Like many others out there, I brew my beers with only one person in mind. If I like the beer then, to me at least, it is a success. That being said however, it is sometimes nice to get favourable feedback about your creations from others; particularly those who either know a fair amount about the way beer should taste, or are in the industry themselves. Hence regular entries in regional, or even national, brewing competitions are a must if you really want to improve your brewing.
Almost every competition I have entered has mailed the results and tasting notes to me afterwards - even if I did not take a place. These notes are invaluable in two ways. Firstly they give you a good idea of what people "in-the-know" think of your beer, and how it stands up to style. Secondly, a well presented tasting sheet filled in by a concientious judge will give you an indication of what you may be doing wrong through the brewing process, and how, in the judges eyes, you could improve your methods or recipe structure.
I have watched with great anticipation, bordering on national pride, as more Australian-based brewing competitions have either started up or gotten enough advertising/coverage to be noticed by the homebrewing community. While some such as the Castle Hill and Luddenham shows will always be on a small scale due their minimal size and mostly local interest, many have grown considerably over the years. One such show is the "Bathurst Homebrew Competition", which became known in the homebrew industry (at least while I was a part of it) as the unofficial Nationals due to the fact that more prestige was given to the category winners of Bathurst than any other competition in Australia due to both the sheer number of entries and the stiff competition between competitors.
That being said, it is always wise to support the small regionals, as the more people notice that homebrew is no longer reminiscent of the foul tasting concoctions their grandfathers coughed up, the more the hobby will grow - and that can never be a bad thing.
For a list of upcoming Australian Homebrew Competitions, click here
Cheers,
TSD
Almost every competition I have entered has mailed the results and tasting notes to me afterwards - even if I did not take a place. These notes are invaluable in two ways. Firstly they give you a good idea of what people "in-the-know" think of your beer, and how it stands up to style. Secondly, a well presented tasting sheet filled in by a concientious judge will give you an indication of what you may be doing wrong through the brewing process, and how, in the judges eyes, you could improve your methods or recipe structure.
I have watched with great anticipation, bordering on national pride, as more Australian-based brewing competitions have either started up or gotten enough advertising/coverage to be noticed by the homebrewing community. While some such as the Castle Hill and Luddenham shows will always be on a small scale due their minimal size and mostly local interest, many have grown considerably over the years. One such show is the "Bathurst Homebrew Competition", which became known in the homebrew industry (at least while I was a part of it) as the unofficial Nationals due to the fact that more prestige was given to the category winners of Bathurst than any other competition in Australia due to both the sheer number of entries and the stiff competition between competitors.
That being said, it is always wise to support the small regionals, as the more people notice that homebrew is no longer reminiscent of the foul tasting concoctions their grandfathers coughed up, the more the hobby will grow - and that can never be a bad thing.
For a list of upcoming Australian Homebrew Competitions, click here
Cheers,
TSD
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