Homebrew Competitions Survey Results

[TooDeadBrew]

Results of a survey conducted by the Women's Craft Fermentation Alliance and presented at HomebrewCon 2023 in San Diego:
Survey Dashboard Link

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

related to the topic:

• AHA: Homebrew Competitions Survey
• r/homebrewing: Homebrew Competitions Survey
• AHA: WHY DO YOU ENTER HOMEBREW COMPS? WHY NOT?

 

[TooDeadBrew]

[deleted stuff]

The point of the survey was to understand why people enter competitions and how organizers can encourage a more diverse group of folks to enter. My club is mostly guys, so I found the results useful so I can understand how to be more encouraging to women to get involved.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The point of the survey was to understand why people enter competitions and how organizers can encourage a more diverse group of folks to enter. My club is mostly guys, so I found the results useful so I can understand how to be more encouraging to women to get involved.

For those of us who don't have access to the raw data and are not yet able to watch/listen to the presentation, can you

... either include the counts as well as percentages in the survey results?

... or mention the number of participants that completed the survey?

 

[TooDeadBrew]

For those of us who don't have access to the raw data and are not yet able to watch/listen to the presentation, can you

... either include the counts as well as percentages in the survey results?

... or mention the number of participants that completed the survey?

The visual is interactive, so if you hover or click on bars/visuals you can see counts in a pop up

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

The visual is interactive, so if you hover or click on bars/visuals you can see counts in a pop up

Thanks. That's not easy to "discover" when using touch devices.

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129 / 49% ~ 260

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

question withdrawn. Based on a comment over in /r/homebrewing, it appears that any presentation summary information won't be available until the seminar is published at the AHA web site (in the seminars section).

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eta: "past me" (#7) quoting "future me" (#14) because one of the AHA presentations was made available outside of AHA web site content.

FYI: there is a new (to me) link to the "Women & Beer Competitions" presentation (link) on the home page for the survey (Survey Dashboard Link).

(click on the "up arrow" to watch your web browser scroll down!)

 

[Kickass]

Are there homebrewing barriers to entry for women? I’ve always seen homebrewing as being rather inclusive.

 

[day_trippr]

Well, there is that whole "beard" thing...

Cheers!

 

[shetc]

Well, there is that whole "beard" thing...

Cheers!

Hey!

 

[madscientist451]

Are there homebrewing barriers to entry for women? I’ve always seen homebrewing as being rather inclusive.

Sounds like you are questioning if the above survey was worthwhile?
If not, my apologies.
I'm glad I know about the survey and the results. Knowledge helps when making decisions.

 

[Mad Mann]

The point of the survey was to understand why people enter competitions and how organizers can encourage a more diverse group of folks to enter. My club is mostly guys, so I found the results useful so I can understand how to be more encouraging to women to get involved.

If you want to force diversity, brew a different kind of beer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

"AHA Membership in 2022 was 36,000."

-- AHA Governing Committee Meeting Summary: January 2023​

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From back in January 2023, here's the declared purpose of the survey (link)

Hey all, my name is Michele Wonder and I am an avid homebrewer of 4 years, the co-founder of the Women's Intl Beer Summit and Media Director for the Women's Craft Fermentation Alliance.

I [Michele] am in the midst of creating a brewing initiative to help educate, encourage and enable women and non binary homebrewers to enter, compete and win in more homebrew comps. Last year when the NHC list of winners came out I quickly scanned through and not a single female sounding name was on that list. I really want to change that!

I [Michele] have created a brief survey to help identify why folks do or do not enter comps; what tools they need or roadblocks they have to overcome in order to participate. https://tinyurl.com/3ppa6n6y [...]

Personally I didn't answer the survey as a couple of questions did not, IMO, fit the declared focus.

But back to the topic at hand, winning competitions.

As best I can tell, from my experiences as a steward around 2015-2019, winning competitions is about

• having the time, equipment, knowledge, and evaluation skills to
• consistently brew, package, and ship beer at a BJCP 40-ish level,
• matching the beer to competition style guidelines, and
• entering frequently to win at the mini-BOS table.

If time is the primary factor, then the styles that can use the the "No Boil (pasteurized)" process might consistently produce award winning beers for those who are time constrained. Anecdotal stories from brewers using the "No Boil (pasteurized)" process suggest that the process can be used to produce beer that wins competitions. After that, it's a "numbers game" - enter quality beers often enough and eventually may win at a major event.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

FYI: there is a new (to me) link to the "Women & Beer Competitions" presentation (link) on the home page for the survey (Survey Dashboard Link).

FWIW, I'm confident I didn't miss the link the first time. I downloaded the survey (as PDFs) a day or two ago. The link to the presentation is not in the original downloaded dashboard PDF, but the link is in the PDF when I download it today. Plus there's this at the bottom of the "Welcome!" pge

The presentation is worth a read. And a "thank you" for those who made this available.

 

[Kickass]

Sounds like you are questioning if the above survey was worthwhile?
If not, my apologies.
I'm glad I know about the survey and the results. Knowledge helps when making decisions.

No need to apologize. I didn’t perceive any ill will or malicious intent. Additionally, I agree that knowledge helps make decisions, it does much more than that.

What I’m trying to understand is whether there is or is not a genuine concern. Are women are being discriminated against by the homebrewing community?

 

[madscientist451]

What I’m trying to understand is whether there is or is not a genuine concern. Are women are being discriminated against by the homebrewing community?

In brewing competitions?
How would anyone know the identity of an entry?
If you don't know how, could discrimination occur?
So are you questioning the need for the survey/presentation? (for the record, I am not questioning it at all)
Happy brewing....

 

[Kickass]

In brewing competitions?
How would anyone know the identity of an entry?
If you don't know how, could discrimination occur?

I’m not questioning the survey. I’m trying to understand the push for inclusivity in an anonymous space that doesn’t identify it’s contestants.

Here’s a quote from the Women’s Craft Fermentation Alliance (WCFA):

“Do you believe that women, non-binary and queer folks need a bit more support in order to feel comfortable participating in what has always been a very white, male space? We do too”

I believe this is what’s driving much of the current discussion and this is what I’m trying to understand. Is there discrimination in this hobby I enjoy so much. I haven’t experienced discrimination so I’m genuinely curious is this is something others are experiencing.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

If you choose to look at the presentation, start with slides 36 to 38.

Offering quality products and services to interested people is a good way to advance the hobby.

Best wishes to those who decide to get involved in creating and providing those products and services to those who are interested.

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eta: Quality content to learn how to brew quickly and inexpensively at a BJCP 40+ level? In a single place? I'm interested.

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eta: yes, I'm choosing to focus on the "entry side" of competitions (how to brew beer to BJCP 40+ after shipping and handling). I have not been involved in competitions since 2019; and getting involved is not a goal for 2023.