Second Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition Announced

Manchester, NH • September 17, 2007 — On Saturday, November 3^rd, Brew Free or Die (BFD) and Southern Maine Homebrewers clubs are jointly hosting the Second Annual New England Regional Homebrew Competition at Milly’s Tavern in Manchester, NH. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Cancer Society in honor of Don Merkey, a member of BFD who succumbed to cancer in 2005.

The New England Regional Homebrew Competition, sponsored by Gritty McDuff’s, is the largest homebrewing competition in New England, and is sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The competition awards gold, silver and bronze medals in 28 beer-style categories. Homebrewer, Cidermaker and Meadmaker of the year honors, plus the Best of Show Award, are awarded to the top amateur brewers as determined through the competition. Winners will be selected from what are expected to be more than 160 entries of homebrewed beer, cider and mead from the six New England states. Entries will be accepted, between October 5^th and October 26^th, with judging to be held at Milly’s Tavern in Manchester, NH on Saturday, November 3^rd, starting at 9am.

A complete list of winners will be posted on the competition website, http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC after the competition.

This year’s competition is being planned and run by registered club members from throughout New Hampshire and Southern Maine, and are members of local clubs Brew Free or Die, New Hampshire’s Oldest Homebrew Club, and Southern Maine Homebrewers. Gritty McDuff’s of Maine is the competition sponsor,while other sponsors include White Labs, Samuel Adams, Sky River Mead, and Giles Apple Farm among many other local and national firms. A complete list of sponsors is available on http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

“We are all very excited about the level of enthusiasm and support from New England Homebrewers for this competition”, said Steve Loignon, “The opportunity to demonstrate our love of home brewing, and to honor Don’s memory with a donation to the American Cancer Society is a real motivator for our members.” said David Rosenbaum, Vice-president of Brew Free or Die.

For more information, including entry forms and registration for judges and stewards, please see the competition website: http://www.bfd.org/NERHBC.

Brew Free or Die (BFD) is New Hampshire's first, and most active, homebrew club. It was founded in 1991 to foster the brewing and appreciation of craft beer in Central and Southern New Hampshire. Many BFD members have won awards for their brewing. Among the BFD members are a Grand-Master, several Master and National-level beer judges, and a number of Certified and Recognized-level judges.

Southern Maine Homebrewers was founded in 2004 to preserve and promote the time honored tradition of home brewing; to educate members about beer, mead & wine, beer, mead & wine tasting, beer, mead & wine judging, and brewing techniques founded on shared knowledge and experience. Southern Maine Homebrewers also maintains involvement with the AHA and their competitions through club sponsored entries and activities, and helps members to develop the necessary skills to be certified with the (BJCP) “The Beer Judge Certification Program”.

2007 Jamboree Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOCAL BREW CLUBS HOST 11^TH ANNUAL HOMEBREWER’S JAMBOREE

TO BENEFIT “The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of New Hampshire”

The 11^th annual New England Homebrewer’s Jamboree is being held on Saturday, September 8^th, 2007 at the Branch Brook Campground in Campton, NH. The gates will open at 10am. It’s a $10 donation for adults (which includes a separate ticket good for a day of door prizes) and kids are free for this celebration of handcrafted beverages. This event is open to the public. The Jamboree is being sponsored by the Winnipesaukee Area Brew Crew, Fermentation Station Homebrewing and Fine Cigars, both of Meredith & Shapleigh Hops Craft Brewing Supply, Shapleigh, Maine. Organizers and sponsors also include the Manchester Area Society of Homebrewers, Southern Maine Homebrewers, and Brew Free or Die.

Family entertainment will include a horseshoe contest, children’s games and music throughout the day provided by Equinox Entertainment. There will be a food vendor on site for Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner/ribfest and Sunday breakfast. Overnight camping is available. Overnight with hookups are $30 per site per night, and $25 per site field camping. Please call the Fermentation Station at 279-4028 for more information and reservations. The informational website is www.homebrewersjamboree.com.

Homebrewers may enter beverages for the people’s choice competition, for an entrée fee of $3 for each sample of 3 bottles. Judged categories will include several varieties of beer, wine, meads and ciders. Bring your judge’s cap! Participants of legal age may sign up to judge the morning of the Jamboree. ID’s will be checked. There will also be sampling from several area microbreweries and among attendees. Come check out several home brewers actually brewing their own beverages on site!

Any and all proceeds above costs will be donated to the Make A Wish Foundation of New Hampshire. We were able to donate over $3000 in 2006, and are hoping for a larger donation this year. Please join us for a fun-filled day of fellowship and homebrewing!

Single Hop Competition

We tried this once before with Styrian Goldings (Vinnie Cilurzo's favorite hop). This time we are going in a different direction – you pick the hop! Brew it in the style of an American Pale Ale, English Pale Ale, American IPA or English IPA. Hop it judiciously. This will be a great beer for fall . . . so get those kettles boiling and have it ready for September.

The same competition rules apply as always:

The beer must be ready to drink by the September 2007 BFD meeting. It must be labelled with the brewer’s name and submitted in one of the following containers: 2 12 oz. bottles, 1 22 oz. bottle, or 1 container with at least 22 ounces of beer (i.e. growler, plastic soda bottle, etc.).

Contact any of the members of the Competition Committee (Todd, Phil, Billy, or Mary) if you have any questions.

Session Beer Results

Thanks to Michael, Kurt, Jim, and Mary for judging the 10 entries from 11 different brewers. As Michael aptly observed, these small beers don't really hide any flaws.

Here's the best of the bunch:

3rd - Mike Robinson - Special Bitter

2nd - Shawn Gosselin - Dark Mild

1st - Kurt Demmer - Dry Stout

Cheers to Mike, Shawn, and Kurt for making some truly drinkable beers!

Session Beer Judging

The judging will commence this Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Russells' house. All are welcome to attend. We have approximately 10 entries to sip and savor. Please contact Todd or Mary if you need directions.

Club Competition -- Low Gravity Beer

Entries for the Low Gravity Beer competition are due at this Friday's meeting(4/20). Bring 2 12oz. bottles, 1 22oz.bottle, or the equivalent. No more than two entries per person. Judging will be in early May (date to be scheduled.)

Welcome to the BFD News Blog

This is the first draft of the BFD news blog. Club competitions, updates on swag, and whatever the officers think should go here will be posted in this space. If other club members have news once in a while they can send it to any of the officers or coordinators and it will be posted here. If any of you have brew news often that you want to post send an email to Mary Russell and she can set you up to post news directly. Anyone is welcome to add comments to postings.

You can get the news through an RSS reader or a daily digest in your email. The links are on the left for that. If you want to find archived postings go to the topic links at the right side of the blog or the posts by date for stuff that was here during a specific month.

If you have suggestions for improving the blog please let me know.


-- Mary Russell, BFD Blog Coordinator