This commercial competition is organized and run by the L.A. County Fair and the California Fermentation Society (CFS). This competition is registered with the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and the Brewers Association.

Schedule:

How to Enter:

Complete entry form and mail with entry fees to: L.A. County Fair Attn: Commercial Beer Competition P.O. Box 2250 Pomona, CA 91769-2250

Ship or Deliver Beer to: LA County Fair Attn: Commercial Beer Competition 1101 W. McKinley Ave. Pomona, CA 91768

Beer must arrive between August 4 - August 8, 2008.

Entries must be postmarked by July 25, 2008. Entry forms and registration are also available on the web at: www.lacountyfair.com/beer
2008 Entry Form (.pdf)

General Requirements: Open to any licensed brewery or brewpub in North America. All beers entered must be available for sale to the general public and must be brewed in North America. Beers may be entered only by a representative of the brewery.

Entry Requirements: Entries may be submitted in either bottles or Kegs with a minimum of one case (24) of 12oz. bottles, or one case (12) of 22oz. bottles; or one keg, either Sanke or Cornelius (soda, ball or pin lock) or the equivalent volume. The brewery must supply any tapping system requiring other than CO2 or other than Sanke or Cornelius type system. Breweries may have as many entries as they desire, with the limitation of; no more than one beer may be entered in any subcategory.

Entry fee: $45 per entry, submitted with the entry form. Make checks payable to the L.A. County Fair.

Tasting: Beer not used during judging will be offered to the general public during the LA County Fair as 2oz. samples. This tasting is to introduce the general public to the quality and variety of beer styles available. Our volunteers are knowledgeable about beer, the brewing process, and will answer questions during the fair in our tasting area.

Graphics / Logos: All commercial labels should be left on the bottles or kegs entered. In addition, for purposes of display, graphics in the form of posters and signs may be submitted for a display in the beer tavern at the Fair.

Judging: Beers will be judged against others of similar style as defined by Brewers Association style guidelines. Complete descriptions can be found at http://calferm.org/faircomp/CFSStyleList.htm. The judging will be held in closed sessions with a panel of at least 3 judges, with BJCP certified judges present. All judging will be blind. No judge may participate on a panel where they have an entry or where there may be the appearance of a conflict of interest. All decisions of the judges are final. Interested judges may email judges@calferm.org, or signup online.

Awards: One Best of Show will be selected from all entries. Three rosette style ribbons Gold, Silver and Bronze, are possible in each category. In the event any category receives insufficient entries, beers will be judged individually on their own merits. Awards for each class may or may not be given. All decisions of the judges are final.

Return of Kegs: Every effort will be made to return kegs promptly through local distributors. If other arrangements are required (such as return by UPS), the brewery is responsible for any costs that may be incurred. The California Fermentation Society or the L.A. County Fair, and Fairplex will assume no liability for lost kegs.

Availability of Beer: Breweries agree to make available for purchase (or donation), the equivalent of up to 2 kegs of each award winning beer for tasting during the LA County Fair.

Storage: Beers will be kept in cold storage (below 40°F) until time of judging. Beers may be chilled (or allowed to warm); if there are specific instructions. Please indicate on entry form.