Competitions, take em with a grain of salt?

[JBOGAN]

How does one mark off I would drink a pint of this beer and give a score of 2 in overall impression..Excuse me whilst I bang my head against a hard surface. I am starting to think that they are pulling random strangers off the street for judging home brew competitions.

 

[Phunhog]

Get used to it! Rarely enter comps anymore. Too expensive, too much hassle, rarely get good feedback. I have done well over the years with probably close to two dozen medals/ribbons. How handing out some real prizes?

 

[JBOGAN]

Worst part of this competition was the overage how many bronze medals they handed out above actual beer categories. Sure I love to medal but to me this one is more of a participation award and I am not one for getting something for just showing up..

 

[disney7]

I've given low scores / overall impression to beers that were really good, but out of style for the category they were entered in.

You've got to remember that they aren't (supposed to be) judging the beer against how much they like it, but how close it is to the style it was entered as.

The last comp I judged, we had a really great Belgian blond ale and I would have had several pints of it.... But it was entered as an American pale ale, so it got a really low score.

Not sure it if had gone bad in a good way or if the entrant just mislabeled the bottle.

 

[Gameface]

Of course you've got to take your competition feedback and results with a grain of salt.

Last year I was a steward at a couple local comps and I might consider being a judge this year or next, but it's pretty eye opening seeing just how grueling it is to try to fairly judge so many different beers in a reasonable amount of time. So they need lots of judges and what they get is a pretty broad mix of experience. It's not like being a beer judge is this glamorous thing that pays big bucks.

As others on HBT have said on this subject in the past, if you want to improve the beer comp situation get certified as a judge and get involved in the comps in your region.

 

[FarmerTed]

I've given low scores / overall impression to beers that were really good, but out of style for the category they were entered in.

You've got to remember that they aren't (supposed to be) judging the beer against how much they like it, but how close it is to the style it was entered as.

The last comp I judged, we had a really great Belgian blond ale and I would have had several pints of it.... But it was entered as an American pale ale, so it got a really low score.

Not sure it if had gone bad in a good way or if the entrant just mislabeled the bottle.

Yeah, without any more info, if you enter a dry stout into the IPA category, you'll get killed on the scores, but the judge may think it was an otherwise great beer.

 

[JohnSand]

I have found some feedback helpful, some not. Some of the results are puzzling, on the same beer in the same competition, one judge deemed it too young, the other too old. I've had scores added incorrectly, and incorrect assumptions by judges. I balance my results with other feedback: friends, bartenders, other brewers.
After some odd and inconsistent results, I haven't entered any in a year, but I still may.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

Get used to it! Rarely enter comps anymore. Too expensive, too much hassle, rarely get good feedback. I have done well over the years with probably close to two dozen medals/ribbons. How handing out some real prizes?

I hope you do not intend to suggest giving out cash/cash equivalent prizes? This would probably make competitions worse and increase the pressure on judges, people complain quite a bit to judges *right now* when nothing is on the line other than a medal/certificate.

Sometimes I give a pass on what I consider 'bad feedback' when the judges comments directly contradict the style guidelines. Most of the time when you see that, its a relatively newer judge who may be tasting a style they're not familiar with, specifically because there are not enough judges out there. Go back and check your score sheets and you'll almost always find the newer judges score a few points lower than the higher ranked judges. Also the feedback tends to be directed at improving the beer stylistically, *not* directed at you to make the beer better.

 

[Spartan1979]

Get used to it! Rarely enter comps anymore. Too expensive, too much hassle, rarely get good feedback. I have done well over the years with probably close to two dozen medals/ribbons. How handing out some real prizes?

How much are you willing to pay to enter a competition?

 

[Phunhog]

I hope you do not intend to suggest giving out cash/cash equivalent prizes? This would probably make competitions worse and increase the pressure on judges, people complain quite a bit to judges *right now* when nothing is on the line other than a medal/certificate.

Sometimes I give a pass on what I consider 'bad feedback' when the judges comments directly contradict the style guidelines. Most of the time when you see that, its a relatively newer judge who may be tasting a style they're not familiar with, specifically because there are not enough judges out there. Go back and check your score sheets and you'll almost always find the newer judges score a few points lower than the higher ranked judges. Also the feedback tends to be directed at improving the beer stylistically, *not* directed at you to make the beer better.

That is exactly what I am talking about! It doesn't have to be a lot....how about a couple of oz of hops ,a vial of yeast, or a free beer at a local brewery?
Like I said I am past the point of looking for feedback. I have won a couple dozen medals and ribbons over the years in a variety of categories. Actually I should say the feedback is nice but what I am more interested in is winning....especially if I can win some schwag.
It's kind of funny. Literally the day after I wrote my post bagging on comps I picked up my medal for a comp at the LHBS. Get this...my 3rd place CA Common came with a 25.00 gift card for the LHBS!! It's because the organizer does a kick ass job getting all sorts of prizes donated for both the contestants AND the judges/stewards.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

That is exactly what I am talking about! It doesn't have to be a lot....how about a couple of oz of hops ,a vial of yeast, or a free beer at a local brewery?
Like I said I am past the point of looking for feedback. I have won a couple dozen medals and ribbons over the years in a variety of categories. Actually I should say the feedback is nice but what I am more interested in is winning....especially if I can win some schwag.
It's kind of funny. Literally the day after I wrote my post bagging on comps I picked up my medal for a comp at the LHBS. Get this...my 3rd place CA Common came with a 25.00 gift card for the LHBS!! It's because the organizer does a kick ass job getting all sorts of prizes donated for both the contestants AND the judges/stewards.

I guess I consider those to be nice surprises, bonuses for brewing a good beer. I wouldn't want to roll into every competition expecting cash/cash equivalent prizes, then if I get BOS and then no cash prizes I'll just be disappointed. Also I'd rather pay less for my entries and get no cash/cash equivalent prizes.

Different values though, I would rather get more medals to put on my wall and humble-brag about on social media, than getting cash/cash equivalent prizes.

 

[coyote68]

Got my results today from Hogtoberfest comp. i got a silver and a bronze. but neither of my beers was judged by a BJCP certified judge, even though it said they would have at least one at each table. my best comment was "good beer. not qualified to suggest improvements" but he scored it a 41.

my suggestion is don't waste your time on this comp.
i spend over a hundred bucks a year on comps but this is my last one. instead i'm gonna fill a box of local stuff and send it to a military member over seas. at least i'll feel good about that.