First time entering a BCJP competition:

[thomrenault]

Hello everyone,

I'm starting to think about entering a BCJP competition. (The Fort Wayne Homebrewer's competition in March) The beer that I would be entering is a Munich Dunkel (and is up to snuff on the guidelines, to my untrained nose and taste). The biggest problem is that I brewed this beer with an Ale yeast (Wyeast Kolsch) rather than the style, which would require a german lager yeast. The main reason for this, is that I don't have the set up to cold-ferment. I was able to ferment in the range from 58-62, but I couldn't get the wort in the 40-50 range. I am currently lagering the beer--albeit in the garage which is fluctuating from 30-40 degrees. Anyways, I am wondering if there is an 'ale' analogue to Munich Dunkel or if my brew would be disqualified per-se, since it's technically a 'pseudo-lager' ale. The main reason I want to enter this beer is for the feed-back, since it's one of the best I've tasted, and I haven't ever had a true munich dunkel to compare it to (despite looking at the local liquor stores). I was wondering how one could even tell the difference between my 'pseudo-lager' and a true munich dunkel lager, and whether I should try to enter this brew in this upcoming competition.

 

[passedpawn]

Enter it. Don't worry about the yeast you used, or any other part of your process. The judges are only concerned with the beer and how it conforms to the BJCP style guidelines.

I recently entered a lagered oatmeal stout into a small competition and got second place.

Regarding examples of beers, if you download the BJCP guidelines (I assume you have them already) there are commercial examples of each substyle listed. I'll bet you already know this.