Re: [SPHBC Public] A Call to Arms (and Kettles) for MN Brewers

Ask not what your club can do for you; ask what you can do for your club. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Longballa" <jlongb(a)ties2.net> To: <brewers(a)borealbrewers.org>; "Northern Ale Stars" <northernalestars(a)hotmail.com>; "Rum River Wort Hogs" <rrworthogs(a)lycos.com>; <ctblist(a)cloudytownbrewers.org>; <mba(a)thebarn.com>; <mnbrewers(a)yahoogroups.com>; "St. Paul Homebrewers Club - Public Mailing List" <Sphbc(a)sphbc.org>; <phc-club(a)yahoogroups.com>; <markalaningham(a)yahoo.com>; <worf(a)infonet.isl.net>; <james_white(a)iname.com> Sent: Monday, September 13, 2004 05:48 PM Subject: [SPHBC Public] A Call to Arms (and Kettles) for MN Brewers "Ask not what your club can do for you-- ask instead what you can brew for your club." Ladies and Gentlemen-- For far too long (four years running!) the Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity (QUAFF) from San Diego, CA, has had a stranglehold on the Club of the Year competition at the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) national convention. For the past four years, they are the only club to hoist the trophy over their collective heads and receive the accolades that accompany the honor of being AHA Club of the Year. This year . . . that changes. This year, the brewers of the North Star state are going to take home the prize. After all--it's much too warm in southern California to properly ferment most styles; besides, we've got better brewers! The challenge is this. We need many brewers to commit to brewing and entering lots of styles. (New style listings attached) I will be in charge of keeping track of who is brewing what, so that we can have numerous entries per style. For those who are unfamiliar with the national competition, each club earns points on a 6-4-2 basis for brewers from that club who place first, second, or third in a style category at either the first round (right here in MN in 2005!) or the second round. We would like to see a few MN beers entered in each sub-category, so that when many of our beers take places, we are garnering points all across the board. Why the call to arms now? Certain styles will need to be brewed in the very near future in order to be ready for the April contest. Additionally, we need everyone thinking about what they will brew over the next eight months, so that we can have MN entries in every sub-category. With the first round being judged in the Twin Cities, MN brewers can save on some shipping, which should increase the incentive to enter! Your club can certainly enter beers under your own club's name, but here is the second part of the request (besides the one that asks you to tell me which styles you will be brewing so that I can send out requests for people to brew styles that are not being covered)-- As some members of the MN Homebrewers club (MHBA)and the St. Paul club (SPHBC) know, there is a friendly agreement between the MHBA and the SPHBC that the club that has the most competition points heading into the AHA national competition will be the club that will is listed as each brewers' club on the entry forms, regardless of which club the brewer usually associates with. In other words, if the SPHBC has earned some points in the AHA club-only competitions (COC) during the year, while the MHBA has not, then both clubs' members will enter the April AHA national contest as SPHBC members. This way, one club receives many points, rather than two MN clubs splitting some points and both clubs finishing far down in the Club of the Year standings. I am humbly requesting that all MN clubs (and maybe even the Prairie Homebrewing Companions! :) ) consider entering the national competition under the name of the MN club that has the most COC points going into the nationals. There are five more COCs before April, and those points are awarded on a 12-8-4 basis. If every MN entry had the same club name on the national entry forms--and if MN was represented numerous times in each category--well then, we just might have ourselves a trophy! This is more than do-able; this is imperative! Many MN brewers entered under the SPHBC banner last year, and the result was an impressive fourth-place finish! With an even more concerted effort, the trophy comes to Minnesota. So--the bottom line is this: Please look over the attached list of new Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) styles (complete style guidelines at www.bjcp.org) decide which styles you can commit to brewing and entering, then let me know which those are. Barleywines, Russian Imperial Stouts, Meads, sour ales, and other larger or more need-time-to-mellow beers need to be brewed right quick! Then, please consider entering into a friendly agreement that all MN brewers will enter under one club name. At the moment, it would be MHBA or SPHBC, considering that those two clubs have scored well in previous contests, but the club name used on entries could be open for discussion. QUAFF must fall--and we're just the brewers to make it happen. Please send me the styles you are willing to brew and enter, then think about entering under one club name when the time comes to register. Thank you for your support of this concept, and I'll look forward to tallying the hundreds of entries we'll be flooding the contest with! Thanks again, John Longballa Coordinator, The Campaign to Bring the Club of the Year Title to Minnesota! (CBCYTMN) ;) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----