This Site Uses Scripting

This site uses JavaScript to place almost all of the elements and the navigation. You will need to turn scripting on to see this site.

Why?

Because IE is BROKEN and does not implement cascading style sheets (CSS) correctly. The navigation in the site functions just fine in Mozilla/Firefox as a pure CSS implementation.

After years of holding off, I decided CSS was finally mature enough to implement a "pure" CSS site, separating format (style) from content. Theoretically, this is how it should be done. Besides, this site is about styles so it seemed appropriate. It was a mistake. 80% of the development time in this site went not into content, but into display, mostly due to IE. If we are lucky enough to have a second event, there will be major recoding to deal with some of the foibles people have put up with this time. Thanks for your patience. (And by then we may have a new, broken version of IE to deal with.)

JavaScript Cannot Hurt You

By design, JavaScript cannot access elements outside the page it is running in (unlike ActiveX and some other stuff), so even in a broken system like IE, people cannot use JS to propagate viruses, worms, trojans, etc. Even Microsoft is confused on this issue, but it's true. Even Google requires JavaScript. Please, turn it on to use this site.

jontobey@yahoo.com

2006 Homebrew Fair Follow Up

Thank You

Photos from Homebrew Fair 2006

Last year's momentum seemed to pull this year's fair along. Again we had an absolute capacity crowd and evaluated over 90 beers in 4 hours using a combination of BJCP judges, professional brewers, and beer literati. It wouldn't have been possible if even one segment of the community hadn't pitched in. From the venue, to the sponsors, the brewers, all of the volunteers, and most importantly the evaluators. We got the right people to do everything at the right time and it went fairly smoothly, considering nobody involved had ever done an even like this. I can't emphasize the timing, thank you so much for showing up on time.

  1. John Gilbert/Darryl Pernat (Northern English Brown)
  2. Rod Erkers (Fruit Melomel)
  3. entry 61 (who is this? I need this information)
  4. Rod Zormeir/Tom Brush (Black Ale)
  5. Roger Moore (Winter Warmer)
  6. Lisa Ulrich (Belgian Wit)
  7. John Frum (American Brown)
  8. Dean Priebe (Dry Stout)
  9. Milan Bartolec (Eisbock)
  10. Paul Zimmerman (Pale Ale)

High Scores

Eighteen beers, roughly 20%, scored 40 or more points, making for a brobidiginian best of show round. There was some discussion about why so many high-scoring beers, with the following ideas bandied about:

  1. There are just some great brewers out there.
  2. This event draws the kindest judges.
  3. Having to talk to the brewers results in fewer points taken off. I was thinking a little about this, I think that it takes the BJCP scale, which we normally apply non-linearly, and linearizes it.
  4. My favorite idea, put forth by Darryl Pernat, inspiration for the fair and winner of 5 of the top 20 prizes given to date: The people from last year went home, applied the advice they got, and came back with better beer this year.

Homebrew Fair 2005 Wrap Up

Cheers!

Jon Tobey & Bernard Hymmen