kombat
Well-Known Member
Once again, don't care about the score.
I care about the beers (mine and others) being judged correctly.
I think you're getting butthurt over nothing. Judge #2 scored the beer within 3 points of judge #1. I think perhaps maybe you should consider that the judge wrote "lack of hop aroma" or whatever not as a flaw, but merely as an observation. The style lists it as optional, and when he/she tasted your beer, he/she noticed there was none. Maybe that's all they meant. Maybe you're reading too much into this. Did they explicitly say, "I'm deducting points because this beer lacks citrusy hop aroma?"
If they mentioned "Deep brown hue, brilliant clarity" in the "Appearance" section, and gave you a 2/3, would you immediately presume that they were expecting something else? That they docked you points because they mistakenly thought that the attributes they listed were inappropriate for the style?
I'm inclined to give the judge the benefit of the doubt. They have to write something in each section, and I think in this case, they were merely making observations, then came up with a subjective score. I think you are the one making the assumption that what they're listing are (in their erroneous opinion) flaws, rather than mere observations.
As others have said, no judge is perfect, everyone is different, beer judging is subjective. If your feelings got hurt, then don't enter any more competitions. Or take what you do consider as valid criticism and improve your beers. Disregard the comments that are clearly wrong.
What will contacting the judge accomplish? You know what the guidelines are. What do you want from them? To admit they screwed up? To re-judge your beer and adjust your score upwards, changing the outcome of the competition? A public apology? I just don't see what you hope to gain by tugging at that thread. Let it go.