Disappointing Homebrew Contest

[nianticcardplayer]

This year the local area advertised on the AHA website that they were holding a certified competition during a local celebration and that this year they were going to have a certified Beer Judge versus the two previous years where a few guys got together and tasted the entered beer and picked the one they liked the best.

So seeing a chance to have my homebrew evaluated by a certified judge and get some good feedback (not that the people in the homebrew club don't give feedback but it is usually this will go great after mowing the lawn type of feedback). I entered four beers a Munich Helles, an American Lager based on Sam Adams, Brown Ale, and an Apricot Blonde.

Went to the celebration to see the results of the contest on the judging day...When my wife and I arrived we observed the people judging the contest, and I recognized four of the six doing the judging...Out of the four I recognized only two of them I would trust to judge beer as the own and run the local brewery. The other two I am not sure if I would trust their experience as judges but, like the rest of us are accomplished beer drinkers. I found out the certified beer judge didn't show, so they got a "volunteer" from the crowd to fill in...The other person judging was evidently part of the "craft beer committee" for the celebration.

The reason I entered the contest and PAID MONEY was to kind of get a piece of decent feedback through a score sheet to have some idea where I am at in the now almost 8 year odyssey of my homebrewing. I found out that the judging was done with the organizer splitting the field and having three of the people who were judging taste half of the field and the other three tasting the other half. No idea how things were split into classes flights and so on.

The three judges then picked the top two from the 12 they drank one of the judges appeared slightly intoxicated at the end of the judging. I was speaking with one of the other entrants who advised after speaking with the organizer that there were no score sheets kept WTF!!!!!!!!! I didn't pay 20 plus bucks to have a group of guys sit around and drink my beer....Very disappointed that I may end up with absolutely no feedback.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

Wow, I'd be pissed too. The event was really misrepresented you, IMO, you were ripped off. I got better treatment than that at my local county fair home brewing competition with no entry fee.

 

[Gonefishing]

Is there anyone you can contact to express your dissatisfaction and ask for your money back? I'd be pissed enough to do that if there was no score sheet kept.

 

[jodell]

That's disappointing...i am a judge and that seems like very unprofessional behavior

 

[RustyHorn]

Yeah, demand your money back!

 

[Auger]

I would also try to find your local BJCP chapter representative, if this event was billed as a BJCP-sanctioned event (although it's unclear whether they called this a sanctioned event vs. an informal "hey we'll have real beer judges this time!"). If the former, then they would have a problem with this. I'd think same goes for the AHA, if they are sanctioning or associating their brand with this in any way (vs. simply advertising it) they may have an issue with last minute changes like that. Both of those bodies take their competitions very seriously and would take issue with any kind of sanctioned event being run that way.

Even if it wasn't a sanctioned event by either organization, I'd at the bare minimum be contacting the organizer to express my displeasure. I've had similar experiences with "homebrew competitions" that really ended up being nothing more than popularity contests among a few people that like beer. I did at least get scoresheets back, but they were fairly useless as far as any recipe or process improvements go. I don't enter those competitions any more.

 

[Turkeyshot]

Yep I myself have entered some half-ass competitions too. There would be one or two BJCP judges and two or three other non judges. Funny part is my scores were higher from the judges than the non judges. Plus the non judges would mark things off that the judges either didn't notice or thought were a representation of the style.

I stay away from any new competitions and only bother with ones that have been around for a few years or so. Having a few people random unskilled palates to taste beer, of which you paid to enter said beer, does not make it better than having your friends taste your beer.

So you should try to get some money back and alert others to stay clear from that competition next time, if it is run the same way.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yeah, I entered one like that, held at a local bar, and which required 12 (!!) bottles for entry (because the crowd got to taste it too). It was a bit of a crapshow, and only had 6 entries. I think it was at least free, but 12 bottles ain't exactly totally free!

But I won, so hey, no harm no foul. I got a nice trophy which says "Georgia Premier Homebrewer 2007", and one of the judges was Spike, one of the founders from Terrapin, so that was cool.

 

[nianticcardplayer]

Judges will be directed by a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) certified judge. BJCP judging forms will be used for all entries. Individual results can be obtained after the Celebration.

This is from the AHA website for the contest. Like I said in my OP I will wait until the end of the week to see if I get any feedback before I email the event organizer and ask for a refund.

 

[mwilcox]

Ron I'm figure there's got to be a judge with a decent palate and scoresheet skills in Decatur or Springfield but if not, anything you want to send to me in KS will get a full and honest scoresheet from a Grandmaster. The offer's always open to those without access to judges.

hope you get your money back--
--Michael