by yeastmeister » Tue Oct 19, 2010 5:21 am
There was some talk back in 2006 and 2007 about the homebrewers not being happy with the commercial representation of their work. But in all fairness, I can't find it mentioned anymore (probably not using the right search terms).
Irregardless, the rules for the Sam Adams contest are pretty similar to Abita.
"The Boston Beer Company, will take the recipe and reproduce, as faithful as possible to the original recipe, on a professional scale with the help of the homebrewer. If the product is brought to market and made available to American beer drinkers, the homebrewer will receive a one time royalty of $5000.00. If you are a Grand Champion of the Contest, you agree to disclose your complete recipe to The Boston Beer Company and grant to The Boston Beer Company an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to all commercial and intellectual property rights to your winning beer, subject only to your right to receive the $5000.00 one-time royalty. Entering the Contest, constitutes permission to The Boston Beer Company and its agencies to use your recipe, the name of your recipe, your name, likeness, picture, signature, voice, audio and video recordings and biographical information in any manner or media whatsoever (whether now known or hereafter devised) anywhere in the world in perpetuity for the purpose of manufacturing, promoting, advertising and trade, of any product by The Boston Beer Company without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. The Boston Beer Company may withhold payment if it determines that the winner has behaved in a manner that is substantial and damaging to the Contest or to homebrewing."
Basically, if you win, we give you $5000, and we can make as much money as we want off of your recipe, forever. You could technically never make it commercially anywhere else, even if you opened your own brewery, because you signed all your rights away.
I think I would be perfectly happy to enter if they simply tied the compensation to the amount they make off the beer. After all, these contests are money makers for the breweries.