Zymurgrafi
Well-Known Member
Well, I was dumbfounded!
I honestly did not expect to win with the problems I have been having. The 3 beers I entered were pretty- good but winners? I was shocked. I entered the 13th annual Littleton Homebrew Competetion and took 3rd place in the dark beer category for My Great Grandad Silas' Oatmeal Stout. Well, here it is...
Of all the ones I entered I would not have guessed this one. It was still green and I decided at the last minute to enter. I think in a few weeks it WILL be the best of the bunch. I WAS expecting to win for labels but did not. I know this sounds egotistical but based on the other entries I was pretty certain I would win for label. The judging for label was done by the contestants the night of and many beers had been consumed so...
So, I am happy, but, being the over-analytical person that I am, I have questions now.
It is great to have written feedback from professional brewers but what do I learn from it? I have one sheet each for all 3 entries A best bitter, a brown ale and the for the oatmeal stout I have 5. So I guess the others did not make the first cut? Some things I do not understand, others I do not agree with.
For the Oatmeal stout: The general concensus seemed to be it was a bit thin which I do agree with. It was my first partial mash and it was quite a fiasco. Also, it lacked Roast malt character. My opinion was that it was a bit harsh on the roast side and not quite sweet enough for an oatmeal.
Here is one I need help deciphering. For the Stout and for the best bitter the same judge wrote chalky finish. What does this mean? I am guessing this is a result of hard water? I do not know what my town water make-up is as they do not test for that. My brown ale, which the same judge apparently did not sample, I used gypsum and I am thinking it was completely unecessary but the judge who tasted that thought it was pretty good.
well, losing my train of thought here, resampling beers
anyways... Fun time regardless. I highly recommend entering this one or your own local. Do not know if they are all the same. For $25 you get one entry in each of 5 categories, a dinner (which was nothing to write home about), ALL the good beer you can drink (mostly micros and some homebrew). There was a "people's choice" were we all sampled 23 different homebrews. It was a bit nutty as we were all pretty slopppy at this point, but fun.
okay, nuff for now. Thanks for reading...
I honestly did not expect to win with the problems I have been having. The 3 beers I entered were pretty- good but winners? I was shocked. I entered the 13th annual Littleton Homebrew Competetion and took 3rd place in the dark beer category for My Great Grandad Silas' Oatmeal Stout. Well, here it is...
Of all the ones I entered I would not have guessed this one. It was still green and I decided at the last minute to enter. I think in a few weeks it WILL be the best of the bunch. I WAS expecting to win for labels but did not. I know this sounds egotistical but based on the other entries I was pretty certain I would win for label. The judging for label was done by the contestants the night of and many beers had been consumed so...
So, I am happy, but, being the over-analytical person that I am, I have questions now.
It is great to have written feedback from professional brewers but what do I learn from it? I have one sheet each for all 3 entries A best bitter, a brown ale and the for the oatmeal stout I have 5. So I guess the others did not make the first cut? Some things I do not understand, others I do not agree with.
For the Oatmeal stout: The general concensus seemed to be it was a bit thin which I do agree with. It was my first partial mash and it was quite a fiasco. Also, it lacked Roast malt character. My opinion was that it was a bit harsh on the roast side and not quite sweet enough for an oatmeal.
Here is one I need help deciphering. For the Stout and for the best bitter the same judge wrote chalky finish. What does this mean? I am guessing this is a result of hard water? I do not know what my town water make-up is as they do not test for that. My brown ale, which the same judge apparently did not sample, I used gypsum and I am thinking it was completely unecessary but the judge who tasted that thought it was pretty good.
well, losing my train of thought here, resampling beers
anyways... Fun time regardless. I highly recommend entering this one or your own local. Do not know if they are all the same. For $25 you get one entry in each of 5 categories, a dinner (which was nothing to write home about), ALL the good beer you can drink (mostly micros and some homebrew). There was a "people's choice" were we all sampled 23 different homebrews. It was a bit nutty as we were all pretty slopppy at this point, but fun.
okay, nuff for now. Thanks for reading...