Winter Brew: When It Snows We Pour

SOLD OUT!

This Winter we are taking the Chicago Street Festival scene indoors for Lincoln Square's first annual Winter Brew!  Join the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce and the Square Kegs Home Brew Club for a night of local beer and local food!

On Saturday, January 28th local breweries from around Chicago will set up shop in the 5th floor ballroom of the Dank Haus to showcase what great beers Chicago has to offer.  You'll have the chance to taste multiple local beers and discuss what makes each of them unique.

If you're hungry during the event The Grafton Pub and Fountainhead will also be on hand cooking up some of the best food in town!  The menu for the evening will be specially designed around the beverages being poured during the Winter Brew.

Buy tickets for Lincoln Square Winter Brew

In addition to the great craft beer and food, the winners of the Home Brew Competition will be announced!  If your interested in participating in the competition checkout the details below.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012

Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Entry Fee: $10.00 (Drink & Food Tickets 10 for $10)

Breweries: 5 Rabbit ♦ Half Acre ♦ Metropolitan ♦ Finch ♦ Revolution ♦ Plus Koval Distillery

Home Brew Competition

Entry Window

December 5, 2011 through January 15, 2012.

Entry Fees

$7 per entry. $5.00 per entry after 1 entries.

Entry Payment

After registering and inputting entries, all participants must pay their entry fee(s). Accepted payment methods include:

• PayPal via Brew Camp
• Credit Card via Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce

Categories Accepted

Bottle Acceptance Rules

• All entries must be paid online before being dropped off or shipped to Brew Camp. Receipt of payment must be printed and submitted with the entry.
• Each entry will consist of 12 to 22 ounce capped bottles or corked bottles that are void of all identifying information, including labels and embossing. Printed caps are allowed, but must be blacked out completely.
• 12oz brown glass bottles are preferred; however, green and clear glass will be accepted. Swing top bottles will likewise be accepted as well as corked bottles.
• Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.
• Completed entry forms and recipe sheets must be submitted with all entries, and can be printed directly from this website. Entry forms should be attached to bottles with a rubber band only; glue and/or tape are unacceptable.
• Please fill out the entry forms completely. Be meticulous about noting any special ingredients that must be specified per the 2008 BJCP Style Guidelines. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges' scoring of your entry.
• Brewers are not limited to one entry in each category but may only enter each subcategory once.

Shipping Information, Location, and Address

Brew Camp
2039 West Belle Plaine Avenue Chicago, IL 60618

Packing and Shipping

Carefully pack your entries in a sturdy box. Line the inside of your carton with a plastic trash bag. Partition and pack each bottle with adequate packaging material. Do not over pack! Write clearly: "Fragile. This Side Up." on the package. Your package should weigh less than 25 pounds. Please refrain from using "messy" packaging materials such a Styrofoam "peanuts" or pellets; please use packaging material such as bubble wrap.

Place entry forms and payment a sealed zip-top bag. Additionally, enclose your each of your bottle labels in a small zip-top bag before attaching to their respective bottles. This way it makes it possible for the organizer to identify specifically which beer has broken if there is damage during shipment.

Every reasonable effort will be made to contact entrants whose bottles have broken to make arrangements for sending replacement bottles.

It is not against any Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) regulations or federal laws to ship your entries via privately owned shipping company for analytical purposes. However, IT IS ILLEGAL TO SHIP ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES VIA THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE. Private shipping companies have the right to refuse your shipment if they are informed that the package contains glass and/or alcoholic beverages. Be aware that entries mailed internationally are often required by customs to have proper documentation. These entries might be opened and/or returned to the shipper by customs' officials at their discretion. It is solely the entrant's responsibility to follow all applicable laws and regulations.

Drop Off Location

Brew Camp
2039 West Belle Plaine Avenue Chicago, IL 60618  
(773) 857-2400

*Payment must be completed online before entry drop off, reciept much be provided with entries or they will not be accepted. Mon Closed; Tue-Fri 3pm to 9pm; Saturday 9am to 9pm; Sunday 9am to 6pm

2012 Home Brew Competition Rules

• The Winter Brewing Competition is an AHA & BJCP sanctioned competition open to any amateur home brewer age 21 or older. 
• All 2008 BJCP categories of Beer, Mead, Cider will be acceptedhttp://www.bjcp.org. 
• All entries must be entered under the name of the brewer. All mailed entries must be received at the mailing location by the entry deadline - please allow for shipping time. 
• Under no circumstances will walk-in entries be allowed. All entries must be handcrafted products, containing ingredients available to the general public, and made using private equipment by hobbyist brewers (i.e., no use of commercial facilities or Brew on Premises operations, supplies, etc.). 
• The Square Kegs are not responsible for mis-categorized entries, mailed entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrived damaged. 
• The Square Kegs reserves the right to combine styles for judging and to restructure awards as needed depending upon the quantity and quality of entries. All possible efforts will be made to combine or group similar styles. Combined or grouped entries will be judged according to the style they were originally entered in. 
• Qualified judging of all entries is the primary goal of our event. Judges will evaluate and score each entry. The average of the scores will rank each entry in its category. 
• Each flight will have at least one BJCP judge. 
• Brewers are not limited to one entry in each category, but may only enter each subcategory once. With the exception of: 16E, 20A, 21A, 22B & C, 23, 25C, 26C, 28B and 28D. With the stipulation that the beer/mead/cider entered be unique by use of a different base style, spice or fruit additive. Example: Only 1 entry each of 2a, 2b and 2c are acceptable (3 entries). Or - Multiple entries of Category 20A are acceptable if 1 was a cherry stout and the other entry was a cherry pale ale or blueberry stout. Disclosure of Special Ingredients is REQUIRED for category 6D, 16E, 17F 20, 21, 22B, 23, 25C, 27E, 28B, 28D. Recipes are not required. 
• Categories with a small number of entries may be combined at the discretion of the competition organizers. The Competition Coordinator or other qualified person will review elements of beer categories and styles with each panel prior to judging. 
• The Best of Show judging will be determined by a panel of senior level BJCP judges based on a second judging of the top winners. 
• Bottles will not be returned to entrants for any reason. All entries become the property of the Winter Brewing Competition. Rules and regulations subject to change.