I did a re-brew of one of my favorite beers, a lemon lime hefeweizen. Unfortunately, I messed with the recipe by upping the lime zest and adding fresh squeezed lime juice with two minutes left in the boil. I submitted the bottles 15 days after bottling, and tasted one last night for the first time so I could have an idea of what the judges would be tasting.
Well, I knew right off I was in trouble. While it's very tasty and refreshing, the lime taste is overpowering. It might mellow in a week or two, but certainly not in time for today's competition.
So I came in with very low expectations, which were well founded. I scored a 16, a 17, and an18. Ok, fine. I'm bummed, but not surprised. However, there was zero helpful feedback. I wasn't really in it to win, I was more excited to receive unbiased feedback and advice. Instead, there were comments like "so it's lime, huh?" and "a shandy?", and "not up to par." I got very good scores on aroma and appearance, but killed on everything else. All three gave me 1 out of 5 for mouthfeel, but no comments.
I understand it was out of style, and that I screwed up, but it's really discouraging to not receive any advice or suggestions. I'd heard that judges will offer that, especially to more poorly scored beers.
Am I expecting too much or did I just hit a lackluster set of judges for my first competition?
Well, I knew right off I was in trouble. While it's very tasty and refreshing, the lime taste is overpowering. It might mellow in a week or two, but certainly not in time for today's competition.
So I came in with very low expectations, which were well founded. I scored a 16, a 17, and an18. Ok, fine. I'm bummed, but not surprised. However, there was zero helpful feedback. I wasn't really in it to win, I was more excited to receive unbiased feedback and advice. Instead, there were comments like "so it's lime, huh?" and "a shandy?", and "not up to par." I got very good scores on aroma and appearance, but killed on everything else. All three gave me 1 out of 5 for mouthfeel, but no comments.
I understand it was out of style, and that I screwed up, but it's really discouraging to not receive any advice or suggestions. I'd heard that judges will offer that, especially to more poorly scored beers.
Am I expecting too much or did I just hit a lackluster set of judges for my first competition?