A little over a year ago I jumped into this awesome hobby of homebrewing. Now, twenty some batches in, I’ve moved from extract to all-grain, gotten a temperature controlled fermentation chamber, a handful of kegs, and all sorts of other fun gear. What I hadn’t done, was enter a competition. Sure, the local homebrew club had some monthly comps that I brought a bottle or two for, but I hadn’t gone ‘public’… yet.
I was only 3 batches old last year when my Local Homebrew Store (LHBS) had their second annual people’s choice “brew off” that coincided with our community’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. It was a short affair that was well attended, and people who hadn’t purchased tickets were frustrated that they weren’t allowed to enter, because it looked like such fun. As I sampled, I asked each table how long they had been brewing. Some had been at it for decades, some, ironically, were only three batches in. Some had bottles, some had jockey boxes, some had signs, some had pretzel necklaces, but we all had a good, yet short time together. In fact, I had so much fun (and good beer!) that a huge creative spark had been ignited in me, and I couldn’t wait for the next year’s event.
Now, to me, the key here is the term “people’s choice.” This isn’t a collaboration of us geeky beer nerds wondering if there’s too much banana or clove flavor for a particular hefeweizen because of an odd fermentation temperature profile…rather, it’s about getting ballots into the box with your brewery’s name checked as the winner from people who like beer, or like St. Patrick’s day festivities, or like their significant others, or whomever happens to show up. So, that requires more than just making sure your beer is “to style,” or decent enough to serve. This concept affected my entire approach. Let’s take a look at how I approached this year’s event, what I learned, and how I did…
Planning
Parameters: This event requires that you bring at least five gallons of home-made beer to sample. Also, it changed from a 75 minute “guzzle & go” event to a four HOUR shindig, complete with lunch, music, and t-shirts! So, five gallons might not last long. I decided to bring four different beers of five gallons each.
Promotion
Branding: This is my ace-in-the hole! I came up with a fairly different, yet approachable and somewhat memorable brewery name. The Flying V Fermentory (loosely based on my name starting with a V). Then I plastered that all over the place – stenciled it on stir plate, made a phone screen photo to show everyone, updated my Untappd account, made Facebook and web pages, texted pictures to friends, and included them in a previous HBT article (which of course was shared with everyone I knew!). I even got jackets embroidered for my partner and me to wear at the event. Now my brewing buddies often ask how things are at the Flying V!
The other part of branding is the “look and feel.” I was shooting for a cool, tinker’s workshop sort of vibe. Not too steampunk, and not too country/crafty/antiquey. But rather a couple of guys using what they have at their disposal to make some functional items and decent beer. Lastly, the beers’ names. The first beer I ever brewed was an Irish red, which I named Cudgel (a small club weapon from Ireland.) After I came up with the brewery name, it made sense for me to name the beers with words that started with the letter V. Thus, Vitellary Cream Ale (it means yellow,) Viscous Stout, and Vulcan Chipotle Porter were born. All new brews will begin with a V, but the first is grandfathered in.
Product
Schedule: With the competition date set, I worked backwards to figure out my brew schedules. I wanted time for the stout and porter to condition, and yet wanted the Irish red and cream ale to be fresh. This was more complex than I thought – taking into account that I would be out of town the week prior to the event. Thank goodness for spreadsheets! My brewing started in December for the March event.
Choices: I chose these four beers based primarily on the anticipated crowd. Yes there would be some beer ninjas and nerds, but also many beer noobs as well. The other aspect I considered was color range: clear yellow to pitch black – giving them something to choose from. In the previous event I sampled a lot of chocolate vanilla stouts, and IPA’s, IIPA’s and DIPA’s. We need range people! I decided to keg the Irish red and cream ale in order to promote carbonation and clarity. The stout went in 22oz bombers, and the smoked Chipotle porter went into 12 oz bottles. I didn’t want a keg of the Chipotle Porter sticking around that I’d have to work through if it was a flop…and also so I could pawn off, er, share that brew in bottles with others who couldn’t make the event.
Preparation
Building: Besides brewing the beer, I needed a wicked cool way to serve my beer. I had 2 offerings in bottles, but I also had 2 in kegs with nothing other than picnic taps. Fortunately, another beer buddy got his hands on several merchandising coolers, and the idea for the Flying V portable tap board was hatched.
When I showed my buddy this document, he really got what I was envisioning – a portable dispensing system using this vertical cooler on wheels. My brew partner had the carpentry skills to make it happen, and within a couple of hours we had the thing built.
The vertical merchandising cooler during the dry run.
I specifically chose flow control faucets, as I would not have the luxury of long beer lines
In true Flying V spirit, I reused my old backyard cedar fence to be the face of the tapboard.
Participation
Assistance: I asked my brew partner several months (like 9!) in advance to help me out at the competition. He agreed and once I got the date, I double super locked him into it. I can’t imagine trying to sample four beers without another set of hands. Next, my wife claimed at the last moment that she was interested in attending as well. Color me flabbergasted. So, I got her on the team, as it would be nice to have some additional help, even though she’d likely be cruising around the event with our friends, and not really behind the table so much.
Experience: This was where I could see creating the biggest differentiator at the event. Make it memorable and enjoyable. So, to that end, I got my partner to be my shill and work the crowd. His personality would shine through. Next, help the tasters/judges – I listed the beers and styles on a handmade street easel to catch their attention. Then I created some more descriptive signage about the beers I was offering, to put on the table. I also provided a unique palate cleanser for each beer – pretzel rods for the stout, tortilla chips for the Chipotle porter, water crackers for the Irish red, and stadium style peanuts for the cream ale.
PHOTO: EXPERIENCE
Made a few signs so people could choose their beer and chat with us.
And then stamp them green!
Lastly, since it was St. Patrick’s Day, we had to have something green (and green beer died upon college graduation) so I got a green ink pad, and used my 2” rubber stamp to mark the sample sheets of those who tried all four of the Flying V beers. First, it’s another interaction and secondly, they’d have a reminder of our brewery when they went to cast their votes!
Perils
Weather: 50/50 chance of rain on Saturday… no bueno.
Thank goodness I got a 10×10 pop up canopy! And yeah, it rained, but the LHBS put up a HUGE tent, and the rain tapered off before the midpoint of the event.
Attendance: Actually, it was overwhelming! In fact, there were almost too many brewers there! 40+ teams, and over a hundred beers. The activity was strong and consistent at the table, and the time passed quickly. In fact, there was little time to chat with the friends who drove in to support me!
Things Gone Wrong: First and foremost, I had inadvertently used a perfumed oxygen-based cleaner in my fermenters, and it transferred that perfume aroma to the beer. All four beers to be sampled had this aroma to me. This almost caused me to withdraw from the event, or at least pull a couple of the brews. I had my wife take a whiff with her uber-sensitive smeller, and she didn’t pick it up, nor did my brew partner or a couple of others… so mouth shut, breathe deep, and move on, can’t do anything now but deodorize the fermenter in the coming weeks.
And the worst thing possible- I started to get a horrific sinus infection the morning of the event. The friends attending starting asking if I was ok, and all, but in my hoarse voice, I reassured them that I was not missing this event… So, not a lot of sampling for me. (My eyes look real puffy in these photos…)
Perspective
So, what did I learn from this competition? Well, what’s that saying about best laid plans? Exactly. I finished within the top half, or smack dab in the middle of the pack, so really not too shabby for my first ever public competition. There were some phenomenal beers being offered by the other brewers.
I had some partiers, er, samplers come back repeatedly at the end of the event for my Irish Red Cudgel and my Vulcan Chipotle Porter. I was humbled by their affections as I poured them a tad more than I should have, but hey, we’re all beer lovers, right? I was not pleased with how my Vitellary cream ale turned out, as it wasn’t crisp or clean like it had been before. The Viscous stout, while adored heavily by my attending friends, was fraught with that perfume aroma and taste. So, I handed a bunch of those bottles to those admiring friends. Had I not had the selection of four beers then I could have been in a world of hurt. So, it ended up that I was about half-right on what brews would be the favored ones. On a side note, I, and all of my brewing buddies, came back home with a ton of our own beer, despite the attendance being up, and the event being three hours longer!
The marketing, presence, vibe, tone or whatever you call it, I had down pat. I got a ton of compliments regarding the look and feel of my setup. But, it’s the beer (and the number of your friends that attend!) that get you hardware at the end of the day.
Also, I’d say I learned that I challenged myself, and came through without too much stress or angst. While four beers is a tall order for the first time through, I’ve scaled back my next two competitions to two beers each. So it will be easier for us to chat with the folks and pour beer. And, there will be less gear to carry to the booth!
Lastly, I was satisfied and realistic with my offerings at the competition. The brewing has to get better, and it already has since this event. I was up against some stiff competition, some who’ve taken professional brewing positions since St. Pat’s day! Some people I knew, and some I didn’t, loved some of my beers, and there were a few chucked into the dump bucket. And I learned that I’m ok with that. I’ll be back better than ever next year.
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