Prove your mettle against the best of the best of America's amateur brewers

Are your beers as good as they could be? Are they better than you think? Well, here's your chance to put them up against the best from across the country, and have a chance to win ribbons, glory and even bigger prizes, too. This the big one, folks. There are prizes for the best beers, meads and ciders in 28 categories, plus Best of Show, and the Ninkasi Award for the brewer with the most points based on all his or her entries. And don't forget the highly coveted Homebrew Club of the Year, for the highest club point total. So there's lots of gold to go for, but you've got to be in to win!

Joe Formanek is the 2000 winner of the Ninkasi award.

First round judging has already taken place at a number of locations around the country at the end of April. Second round judging is essentially a 672-entry competition which needs to be done in two sessions: Thursday June 19, from 1:30 to 5:30 pm., and Friday, June 20, from 9:00 to noon (with a judges' breakfast from 8 to 9 am).

For complete information on the competition, make sure to visit the official AHA National Homebrew Competition site.

We're encouraging as many BJCP judges and stewards as possible to come and judge, as we want to provide the best possible evaluation and feedback.

If you're a BJCP or other experienced judge or steward, we need your help! You don't need to be registered for the conference to judge. If you can help out, please send a note to Steve McKenna, or call him at 630-305-0554. When you email, make sure to include the following information:

1. Your BJCP rank and membership number.
2. Which categories do you have entries in?
3. Which categories do you prefer to judge?
4. Which categories do you prefer not to judge?
5. Which judging sessions are you available for?