First competition entry question

I'm going to be entering a beer in my first competition this week! When I went to enter the beer online, they asked for "pertinent style information (for the judges)". What does this mean? Should I put facts about the beer, malt, hops, yeast, SRM, alcohol % etc.? Or should I put tasting notes? Both? Thanks for the help!

That or maybe what BJCP class it falls under?

There's a drop down box to select the bjcp style

I don't think you'd put any of that in there. I believe there are some contests that specify certain other info needed...maybe that it's oaked or something, when the BJCP category is too catch-all.

I'd leave it blank.

Some categories require additional info. Some categories that need additional info are specialty beer, fruit beer, spice/herb/vegetable beer and rye/wheat beers. There may also be others. Check out the detailed explanation section of the category you are entering on the BJCP website to see if your category needs any additional information.

tmurph6 said:

I'm going to be entering a beer in my first competition this week! When I went to enter the beer online, they asked for "pertinent style information (for the judges)". What does this mean? Should I put facts about the beer, malt, hops, yeast, SRM, alcohol % etc.? Or should I put tasting notes? Both? Thanks for the help!

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The specialty styles generally require info about the specific beer. As someone already mentioned, read carefully the style guidelines for the beer you're entering. They're available here: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/catdex.php

Note that some styles, such as 21a Spice, Herb, Vegetable use the word "must", as in "THE ENTRANT MUST SPECIFY THE UNDERLYING BEER STYLE AS WELL AS THE TYPE OF SPICES, HERBS, OR VEGETABLES USED. IF THIS BEER IS BASED ON A CLASSIC STYLE (E.G., BLONDE ALE) THEN THE SPECIFIC STYLE MUST BE SPECIFIED."

Other styles use the word "may", such as 21b Xmas beers, as in "THE ENTRANT MAY DECLARE AN UNDERLYING BEER STYLE AS WELL AS THE SPECIAL INGREDIENTS USED. THE BASE STYLE, SPICES OR OTHER INGREDIENTS NEED NOT BE IDENTIFIED. THE BEER MUST INCLUDE SPICES AND MAY INCLUDE OTHER FERMENTABLES (SUGARS, HONEY, MAPLE SYRUP, MOLASSES, TREACLE, ETC.) OR FRUIT."

It's very important that you carefully read the guidelines and enter the correct information. Tasting notes are never appropriate. Process notes are rarely needed.

If you're entering a specialty category that requires additional info, post the type of beer and the category, and I'll be happy to assist you.

Good luck!
Michael Shannon
BJCP National judge

I'm just entering an APA. Sounds like I don't need to write anything. Thanks all!

unionrdr said:

It seams to me that some (like the one through Fathead's in Cleveland) require SRM,IBU,style,& basic info like that on there label that is to be banded to the bottle. & no bottles with logos,etc cast in are allowed.

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I've never heard of any BJCP sanctioned comp requiring SRM or IBU information.

The Son of Brewzilla comp held at Fathead's in Ohio certainly does not. Here's the rules: http://beersnobs.org/cbwcomp/index.php?section=rules

Competition coordinators are allowed a wide latitude when it comes to running their comps, but requiring entrants to provide SRM, IBU or other recipe info for non-specialty categories makes no sense.

Judges are judging beer against the guidelines. We don't judge processes, ingredients, etc. In fact, most BJCP prep courses stress this throughout the course - judge the beer, don't make assumptions about the ingredients or processes used.

Also, the judges never see the bottle label. We only see the pull sheet that lists a entry number, and if it's a specialty category, the appropriate info.


Michael