A. ELIGIBILITY AND CATEGORIES

1. Anyone may enter a beer, mead or cider.

2. Entries must be referred to by Category NUMBER and Subcategory LETTER.  Download the style guidelines (HTML, PDF or Rich Text) for category designations and descriptions.

3. Commercially brewed beers, ciders and meads are ineligible.

B. HOW TO ENTER, WHAT TO ENTER

1.  Online registration will begin October 15, 2007.  We would appreciate that you register via the web page if you are able: it makes the job easier on our end.

2. Entry Fees: $6.00 for each entry. All checks should be made payable to the St. Louis Brews. Attach entry fee to registration form(s) and place inside package. Any entries not accompanied by an entry fee will not be judged.

3. Entry requirements: Provide TWO BOTTLES for each entry. Bottles must be 10- to 12-ounce green or brown glass and clean and free of any labels (inked, paper, or otherwise). Bottles for Meads may be smaller.  Bottles with permanent, painted-on labels are prohibited. Entrants are encouraged to use brown, long-neck returnable bottles for extra protection from light and breakage. NOTE: Grolsch-type swing tops are not acceptable. Soft drink or other printed crown caps are acceptable if they are blacked-out with a black marking pen to assure anonymity in judging.

Use a rubber band to attach to each bottle a paper with your name, beer designation if multiple entries in category, category and subcategory, and registration number (a registration number will be assigned to each entry if entered on-line). The use of tape or glue to attach forms is not acceptable.

4. Beers from a single batch may be entered in multiple Categories. Multiple entries in a Category are acceptable but MUST be from different batches.

5. Recipe need not be submitted with entry. However, if your beer or mead has a special ingredient (herb, spice, fruit, etc.), is a classic style of a herb, spice, or fruit beer, or was brewed using an experimental method, you must describe the style, special ingredient, experimental technique, etc. on the entry forms. Meads must also be identified as still, sparkling, dry, or sweet.

C. WHERE TO ENTER, WHEN TO ENTER

1. Entries will be accepted starting October 15, 2007. Entries accompanied by fees and registration information MUST be received by Friday, November 30, 2007 before the close of the business day at the following locations. These locations are ONLY for folks dropping off their entries in person.

St. Louis Wine & Beermaking
251 Lamp Lantern Village (Clayton Road & Woods Mill Road )
Chesterfield, MO 63017
(314) 230-8277

Worm's Way Garden & Homebrew Supplies
1225 North Warson Road
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314) 994-3900

2. Out-of-Town entries: PACK YOUR ENTRIES WELL. Partition and pack each bottle with adequate packaging material. Boxes should weigh less than 40 pounds. Entries will be refrigerated upon receipt, thus helping to preserve their quality prior to judging. Entries sent by mail MUST be received by Friday, November 30, 2007. NO EXCEPTIONS! Entries may be shipped to:

HHHC 2007
The St. Louis Tap Room
2100 Locust Street
St. Louis, MO 63103
Attn: Stephen Hale
314.241.BEER

D. JUDGING / STEWARDING

1. Those interested in judging or stewarding, please register on-line using our judge registration page.  We ask that you register on-line whenever possible.

2. Judging will be done in open session on Saturday, December 8 beginning at 9:00am. A preliminary round of judging may be held Friday, December 7, depending on the number of entries received. The awards banquet will be held at the Annunciation Church in Webster Groves, located at 12 West Glendale Road, just South of Hwy. 44 on Elm Avenue.  Here is a link to a map: http://tinyurl.com/ykvxqa.  Decisions of the judges are final. Organizers reserve the right to combine categories if a sufficient number of entries are not received. Organizers also reserve the right to break up categories if too many entries of a particular subcategory are received. Any lager fruit, herb, and specialty beers will be judged in Ale classes.

3. We will host all participating judges and stewards at the Saturday banquet following the competition. The banquet will begin around 6:00 pm. We expect a visit by Santa. Bring your family.

4. A limited number of beds are available to out-of-town judges/stewards, please contact us early to set up a place to stay.

E. AWARDS AND PRIZES

Awards will be given for first, second, and third-place winners in each category judged. Prizes will be given as available. Winners will be announced at the St. Louis Brews Holiday Banquet (location & date pending). Digital images of the score sheets will be emailed immediately following the competition, therefore, please include your correct email address on your entry to facilitate the delivery of your judging materials. If you do not have access to email, your score sheets will be mailed to your postal address.  Medals, score sheets (for those unable to receive email) and prizes will be sent no later than December 30. All winners will be notified. Score sheets and judge's comments will be returned to all entrants, in either digital format via email or the original judge's score sheets via postal mail.

There will be first, second, and third place ribbons awarded in all categories.

This is an MCAB 10 qualifying competition. First Place winners in designated categories will be eligible to enter MCAB 10 in that style. Please refer to the MCAB website for details. MCAB X.

In addition, every entry will be entered in an 'entrants-only' raffle for special prizes.

For Further Information

For further information, please contact the Competition Organizer Dan Stauder or Head Judge David Nitzsche.

Now, enter those beers, meads and ciders and enjoy the competition!