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Saturday, June 7th 2008 9:30 AM


3 West Gay Street
West Chester, PA 19380

To be the best, you need to beat the best! 
The BUZZ Off is one of the top Philadelphia area homebrew competitions featuring some of the best beers, meads and ciders from around the country. We pride ourselves in providing valuable feedback to all brewers who enter our competition so you can be assured that qualified judges will do a very thorough job evaluating your entries. In addition we are proud to announce that a portion of our proceeds will be donated to Philabundance (http://www.philabundance.org/), a local organization committed to hunger relief in the Delaware Valley. Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in West Chester, PA is once again our very generous host and primary sponsor.

For another year we will be a qualifying event for the prestigious Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing (MCAB). Brewers who place first in the qualifying styles will be invited to enter the MCAB national round, which will be held in 2009 (date and location to be determined). The qualifying beer styles are BJCP style categories 1 through 19 plus 22. Please visit http://www.masterhomebrewer.org for more details.

We hope to announce the results of the BUZZ Off and award prizes by 5:00pm. This will depend on the number of entries and judges we have. The judging is not open to spectators but feel free to stop by and have a pint and await the results.

Show off those fancy labels too!
Also we are once again having a Bottle Label competition for this year's BUZZ Off.  Now is the chance for you to show off your artistic side!  Details can be found by downloading the Bottle Label Entry Packet below.

Entry Rules and Guidelines
Please read carefully since our rules and guidelines exist to help us run a fair and efficient competition.

1. Two (2) bottles are needed per entry. Any color and size up to 16 oz bottles will be accepted. Grolsch (swing type) bottles will not be accepted. Remove any commercial or identifying marks or labels.  If there are any questions contact any member of the competition committee.

2. Entries become the property of Brewers Unlimited Zany Zymurgists and will not be returned.

3. The BUZZ Off will use the 2008 revision of the 2004 BJCP style guidelines (http://www.bjcp.org).  If there are any questions contact any member of the competition committee.

4. It is the responsibility of the entrant to determine the proper style category/subcategory for their entries and to provide additional information when required.

5. Depending on the number of entries and category distribution, categories and subcategories may be combined or separated for judging and awards purposes.  These judging table breakdowns will not be available prior to the competition and will be determined by the competition committee once all entries have been processed.

6. While the majority of judging tables will be evaluated on June 7th, some judging may occur before this date due to the availability of qualified judges.  This ensures the highest quality of feedback to entrants.

7. Judge’s score sheets for each entry will be mailed to the entrants within one week of the BUZZ Off. 

8. BUZZ Off winners and MCAB qualifying results can be found on the BUZZ web site (http://hbd.org/buzz) within 48 hours of the completion of judging.

9. Ribbons will be awarded to the top three entries at each judging table as well as Best of Show.  Prizes will be awarded for 1st place in each category as well as the Best of Show.  Prizes are not exchangeable.

10. The competition committee will resolve any disputes or issues that arise before, during or after the competition.

11. A portion of our proceeds will be donated to Philabundance (http://www.philabundance.org).  We are targeting $1 per entry but this may increase or decrease based on the number of entries and our overall expenses for the competition.

Any deviation from the rules established here MUST be confirmed by the competition committee prior to the entry due date or else entries will be disqualified.  This includes any deviations accepted in prior BUZZ Offs.

MCAB Qualifying Rules

1. Please see http://www.hbd.org/mcab for complete details
2. The first place BUZZ Off entry as determined by the judges in each MCAB qualifying category (BJCP 1-19 plus 22) will be the MCAB qualifier from the BUZZ Off. Only one entry per category may qualify for MCAB.
3. If multiple qualifying categories have been combined for BUZZ Off award purposes, the highest scoring entry in the category that does not take first place will be the MCAB qualifier.
4. If a single MCAB qualifying category is split between two BUZZ Off award categories, the highest scoring first place entry will be the MCAB qualifier. A Best Of Show winner will always be considered the highest placing entry in a category and will be the MCAB qualifier regardless of score.
5. The competition committee will resolve any disputes or issues that arise before, during or after the competition.
   

Entry Cost

The cost is $5 per entry. Checks should be made out to "David Houseman" 

Mail In and Drop Off Locations

Mail in entries will be accepted between May 12th and May 23rd at the Deery/Thomas Agency in West Chester, PA.  The contact there is BUZZ member Bob Thomas.  Please use this address for shipping:  

Do not send entries to Iron Hill. 

Entries may also be dropped off from May 12th thru 24th at the following locations: 

Please note that entries MUST be dropped off before the end of the entry period.  Any exceptions MUST be confirmed by the Competition Committee prior to the entry due date or they will NOT be accepted.

Judges and Stewards 

Stewards and Judges will be needed. If you are interested please contact a Competition Committee member below. All judges must be BJCP certified or have relevant experience and should provide their BJCP number (if available) and ranking when signing up. Recent exam takers are welcome and will be paired up with experienced judges for a great learning experience. Stewards need no prior experience.

Judges and stewards should arrive by 9:00am with judging to begin promptly at 9:30am.  Lunch will be provided to all judges and stewards courtesy of BUZZ and Iron Hill.

Judges and stewards may bring their entries (up to 3 entries) the day of the BUZZ Off if all paperwork is received by the due date (May 26). Entries will be accepted Saturday only until 9:00am.

Driving Directions & Parking

Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant is located in the heart of West Chester, PA at the corner of Gay and High Street.  Parking meters are free on Saturdays and there is a parking garage located at the corner or Chestnut and Walnut Street one block away.  Please contact the Competition Committee or Iron Hill with any questions regarding directions and parking.


Map of 3 W Gay St
West Chester, PA 19380-3010

Contact Information:

Please, do NOT contact Iron Hill for results!

Official Entry Packet

The official entry forms can be downloaded below.  The file is in pdf format and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.  You may also contact one of the coordinators above if you have any trouble obtaining the form.

BUZZ Off Entry Packet (pdf)
BUZZ Off Entry Packet (MS Word)

Bottle Label Entry Packet (pdf)
Bottle Label Entry Packet (MS Word)

For results of past BUZZ Off competitions, please see the links below:

2007 BUZZ Off Results
2006 BUZZ Off Results
2005 BUZZ Off Results
2004 BUZZ Off Results
2003 BUZZ Off Results
2002 BUZZ Off Results
2001 BUZZ Off Results