Help me classify my beer for competition

I developed a brown ale recipe for competition that is an amazing beer and I'm quite proud of it. The problem is that I was shooting for an English brown but ended up with higher efficiency than expected from Maris Otter.

Here are some basic stats

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.012
IBU: 35
SRM: 20

english yeast is pronounced in this with wlp037 Yorkshire. The aroma is sourdough, pears and plums. Sweet upfront with a dry finish. Biscuit and nutty malt lingers.

Where should I put this? Too much alcohol for English brown. Out of character for American brown. Too low alcohol for Old Ale. Should I just say screw the competition because it doesn't fit style? This is my first competition.

Can you tell by tasting that the alcohol is higher? My guess is probably not, and they can only judge by their tasting, not by what's actually true. Seems like English Brown might be your best bet.

jamesnsw said:

Can you tell by tasting that the alcohol is higher? My guess is probably not, and they can only judge by their tasting, not by what's actually true. Seems like English Brown might be your best bet.

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That crossed my mind but I assumed I had to provide stats. I guess I should look into that.

It doesn't have a noticeable high alcohol. But the higher OG has raised the complexity and decreased the sessionable quality found in English browns. Don't get me wrong though, I can drink alot of these, I just might not be able to function as well had I drank alot of newcastles.

Post the recipe if you don't mind.

It might fit for Brown Porter

Sorry for the threadjack, but how would most classify a jamils evil twin?

Irrenarzt said:

Sorry for the threadjack, but how would most classify a jamils evil twin?

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10B- American Amber

Fermentables
UK Pale Ale Malt (Maris Otter) 10lb 0oz (88.9 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Victory Malt 5.00 oz (2.8 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Dark Chocolate Malt 5.00 oz (2.8 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Caramel 40L Malt 5.00 oz (2.8 %) In Mash/Steeped
US Special Roast Malt 5.00 oz (2.8 %) In Mash/Steeped

Hops
US Willamette (4.8 % alpha) 28 g Loose Pellet Hops used 60 Min From End
US Willamette (4.8 % alpha) 50 g Loose Pellet Hops used 20 Min From End


Yeast: White Labs WLP037-Yorkshire Square

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name:Single Step Infusion (67C/152F)
Step: Rest at 153 degF for 60 mins

You might be able to fit it into Brown Porter. It just depends on how the roast character is. Brown Porter isn't overly roasty, but its a lot more evident than in Brown Ales.

Still you could probably get away with Brown Ale now that I look at it. Judges don't know your efficiency or how much alcohol is in the beer. As long as you don't detect alcohol in the nose you are fine. You actually might do better in that style since its a little bigger too. You are kind of in one of those weird zones where its too big for one style, but a little too small for another. You could also enter it in both categories and see how it fares.

It's not as roasty as a brown porter. The chocolate really plays a background role, similar to that in browns. Alright, I'll just put it in the northern brown category. Maybe its complexity will stand out in comparison to the more session browns.

I would say that the increased alcohol is only a problem for your target style if it is noticeable on the nose or taste... otherwise, just enter it as what you were going to enter it as originally, and it's likely that the judges won't be able to detect a 1-2% ABV deviation from style. SOME can, don't get me wrong, but most won't... depends a lot on the size of your comp. The big comps have master level judges, usually, and they are better at this type of thing...

A lot of people tend to brew their beers bigger to do well in competitions....