ACT Amateur Brewing Championships

By Chris De La Rue, Competition Secretary

It is my great pleasure to table the 2012 ACT Amateur Brewing Championship Report.

The ACTABC was a sanctioned BCJP competition and the beers were judged against the AABC style guidelines. Forty members submitted 219 entries, covering all 18 AABC categories, through 67 sub-styles. This was an amazing effort by our members, but it also indicates that the club is very stable as the numbers are very similar to last year.

It was pleasing to note that many of our newer members also submitted entries. One in particular is a “brew in a bag” brewer… more about him later.

While the ACTABC is our local championship, it also determines which beers/members will represent the ACT (Canberra Brewers) at the National’s. Having your beer judged to be the best in the territory and worthy of representation is a very high accolade, and this is why so much effort goes into organising this event behind the scene, and while I shouldn’t single out one person, I will because I must highlight the support of Richard Watkins and the Wig & Pen during the past week. Richard’s  knowledge and help to my role as Comp Sec in preparing the championship was invaluable… thank you Richard!

This year the decision was made to start judging a tad earlier (0830). The main reason for this was to take the pressure off the judges to critique a large number of beers in a set time. It also allowed the table captain to manage the pace of judging and when breaks would be taken i.e. morning tea and lunch break. From all reports this process worked quite well.

After a small technical glitch, judging officially commenced just before 9am. Six tables were setup and each respective table had between 30 – 50 beers to evaluate.

Judges and Stewards on the day included:

Table 1:
Richard Watkins, David Gilks & Richard Fitzspatrick – Steward: Matt Garvin.

Table 2:
Craig Webber, Stephen Neilson & Oven Andrews – Steward: Rohan Lilley

Table 3: Ben
Harmer, Jamie Harwood & Mark Overton – Steward: Joel Baines

Table 4:
Charles Newton, Graham Achilles & Paul Haesler – Steward: Joel Baines

Table 5:
Ross Mitchell, Tom Dixon & Chris Duffy – Steward: Kevin Hingston

Table 6:
Mike Day, Megan Watson & Adam Langlan – Steward: Darren Blackhurst

Before the judges and stewards could do their job, two other helpers had an essential role on the day, and this was our two pourers… Peter Daffern and Malcolm Scholes.  These guys poured close to 700 glasses of beer without incident… well done guys.

I hope that all who were involved enjoyed the experience, especial our new members, as it was great to see you guys get amongst it all.

By the end of judging, 42 Gold, 106 Silver and 36 Bronze medals were awarded. Two beers get the honour of being judged as equal top score on the day, and they were Adam Langan’s Fruit Beer (brew in a bag) and Mark Bilbrough’s German Pilsner, both averaging 43.33 points out of 50…. Great effort fellows!

Just before I sign off I must mention a few other members of my support team, including Tom Dixon, David Gilks, Mark Bilbrough, Colin at BYOAH, Anthony at Plonk… thanks guys!

Okay that’s enough from me, the following outlines the top placing’s in each category. Please note that the first 3 beers in each category will be eligible for the Nationals
in Melbourne next month. The full list of scores will be posted on the forum.

Congratulation’s and the best of luck to those members who have beers going to the Nats!

2012 Brewer of the Year

Brewer of the Year is awarded to the brewer who scores the most points at the ACT Amateur Brewing Championship ACTABC.

Prerequisite:

To have your entries considered for 2012 Brewer of the Year you must:

1. be a financial member of the Canberra Brewers Club (CBC) at the time your beers are judged in the ACT Championship.

2. have 5 unique entries to be eligible.

3. have at least one lager and one ale in your combination of 5 beers.

4. Only 1 entry per AABC category will count towards your score for 2012 Brewer of the Year.

5. Your best five point scoring beers at the ACT Championship will be confirmed as compliant with the prerequisite as outlined above.

Scoring Rules:

6. Your best five point scoring beers will be summed to give an overall total i.e. 97, 106,115,119,126 = 563 points.

7. The club member with the highest overall score will be declared 2012 Brewer of the Year.

8. In the event of a draw then a count back will be conducted in the following order…

1st count back: Highest point-score for mandatory beers (eg the sum of your highest scoring lager and ale) the brewer with the highest point score wins!

2nd count back: Highest point score from your remaining three beers (highest scoring lager and ale excluded) The brewer with the highest point score wins!

3rd count back: The brewer with the highest point score from your highest scoring lager, ale and your third placed beer.

The top five brewers for 2012 (based on the ACTABC 2012 results are):

1^st
Place – Mark Overton – 615 points (includes five gold medal beers)

2^nd
Place – Craig Webber – 599 points (includes four gold and one silver)

3^rd
Place – Mark Bilbrough – 597.5 points  (includes four gold and one silver)

4^th
Place – Stephen Neilsen– 574.5 points (includes two gold, three silver)

5^th
Place – Adam Langan – 570.5 points points (includes two gold, three silver) all brew in a bag!

Congratulations to Mark Overton this year’s ACT Brewer of the Year!

Cheers
Chris (Growler)
2012 Competition Secretary

Click here to download the results as a PDF.