Get ready for the 2018 Joint Novembeerfest and Puget Sound Pro-Am!

A combination of one of Washington's most prestigious homebrew competitions with the country's largest GABF Pro-Am qualifying competitions

Update

BJCP results and initial brewery selections are also listed here

Register Entries and as a Volunteer Here

New Info and Tips for 2018:

- Changed drop locations (please read all info before dropping off)
- Using 2015 BJCP Guidelines
- PLEASE MAKE SURE TO SUBMIT A COMPLETE RECIPE ONLINE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR BREWING!!! - In the past, brewers have not selected beers due to lack of online recipes
- No need to print out the entry form, just the bottle ids!
- Entry fee is $7/entry ($1 off/entry for judges/volunteers)
- Do not contact stores for competition information, only opening hours
- Do not pay stores for your entries - payment must be attached to at least one of your bottles
- IF YOU ARE ENTERING A CATEGORY THAT REQUIRES A BASE STYLE OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, MAKE SURE TO ENTER THAT IN THE "SPECIALTY INFORMATION" AREA (judges do not see your recipes)
- If you run out of area for ingredients in the registration tool, put them in the "Specialty Information" area

Register Entries and as a Volunteer Here

Welcome to the Joint Novembeerfest and Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition website.

For 2018, the two largest homebrewing competitions in Washington are once again joining forces for one major competition, bringing the best of both events into one. You'll get great feedback and have the ability to have your beer selected by a local brewery to be scaled up and brewed commercially, possibly for the Great American Beer Festival or Washington Beer Awards Pro-Am Competitions.

This is a Washington Homebrewer of the Year Qualifying Competition!

Register Entries and as a Volunteer Here

Breweries Considering Selections

Core Competition Details

Entries Due: Saturday, November 3rd, 2018 (drop off/mailing window Oct 21st - Nov 3rd)

3 10-12 oz Brown Bottles

$7 per entry

$1 off every entry submitted by a competition helper (judges, stewards, event staff)

(checks payable to Impaling Alers)

All BJCP Categories

Register Entries and as a Volunteer Here

(entries and volunteers)

What is the Joint Novembeerfest and Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition?

It is the intention of the Joint Novembeerfest and Puget Sound Pro-Am to provide homebrewers with an opportunity to participate in a first-rate competition and provide local breweries a chance to find homebrew recipes to scale up and brew commercially. 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. We welcome suggestions on how we can improve our competition.

This competition is unique in the fact that SEVERAL breweries will be participating and brewing multiple winning beers! Not only will your beer get judged in an AHA/BJCP (2015 guidelines) sanctioned event, but local professional brewers may taste and select your beer to be brewed on their systems and sold to the world!

Some of the breweries will be considering entering beers into the Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am category (entrants must be AHA members) and others may be looking at submitting to the Washington Beer Awards Pro-Am competition.

KEY INFO

1. Brew and bottle great beer!

2. Read the complete rules.

3. Register entries online (online registration is mandatory), Print out bottle IDs from online registration, and rubber band these to your bottles with your payment

4. Mail or drop off entries within the entry window

5. Wait for the competition results and brewery selections!

Entries (three 10-12oz bottles, two for meads or ciders) are due November 9th and must be submitted to one of the locations listed on the registration tool. The entry fee is $7 per entry registered online ($1 off each entry for competition helpers - CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER); up to 10 entries per entrant. Make checks out to Impaling Alers. If you experience problems with the online entry system, you may contact the competition organizer for an exception.

Using 2015 BJCP Guidelines for Evaluation

Drop Off or Mail Oct 21st - Nov 3rd at the drop locations listed on the registration tool

Register Entries and as a Volunteer Here

Register your entries online in advance and get your Bottle ID Labels and Entry Forms made for you. It is free, easy and allows you to upload BeerXML recipes into the database! Just print out the Bottle ID Labels and send your payment with your beers. Filling out a complete recipe online is required for brewery selection! If you have problems with the registration tool, please contact the competition organizer for help.

Want to volunteer? People willing to volunteer as stewards or BJCP judges, please register here (we need people to pick up entries, sort, and on the day of the competition. Volunteers get $1 off each entry.

Register as a Volunteer/Judge Here

Judging begins on Friday/Saturday, November 9/10th at Airways Brewery in Kent. There will be a Friday night judging session.

Judging will happen with weekend of November 10th. Due to the need to keep the identities of the homebrewers anonymous to the selecting brewers, FULL RESULTS WILL NOT BE POSTED UNTIL ALL BEERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED. Coded results may be posted soon after the competition. Similarly, due to the need to have judging notes available to the brewers throughout the selection process, it will take a little while to get you your score sheets. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS IS A NECESSARY AND WORTHWHILE SACRIFICE TO BRING YOU THE OPPORTUNITIES OF THIS COMPETITION!

High placing brewers may be notified within a week after the initial judging. We may encourage advancing brewers to send in an extra bottle or two for the brewery selection if they are close. Breweries will select their beers 1 - 2 weeks later so please be patient.

After winners are selected, the breweries will work with the homebrewer to scale up and brew their recipe. Details will be worked out with the individual breweries to accommodate brewery, homebrewer, and "freshness" needs.

See the complete Rules for more details on entering the competition. For competition questions, please contact the organizer. For more information on the Pro-Am component of the competition, contact Mark Emiley.

Joint Novembeerfest & Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition Rules

This competition is only open to homebrewers (no commercial entries). Competition staff, judges, and stewards are eligible to enter. Judges and stewards may not participate in the judging of their own entries and safeguards will be taken to prevent judges from knowing who brewed the entries they are judging. All BJCP styles will be evaluated (only beer entries are eligible for Pro-Am selection).

The entry fee per entry is $7.00. All entries MUST be registered online (link available on the competition website) – any exceptions must be coordinated with the competition organizer. Competition helpers (judges, stewards, staff, etc.) get $1 off each entry. Only 10 entries are allowed per entrant. Make out checks to Impaling Alers. The competition organizers reserve the right to close the online registration early if more entries are registered than the judges can adequately judge. (Estimated 500).

Brewers must provide 3 brown, 10-12 oz bottles for judging. Each bottle will be labeled with a bottle entry form (from the registration tool) attached with a rubber band (no tape or other labels). Markings on caps will be completely blacked out with a marker.

Recipes for all entries will be submitted via the registration tool on the website. The tool allows importing from brewing software that exports in BeerXML. Recipes that entrants desire to have eligible for brewery selection should include: the entire recipe, mashing schedule, water adjustments, fermentation profiles, and style category. If there is insufficient space for all ingredients, please include them in the "Specialty area." It is not necessary to print out the recipe form as all required information will be in the online tool.

All recipes and entries submitted become the property the Joint Novembeerfest & Puget Sound Pro-Am. Recipes selected by the breweries become the property of the participating brewery. The breweries retain the flexibility to change the winning recipe as necessary to accommodate their brewing equipment. The breweries retain the flexibility to choose the winning beer based on private concerns (marketability, balance to existing beer line, ability to participate in GABF or WABA Pro-Am Competition, etc.)

Entries must be collected by a participating club, mailed, or dropped off at drop locations by November 7th (desired drop-off period is October 21st– November ^3rd) or dropped off at the locations specified on the registration tool. Please call ahead before heading to any location to ensure they are open.

The AHA/BJCP sanctioned judging will be held on November 9/10th. Breweries will select the winners within few weeks of the initial judging. The winners will be announced shortly thereafter with results posted on the competition website. The recipe brewing dates will be scheduled in coordination with the breweries.

Winning beers from American Homebrewers Association members may be submitted to the Pro-Am competition at the Great American Beer Festival. Each AHA member may only have one beer continue to the festival. To join the AHA, visit www.homebrewersassociation.org

Homebrewers must be AHA members at the date of competition (November 10th, 2018) and at the time of the GABF Judging (~October, 2019: membership will be verified by AHA – this rule may change with would require only AHA membership as of mid-June: details will be posted on the Great American Beer Festival website http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/the-competition/pro-am-competition/ )

Homebrewers may not be members of the brewery's staff. The homebrewer brewing their recipe with the professional brewery CANNOT be or have ever been an employee or contractor of a brewery or brewpub by the time of the GABF Registration Deadline.

Register Entries and as a Volunteer Here