The qualifying round of the AHA National Homebrew Competition will be held April 21, in Des Moines, Iowa.  Entries are due by April 14.  

The AHA "Club of the Year" will be determined by how well our club members do in the qualifying and the final round in this competition.  For this reason EVERYONE IN THE CLUB should send what beers they have available to Iowa for the qualifying round!

Tthe club is sponsoring FREE SHIPPING for all dues-paid club members!  Rick Oftel has agreed to drive our entries down to Iowa, and the club will reimburse him for his gas money.  BRING YOUR BEER(S) to the MhBA Club Meeting on April 1, noon-3pm, at 383 Michigan St in St. Paul.  Gera Exire LaTour will have registration materials available for you there - no need to bring anything else, except a check to cover your registration fees.  We will help you decide which categories to enter your beers if you bring an extra bottle of each to share at the meeting.

Here are the rules:
http://www.beertown.com/events/nhc/pdf/NHC06_rules.pdf

Summary:
* Only one bottle needed!  (If your beer wins, re-brewing is allowed for the final round)
* One entry per BJCP SUB-category per brewer or brewing team - http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/
* $8 per entry for AHA members, $12 for non-AHA members - payable to AHA
(If you want to join the AHA, memberships will be available at the meeting at a $5 discount - $33/yr instead of $38. RENEWALS TOO!)
* 10-14oz brown or green glass bottles, crown capped
* SPECIAL CATEGORY: NEW ENTRANT - for those who have NEVER entered the AHA NHC before! (ANY style OK!)

If you want to enter your beer online prior to the meeting, you can do so at:
https://www.regwizard.net/

If you want to fill your entry form(s) out in advance of the meeting, here is a link to the form:
http://www.beertown.com/events/nhc/pdf/nhc06_entry_form.pdf

Here's a link to the bottle ID form:
http://www.beertown.com/homebrewing/pdf/bottleid.pdf

NOTE: CIDERS WILL NOT BE JUDGED IN IOWA so they must be shipped to the cider-judging site:
Ship to:
NHC 2006
Halftime Beverages
2290 South Road
Poughkeepsie, NY  12601

If you would like to help JUDGE at the Midwest NHC preliminary in Iowa, contact Scott Dennis at scott.dennis@pioneer.com .

EVERYBODY LET'S PITCH IN AND HELP YOUR CLUB WIN THE AHA CLUB OF THE YEAR AWARD!!!

- Al

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