ENTERING A HOMEBREW COMPETITION? WATCH THIS VIDEO! | THE MALT MILLER HOME BREWING CHANNEL

[@marcushellaby]

You should consider selling some beer mail packaging e.g. for 3 glass bottles. A lot of box companies have large minimum order quantities which is tricky for homebrewers who might only enter a couple of competitions a year

[@GrahamFrench247]

Great suggestion.

[@themaltmiller8438]

We will have a chat about this in-house and see if there's anything we might be able to do

[@TertiaryBrewing]

Strong no on using rubber bands to attach labels, this used to be the way to attach competition labels when the original labels were removed and replaced with small numbered stickers before judging. For most competitions now, the label stays on the bottle during judging. So usually the best method is to make sure the bottle is dry then stick the label on with clear tape (the wide stuff works best) completely covering the label with tape.

[@mrb1664]

Speaking as a competition entrant, judge and organiser this is a very useful video. However I'd like to make a couple of comments. Nowadays the label in a plastic bag and elastic band is not the preferred method of labelling, we'd rather you taped it on. Just do it at room temperature completely covering the label negating issues with condensation. Line your box with a plastic bag or place each bottle inside one so that if you do suffer a breakage it won't wreck the box and it be returned to you. If you do use plastic bottles make sure that the lid is tight, re tighten it 2 or 3 times before sending as it's a cause of oxidation or under carbonation. Don't use bubble wrap. My preference is to send glass, crown capped, bottle conditioned beers. Another tip is with bottle size, in a competition after initial judging of a table the the top scoring beers are judged against each other. Most competitions will use the same bottle they used for the initial scoring so if you sent a 330ml bottle they'll be tasting the dregs, send 500ml bottles. In our competitions we'll open a fresh bottle but I've not experienced that when judging at others.

[@themaltmiller8438]

Awesome! Thanks for the added insights!!

[@heathenbrewer7205]

Excellent set of tips and tricks to send your best beer.

[@DaftCatBrewing]

Please don't use a plastic baggy or a laminator unless the competition says you can. We've literally only had a single bottle turn up the the UK national in any given year before with laminated labels making it instantly identifiable compared to all the other bottles. So the organiser ends up having to relabel all the bottles that are laminated or in a baggy to meet the competition guidelines. Other than that as a large competition organiser I'd say a great video with some fabulous advice

[@stripeyjoe]

Labels, sellotape the back of it first and then tape it onto the bottle. Packaging - no bubble wrap or excessive use of plastic, it’s a pain to deal with when unpacking!

[@mikebeswick3420]

Hey it would be great if you guys started to stock a Two 500ml bottle container for transporting beer for comps. It’s a pain making one up from bits of cardboard etc. Also do you know how the bottle tops mop up O2. Do they need to be kept dry. Not sure how they work. Cheers guys.

[@themaltmiller8438]

Hey! The bottle tops and crown caps need to be wetted to activate the O2 scrubbing properties, you can do this by soaking them in sanitiser before capping the bottle.

[@mikebeswick3420]

@@themaltmiller8438 thanks. But atmospheric moisture won’t. Because they usually only come in a bag

[@themaltmiller8438]

@@mikebeswick3420 Correct

[@digga1667]

Keep hold of any postage receipts so you can prove your beer was delivered.......my elusive/malt miller entry last year was lost at the destination and never went to the judges.

[@stephenlunn3049]

When I’ve entered some competitions I’ve never received any feedback. If feedback is not included with the price of entry, what’s the point of entering?

[@themaltmiller8438]

Good questions, I guess for some it's the kudos of placements in the comp and winning the prizes. This being said, any comp should really be offering some form of feedback or at least aiming too. We've now included feedback on all our in-house comps

[@stephenlunn3049]

Labels printed on a laser printer don’t smudge, unlike inkjet printed labels, in my experience.

[@Richbrookes]

What sort of brewer reuses plastic screw tops at home 😂 nevermind in a competition 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@WarfareJournal]

Super helpful as a checklist, thanks chaps! It would be great to find out more about how you guys do the judging. You've posted a blog article in the past, but it would be good to see a video from judging day with some live examples of what people have sent in. Also, when are the Elusive 8th Birthday results getting published? 👀 Will you announce it in the newsletter?

[@themaltmiller8438]

There up now! Here's the link - tinyurl.com/5ru9rbdh. Good idea on the video, it's something we will consider for the next in-house comp we do!