Part of the fun of listening to a beer competition awards ceremony is hearing the clever names that home brewers give their beers. This seems to be conspicuously omitted in the National Homebrew Competition. Of course some names occasionally are so double entendre filled that they need some editing, but I think they should be included as part of the announcements. You can tell a lot about what was entered and the type of person who entered it if, instead of, say “category 23” you hear “category 23 Graetzer” or “Ed’s Batch #385” or “Jeffy’s Smoked Poblano Wit” or “Labor Day Black IPA” or whatever.
I just think it would be more fun and show some more of the creativity that goes with the hobby.
I notice that they don’t even put the names in the winners list on the AHA site.
I wonder why not…
Maybe there’s no place on the entry form for the name? I dunno…
Well, then why not?
Good question. In my case, it would be a moot point since my beer names are like “#424 German Pils”.
there is a place on the entry form for the name, and at least we’ll get the names of the gold medal winners in Zymurgy.
I would assume it is a time constraint, as the banquet is barely 48 hours from the conclusion of the competition. The staff should get to enjoy the conference too.
Plus probably a bit of the aforementioned need for editing; if a few names are profane maybe it is better to not announce any of them rather than just censor those few. Also a lot of “503 error” names this year. No need to bring that back up.
more than the name I’d like them to list the specialty information online. I cannot remember if they announced it at the banquet except I remember hearing honey varietal information for the Category 24 winners.
Denny’s right. After a hundred or so batches, it gets hard to be creative. Especially when you go over 500 like him.
The names are in the winners edition of Zymurgy, no?
Now you need to enter the name and recipe as part of the second round. Or am i dreaming?
Yes, I think the names will be in Zymurgy, but they are not listed on the AHA site now and of course they weren’t announced at the banquet.
Part of the creative process is to give your beer a clever name. Not everybody is good at it or even attempts it, but some of the results are pretty humorous and some give a clue as to the style of the beer.
When I have my beer on tap at home, I call it by the style, ie German Pils, CAP, Witbier, etc., but when I enter a competition I make an attempt at a clever name.
One major competition in Florida, Commander SAAZ, will assign your beer a name at the awards ceremony if you hadn’t picked one for it. “Commander SAAZ is Supreme Altbier” for example.
I’m not nearly to that many batches, but I still get a bit lazy with naming (even though my fiance inspires some pretty great names). I tend to name a recipe that I’ve been working on for a while (e.g. Pants on Fire, Complete Twaddle, etc) but most of my batches just end up as “Nelson Saison”, “Amarillo Saison”, “Dry Stout”, etc.
It would be nice to at least have the names on the screen for the winner’s beer, so I agree. It may come down to time and different databases to sift through for the names.
There’s always the random beer name generator…
I stopped naming my beers some time ago. Not sure when. There are a few batches that I re-brew a lot and those have names. I tend to follow your convention for newer recipes. Small Stout, Quick Saison, etc. If something sticks and I start re-brewing it regularly maybe I’ll give it a name.
As to batch #s, I have no idea how many batches I’ve made. The early years before I kept a log book are lost to time so I guess I will never know. Oh well.
It does seem like gold medal winners should have good names, though.
Maybe the gold medal beers should be named by the judges?
Thanks, Denny. I can waste a lot of time on that.
Yeah, I LOVE it!
I think if you are gonna craft a beer for a competition, you would want to name it. Beer is like music. in many ways. its been around a long time; almost everyone likes it, and for different reasons; there are a variety of different styles; breweries are like bands; bars are like radio stations; Pandora is, well, like my refrigerator! Naming your beer shouldn’t be required, but if youre gonna brew up something good enough for competitive judging, surely you can think of something to call it?
My wife writes a monthly article for a local for a free newspaper “The Bay Journal” here in Annapolis MD. the editor is the one who titles her articles, and i think sometimes the title doesn’t fit what she wrote.
As for the vulgarity, refer to the music analogy. look, we are all (supposed) to be adults of legal drinking age. and if they are not going to publish the name of your beer because someone thinks its offensive then who cares (remember the "explicit lyrics"label on albums?)
Part of brewing is expressing one’s self. It would be a little boring if your song #459 won a Grammy! And who would remember what beer took the gold in 2013 NHC style #23 if you didnt name it “Sto-Lat”?!!
Especially when the guy announcing the winners is so trashed he cant even pronounce your last name!
Last place beers should be named by judges - General Sharpie’s Revenge!
Hmmm, Worst Beer of the Year Award? That could be a hoot
They call the last guy drafted in the NFL draft each year “Mr. Irrelevant”. Kind of the brewing equivalent of that. 
#424? You’re my hero Denny. I’m only on #195. LOL