Homebrew Competition Lists Posted Online?

[ListerH]

I am looking to get some constructive feedback on my beers and entering them into competitions seems to be a good way to do that.

But the only list of competitions I can find are the ones on the AHA website. Is it possible that these are the only ones out there because they are the only ones sanctioned by AHA/BJCP?

And if there are other comps out there, how do I find them?

 

[RPh_Guy]

If you see a crowd of bearded young to middle aged men, follow them.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Is it possible that these are the only ones out there because they are the only ones sanctioned by AHA/BJCP?

Possible, but not likely.

And if there are other comps out there, how do I find them?

Local homebrew clubs can be a good source.

People often provide links to competitions they have entered in the past.

• https://hoppyhalloween.com/comp/

• https://www.mashout.org/

 

[Qhrumphf]

If useful feedback is what you're after there's a big follow up question-

Did you purposefully try to brew to a BJCP style?

The thing to keep in mind is that BJCP sanctioned comps are judged according to style. 95%+ of those are using BJCP style guidelines (it's a small minority of BJCP sanctioned comps that don't use BJCP guidelines, most of those commercial comps, and many of those use GABF/WBC/BA guidelines, but regardless to be sanctioned it MUST be judged to style against a set of published style guidelines, even if not BJCP styles).

Those are NOT the only comps out there. But, non-sanctioned comps can have different rules. Including judging by purely hedonistic standards- what the judges like best.

If you brewed something awesome that doesn't fit into an established style, that can work well in your direction.

The other important factor, some non-sanctioned comps do not provide feedback at all, only winners. BJCP sanctioned comps *require* feedback be provided to the brewer.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

I doubt it is vastly different from the AHA but have a look here anyway https://reggiebeer.com/ReggieLogin.php

 

[Qhrumphf]

Also, if you want the best feedback, your best bet is to find a homebrew club with some high ranking (National+) judges, and sit down with them and taste your beer. That way they can ask questions about ingredients and process and you can answer them, and get to the root of any issues.

The problem with blind judging is that while it's less biased and more objective, judges are limited as to the information they can receive (too much prevents blind judging), so when it comes to correcting issues (providing feedback) it's often educated guesses.

 

[Amadeo38]

Also, if you want the best feedback, your best bet is to find a homebrew club with some high ranking (National+) judges, and sit down with them and taste your beer. That way they can ask questions about ingredients and process and you can answer them, and get to the root of any issues.

The problem with blind judging is that while it's less biased and more objective, judges are limited as to the information they can receive (too much prevents blind judging), so when it comes to correcting issues (providing feedback) it's often educated guesses.

^^This. Frankly, as judges when we take the test, we are supposed to provide constructive and specific feedback in the “overall” section, but in real life you almost always end up being wrong because there are just so many variables that you don’t know. You could instruct someone to mash at a lower temperature to help get a drier beer, but it turns out they’re an extract brewer and then you look like a fool. Instead, on comp scoresheets, you’ll most likely get general feedback like, “sweetness is uncharacteristic for style, and would benefit from a drier mouthfeel and/or final gravity”, leaving the direction you’ll take for achieving that goal up to you (e.g. mash temp, yeast pitch/health, yeast choice, etc.)

tldr; find a local judge and get real with them!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Join a homebrew club and share your beers there. Several members are likely to be judges, and can provide constructive feedback.

 

[ListerH]

If useful feedback is what you're after there's a big follow up question-

Did you purposefully try to brew to a BJCP style?

The thing to keep in mind is that BJCP sanctioned comps are judged according to style. 95%+ of those are using BJCP style guidelines (it's a small minority of BJCP sanctioned comps that don't use BJCP guidelines, most of those commercial comps, and many of those use GABF/WBC/BA guidelines, but regardless to be sanctioned it MUST be judged to style against a set of published style guidelines, even if not BJCP styles).

Those are NOT the only comps out there. But, non-sanctioned comps can have different rules. Including judging by purely hedonistic standards- what the judges like best.

If you brewed something awesome that doesn't fit into an established style, that can work well in your direction.

The other important factor, some non-sanctioned comps do not provide feedback at all, only winners. BJCP sanctioned comps *require* feedback be provided to the brewer.

Thanks!

Yes, I tend to base my brewing on BJCP styles as I find it is good to work with a set of defined parameters up front to test my processes in terms of theoretical vs actual. Partly I guess because I am a fairly new brewer.

The competitions are fairly few and far between so I suppose I need to save enough bottles from my batches to be putting multiple entries in when a competition actually does come around.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Thanks!

Yes, I tend to base my brewing on BJCP styles as I find it is good to work with a set of defined parameters up front to test my processes in terms of theoretical vs actual. Partly I guess because I am a fairly new brewer.

The competitions are fairly few and far between so I suppose I need to save enough bottles from my batches to be putting multiple entries in when a competition actually does come around.

If you're willing to ship entries, there are multiple comps on any given weekend. Not sure that's few and far between. Unless you're looking for strictly local.

Before I retired from entering homebrew comps, I'd ship em all over east of the Mississippi.

 

[Wayne1]

https://www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_schedule/competition_schedule.php