchase and signing.
Event Description:
Read MoreThis nectar of the gods we know as mead holds an honored place in history, literature, art, and…your table. Learn how the simple ingredients of honey, water, and yeast are used to create mead. Watch mead makers go through the steps of making mead and hear about the difference the type of honey, water, and time make in the final result. Explore your options of ingredients, equipment, and process that goes into the craft. Then taste and compare a number of meads. And for those ready to join in the mead-making trend, you may choose to make the beginnings of your first batch and head home armed with the materials and knowledge to bottle your mead and finish it at home. Book available for sale and signing. Limit 30, Learning Center
Come one, Come All To the All-Club Camp-Out!
Details
- Friday August 1st-Sunday August 3rd – Arrive anytime after 1 p.m. Friday–a few folks are staying Sunday evening as well.
- Camp Nushka – just east of Cass Lake, MN in the beautiful Chippewa Forest, on the shores of Cass Lake (pdf link).
- Many spaces available for tents, some camper sites as well.
- Bring your own camping gear and food for the weekend – Saturday night meal provided, plus beer to share (kegs okay, we’ll have jockey boxes available). A chair for around the fire is a great idea.
- Cost is roughly $35 per adult (kids are free), depending on how many attend, cash or checks accepted; make payable to MHBA.
- This is a rustic site with no running water or electricity (drinking water will be available), so plan accordingly. What the camp might lack in modern amenities, it more than makes up for in beauty and charm.
- Families and well-behaved pets are welcome.
- Acoustic instruments are welcome; amplified music and firearms/fireworks are not.
- More wood than should be burned is included in the cost.
- There are two large pavilions in case of the ‘r’ word.
Events:
All-Club homebrew competition Saturday afternoon (bring representation for your club in the categories of Lagers, Ales, Belgians, Meads). See if your club can take the coveted trophy keg away from PHC/Tom and Nancy.
Saturday dinner cooked by MHBA: grilled salmon.
Fire Jenga (to those who are regulars to this event, no explanation needed, to new comers, you won’t want to miss this)
Bring Bocce ball or any other yard games you have
A large pontoon will be available Saturday and Sunday for lake cruising, right from the sandy shore of the campground.
There are many paved bicycle trails in the area. Let’s ride!
The lake is shallow and sandy at the site; perfect for swimming and/or inflatable lounge-chairing.
So we can make sure we have enough food, please e-mail your plan to attend to [email protected] by July 27. You can send questions to the same e-mail address.
Directions:
On Hwy 2, about 5 miles east of the town of Cass Lake, look for SR10, then turn North and go 4.2 miles.
Turn West on Cass Bluff Loop Road (2360), then go 1.2 miles.
Look for the sign (on the left) that says Camp Nushka (if the road starts veering to the right, you’ve gone too far).
John
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One final reminder that we will be heading out to the farm this Saturday…the HOP farm that is! Come check out Mighty Axe Hops, a hop farm located just outside the Twin Cities Metro in Ham Lake.
Bring your homebrew to share, bring some food to share and bring a chair and come join us for an afternoon at the farm!
Read MoreSummer seems to finally be in full swing and it’s time to check in on the farm…the HOP farm!
Coming up on July 19 Mighty Axe Hops has invited us to visit their hop farm in Ham Lake to check out their operation.
Let’s make it a picnic…bring some chairs and some food and homebrew to share!
Check out the event page for the address and more details.
Read MoreWe are wrapping up our survey of members on the club logo. Have you voted on what logo concept you think best represents the Minnesota Home Brewers Association? If not, go vote now! We want your opinion on how to represent the club.
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Congratulations to the entire Minnesota Home Brewers Association for winning the 2014 Gambrinus Club Award. 
Named for King Gambrinus, the (unofficial) Patron Saint of Beer, this award is given to the club having the most Final Round points per the number of entries from the club in the National Homebrew Competition. Matt Weide, Brett Glenna, and Sean Kampshoff combined to earn the prize for their club, MHBA!
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