Where should I enter this?

[mcnanovich]

Hey, I'm making an 80 shilling that has smoked malt and is going to be wood aged in whiskey barrel. Which category should I enter it in competition? Wood aged, specialty wood aged? Thanks.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Assuming you're picking up whiskey character from the barrel, I'd say 33B Specialty Wood-Aged. With the smoked malt, you could also do 32B Specialty Smoked Beer, assuming the smoke character is noticeable.

 

[mcnanovich]

Yeah, that's where I'm confused. The beer will have noticeable smoke character and also it will pick flavor from the whiskey barrel.Thanks for the inputs.

 

[microbusbrewery]

I know for our biggest local comp, they usually group wood-aged and smoked beers together for judging purposes. Essentially the pre-2015 BJCP grouping, but using the 2015 guidelines and descriptions. If your comp does similar, 33B and 32B will likely go head to head. I don't know if that makes the decision any easier, but if it were me, I'd probably go with 32B.

 

[eyebrau]

Agreed you could enter it in either. If the competition does not put smoke and wood aged together, you'll probably get less competition in smoked beers. But I personally think it would fair better in specialty wood aged. Personal opinion, of course, which isn't worth much.

 

[Qhrumphf]

This is from the 2015 guidelines:

"Deciding where to enter a Specialty-Type Beer is often difficult for entrants. Be sure to reach each style carefully, as some styles will specify where to enter a beer with a certain combination of ingredients. We have arbitrarily defined some ingredients as taking precedence over others (in order of highest precedence: wild, smoke, wood, fruit/spice, grain/sugar), but that only applies if you can perceive that ingredient. When seeking a place to enter your Specialty-Type Beer, look for the best fit with the style description in a style where the combination is allowable. Entering a beer as a specific style will be a signal to judges that your beer will have certain identifiable components. If you added an ingredient, but it cannot be detected, then do not enter it in a style that requires the ingredient. If judges cannot perceive it, they will believe it is absent and deduct points accordingly."

According to this, if both the smoke and wood are noticeable as such it belongs as 32B Specialty Smoked, with base, smoke, and wood disclosed appropriately.

 

[mcnanovich]

Thanks for the input guys.