North American Beer Awards

June 2 - June 5, 2009

The North American Beer Awards is a unique event sanctioned by the North American Brewers Association. The competition provides an opportunity for your beers to be judged by qualified judges against the best beers in the country. We hope the event, now in its 13^th year will continue to grow and draw an even broader base of competition. We look forward to your participation in this year’s North American Beer Awards.

Detailed below are the organizational and logistical requirements for competing in the North American Beer Awards.

ELIGIBILITY:

The North American Beer Awards competition is limited to commercially produced beers from active breweries.

JUDGING:

Beer entered in this event will be judged by the traditional method of determining how closely the beer meets the style definition for the category in which it is entered. The event is conducted as a blind sampling followed by rank ordering of the entries within a category.

·In the event that more than 13 beers are entered in a category, the category will be broken into flights with the top three beers from each flight progressing to the next round.

In the event that any subcategory receives less than 6 entries, it will be collapsed into the next closest style subcategory, but each entry will be judged according to the style guidelines under which it was entered.

JUDGES:

A panel of judges may consist of brewers, certified judges, and other qualified professionals.

All people interested in judging at the 2009 competition must have a current judge qualification form on file with NABA. If you have not filled out this form within the last two years, please submit your completed form as soon as possible since the NABA Board must approve judges prior to the competition. Download the Judges' Application. Judges will not be allowed to judge in a category in which they have entered beers.

AWARDS:

Awards consist of commemorative Gold, Silver, and Bronze medallions cast with the logo of the North American Beer Awards. Medallions will be presented at a public ceremony on June 5, 2009, in downtown Idaho Falls, Idaho. Any winning brewery not in attendance at the event will receive its medallion(s) via US mail.

A complete list of competition winners will be posted on the NABA website soon after they are announced..

Please note that use of the awards in advertising is encouraged; however, such use must meet the criteria specified in the “North American Beer Awards” publicity package.

ENTRIES:

A brewery may enter an unlimited number of beers in the competition. Submit your entry forms early (by April 24, 2009) and receive a discount on your entry fees: only $25 per beer entered! Thereafter, the cost increases to $35 per beer entered. Mail entry forms and fees to:

North American Brewers Association

2845 Holly Place

Idaho Falls, ID 83402

All entry forms and checks must be postmarked by (May 9, 2008); make checks payable to North American Brewers Association. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Please specify on the Entry Form in which category and subcategory each beer will be entered. The style guidelines have been revised to include additional styles and improve or update current style descriptions. Please note that there is a new category for smoked and wood flavored beers and that additional information is needed for beers entered in the Specialty/Experimental category. For Flavored Beers, be sure to indicate which fruit, herb, or spice has been used. Failure to designate a category and subcategory will result in the beer being entered in a category deemed to be appropriate by the organizers.

All beer entries must be received by date Friday, May 22, 2009 — exceptions only in case of emergency.

For each beer entered, please send 6 bottles (regardless of bottle size) to:

For U.S. entries:

North American Beer Awards
Attn: Leon Wolfrom
c/o Idaho Brewing Company
775 South Capital
Idaho Falls ID 83402
208-227-6661

For international entries and for pallets for Beer Fest:

North American Beer Awards
Attn: Charlene
c/o Golden Eagle Sales
5478 Heyrend Drive
Idaho Falls ID 83402

Please do not send entry forms and payment to the shipping addresses. Please send entry information and payment to the Holly Place address listed above.

Important Note: UPS will NOT accept beer for shipment. Therefore, we recommend that you use FedEx to ship your entries and that you label shipping containers “Live Yeast Samples for Analysis Only” to ensure delivery. Also, please use gel packs (not ice) to keep entries cool and be sure to cushion the entries against breakage.

Questions? Contact Us: