I wanted to attempt to clarify two comments that I have seen a lot. I have listed each below.
A) The requirement to list each beer as “Homemade . . . “ is a NC law. We hope it will be part of the BAP label for first round and finals. This is NC State Law and as such really only applies to Finals. However, we wanted to stress this throughout the rules as this is important that we are compliant. If this is not part of the BAP labels, it will need to be included.
B) Tape or rubber bands. Frankly we do not care. Rubberbands have been the norm for a long time. Part of that was based on labels needing to be replaced with different labels after check-in. That’s no longer the case. Since rubberbands sometimes break or slide-off, we offered tape as an alternative. Do what feels right for you. We will Relax, Don’t Worry and Have a Home Brew.
Minor nit - for A) it is an NC ABC Rule and the NC ABC rules have to be followed perfectly for competitions held in licensed businesses, but it is not part of NC statute law.
A different take on B) - Since labels attached with rubber bands very often slide off as packages are put into and taken out of cases with dividers, rubber bands are to please be avoided. All entries that arrive with only rubber bands will require our volunteers to remove the rubber band and tape the labels on. And we are talking about thousands of bottles and cans. Since I know so many of you entrants are meticulous about your brewing and entering processes, don’t take unnecessary chances with ripped, illegible, or mismatched loose labels. Embrace the tape. and Good luck in the competition!
Yep, during our local competition a few weeks ago I was putting my own beers into a 6pack holder and the rubber band came off immediately. To be avoided if possible.
Clarification - please do not tape the labels to the necks of the bottles. I know most of you wouldn’t but it’s worth stating since there’s always one… (hooray for neck-less cans)
Hi Charlie & Jen - there are a bunch of NHC entrants who got caught off guard by LONGMONT’s early edit lockout. Hoping you can jump in and help them. (note: this does not personally impact me - but it does look like it impacts a lot of brewers who regsitered).
THE ISSUE: Longmont locked out edits 3/15. Shipping window is 3/28 - 4/3. As entrants preparea to ship they are realizing that they cannot make changes to their entries.
CONTEXT: Many homebrew competitors use “placeholders” when registering. After their beers have finished fermenting, they decide which of them they will send to the competition.
WHY IT MATTERS: Longmont is the outlier here. All other sites allow edits at least one week into the shipping window…
CHICAGO, KC, SAN FRANCISCO, SEATTLE and TAMPA all allow edits until the last day of the shipping window.
INDY allows edits two days before the end of the shipping window (3/12. Shipping is 3/4-3/14)
PHILLY allows edits one week after shipping has started (3/20. Shipping is 3/13-3/27)
I have heard that many people have reached out to the comp coordinator at LONGMONT for help, but to my knowledge nobody has received a clear answer back. Can you help?
and Good luck in the competition!