Having nearly completed our unit on the sharing model of user contribution, and having just completed my first batch of homebrew (see picture), I've become pretty jazzed by the idea of potentially letting my creation be evaluated (scorned? adored?) by someone who knows better than I. After a quick search, I found a way to accomplish this: the Samuel Adams Longshot American Homebrew Contest.
In essence, the competition, soon-to-be in its sixth year of existence, encourages user-submitted contributions as long as they meet one requirement: that they are defined to be "Category 23." The Beer Judge Certification Program defines 22 categories of beer, leaving "Category 23" open as one for brews so creative that they simply cannot be categorized into any other.
It's refreshing to see a brewery that prides itself so much on its own traditions open to the potential of nationally distributing an uber-funky beer; it's even more refreshing that this concoction will be rendered via user generation. My beer's secret ingredient must be kept under wraps...who knows, someday I (or any one of us) could make it big!
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Nice posting! Homebrewed beer appears to be a growing trend. http://www.inkkc.com/article/beer-science-home-brew-trend
Another cool user-based initiative is the Free Beer movement (e.g., an open-sourced beer). http://www.freebeer.org/blog/
I think one of the main reasons that Sam Adam's has been so successful is because of their willingness to produce craft beers, and their apparent authenticity in this regard. I think this contest is a great way for them to gain support from the "microbrew" market segment.