A new setup for the monthly comps

[dan125]

Just seen this thread

I think the proposed schedule is a big improvement:thumb:

Also really like @The ***** s idea/format for a challenge comp - could this be incorporated into the schedule, maybe at the end of the 4 months cycle, or perhaps be totally seperate comp? Would also be great for bottle swaps to try other's interpretations.

 

[The Idiot]

I was just playing Devil's Advocate! I also understand the reasons of reduced engagement, but maybe a different approach might stimulate more entries.

My gut feeling is that I wouldn't be too interested in very generic competitions, especially as the forum conversation mainly consists of people stating they're sending a bottle in, and then the three winners who might later post a recipe. I also appreciate the issue with Stickies, but that might not be an problem.

I once used a forum for charcuterie and smoking, sadly now defunct as the owner died, but they ran competitions on a bi-monthly basis. The brief was always loose but contained one 'must do' thing. For example, make a sausage that includes and highlights prunes and brandy, or dry cure a piece of offal. There would always be a good lead time so people could discuss the brief.

What then followed would be a very lively (often the most active) thread on the forum as people discussed possibilities, methods, potential recipes, etc.. It didn't need to be a sticky because it was constantly being pushed to the top. The outcome was that people discussed recipes, helped each other with techniques and generally shared ideas. There was no secrecy, so everyone had a good idea of what the others were doing. It didn't matter, because even if a recipe was followed by everyone they'd all be different in some way. The activity in the thread saw more people interested and subsequently entry numbers increased.

Also, relavtive newcomers realised that they could still enter even with very basic products. Many of them would do so not just for the feedback, but also for the support and information they received along the way during the pre-judging period.

What was also very good was that all feedback was published in the thread too. Because people had discussed what they'd done, the feedback was interesting for everyone, even non competitors. It gave people a chance to see how various combinations or techniques had impacted on the final product.

The looseness of the brief meant you never had to make anything you didn't want to eat, but that there was a definitive point that would be judged. However, what was the real driver was that the threads were always active, informative and - because it was a competition of the loosest kind - humorous to boot!

I'm sure the same kind of thing could work for brewing, because the two are quite similar hobbies! I think this post probably explains it a little better than the last one. I wasn't trying to step on anyone's toes.

 

[DoctorMick]

I was just playing Devil's Advocate! I also understand the reasons of reduced engagement, but maybe a different approach might stimulate more entries.

My gut feeling is that I wouldn't be too interested in very generic competitions, especially as the forum conversation mainly consists of people stating they're sending a bottle in, and then the three winners who might later post a recipe. I also appreciate the issue with Stickies, but that might not be an problem.

I once used a forum for charcuterie and smoking, sadly now defunct as the owner died, but they ran competitions on a bi-monthly basis. The brief was always loose but contained one 'must do' thing. For example, make a sausage that includes and highlights prunes and brandy, or dry cure a piece of offal. There would always be a good lead time so people could discuss the brief.

What then followed would be a very lively (often the most active) thread on the forum as people discussed possibilities, methods, potential recipes, etc.. It didn't need to be a sticky because it was constantly being pushed to the top. The outcome was that people discussed recipes, helped each other with techniques and generally shared ideas. There was no secrecy, so everyone had a good idea of what the others were doing. It didn't matter, because even if a recipe was followed by everyone they'd all be different in some way. The activity in the thread saw more people interested and subsequently entry numbers increased.

Also, relavtive newcomers realised that they could still enter even with very basic products. Many of them would do so not just for the feedback, but also for the support and information they received along the way during the pre-judging period.

What was also very good was that all feedback was published in the thread too. Because people had discussed what they'd done, the feedback was interesting for everyone, even non competitors. It gave people a chance to see how various combinations or techniques had impacted on the final product.

The looseness of the brief meant you never had to make anything you didn't want to eat, but that there was a definitive point that would be judged. However, what was the real driver was that the threads were always active, informative and - because it was a competition of the loosest kind - humorous to boot!

I'm sure the same kind of thing could work for brewing, because the two are quite similar hobbies! I think this post probably explains it a little better than the last one. I wasn't trying to step on anyone's toes.

I think everything you've said makes a lot of sense and there could be room for both I think.

From what I can gather, there are some people looking for objective feedback and those looking for a challenge (there is obviously a some overlap) so I'd suggest we go with the 4 basic categories monthly and also a "seasonal" competition every three months which is basically what you described, a themed challenge which is openly discussed and hopefully gathers a lot of interest. The challenge could have a poll opened a month or so before it starts to set the rules etc...at the minute I don't brew specifically for the competitions but I think I'd be more likely to for specific challenges. At the same time, i'd still like an opportunity to have my other beers compared against others fairly regularly.

What do you think?

 

[Zephyr259]

Is the goal to only get feedback (which is not published so non-participants don't get dragged in or learn anything) or to also engage members and get them into brewing something specific that they might not normally try?

I think the problem has been that the competition wasn't inspiring people to brew something out of the ordinary so the narrower style months just weren't getting entries. Personally, I'd probably arrange my brewing schedule so I had a beer ready for the comp but I wouldn't brew something I wasn't already planning for it.

A seasonal "challenge" could be fun and it would be worth seeing if that gets people inspired.

 

[jceg316]

I was really keen on the original competition but like a lot of others I stopped entering for various reasons. One of them was because I didn't have a beer in that style to hand and I wouldn't be able to make one in time because I have a brew schedule I like to keep to. If I could send off a beer once a month of any style that would be a lot more convenient, because once a month I usually have at least one beer I'm proud of. I'm all for changing the comp to suit the forum's needs.

 

[tickleh]

Would i be able to put an altbier into this comp not sure what categories you are doing.

 

[Zephyr259]

Would i be able to put an altbier into this comp not sure what categories you are doing.

Sep-17 American Pale Ales (IPAs, wheat, pale ales, DIPAs, BIPAs)
Oct-17 Dark Beers (Stouts, Porters, Dark Milds, BIPAs as well I'd guess)
Nov-17 Freestyle (absolutely anything at all, lager, sour, Belgian etc.)
Dec-17 British Pale Ales, Bitters and Milds
Jan-18 American Pale Ales
Feb-18 Dark Beers
Mar-18 Freestyle
Apr-18 British Pale Ales, Bitters and Milds

Altbier, hmm... probably freestyle as I don't think it would be classed as a "dark beer."

 

[Hoddy]

Do we have a list of who is judging each month? I was down for October in the “old” format but I’m not sure if I am still down for October.

Not a problem if I am.


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[Zephyr259]

AlanManley and I were communicating on the previous schedule thread as we'd both offered to do months in the new year then swapped when the styles changed. Doesn't seen to have been updated though.