I sat down to have a proper read of these entries and was quite surprised by a couple of things. First, you did your work. While some of the entries are clearly by people who write poems more than others, the effort was clearly there. Second - and perhaps more interesting - was the thematic similarity. This was the scope of the topic given:

The topic has to be either related to the personal experience of beer or forty plus stanza odes to the history of a single brewery that has not been in operation for over half a century...

Sadly no one chose the latter. But the former as well was largely defined pretty narrowly, too: reflections of the experience of being in a bar and being reflective.

Now, keeping in mind the rule on judging¹, here are the winners:

• The third prize goes to Captain Hops for his poem "Beer Run - An Epic Tale." CH might has rated higher but it is a comedic poem, though it flows the best of all entries. He also said he could not use the tickets.
• Next, in second place, is "Wife and Boss wouldn’t agree with me this week..." by Kevin McG., based again on final sentiment as much as anything. I like the implied reference to "trouble and strife" as well. To Kevin goes four tickets to TAP NY 2007 - allowing two to go for both days...as I understand. Value $180.00 plus two days of free quality craft beer.
• The winner is..."My younger friend likes to make meaning..." by mallace. And this is mainly due to the last third of the poetry, the reluctance to enter into reflection in the "mahogany mirror." First prize is six tickets to TAP NY 2007 - allowing three to go for both days...as I understand. Value $270.00 plus two days of free quality craft beer.

So there you have it. Another beer blog contest is in the books. I will contact the winners now and let them know. If for any reason the tickets cannot be used, they will be distributed otherwise as I myself can't now go...which in fact had been in part the original plan. Thanks to the good people at TAP New York, especially Jessica who set up the whole sponsorship. Hopefully our prize winners will report back on how everything went.

¹Legalese-ish-ness: Any prizes are mere gifts to my favorite contributing poets. This is not a skill test, a means to prove merits or even a random award like a draw in any way - or really a contest when you think of it. It is sort of a ego trip for me that you can benefit from. Be true of heart and you shall learn much. I reserve the right to be arbitrary and have poor taste. You will have to get yourself to Hunter Mountain, find you own place to sleep and comb your own hair. I can't even promise the postal system will work. You are on your own.