Home brewers of beer, cider, mead and wine on the High Plains
of Wyoming.
Beginnings
Relax, don't worry
Founded in 1993, the Drafters are the second oldest homebrew club on the front range and
one of the oldest in the nation. From simple beginnings, we have grown to be a respected
and invested non-profit club in our community.
Community
BREWNITED
Brewers of beer, cider, mead and wine. We work together to improve our knowledge of
fermentation as a hobby.
Education
Knowledge is power
Composed of veterans and beginners of the hobby, our members share knowledge and brewing
experiences openly with others. Brewing methods, equipment, recipes and hacks are all
freely shared.
Competition
Growth through adversity
We host 8 Seconds of Froth, a beer, cider and mead competition held in late April.
Entries are rated by certified judges who are members of the national Beer Judge
Certification Program. Think your beer is up to the test?
Meetings
Meeting monthly.
When
The first Wednesday of the month at 7:00PM. Check Facebook for possible changes or special
meetings.
Where
We meet upstairs at Uncle Charlies Tavern (6001 Yellowstone Rd, Cheyenne, WY). Just head through the lobby toward
the restrooms on the right and look for the stairs.
What to Bring
Just yourself is fine, but we also will share and talk about our homebrew
beers throughout the meeting.
Membership
Why should you become a Drafter?
Benefits
Member dues offset costs for many events that we run each year. Only members
can participate in many of these events:
Club Holiday Party
Wyoming Brewer's Festival
Club mini competition prizes
Club brewery tours & field trips
Access to club equipment (jockey box, etc)
Education
Many educational resources are available that will assist in improving your
beer & brewing journey:
BJCP judge mentoring & classes
Free access to Sensory Training
In club book share & library
Big Brew Day free ingredients
Annual Learn to Homebrew day
Inspiration
Members are able to participate in community events to inspire excitement
about brewing and allow you to share your beer with others. As participants of the Wyoming
Brewer's Festival, our beer is served just like any other brewery's.
Ready to join?
Annual membership dues are $20 per year for individuals or $25 per year
for couples or families. Feel free to attend a meeting to ensure the Drafters are a good fit
for you.
8 Seconds of Froth
Test your brewing abilities against the best in the nation.
About 8 Seconds
Past & Present
Judging
Methods of Madness
Event & Sponsors
Where & When
Entries
How to Enter
Register
Signup & Signin
Results
Winners past & present
Contact Us
Have questions or comments? Let us know.
About 8 Seconds
Homebrewing on the high plains of Wyoming.
Started shortly after the founding of the High Plains Drafters club in 1993, 8 Seconds of Froth has been continually running for 29 years.
Based in Cheyenne, WY, we are the only major beer competition in Wyoming and the second oldest competion on the Front Range.
8 Seconds awards prize ribbons for homebrew beer, mead and cider with a best of show award for beer and a combined best of show for cider and mead.
Additionally, we recognize the top Wyoming homebrew entry as a special award for our in state brewers.
Additionally, 8 Seconds awards a special inter-club trophy for participating homebrew clubs. The Ace of Clubs is awarded to the club with the combined points in participation and winning entries. Last year's winner was the Rock Hoppers Homebrew Club of Colorado.
We judge 300-400 entries per year in our competition. Competitors in 8 Seconds come from all over the United States. We usually have over 100 participants, judges and staff that enter and volunteer in our event.
Judging
How your beer is judged and why we're doing this.
Why Do We Compete & Judge?
Aside from the accolades and prizes available, the judging process is intended to give homebrewers critical feedback on their beer.
Using trained and certified judges with extensive sensory experience, we judge and critique the beers to specific style criteria
determined by the nation Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). These criteria group beers into styles which are then judged.
While a beer is judged to style balance and flavor, additional process, fermentation and other issues are also assessed for each beer.
Most importantly, feedback is also given to the brewer to provide information on how to improve the beer in the future and
continually improve their brewing process.
Judging process
Judging at 8 Seconds uses a queued judging method. Each beer is judged and scored in turn within a somewhat random order in a flight.
Beers are organized into flights, or groups of styles with common flavors or origins. A typical flight may have as few as 5 or 6 beers
or in some cases may exceed 20 beers. Commonly popular styles such as IPA may have larger flights.
Judging is always conducted in pairs, with at least one judge being a certified or higher ranked BJCP judge. This ensures that proper
feedback is provided to the entrant's beers and allows novice judges to be properly trained by experienced judges.
Judges are never assigned more than 12 beers per judging session, so larger flights are split up amongst multiple groups of judges. At
the end of judging a large flight amongst 2 or more judge pairs, the senior judges in the category table will come together with their
top beers and compare between the various judging pairs. The top beers are then awarded places based on the consensus of beers that
performed well.
All entries are scored on a 50 point system with points awarded in areas of Aroma, Appearance, Flavor, Mouthfeel and Overall impression. The
proportion of points on these sections differs between beer, mead and cider categories since each of those beverages has different balance characteristics.
Scoring is not an absolute system. Generally scores tend to find a middle ground for an individual pair of judges. This then allows that
pair to be able to compare beers relatively within the flight. A single judge pair might score beers in their category higher or lower than
a different pair of judges. Keep in mind also that judges have discretion to award places for beers that contradict the numeric scoring
of an entry. While unusual, sometimes a higher scoring beer might place lower later in the flight. This depends on the decisions of the
judges at the table.
Virtual Judging
Starting in 2020, we began using a hybrid of virtual and in-person judging methods. This was initially done to deal with the
difficulties of in person judging during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the ability for our competition to judge more
entries and allow more judges in our area to participate, we plan to continue providing virtual judging sessions going forward.
Virtual judging is conducted by providing beer to a judge pair through local homebrew supply shops near to the judge's location.
Two judges then contact each other and can perform judging in their local area in-person or through video conferencing via Zoom
or Google Meets. Judging is then conducted normally through assessment and discussion using online judging forms that are part
of our competition software.
Some difficulties can occur with virtual judging and these are topics we continue to work on: 1) Judging feedback can be less than
what might be expected from in-person judging. We are working on software solutions to reinforce judges to properly provide more
feedback on beers. 2) Since multiple bottles are used, there are sometimes packaging issues and differences in beer judged. In these
cases, we highly encourage the beer that meets style criteria better to become the preferred score for the beer. Judges then need
to provide feedback regarding packaging issues. 3) Distribution of beer requires partners to be able to get beer to judges in a timely
manner. Our competition provides 3 weeks to complete virtual judging assignments.
If you have any concerns or questions on our virtual judging practices, please feel free to contact us.
Event & Sponsors
Want to volunteer or see us in action?
Location
Due to changes in business operations, our venue location will change in 2022. We would like to thank
Bison Beverage (previously Cheyenne Beverage) for their long support of our competition and hosting us
at their location. Bison Beverage continues to be a sponsor of our competition as a prize donor.
We're currently looking for a new venue for our competition and this will be posted soon.
Volunteers
Running this competition requires a small army of volunteers. We would like to thank all volunteers past and present for
their participation in this event. Without you we would not be able to hold this competition. All volunteers that help
with any competition sessions are eligible for our staff member draw for special brewing prizes at the awards ceremony. Volunteers
do NOT need to attend awards to be eligible for the prize draw.
Judges: While BJCP certified judges are always welcome to participate, we also welcome novice and first time judges that might be
interested in learning to judge beer. All novice judges are paired with a certified or higher rank judge to learn the judging
process and understand the sensory aspects of beer.
Stewards: Interested in the judging process but not quite ready to become a judge? Each table is assigned a steward
that assists judges with the judging process and paperwork. You'll be able to listen to judges as they go through the process
and compare your own tasting of beers on the table with those of the judges. Stewarding can be a great stepping stone to judging.
Staff: We also welcome any staff members that want to help out. Throughout the organization of a competition of this
size, we need help with beer sorting, beer pickups and helping out on competition day.
Sponsors
We would like to thank all our sponsors throughout the year for their help and participation in our competition. Sponsorship
allows us to give back to our many staff members and keep our costs for entries relatively low. We have a number of ways
sponsors can help out:
Brewery ProAm & Brew on Premise: Breweries can sponsor a homebrewer from our medal winners to either enter as a GABF Pro-Am selection or
provide a brew on premise opportunity for a brewer. This provides homebrewers a link and insight into professional brewing as they participate
in scaling their homebrew batch to a professional system. We will do our best to ensure any GABF Pro-Am selected is eligible for entry.
Top Tier Sponsors: Any sponsor that provides $100 or more of donation in ingredients or equipment is one of our top tier sponsors. We
will provide priority social media sponsorship as well as top level presentation of your products to our entrants and staff.
Local Sponsors: We welcome local Cheyenne and Wyoming statewide sponsors to showcase their products to our entrants and staff.
We do our best to show how Wyoming homebrewers try to support local business and products that may or may not be beer related.
Beer Ingredient, Equipment & Supply Sponsors: All general donors of beer related supplies and ingredients are also showcased
to our entrants and staff. Social media shares and relationships are welcome from these sponsors.
Drop Off Locations: Lastly, we often work with our beer drop off locations to share in showcasing their businesses as Homebrew
supply shops. If your homebrew shop has a number of members looking to participate, let us know and we'll work with you to get a pick
drop off setup for your local brewers.
Entries & Rules
How to enter 8 Seconds and get your beer to us safely.
Entry Rules
Prohibited Beers
Beers containing CBD, THC or other marijuana based
components are not legal in Wyoming and will not be accepted as entries or
judged.
Additionally, seltzer style "beers" are not an eligible style for this
competition.
Packaging
Three bottles per entry are required. Entries without a 3rd bottle are not be eligible for best of show or pro-am consideration.
12oz brown glass bottles are preferred. We do not disqualify beers using glass bottles with brewery markings, but labels must be removed completely.
12oz or 16oz unmarked cans are accepted. Can should not have any distinguishing features or labels.
Bottles and packaging materials will not be returned to entrants.
Invalid or mismarked packaging may disqualify an entry. We will attempt to contact you if any issues are found.
Deadlines
Mail/Shipped Entries: All mailed entries must received at the mailing
location by the entry deadline - please allow for shipping time.
Drop-off Locations: All entries will be picked up from drop-off
locations the day of the entry deadline by 12:00 noon.
Judging
This competition is AHA sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21
or older.
BJCP 2015 judging guidelines and general judging practices will be in use in this
competition.
Judges will work in pairs to evaluate and score each entry. The average of
the scores will be a means on which each entry is ranked in its category.
However, each table judge captain is responsible for the ultimate ranking
and awarding of places of beers in a category.
Each flight will have at least one certified or higher rank BJCP judge
assigned.
Best beers (1st place) in each Category will be judged in a final round to
determine the Best of Show Beer.
The Best of Show (BOS) judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel
selected by the competition coordinator. Judges who win in a beer category
are ineligible from participating on this panel. A senior judge with high
experience will be selected to lead the BOS table.
Best Wyoming Beer - Wyoming resident brewers who have entries
eligible for
BOS are also eligible for Best Wyoming Beer. This entrant's beer will be
selected from the top performing beers on the BOS table.
ProAm/Brew on Premise - All 1st, 2nd and 3rd placing beers are eligible to be selected
by
professional breweries for pro-am or brew on premise selection. Pro-AM beers are intended by
the brewery to be entered into GABF's ProAm category. Only AHA
members who have not already been assigned a ProAm award are eligible for
ProAm selection. Please provide a valid AHA membership number on your
profile to be eligible for GABF Pro-Am selection. Brew On Premise selection
means that a brewery will select a beer, invite you to brew on premise and put
the beer on tap for service to their customers.
Entry Guidelines
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.). Specifically, any beer found to be produced for commercial
sale will be disqualified from this competition.
Brewers may only enter each base beer style subcategory once. For example,
participants may
enter a Belgian Pale (16B) and Belgian Saison (16C), but may not enter two
Saisons, even if they are different in some signficant way.
Brewers may enter several specialty categories more than once as long as the
character of all beers entered differs in some signifcant way. For example,
a brewer may enter a fruited sour, fruited stout and fruited pale ale as
separate entries.
Organization
The competition organizers are not responsible for mis-categorized entries,
mailed entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that
arrived damaged. We will attempt to reconcile issues with problematic entries if time allows.
The competition committee reserves the right to combine categories based on
number of entries. All possible effort will be made to combine similar
styles, usually by beer balance, area of origin, etc. All brews in
combined categories will be judged according to the style they were
originally entered.
The competition organizers reserve the right to combine styles for judging
and to restructure awards as needed depending upon the quantity and quality
of entries.
Awards
Awards and ribbons are provided for the top 3 places in each judging table or category.
Judges may award an honorable mention in a category, but no ribbon is awarded for this placing.
All 1st place beers are eligible for Best of Show selection. Best of Show judging is performed
using an elimination criteria that removes lesser performing beers first and moves through
higher performing beers until a final top beer is selected.
8 Seconds of Froth awards a single 1st place best of show award from all beers in the competition.
A special top trophy is awarded to this beer.
From all Best of Show beers, a top Wyoming brewer is selected from top performing Wyoming entrant.
A trophy is awarded to the brewer in this category.
The awards ceremony can be attended in person by any entrant of the competition. Additional sponsor
prizes are usually available to attendees and volunteers. The ceremony will also be available
online for those outside our area or those entrants unable to attend. Special sponsor prizes are
not provided if you cannot attend the ceremony.
Register
Register on the competition web page to enter beers,
judge or volunteer.
