Blending Beer From Kegs

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Gameface

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Today I'm bottling my entries for a local competition. I have a strong bitter and ordinary bitter in kegs and I plan to blend them by transferring to a third keg in order to get a best bitter to bottle and enter.

I'm using a blichmann beer gun to do my bottling.

I plan to use a "jumper" from the liquid out post on my already kegged beer to the liquid out post on the destination keg. Using just one source keg at a time.

Obviously you can't see the level in the keg so to get the blend I want (40% strong bitter, 60% ordinary bitter) I plan to put the destination keg on a bathroom scale and go by weight. I only need to blend enough to bottle my entries and a couple extra to try after I get my score sheets back.

Does my plan sound okay? Anyone else have experience blending beers from kegs?
 
Why not just blend the two in the bottles?

Otherwise, you'd need to fully purge the O2 out of the destination keg before doing the mixing to avoid the obvious problem, all for a few bottles...

Cheers!
 
If you do this, you'll have to enter it into BJCP 2015 CAT 34B, Specialty Beer -Mixed Style, otherwise you're grounds for disqualification for misrepresentation... I'm not sure if there is a fit for this in 2008 Guides, or if your competition would even judge this category.

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf
 
If you do this, you'll have to enter it into BJCP 2015 CAT 34B, Specialty Beer -Mixed Style, otherwise you're grounds for disqualification for misrepresentation... I'm not sure if there is a fit for this in 2008 Guides, or if your competition would even judge this category.

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf

Are you sure you're interpreting that correctly? The description says:

"Intended for Specialty-Type combinations of
styles not described elsewhere as Specialty-Type Beers, or as
hybrid or fusion beers between other existing styles."

I think they are considering a hybrid between two existing styles as something like a Belgian IPA - wouldn't fit here because it's now got it's own category but the principle is that you are making a crossover of those styles, not taking a brewed Belgian beer and mixing it with a brewed IPA.

Also I'm not familiar, is there something in BJCP rules that says you can't blend a beer into a final product that fits the style?
 
If you do this, you'll have to enter it into BJCP 2015 CAT 34B, Specialty Beer -Mixed Style, otherwise you're grounds for disqualification for misrepresentation... I'm not sure if there is a fit for this in 2008 Guides, or if your competition would even judge this category.

http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf

I don't think so. It's not a misrepresentation. These are all British Bitters. Traditionally it was not uncommon for the Strong Bitter to be made from the first runnings, the Best Bitter to be made from the second runnings and the Ordinary Bitter to be made from the third runnings. What I'm doing isn't that exactly but the end results will be pretty close to that.

The numbers line up as far as the style guidelines are concerned. Anyway, I'll take my chances.
 
Why not just blend the two in the bottles?

Otherwise, you'd need to fully purge the O2 out of the destination keg before doing the mixing to avoid the obvious problem, all for a few bottles...

Cheers!

This is what I ended up doing. After bottling everything else I didn't feel like going through the trouble of prepping a keg and wasting all the CO2.
 
Well, at least I put it out there.

How do you intend to report your vital stats now that it is a blend of two beers?:

BJCP 2015:
Vital Statistics. The general characteristics of
the style, expressed in Original Gravity (OG),
Final Gravity (FG), Alcohol-by-Volume (ABV),
International Bittering Units (IBUs), and Color as
expressed in the Standard Reference Method
(SRM) from the American Society of Brewing
Chemists (ASBC). For those outside the United
States that use the European Brewing Convention
(EBC) color method, note that an EBC value is
roughly double the equivalent SRM value. For
those familiar with the Lovibond system,
Lovibond is roughly equivalent to SRM for colors
that exist in all but the darkest beers. For the
purists out there, we’re talking about what is
distinguishable to a judge using their eyes, not
chemists using analytical equipment in a
laboratory setting. Keep in mind that these Vital
Stats are still guidelines, not absolutes. They are
where most examples fall, not every possible
commercial example of a style. They help judges
determine judging order, not whether an example
should be disqualified.
 
Well, at least I put it out there.

How do you intend to report your vital stats now that it is a blend of two beers?:

BJCP 2015:

By using the vital stats of the beers it's blended from...

But I don't provide any of that info on my entry form. I don't fill out any of the recipe section.

I estimate that the beer is 4.7%abv, 42ibus and a FG of 1.009.

Are you under the assumption that everyone's vital measurements are completely accurate?

I mean, I'll ask if this is ethical, but I'm pretty sure it is. I'd even check with the competition organizer to make sure they're cool with it (I'm not a judge but I volunteered to steward both days of judging). This is an AHA sanctioned event with typically over 600 beers entered.

I don't really get why you have an issue with this.

Are you familiar with the style in question? The sub categories are basically different strength versions of the same beer.
 
It sounds like it's completely not an issue. Gordon Strong talks about blending in his book page 266:

"When I blend, I mostly do it for style reasons. I'm usually trying to enter a competition or provide a beer for a festival, and I want it to match the style expectations."

There's also a big thread here, if you can wade through the nonsense post #199 has a quote from the BJCP competition director that essentially says the BJCP and the judges don't care if you blend.
 
By using the vital stats of the beers it's blended from...

But I don't provide any of that info on my entry form. I don't fill out any of the recipe section.

I estimate that the beer is 4.7%abv, 42ibus and a FG of 1.009.

I mean, I'll ask if this is ethical, but I'm pretty sure it is. This is an AHA sanctioned event with typically over 600 beers entered.

I don't really get why you have an issue with this.

Are you familiar with the style in question? The sub categories are basically different strength versions of the same beer.

Not sure if you're confusing my general concern regarding your original post as hostile, or not, but I love of beer, the brewing process, competitions, and so I'm stoking the fire to your request on post #1 "Does my plan sound okay?" Well, I responded with my concern! lol.

Are you under the assumption that everyone's vital measurements are completely accurate?

As a scientist by trade, MY NUMBERS are measured as accurately that my tools allow for. It is not very hard so forgive me if my expectations are too high.

I'd even check with the competition organizer to make sure they're cool with it (I'm not a judge but I volunteered to steward both days of judging).

This is what I would do. Save yourself the trouble if it's a no-go, or at best, send it to an appropriate category.

In the California regional homebrew competition for the Los Angeles County Fair 2015 that I'm entered, rule two reads: "An entry is a set of two (2) bottles from a single batch of beer, mead or cider."

Here is another competition I'm entered in, rule 8) "Entries may not be blends of two or more separately-brewed batches, except in the Specialty category"

*Shrug*

Good luck
 
I'll post the quote from the thread I referenced:

"Michael, One final word on blending for competitions: "Maybe a policy statement from BJCP would also settle the matter." We did; I did. In my earlier reply to this issue I, in my position as BJCP Competition Director, said that the BJCP does not care if the entrant blends or not. It is OK as far as the BJCP is concerned. Judges only judge the beer that's put before them. We do not read the recipes or know who made it or how they made it. Judges don't care. We will judge the beer compared to published, objective standards and provide appropriate evaluation and feedback. Beyond that, the BJCP and judges, don't care if the brewer blended, nailed everything as intended or made a dry stout and it turned out a great American Dark Lager and the brewer entered as such. Local competition organizers may if they wish set local competition rules and could say "no blending." I would never do that as a competition organizer but someone can if they wish. And brewers can chose to enter competitions based on the published rules.

David Houseman
BJCP Competition Director"

So competitions can set their own rules but it's not a standard BJCP thing, and I don't think Gordon would have put it in his book if it's not a well accepted practice. As long as you check the local comp's rules for something specific about blending you should be good.
 
I'll post the quote from the thread I referenced:

"Michael, One final word on blending for competitions: "Maybe a policy statement from BJCP would also settle the matter." We did; I did. In my earlier reply to this issue I, in my position as BJCP Competition Director, said that the BJCP does not care if the entrant blends or not. It is OK as far as the BJCP is concerned. Judges only judge the beer that's put before them. We do not read the recipes or know who made it or how they made it. Judges don't care. We will judge the beer compared to published, objective standards and provide appropriate evaluation and feedback. Beyond that, the BJCP and judges, don't care if the brewer blended, nailed everything as intended or made a dry stout and it turned out a great American Dark Lager and the brewer entered as such. Local competition organizers may if they wish set local competition rules and could say "no blending." I would never do that as a competition organizer but someone can if they wish. And brewers can chose to enter competitions based on the published rules.

David Houseman
BJCP Competition Director"

So competitions can set their own rules but it's not a standard BJCP thing, and I don't think Gordon would have put it in his book if it's not a well accepted practice. As long as you check the local comp's rules for something specific about blending you should be good.


Very good!

I guess now, @gameface, we need to read the rules for your competition.

Hope this works out!
 
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