Lonerider Brewery in Raleigh, NC is again hosting their annual homebrew competition, “Brew it Forward.” This year the event is back and bigger than ever, Showdown 2012!
Not only will the Brew it Forward competition be going on, but there will also be a “western party for all” at Moore Square in Raleigh on March 24th from 1pm – 7pm. The party will feature live bands as well as some great “western” activities such as lasso and quick draw. There will also be cornhole and a western photo booth.
There is not currently any information available about ticket prices and when they will be available, but you can check back to http://loneriderbeer.com/showdown2012 for more info.
Brew it Forward Competition
This year’s competition benefits Nurish International. The winning beer will be scaled up and replicated by Lonerider and all proceeds from that beer will be split between the winning brewer and Nurish International.
Registration: January 7, 2012 through March 10, 2012 (Registration closes at 11:00pm)
Competition: March 24th from 1pm – 7pm
Cost: $6 per entry, Maximum of 4 entries per individual or team
One of the biggest things to note is that this is NOT a BJCP event. According to the Lonerider website, “The Lonerider Brew it Forward competition is a ‘most drinkable beer’ competition. As such, entries will not be judged according to BJCP guidelines. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of BJCP-trained beer judges and industry professionals based on drinkability and the absence of brewing, fermentation, and handling flaws. BJCP score sheets will be used for judging and will be returned to entrants after the competition.”
Things to note if you plan on entering:
- Open to NC residents 21 and older
- Your beer must be able to go from grain to glass in 4 weeks or less once scaled up
- Must use a single temperature infusion mash (No step, decoction, or RIMS/HERMs mashes.)
- Pellet hops only
- Lonerider uses Wyeast, so stick to strains produced by Wyeast
- 2 bottles per entry
- No wild yeasts
- No smoked/toasted/roasted malts.
- No fresh malt extract from a brewery.
- No barrel-aging (wood chips are acceptable).
- No recipes from a professional system (no brew-on-premises beers or beer brewed in a commercial brewery).
- No recipes > 8% ABV.
- Maximum of 4 entries per individual or team.
There are various entry drop off locations throughout the state, so you don’t have to drive to Lonerider to hand-deliver your beer. See the full list here.
Also note that you don’t stand any chance of winning best of show if you brew a beer that Lonerider already makes or one of the styles that one in the past few years. They are looking to expand their offering with your beer, so brew something that has mass appeal and something they don’t already brew. You’ll also have to think up a good outlaw/western themed name for the brew.
So what are you waiting for? go and register for the competition!