Western Idaho Fair Beer Competition

The Western Idaho Fair competition is open to any homebrewer age 21 or older. It is open to entries across all BJCP beer, mead, and cider categories. For judging purposes, similar categories may be combined at the discretion of competition staff. Each of these categories will receive medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The first place beers in each category will advance to the Best of Show (BOS) round. We will award Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion in the BOS round for the two best beers in the competition.

In addition to the BOS and category awards, The Western Idaho Fair “Beer of the Year” will be chosen by Sockeye Brewing staff and will be selected from the 1st place beers in each “subcategory” listed in the “Rules” section. Only entries from brewers living in the greater Treasure Valley are eligible for the Western Idaho Beer of the Year award.

https://beerawardsplatform.com/western-idaho-fair

BJCP Judging Exam & Prep Classes

As discussed at the April Club meeting, we have locked in Saturday, September 21st as the official date of the upcoming BJCP Judging Exam!!

For those that are interested in taking the exam, please be sure to reach out to Jeremy Gramkow (jergramkow@gmail.com) or Nicole Thompson (thompson.nic@gmail.com) to sign-up. We have limited seats for the exam so you’ll want to secure yours ASAP if you plan to take the test this year.

Additionally, Jeremy and Nicole will be offering BJCP Exam Prep Classes to help interested examinees in preparing for the mandatory Online Entrance Exam and the in-person BJCP Judging Exam in September. Classes will start Tuesday, April 23, 2024 and will be held every other week through early September. Over the course of ~11 sessions (approx: 1.5-2 hours each) we will:

  • Give an overview of the BJCP program
  • Provide online and judging exam test taking strategies
  • Build up sensory, judging, and scoresheet drafting skills
  • Discuss ingredients, brewing processes, characteristics, and history of the ~90+ beer styles across the 26 categories covered by the exams
  • Explore off-flavors and how to prevent them
  • Practice drinking and describing a lot of beer

These classes will be limited to those actively preparing for the exam and will cost ~$10/class to cover the cost of beer. Let Jeremy or Nicole know ASAP if you are interested in classes so you can be added to the invite.

October Meeting Reminder

Thursday, October 12th at Homebrewstuff

-Learn to Brew Day is nigh! Making plans for the parking lot brew day on November 4th
-We got merch! We just had some beanies made with the SRB logo. They will be available for purchase as well as given out at Learn to Brew Day!
-The current administration is almost at an end, and it is time to start lining up a new regime to take over. We have a nomination/ volunteer link up. See the newsletter or Discord for more information.
-A special educational segment featuring beers from Denmark.

Social hour begins at 6pm, club meeting starts at 7pm, and the bottleshare will close out the night.

September Meeting Reminder

Our next meeting is on Thursday, September 14th at Idawild Brewing. Lots of fun things coming your way for our next meeting:

-A quick recap of the club picnic last month.
-Details about the latest competition from the newly formed Contest Committee
-Planning for future club events including the Christmas party to finish out the year.

As usual, social hour begins at 6pm, club meeting starts at 7pm, and the bottleshare will close out the night.