13 gallons of unintentionally wild Brown, can I use it?.

[COLObrewer]

Score sheets like that reinforce why I don't bother with competitions.

Yea, quite a spread between them, like I said it's a local competition, I think the total entries were 48 or so. They ribbon anything above 30 points I believe, anyway it was fun and I got some free beer as I helped with the cover sheets and totalling, etc, a couple of the brews were quite bad though.

 

[jtakacs]

it's funny you mention that - i've been thinking of submitting some of my beers, but i don't make very many true to style beers - most would get destroyed in competition.

 

[smokinghole]

Yea, quite a spread between them, like I said it's a local competition, I think the total entries were 48 or so. They ribbon anything above 30 points I believe, anyway it was fun and I got some free beer as I helped with the cover sheets and totalling, etc, a couple of the brews were quite bad though.

Participating in a comp can be fun. I helped with a non-BJCP sanctioned but judged on BJCP guidelines comp at the brewery I intern with. There was some damn good beers, and there were some beers that were bottled butter popcorn.

 

[COLObrewer]

Fellow brewers, I thought I'd update this since the beer has been bottled for a while now, I sent it through the local fair again and here are the new scoresheets: (It missed the best of show by less than one point)

And a recent picture:

I think it's time to send off some to a "real" competition (probably here: http://bigbeersfestival.com/ ), I have two versions of this, One was removed from the fruit early and I will enter it in the Oud Bruin category. The other was left on the fruit and I will enter it in the fruit beer category.

This mistake was the best beer I have ever brewed. Carbonation is perfect, could use a little more head but who couldn't?

 

[mors]

those scoresheets are shamefully filled out. I'm embarrassed for those judges.

 

[COLObrewer]

those scoresheets are shamefully filled out. I'm embarrassed for those judges.

Yea, local people, we need to get a sanctioned competition closer.

 

[Kaleco]

If you ever come to the Eastern slope, I'd love to try some! I only have some very young, still-in-the-fermenter Flanders Red and Soured Dunkelweizen to offer though. I think I am going to split the Flanders Red and copy your method, but with apricots.

 

[microbusbrewery]

This is an awesome thread. It makes me wonder who those first very patient brewers were that discovered sour styles like Flanders Red, Oud Bruin, Lambics. I imagine they probably stumbled accross sour styles on accident, similar to what happened in this thread. I'm picturing the guys sitting around sampling a batch of ale they'd brewed and realizing something wasn't quite right. I bet all but one guy wanted to dump it but that one guy stuck with it until after a year or more when it finally developed into something absolutely incredible and unlike anything they'd ever tasted before.

 

[Guess42]

Other way around. The original beers would have all been sour. Those styles you listed are actually truer descendants of thge oldest beer styles. Modern pure culture has only been around for a couple hundred years.

 

[COLObrewer]

I've sent this brew off to some pro's, cant wait for January 12th to roll around, Also sent a belgian strong dark (fermented with my juniper yeast) and a saison. Wish I could attend but the cost is too much.
We shall see.

http://bigbeersfestival.com/

 

[COLObrewer]

This placed third in the big beers festival in Vail (Belgian Specialty category (16E)), I'll post the scoresheets when I recieve them to conclude this thread, I can't wait to see the comments, I believe there has to be at least one certified judge at each table. http://bigbeersfestival.com/1images/2013BigBeersBelgiansBarleywinesWinners.pdf

This has been a great journey and I'm happy I still have a bunch of bottles left, whenever I wonder if it's all worth it or not I just go to the cellar and pop one of these for instant re-assurance.

Brew on my friends

 

[mors]

Nice. Congrats.

 

[sicklesr]

Congratulations man! So much good can come from a "mistake"!

I had a random infection on a 5 gallon pumpkin ale that was in my basement (9/1/2012), and I checked HBT before I dumped it. My pellicle looks the same, and its been in primary for about 4 months now. When I taste it now, the sourness has taken over most of the nutmeg/cinnamin spice flavor, but the pumpkin still stands out on the back and.

Since it's pumpkin based, should I hit it with some more roasted mashed pumpkin to 'feed' it? Or should I just brew a few gallons of a light brown ale to mix with? Let it go and bottle it come June (for drinking in fall)? I'm not really sure where to go, and any opinions are welcomed!

 

[COLObrewer]

This is awesome, the peeps at Avery donated some bombers of this golden ale to the winners of the festival and I recieved mine a few days ago.

It has a label on the bag of the participant and their winning entry, a nice touch I thought.

This beer is paying off. I forgot I haven't posted the scoresheets from the festival, I'll look for them and finish off this thread.