Beer Competitions ?

[adm]

I might be jumping the gun here, but I'm interested in entering some beer competitions this year and I know absolutely nothing about where they are, how you enter etc, etc....

I know there's the Sutton CBA one towards the end of the year, but what others are there - and how do you enter? I've heard people talking about sending beer ahead to a competition, so how does that work ?

For example:

What clubs/associations run compos and do you need to be a member to enter?
Do you have to attend in person or can you just send beer in by itself in advance
How do you get feedback on your beers? (Other than winning obviously) Do you get given a scorecard and comments on the particular beer from the judges?
How much beer do you need to enter?
Does it have to be bottle conditioned or can you fill bottles with bright beer from a keg and use them?
If you ship bottle conditioned beer in advance, does it get handled well and a chance to settle properly once it gets there?
What are the styles you can enter?
Can you enter "non-style" beers?

And...ooohh.....many others....

Thanks!

[sdcspeak]

I might be jumping the gun here, but I'm interested in entering some beer competitions this year and I know absolutely nothing about where they are, how you enter etc, etc....

I know there's the Sutton CBA one towards the end of the year, but what others are there - and how do you enter? I've heard people talking about sending beer ahead to a competition, so how does that work ?

I too would like to know more, I have heard that there is one in Derby, however I could do with knowing about more Southern venues, rules etc etc etc.