Second Small and Tiny Homebrew Competition

April 27, 1996

Entries due April 1 - April 26, 1996

Many of us homebrewers like to make those BIG, malty, hoppy (alcoholic) beers. But there's a lot to be said for the beers at the other end of the scale, too. This competition recogizes those beers that are, despite their light gravity, good-tasting and flavorful. Beers that get shunted aside in most competitions in favor of their more robust cousins. Beers that deserve recognition! So, start brewing!

The categories

1. Small beer

OG 1.035 -- 1.043. All beers entered in this category must be in the specified OG range.

a. Classic small style

"Small" beers in the AHA styles that overlap the "small" OG range, except those with separate categories below. These styles are: 3c. Belgian-style Fruit Lambic, 4a. English Brown, 4c. American Brown, 6b. American Wheat, 8b. Scottish Heavy Ale, 8c. Scottish Export Ale, 9b. Brown Porter 11a. Classic Dry Stout, 16a. American Lite Lager, 16b. American Standard Lager, 16d. American Dry Lager, 16f. American Dark Lager, 18b. Kölsch, and 23. California Common Beer. Note that for many of these styles, only the lower end of the range is in the "small" category. Specify the original AHA style.

b. Other small beer

Any other "small" beer should be entered in this category. Thus, a nice, hoppy lager with an OG of 1.040 might be entered here, as it clearly would not fit any of the American Lager styles. If you believe the beer to be a small representative of an AHA style, please specify (e.g., 15a. German Pilsner). Specialty, fruit, and herb beers would be entered here.

2. Tiny

OG less than 1.035. Beers entered in the tiny categories must have an OG less than 1.035.

a. Classic tiny style

Beers in the following AHA styles, which overlap the "tiny" gravity range: 6b. American Wheat, 8a. Scottish Light, 16a. American Lite Lager, and 24a. Berliner Weisse.

b. Other tiny beer

Any other "tiny" beer can be entered in this category. Thus, a stout with an OG of 1.032 might be entered here, as it clearly would not fit any of the usual Pale Ale styles. If you believe the beer to be a tiny representative of an AHA style, please specify (e.g., 11a. Classic Dry Stout). Specialty, fruit, and herb beers would be entered here.

3. English Bitter Ales

Ordinary and Special Bitters with a original gravity of 1.043 or less. The corresponding AHA styles (please indicate which) are: 7a. English Ordinary Bitter, and 7b. English Special Bitter.

4. English Mild Ale

All English Milds should be entered in this category. See AHA style description for 4b. English Mild.

We reserve the right to split categories if we get enough entries. If we do so, each new subcategory will have at least 10 entries. When possible, subcategories will be formed according to the original AHA classification of the beer.

We do not plan to take gravity measurements (although it's theoretically possible to work backwards to OG from final gravity and alcohol content (both measurable), it's not something we want to do at the judging table.) It's up to you to be honest about your entries, and please don't try to "slip in" a bigger beer.

Entering

Send 2 bottles and $5 per entry (or $4 per entry if submitting 3 or more beers) to

Small and Tiny HC
c/o Spencer Thomas
1418 Golden Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
313-994-0072

We will take just about any bottle, as long as there are no labels or markings on it that identify the brewer. Minimum bottle size: 10 oz (300 ml). Black out any printing or writing on bottle caps. Attach recipe and bottle forms to bottles with rubber band only. You may submit multiple entries per category, but only one per AHA style and substyle.

Awards

Awards will be made for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category, and for best of show. Other awards may be made at the discretion of the judges and organizer. Beers must score at least 25 points on the 50 point scale to qualify for an award. All entrants will received completed judging sheets for their entries.

All beers will be judged by BJCP-certified judges. The competition is recognized by the BJCP, and sponsored by the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild.