Stone AHA Rally March 10th

I wanted to but I had already made plans for going to Big Bear for my brother-in-laws birthday.

IIRC, there were a lot of people who went last year that did not RSVP, just make sure to get there early to beat the long slow line (people registering for AHA at the door)

 

I would guess it is fine to bring a little to share with friends, but honestly I do not know if this is the time or place. I know that sounds weird for a AHA rally but this rally has a main event. The event is focused on trying other (and there are a lot, something like 40+) home brews that have been entered into the contest. The amount of time given makes it a little tight to try them all if you wanted to. Plus, 40 2oz pours add up quick.

However, at one point the general voting will be done, and that might be a good time to bring out your home brew. I would send a BM or e-mail to Greg Koch and ask him. I am probably not the best person to ask because I was not hanging out too much in the general crowd. My wife and I had a table and were eating, so I would just sneak off every once in awhile and grab some samples.

 

I'll be there, along with my wheatwine (Hogg's Wine) in the competition. Our brew club is taking a bus down, so it should be a lot of fun.

 

I did the RSVP through the Homebrewer's Association website but haven't heard anything back from them. Anyone else in the same situation?

 

you should email the bistro about bringing beer in, i dont think you will be able to do so though

 

they usually allow beer to be brought in for special events such sour fest, oakquinox, some of the meet the brewer nights. So it is typically not an issue bringing in beer for a special event, however I am not sure if this is one of the events they want beer brought to, especially since you can technically drink as much as you want during the rally (no taster tickets)

 

I got my confirmation email on the 5th. I assume you've checked your spam folder etc. etc.?

 

I will be there and competing with my BIG IPL. They maxed out the space so if someone didn't RSVP I'd be surprised if they got in. Don't quote me on that, but if I were you I'd call Stone to confirm

 

Have you competed in the comp. before? Do we really only have 1.5 hours to taste all the beers before voting?

 

there is not much time. I only got to try about 2/3 of the beer. But I was also spending a little bit of time at a table with my wife. The pouring and lines move fast. Pours are also fairly small. Most people were drinking while waiting in line for the next beer.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm really curious to see what the overall quality of all forty entries, and the final four beers is like. Should be a fun, albeit slightly crazy day!

 

last year was a ton of fun. wish i could go this year.
that cherry chocolate stout totally cheated last year. the rules explicitly said no fruit!

 

The rules did not say no fruit.
They did say that there would be a possibility that they wouldn't brew the winning beer though

 

Well I'm looking forward to trying some great homebrew today. Hopefully there won't be any dumps this year.

 

I'm going to bring some homebrew with me since I'll be bringing my backpack/chair/cooler contraption to the event. I don't know if I'll open up anything but if people are interested let me know.

 

Nice beer man! Solid!

 

strange... the rules from 2011:

• You must have your registration form filled out and submitted by Wednesday, March 9th at noon to enter your beer in the competition. NO BEERS WILL BE ACCEPTED THE DAY OF THE EVENT THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED.
• You must be an AHA Member to enter or to taste/judge the day of the rally. Wouldn't you know it? You can join that day at the door!
• Stone cannot accept recipes for fruit beers, bacterially soured beers, Brettanomyces beers or beers requiring extended aging (more than 60 days), etc.
• You must be located in one of the following counties: San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Bernardino or Riverside
• You need to submit six 22oz bottles or twelve 12oz bottles for judging. Submitting on draft is allowed, but you must bring your own draft system or bronco pump.

When it says "Stone cannot accept recipes for fruit beers", I'm pretty sure that means against the rules. Not that I entered last year, but I'm just saying, it's pretty strange that a beer with cherries won, when no other beer submitted had fruit because of what was explicitly stated in the rules/guidelines.