AHA club-only competitions... let's get brewing!

Different people have different strategies for brewing. Some brew clones; others brew crazy stuff they make up. Some keep tweaking the same recipe until it's just right; others jump from style to style trying something new. Some map out their brewing schedule months ahead of time; others wake up on a Saturday morning, look at what grains and hops they have in stock, and throw something together on the spot. Different strokes for different folks (and we all know it takes diff'rent strokes to move the world, yes it does).

Well, this year the folks at the American Homebrewers Association are running a series of club-only competitions.
Here's how it works. They pick a style. Our brewers each individually brew to that style. We then pick the best beer Survivor-style (well, maybe not Survivor-style, but we pick the best beer) and submit it to the national competition. In the process, brewers are challenged to broaden their brewing horizons, and our club's members get to really pick a part a style and see how different recipes and processes produce different results.

Anyway, enough on the process... let's talk beer! We're a little too late for the first competition of the season (Belgian strong ales are due Nov. 27th), but we'd like to get on board for the rest of the schedule. Here are the styles and relevant deadlines:

January/February 2010

The Session Challenge – English Brown Ales

Entry deadline is Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, February 20, 2010.

Hosted by Tim Hayner and the Impaling Alers of Kent, WA, this competition covers BJCP Category 11 styles. For more information, contact Tim Hayner at president@impalingalers.org.

March/April 2010

American Ales

Entries are due Saturday, April 3, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010.

Hosted by Bill Lynch and the Carolina Brewmasters of Charlotte, NC, this competition covers BJCP Category 10 styles.
For more information, contact Bill Lynch at brewcnc@yahoo.com.

May 2010

Extract Beers

Entries are due Saturday, May 1, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, May 22, 2010.

Hosted by Ric Cunningham and the Niagra Association of Homebrewers of Buffalo, NY, this competition covers all BJCP beer categories (1-23).

So there you go. If you wanna get in on the action, plan your brew days accordingly. And stay tuned for more info on how we'll be determining our entry and relevant internal deadlines. Happy brewing!