Went to the 26th H0V Homebrew competition Sat. and was strong-armed into judging. (It was that or no free lunch) Fortunately, I got Style 8 English Pale Ales (AKA Bitters). We had a flight of ten in all three sub-styles. One BJCP, one experienced, non-BJCP judge & me, a first-tmer.
Some good ones, some bad ones. On the plus side, none of the brews over-did the hop flavor/aroma. (Regular lurkers know my feelings on out of style hopping) About half were too fruity or had other signs of high fermentation temperatures. Several were out of style: too malty or not bitter enough. One was seriously over-carbonated & had odd flavors I couldn't pin down, so I called it phenolic. Another was a really good example of a Mild. That was the only one where we had a wide spread on the scores initially. All three of us agreed it was a nice beer, but conformance to style is critical in a competition, so it ended up with a low score.
As luck would have it, the worst of the flight was the last one. 90% foam & strange chemical flavors.
Bangers & chips for lunch and a pint of Calapoola's Porter relieved the horror of losing my virginity.
Some good ones, some bad ones. On the plus side, none of the brews over-did the hop flavor/aroma. (Regular lurkers know my feelings on out of style hopping) About half were too fruity or had other signs of high fermentation temperatures. Several were out of style: too malty or not bitter enough. One was seriously over-carbonated & had odd flavors I couldn't pin down, so I called it phenolic. Another was a really good example of a Mild. That was the only one where we had a wide spread on the scores initially. All three of us agreed it was a nice beer, but conformance to style is critical in a competition, so it ended up with a low score.
As luck would have it, the worst of the flight was the last one. 90% foam & strange chemical flavors.
Bangers & chips for lunch and a pint of Calapoola's Porter relieved the horror of losing my virginity.
