BJCP Style question

I recently brewed a Saison (so I think), I want to enter it in the Boston Wort Processors Homebrew Competition but not sure my "Saison" exactly fits in that category. I don't want to get disqualified for entering in a wrong style. Basically I used Pale 2-row as the backbone of the Grist bill. Pretty much 63% Pale 2-row with the rest being Wheat and Rye. BJCP site has Saison with using mainly Pilsen Malt or Vienna/Munich as main grist.

Would using Pale 2-row disqualify my Saison?

You can enter your beer into whatever category you want, so it won't be disqualified solely on what it is, but it will be judged to the guidelines for the category in which you enter it. That said, the guidelines just tell you what ingredients are typically used, not what you have to use. So if the numbers are right and it tastes like a saison, I think you'll be fine to enter it as a saison.

Basically, if it looks like a Saison and Tastes like a Saison then it will be judged as a Saison as the judges don't get your recipe, just the beer.

My concern would be the addition of the rye and the spiciness it may bring to the beer altering the flavor but definitely try the beer and compare it before entering it. If you find it doesn't match in taste then you can always enter it in another category that is more fitting of how it turns out.

In addition, you can enter in two different categories, just name the beer differently and see how it rates accordingly.

I would go with Belgian Specialty. You won't score well or get good feedback in another category. If there's a lot of wheat or if the rye is noticeable, it's not a good fit for the BJCP Saison style.

daksin said:

I would go with Belgian Specialty. You won't score well or get good feedback in another category. If there's a lot of wheat or if the rye is noticeable, it's not a good fit for the BJCP Saison style.

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Thank you everyone for the responses!

I'm definitely leaning towards Belgian Specialty category. Grist is created was 62% American Pale 2-Row 21% White Wheat, 14% Rye (grain) 1% Rye (flaked) with 2% adjunct sugar (sugar made from 100% Vermont maple syrup) and fermented w/ White Labs Saison I yeast strain.

Yea, I think that's too much wheat and rye to go unnoticed in the standard saison category. Good luck!

I was under the impression that your style is based on your yeast..all the other ingredients are just to make it a true to style....am i mistaken ?

Big_Cat said:

I was under the impression that your style is based on your yeast..all the other ingredients are just to make it a true to style....am i mistaken ?

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Style means that the final beer meets the specifications of that particular style, it really doesn't matter how you got there as long as it fits the guidelines.

You can read through many award winning beers in one style and see that many different grains, hops and yeast were used in each entry but they all matched the style they were entered in.

Judges can't dock you for using certain ingredients unless they can tell that you used certain ingredients, and only if it doesn't match style.

With that much rye and wheat it *might* be a problem for a saison, but then again, the saison category is fairly open to interpretation and has a lot to do with yeast strain and fermentation temps too.

My personal feeling is that you should enter it into the category that you brewed for. That way you can get feedback on your recipe or methods. However, if you simply desire to score well, then you might do better in the Belgian Specialty category, I don't know.

I'll be in the same comp, but not in the belgians. Saisons are a yeast driven style, and brewed by farmers with whatever they had kicking around (rye and wheat for example). If you have the yeast flavor and a thin body, I can't imagine you'd be docked for a variety of grains. Rye could be perceived as yeast spiciness as a point of complexity. Good luck!

adrock430 said:

I'll be in the same comp, but not in the belgians. Saisons are a yeast driven style, and brewed by farmers with whatever they had kicking around (rye and wheat for example). If you have the yeast flavor and a thin body, I can't imagine you'd be docked for a variety of grains. Rye could be perceived as yeast spiciness as a point of complexity. Good luck!

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Sorry, but that's not really how BJCP competitions work. Rye is out of style for a saison, as is a large portion of rye. It sounds like your recipe has at least 10% each rye and wheat, which will be obvious to a qualified judge. From the 16C style guideline:

"Ingredients: Pilsner malt dominates the grist though a portion of Vienna and/or Munich malt contributes color and complexity. Sometimes contains other grains such as wheat and spelt."

Wheat is an acceptable component, but a lot of it will be out of place. Pils malt should "dominate." Rye isn't listed anywhere in there and there are two other categories specifically for rye beer. If you've got rye in a Belgian style beer, it needs to go in Belgian Specialty.

Did you get your scores yet? Got mine today; I'd be interested in hearing the judges thoughts...

adrock430 said:

Did you get your scores yet? Got mine today; I'd be interested in hearing the judges thoughts...

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I did get my scores! I did not place in either category (Belgian Specialty or Wood Aged). I did get 31/50 for a score on both! I entered a Rum Barrel aged version in the wood category. They all pretty much said stuff about Phenolic taste.

I'm in class right now but ill quote some of them later on.

Thank you for checking back at the thread. How'd you do in the comp?

Nice scores man! Let us know if they said anything about the rye, just interested if that was brought up, because I typically add rye to my saisons.

I got into mini-BOS in IPAs and Porters, but didn't make the cut, and an altbier that didn't do that well.

I realize I'm chiming in late on this but if you're ever concerned whether your beer will fit into a category or not, try purchasing one or two of the listed commercial examples and compare. If they're close then I would imagine you're fine.

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2008_Guidelines.pdf