There’s a new twist to the FOAM Cups starting in 2007:  We are using the results of the FOAM Cups to tabulate points towards an award for “FOAM Brewer of the Year”.

Each time your entry places in the FOAM Cup, you earn points toward the FOAM Brewer of the Year award.

Points are allocated as follows, based on the results of each FOAM Cup:

Naturally, there’s some fine print:

(1)   Points can only be earned for one entry per FOAM Cup;
so pick your best beer to enter if you have more than one.

(2)   Multiple brewers may be listed on a given entry,
and each co-brewer will get the full point allocation
(e.g. in the case of 2^nd place, each co-brewer earns 2 points)

(3)   In the unlikely event of a tie/deadlocked decision on any
given FOAM Cup, the tied entrants will divide the points
for both places (e.g. tie for 2^nd, each gets (2+1)/2=1.5 points)

(4)   The sum of earned points for each brewer over the four
FOAM Cups during the year determines the placing for
Brewer of the Year; top point count wins the award.

(5)   In the event of a tie in the final standings, to resolve the tie
a formula will be used to give preference to beers which are
paler and/or lower gravity, and hence deemed harder to brew.

(6)   The FOAM Officers retain the right to amend these rules
as needed during the contest year.

Resolving Ties for FOAM Brewer of the Year

In the event that more than one brewer is tied for the most points for FOAM Brewer of the Year, the point values for each of the brewers’ placing beers during the year will be adjusted by the following formula and then the final total used to determine the award for Brewer of the Year.  The formula favors beers which are light in color and lighter in gravity, under the assumption that these beers are harder to brew cleanly.

The specific point adjustment for beers to resolve ties is based on the minimum OG and minimum SRM values for each individual beer’s subcategory as provided in the 2004 BJCP Style Guidelines:

Points_new = Points * (1/(1+SRM/1000)) * 1/OG  

For example, for a 3^rd place Dunkelweizen, BJCP minimum SRM 14, minimum OG 1.044:

Points_new = 1 * (1/(1+14/1000)) * 1/1.044  = 1 * 1/1.014 * 1/1.044   = 2 * 0.9287 = 0.9446

And for a 2^nd place Weizenbock, BJCP minimum SRM 12, minimum OG 1.064:

Points_new = 2 * (1/(1+12/1000)) * 1/1.064  = 2 * 1/1.012 * 1.064  = 2 * 0.9287 = 1.8574