2023 Lion Bridge/CRBS Wort Rally and Pro-AM Qualifier

[laloeb]

Here are the dates for this year's wort rally.

Registration Opens - Today, February 14, 2023
Registration Closes - Monday, March 20, 2023
Bucket Drop-Off - Thursday, March 23, 2023 at Lion Bridge Brewing Company, between 3 PM and 8 PM
Bucket Pick-Up - Friday, March 24, 2023 beginning at 3 PM, at Lion Bridge Brewing Company.

Formal Judging - Friday, May 19

Tasting Event - Sunday, May 29 (the Sunday before Memorial Day during Happy Hour).

This year we will be using the Bohemian Premium wort. All entries must use the 2023 Bohemian Premium wort.

You will be performing two registrations...one for the Wort Rally wort, and a second for your entries into the competition. In this way, brewers can calibrate their submissions to the finished beer.

Signup link is here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4C ... FBC52-2023
Scroll all the way to the bottom to signup, but please read the rest of the rules on your way down.

[tony b]

Can we get some details on this wort, seeing as we've not used it before. Basic info like OG, grain bill (not recipe, just what grains are in it), any hops added to the boil (IBUs and variety). This helps formulate what you plan to do with it once you get it.

[Matt F]

Think it is 100% pilsner base. Not sure on OG.

[laloeb]

Their website says it's made with flaked rice and a blend of American and Bohemian Pilsner malts.
There shouldn't be any hops added. My understanding is that we're getting pre-boiled wort.
Bohemian Premium ABV is 4.8%, which puts the OG around 1.050-1.054. Is that close enough?

[laloeb]

We're coming up on the end of the sign up period. Today is the last day to sign up if you want a bucket provided for you. If you plan to bring your own bucket(s), the sign up end next Tuesday, March 21st. Thanks!

[tony b]

TOTALLY BUMMED that we had to cancel the wort rally due to lack of entries!

Not just because I was really looking forward to this event, but also because I'm out some major coin for the rest of the ingredients I bought to brew the beer that I planned to make. Plan B will be to make this beer for Benz, but it means spending more money on the grains to make up for the lost wort. Plus, I had opened up my calendar (put off vacation plans) to make room for brewing this beer and getting it ready for the competition and tasting.

I seriously hope the cabinet does a deep dive into why this did not work out, so that the Club can move forward in organizing future events.

[laloeb]

Sorry, Tony. It's not what any of us wanted.

The cabinet has been discussing options if we do another rally, including reaching out to other local clubs well in advance to get their level of interest. An online survey would be easy to send out. In 2020, we had 34 entries for the rally, and this year we couldn't even get to 20, much less 30. The club has shrunk since COVID, and I didn't account for that when coordinating the event. We also need to work with Lion Bridge to keep costs low. $31 for 5 gallons isn't particularly high, I've read online that people in other clubs pay as much as $55 for 5 gallons of wort, but keeping that cost to a minimum will make it to get potential participants.

[tony b]

Thanks for the response, Logan. I appreciate the work that goes into planning an event like this (been there, done that!) I just hope that this trend doesn't carry over to our Festival. Last year was our best year ever. I'd love to see it grow even bigger this year.

[Matt F]

Bummer it did not work out this year. We cannot do the event unless sell the minimum. Like Logan said, we will re-evaluate how to execute this in the future. We are open to ideas on how to get more involvement from other clubs. Our own club is not enough to do the event all alone. Lending a hand to help out is welcomed. Friday wort pickup is an issue for people out of town. Our club is smaller post Covid. Plenty of things we can address.

[tony b]

Thanks for the insights, Matt! Sounds like time to regroup a bit and reassess where we are and what we realistically think we can do as a club.