20 tends to be about as low as most judges will go unless there's something seriously wrong with the beer. I typically rate beers with minor fermentation flaws in the high 20s. A beer that doesn't have any major flaws but doesn't wow me usually gets mid to low 30s. Commercial quality beers get high 30s to low 40s. World class beers get high 40s.
Every judge is a little different so YMMV.
When describing real score ranges to new/prospective judges how to calibrate their scoring this is how I tend to do it:
"The breakdown on the bottom left of the scoresheet should be your guide. I would go by the actual descriptions on the right, not the terms on the left.
45-50: World Class. Should be damned near perfect- you can’t come up with anything to improve, and should be essentially the best example of the style you’ve had, definitely the best homebrewed example. Virtually nothing, even classic examples of the style, will score 50 points (I can think of precisely 3 beers, out of the thousands I’ve had, that I would consider 50 point beers, and then only under the right storage/serving conditions). That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t score a beer deserving 50 points accordingly, but it should reinforce just how rare a beer deserving that score is.
38-44: Very, very good. Technical faults (off flavors) all but non-existent (perhaps barely identifiable to the most trained of palates), and stylistic faults are VERY minor if at all. 38-40 think minor balance problems, 41-44 will be properly balanced but missing the “intangibles” that make it distinctly world class.
30-37: Generally quite good. On target, technical or stylistic faults are fairly minor. This is where a well brewed beer, that’s well within style parameters, but off balance is going to fall. Or a beer that is very good otherwise but has some minor off-flavors. The kind of beer that makes you think “this is good but doesn’t blow me away”. For example, may be slightly too bitter, or lacking complexity, or maybe could be a bit fresher and has a hint of oxidation, or a few slightly out of style characters.
21-29: Average to below adverage. Not horrible, but not great either. This is where beers that are drinkable but significantly out of style or have significant problems belong. At the upper end, beers that are somewhat in the realm of style but generally unremarkable or mediocre, or have noticeable but not severe off-flavors will fall. The bottom end may be highly out of style in core areas (stouts without roast, IPAs without hop character, etc), the off-flavors may be more significant, although falling short of undrinkable.
13-20: Towards the upper end, severely problematic and often unpleasant to drink, or EXTREME style problems- think a Pilsner that’s entered as a Stout. Towards the bottom end, basically to completely unpalatable. 13 is considered the bottom rung “courtesy score” for the worst of the worst, the equivalent of “you get this score for getting your beer here without being disqualified even if I cannot drink it”.
<13: Not used unless the most extreme of circumstances. I have never done it. Do not do it on the exam, or basically at all. "
