National Homebrew Club Ireland

North County Brewers and Hope Beer are happy to announce the "Hop Star" beer competition. We're looking for American style beers that highlight hops so bring us your bitter/piney/juicy/dank/hazy beers!! This is a BJCP competition, so it's expected that the hopping level for bitterness, flavour and aroma is in line with each category.

Don't worry if you live far from North County Dublin we'll make sure the beers get to us!

Prizes
Our top prize is excellent and provided by Hope Beer:

• Collaborate, later this year, with Hope to design one of their upcoming limited-edition beers!!!
• Be there on brewday for that beer
• Bottles of that limited edition beer to show off to your friends and family (or keep to yourself!)
• Hope merchandise
• Plus other goodies 😊

We will also have an excellent selection of second and third prizes of Hope merchandise. All medal winning entries will receive a variety of beers

Registration form
Fill out the Google Form here (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdllOV864P_KrE-rpkV5JyFDkG_W7LkOXfFwzlKxKtil0B53g/viewform?usp=sf_link)

Note

• You will be sent an email straight away after registering. There's a good chance it will end up in your spam folder so please check
• If you need to change your entry (up until the registration closing date) just resubmit via the form again. I'll remove any dupes

Details

• Dates


• Registration closing date: 10th June
• Collection closing date: 15th June
• Judging date: 24th June

• Location
  
  
  
  • Old Boro, Swords, North County Dublin

• Entries


• Open to all full NHC members (active subscription at the time of the comp)
• Entry Fees: €5.00/£5.00 per entry (to be attached to one of the two bottles)
• Total entries per person: 3, max 1 per subcategory
• Maximum total entries: 50
• Drop off points are the regular folks for your club unless I say otherwise. If you don't know who those are let me know.

•    Styles allowed:


• 18B. American Pale Ale
• 19A. American Amber
• 21A. American IPA
• 21B. Speciality IPA
• 22A. Double IPA
• 22B. American Strong Ale
• 22C. American Barleywine

• The small print


• 2 x 500ml brown bottles per entry with entry labels attached
• NO MARKINGS. NO FLIPTOP
• Entry label only secured to bottle with elastic band, no tape or glue
• No marks or images on bottle caps
• Competition owner reserves the right to refuse entries for not complying with small print
• We'll award 1st, 2nd, 3rd for entries in BOS. Prizes to be announced
• NCB and NHC are not responsible for third parties not fulfilling prizes
• Dates will be determined by the Hope production schedule
• The limited-edition beer style is yet to be determined. It's not guaranteed that it will be a style similar to that entered into the competition
• Alternative prizes may be awarded in a case where they cannot be fulfilled. The original or alternate prizes have no monetary equivalent
• Hope will have the final say on style, recipe and ingredients
• No walkins!
• This will be BJCP certified

• Privacy Policy


• Entry information will only be used for the competition and will be deleted within 30 days of the competition date
• If people entered information in the form and decide not to enter the competition, please contact me to have their information removed before that time
• The winner will have their information passed on to Hope to coordinate the prize
• Entry information will not be passed on for any other purposes or to any other third parties

If folks are interested in judging or stewarding please PM me. Any questions let us know!

NEIPA is covered by 21B. Speciality IPA

Great Post Phil

Who doesn't like some juicy hoppy beers in the summer to go with bbq

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

Great idea for a competition lads!
Liking the poster too  :)

Thanks Fishjam!

Were up to 14 entries! Don't miss out on this prize!

If we get enough entries from Cork/Galway/places in between we'll do a special pickup

14 out of 50 entries in just a few days?
I'd better get my entries registered if places are filling up so quick.

Quote from: fishjam45 (Colin) on April 23, 2018, 05:36:25 PM
14 out of 50 entries in just a few days?
I'd better get my entries registered if places are filling up so quick.

Yep. Best get it in 🤣

Quote from: Pheeel on April 23, 2018, 05:26:23 PM
Thanks Fishjam!

Were up to 14 entries! Don't miss out on this prize!

If we get enough entries from Cork/Galway/places in between we'll do a special pickup

If not, will entries be accepted by post?

Quote from: BigDanny84 on April 24, 2018, 12:24:34 PM

Quote from: Pheeel on April 23, 2018, 05:26:23 PM
Thanks Fishjam!

Were up to 14 entries! Don't miss out on this prize!

If we get enough entries from Cork/Galway/places in between we'll do a special pickup

If not, will entries be accepted by post?

The plan is to go to Cork first on the Friday then Galway the next day. Assuming folks can meet me on the way I will happily pick up
However happy to accept postal entries. PM me for info

Cheers. I'll be in touch closer to the time. I may be able to get them to Dublin myself. Thanks

Quote from: BigDanny84 on April 24, 2018, 03:58:31 PM
Cheers. I'll be in touch closer to the time. I may be able to get them to Dublin myself. Thanks

Sorry, to be clear. I'll be making the trip down 15th June which is the closing date

Quote from: Pheeel on April 24, 2018, 06:09:43 PM

Quote from: BigDanny84 on April 24, 2018, 03:58:31 PM
Cheers. I'll be in touch closer to the time. I may be able to get them to Dublin myself. Thanks

Sorry, to be clear. I'll be making the trip down 15th June which is the closing date

Super

We're up to 32 submissions. The limit is 50 folks. Don't miss out!!!

Latest stats:

• 34 entries
• 19 entrants
• 9 entrants from North County, the rest are a mix of mostly outside Dublin (with a few not!)

It'd be great to some entrants from further afield :)

We're up to 39 entries. Get them in while you can!!

Have just added an entry. Had a DIPA enetered and now I want to enter a Pale as well.

To be sure: to add or alter your entry you just submit a new entry (using the same personal details)?

Or have I created another entry i.e. I now have 3 beers entered?

Submitting a new entries with both would be best but either way works

We've only got space for 7 more entries!!

5 now!

We're at 47 at the time of writing. If you sign up tomorrow it might be too late ;)

Have just added an entry. Had a DIPA enetered and now I want to enter a Pale as well.

To be sure: to add or alter your entry you just submit a new entry (using the same personal details)?

Or have I created another entry i.e. I now have 3 beers entered?

We reached our limit of 50 (we actually got 51!) so the competition entry form is now closed.

If folks are going to drop beers or out completely let me know

If folks want to considered on standby in case of drop outs add you name below

Fair play lads!!!

Quote from: Pheeel on May 02, 2018, 03:42:01 PM
We reached our limit of 50 (we actually got 51!) so the competition entry form is now closed.

If folks are going to drop beers or out completely let me know

If folks want to considered on standby in case of drop outs add you name below

2 weeks to get 51 entries is some going! I'd better get brewing my entries

Yes you better! Thanks to all that entered. Time to get brewing!

Quote from: Pheeel on May 02, 2018, 07:04:29 PM
Yes you better! Thanks to all that entered. Time to get brewing!

Double batch brewed yesterday. APA and IPA .... NEIPA up next. I'm ready!!!

Quote from: mick02 on May 04, 2018, 02:31:33 PM

Quote from: Pheeel on May 02, 2018, 07:04:29 PM
Yes you better! Thanks to all that entered. Time to get brewing!

Double batch brewed yesterday. APA and IPA .... NEIPA up next. I'm ready!!!

Nice! Look forward to it!

Standby list
1. BrianC - 1 entry

Quote from: BrianC on May 08, 2018, 08:12:06 PM
Standby list
1. BrianC - 1 entry
2. Simon

Quote from: Simon_ on May 09, 2018, 09:14:40 AM

Quote from: BrianC on May 08, 2018, 08:12:06 PM
Standby list
1. BrianC - 1 entry
2. Simon
3. hassettbrews

Reminder that entries need to be in by the 15th

I am following up with individuals outside of the Dublin commuter area!

Thanks
Phil

We've decided to try something new for this competition

The American Homebrew Association (AHA) are trying out a new scoresheet for their 2018 competitions
https://cdn.homebrewersassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/BSTR-1.0-NHC.pdf

We've decided to give these a go for our competition

The benefits they list are:
• Scales for Aroma, Appearance, Flavor and Mouthfeel reduce the time you spend writing out intensity levels (e.g. medium-low hop aroma or medium-high malt flavor)
• Freeform spaces accept descriptive language to complement the intensity levels you mark. For example, you might write "wheat, subtle grainy notes" next to a scale that indicates medium high malt flavor.
• "Inappropriate" check boxes let you quickly note when you sense something that shouldn't be there.
• "None" check boxes help you indicate when a characteristic isn't present.
• A "Flaws for Style" section makes it easy to indicate intensity levels for common off flavors.
• A feedback section lets you bring your thoughts together and offer constructive feedback to entrants.

It won't affect the overall result or quality of the judging but it should make it quicker to fill out a sheet and hopefully make the later sheets more legible ;)

If nothing else it will be a worthwhile experiment and we could see if it's worth bringing into the Nationals for next year

Thanks
Phil

Apart from not being able to spell properly (color, flavour), that's a pretty good looking redesign. Think that might work quite well.

Suggested to Phil that the judges are given a specimen sore sheet for their categories with the sliders and other check boxes filled in as a guide. Stops having to refer to the BJCP guidlines for judges who have poor memories!

Like:   Me Me ME!!!

Quote from: Will_D on June 06, 2018, 10:08:49 PM
Suggested to Phil that the judges are given a specimen sore sheet for their categories with the sliders and other check boxes filled in as a guide. Stops having to refer to the BJCP guidlines for judges who have poor memories!

Like:   Me Me ME!!!

Working on it this weekend 😉

Just found this vid about the newscore sheets here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv9lZGFNPeU&feature=youtu.be (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv9lZGFNPeU&feature=youtu.be)

Also cider and mead available thru this:

http://dev.bjcp.org/news/structured-scoresheets-for-aha-nhc/ (http://dev.bjcp.org/news/structured-scoresheets-for-aha-nhc/)

Phil, when will you tell the judges what cats they are judging. Homework is needed!!

Quote from: Will_D on June 21, 2018, 07:42:38 PM
Phil, when will you tell the judges what cats they are judging. Homework is needed!!

Done

What time is judging starting today?

Quote from: BigDanny84 on June 23, 2018, 12:25:10 PM
What time is judging starting today?

It's tomorrow at 10am. BOS at midday. Results shortly after

Quote from: Pheeel on June 23, 2018, 02:24:47 PM

Quote from: BigDanny84 on June 23, 2018, 12:25:10 PM
What time is judging starting today?

It's tomorrow at 10am. BOS at midday. Results shortly after

Super, thanks.

Superb day! Results are as follows

Gold - Rafal, American Pale Ale
Silver - Molc, NEIPA
Bronze - Brewdorg, American IPA

Rafael wins a lot of booze plus the opportunity to collaborate on a brew with Hope Beer. We'll work out the logistics!

Scoresheet will be sent out in a couple of days max

Thanks to Hope for the main prize plus beer and merchandise

Also thanks to Black's for beer and merxh too 😂

Big congrats to Pheeeeel on organising such a well run competition.

Great beers and even better craic in the good weather.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Organised to the max. Great standard both in the comp and beers. Those prizes were seriously generous!

Well done all.

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for everythink. Pheel thanks for Your patient with my delivery.

Nice one.. Congrats Rafal and thanks to Phil and all the North County guys involved in organising :)

No prob 😀. Scoresheets have been sent to folks. Any issues please PM me

Rafal. Our gold prize winner came to pick up his selection of prizes

Congratulations on your win

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Sorry to kick this thread again but....

The beer that Rafal brewed with Hope is now available in all good beer establishments ;) Congrats Rafal!!!

With a better view of the NCB logo ;)

Well done.
Do we know if its widely distributed?

I had the privilege of tasting this beer the day they were canning it. It is a really a tasty drop.  :)

Quote from: Slev on April 29, 2019, 10:12:09 PM
Well done.
Do we know if its widely distributed?

Yep AFAIK it is as widely available as they're other special editions. I haven't tried it myself yet :(

Its lovely.
I got a few super fresh cans in McHugh's. Just down the road from the brewery.