Once a month – generally on the third weekend of the month – the club meets at a public venue or private residence of a Club member. As a guest or member, you are welcome to join us at any meeting. The meetings include social time and a business segment. And during select meetings, there may be other components like beer style presentations, beer judging, or tech talks.
As always, members and guests are encouraged to share any home brew they may have for informal analysis by the group and, most importantly, for the simple joy of it. Commercial beers are always welcome.
WHAT TO BRING TO MEETINGS
SOCIAL TIME
This is a great time to try beers brewed by fellow club members and to share your own homebrew. People get settled in with a beer (or two) and some snacks, and to socialize before we get to the business segment of the meeting.
BUSINESS SEGMENT
This portion allows us to receive reports on the Club status, discuss Club activities and projects, Club participation in various events, and raise new business. There’s usually a 50/50 raffle!
STYLE PRESENTATION AND JUDGING
Our meetings are based around four annual competitions held every third month (March, June, September, and December). The membership votes on four beer styles – one for each of the competitions.
The quarterly homebrewed beer competitions are open to all current Club members. In the months prior to the competition, a style presentation is given to expand our beer knowledge and help us become familiar with the style. During the competition months, judging starts before the regular meeting. For each competition, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners are announced and the brewer with the most points across all four competitions becomes SCBG Brewer of the Year. Club members serve as judges and there is always a need for volunteer judges and stewards!
SCBG MEETING FORMAT
Our meetings are based around four style-specific competitions held every third month (March, June, September, and December).
Month prior to a competition: This month is devoted to a presentation on the history and brewing techniques associated with the upcoming competition style. After the presentation, members are welcome to taste commercially available samples of the style and are encouraged to share comments to help sharpen their judging skills.
Competition month: Members’ brews are judged by the club using the BJCP format. The scores are averaged, and the winners are declared. Those that place first, second, and third receive a trophy for their efforts.
Brewer of the year: The brewer with the highest total score for all of the competitions held during the year is declared our Brewer of the Year (BOTY). The BOTY has their name engraved on a plaque and gets to display it at their home for the next year.
SUBMITTING COMPETITION BEER
Each entrant will supply two (2)12oz bottles of homebrewed beer in unmarked bottles/caps with removable tags (affixed with rubber bands) showing brewer’s name. Bring them in a cooler and already cold. Entries should be delivered to the judging location by 2:45 pm for check in. Judges and stewards are asked to arrive at 2:45 pm on competition day so judging can begin promptly at 3 pm.
Don’t be intimidated by the tasting process; it is much less formal than it sounds on paper. We decided that we wanted other people’s feedback on our beers, not just to sit around and drink beer. None of us are certified beer judges (yet), so we are mostly relying on our own beer tasting and brewing experiences and the commercial examples to help form our opinions. Also, the floor will be open after the ranking for people to ask specific questions.
NOT SURE MY HOMEBREW IS READY TO BE JUDGED
All of us have been at that stage and can be as insecure with our beers as anyone. We just use this as an opportunity to taste what other people are doing, and most of us have come away confident that our beers measure up and are as good as each other’s. We have people at all ranges of experience from newbies just embarking on their first brew, to those with years of all-grain brewing. We have people who try to brew to traditional styles and those who just make beer that they like.
We try not to be too critical – the aim is to provide meaningful feedback to those whose brews might not have placed well by highlighting the flavor notes and profiles of others whose beers ranked higher.
