competition

last year i entered my Dopplebock in a competition and made 4th place this year i entered it again and got 3rd place i tweeked it a bit from the feed back i got last year and it helped me move up one so i will wait for my feed back and try again

 

Congrats!

 

Thank you

 

You're welcome. It looked like you had a lot of views, but no comments. Someone had to congratulate you.

 

i am just proud of this because i only started 3 years ago and i do brew in a bag and make great beer proved to myself you dont need really expensive equipment

 

Congrats! It's pretty incredible what some of these judges can pull out of a beer from sampling it. Sounds like you got some good advice and put it to good use.

 

Thank you

 

here is my ribbon

 

Lancaster, PA? Been there, many years ago. I'm originally from Jersey, but lived in So Philly and the K&A (Kensington & Allegheny) area as well.

I was brewing for just under 3 years when I entered my first comp in 1997. I won Best of Style and Best of Show with an all DME German-style Hefe Weizen. I never entered another contest.

 

Nice! Maybe next year you'll win second place.

 

question for yous one of the judges wrote that my beer could use a little more body and that i should mash higher does he mean temp should be higher at mash

 

Yes, that means you might want to try increasing your mash temperature, so you will end up with a slightly less fermentable wort which will in turn leave more maltiness, slightly less alcohol and fuller body in the finished beer.

 

thank you

 

i mashed this beer at 155 should i do 160 dont want to go to high

 

If you're already mashing at 155 I wouldn't go too much higher than that, realistically. If you post the recipe we might be able to give you some ideas for grain additions or substitutions to achieve a similar result. Another option would be looking at other strains of yeast.

 

What was your FG? You might have intended to mash at 155 but perhaps some variable made it not so (heat loss, false temp reading). Are you measuring your mash temp in multiple spots? Are you sure you're not losing much during the course of the mash?

 

3 gallon batch 1.2 lbs Cara munich III
2.4 Lbs Pilsner Malt German
8.4 LBs Munich Malt
1.5 oz Hallertau 1 oz at 60 min 1/2 oz at 30 minutes
Yeast WLP833 2 Liter Starter
mash at 155 for 1 hour

 

Gravity readings?

 

OG 1086 FG 1020

 

If you got a ribbon that means you have a good recipe, I would not make any big changes only minor tweaks.

When the style has a pretty wide specification range judges can have quite different ideas of what is correct. Next time the group of judges may have a different idea of what is correct and your same exact recipe from this year may do better. Pay attention to the common comments and less to what a single judges says.

Congratulation on the ribbon and good luck next year.

 

I agree with @Auger and @ba-brewer. If you want to keep improving, maybe consider getting into water chemistry or trying different techniques. Sounds like you have a pretty solid recipe and have scored well in competition with it.

Take the next step in your brewing career whether it's water chemistry or something else. I would also suggest to try entering more than 1 beer next time. In addition to getting more feedback, you'll boost your chances to have something stand out with the person who is judging your beer. There will always be some subjectivity involved in competition. With that, you might brew the best Doppelbock next year but still not get a gold due to something the judge may or may not get out of it.

 

I don't see what you received for scores but my recommendations would fall in line with what many of the others have said. If you are using light Munich malt (5-7 °L) you may want to mix it with some dark Munich (~10 °L) to increase the malty flavors. Beyond that, depending upon your water quality, upping the Chloride content would also enhance the malty flavors. Congrats on your improvements and ribbon!