Bjcp categories for a comp assistance?

[madscientistbrewNq]

Hey folks, I brewed what I would call a modern pale kellerbier/hybrid lager. I'm wondering where I should place the beer as there are limited categories.

The grist was pilsner, carahell, and some carafoam. Hop bill was southern hemisphere hops in whirlpool plus dry hopping. Yeast was urkel. The beer comes in at 5-5.5 % with a nice hop aroma and flavor. I'd say the characteristics are citrus/tropical with just a touch of dank/pine. There is a slight haze to the beer as it is still young with good head retention.
Ibu- 25-30, srm- 4, og 1.054, fg 1.010

I realize the purist will scoff at what was brewed and I do worry bjcp will punish me for not really fitting perfectly into styles.

Categories that are available- international lager, pale bitter European lager, amber bitter European lager, czech lager and pale American ale.

I would assume amber bitter European lager but I noticed kellerbier is not listed there for 2021 bjcp and instead under historic beer which is not included as a category in the competition. The alternative was to place under pale ale as it looked like blondes can be bottom fermented and characteristic wise would be pretty close.

The comp has both 2015 and 2021 guidelines listed oddly... Any help or thoughts would be appreciated. I guess that's what I get for brewing what I want and not being concerned with guidelines!!!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I realize the purist will scoff at what was brewed and I do worry bjcp will punish me for not really fitting perfectly into styles. [...] I guess that's what I get for brewing what I want and not being concerned with guidelines!!!

One pragmatic alternative would be to consider not entering it.

Another pragmatic approach is one you mentioned - match a style (or styles) to the beer you made. And if you can enter the same beer in multiple categories, that's a solid approach.

I won't be able to taste your beer, so I have no category suggestions.

 

[madscientistbrewNq]

Yeah I brewed it for the event. The categories came later and once I saw kellerbier was moved to historic I knew I'd be in trouble. I realized that the hop flavor and aroma coupled with the carahell would put it out of a lot of lager categories. Even for the kellerbier category I was possibly pushing it out of style due to hops from New Zealand I would think. It's actually a great beer but I suspect bjcp won't care about how good it is if it won't perfectly fit in the style parameters.

Sounds like it may make sense to place into a hoppy category. The blonde category given ibu, srm, gravity/abv, and hop presence may work?

Main goal was to see from the group if there are lager categories noted that would work or not. I'm guessing that placing it as a kolsch or German helles exportbier ie pale bitter European beer would likely not work?

I know that without trying it's tough to say so these questions are more in general considerations/recommendations.

 

[Bobby_M]

It's pretty odd to brew a beer for a competition before you know what categories are eligible. Sounds like a cruel lottery. It's even more odd to know you're putting a beer into a competition and mix ingredients that don't quite fit into any style (other than calling it experimental). You have the advantage of being able to taste and see the beer but you probably have equal chance of getting the same score in pale bitter international and the american pale ale (if the hops are prominent enough).

 

[Kickass]

What about 2015 style, X5 New Zealand Pilsner?

 

[madscientistbrewNq]

It's pretty odd to brew a beer for a competition before you know what categories are eligible. Sounds like a cruel lottery. It's even more odd to know you're putting a beer into a competition and mix ingredients that don't quite fit into any style (other than calling it experimental). You have the advantage of being able to taste and see the beer but you probably have equal chance of getting the same score in pale bitter international and the american pale ale (if the hops are prominent enough).

I wanted to give the beer some time 4 to ideally 6 weeks for lagers and didn't have the time to wait for the categories that were excluded to be called out. Also can't say I've observed this type of phenomenon in any of the past comps I've been in. I will admit that in the past this wouldn't be an issue as I brewed mostly ales or stouts.

These days I brew my fair share of hoppy lagers and pilsners.

In terms of comps, I brew the beers I want to drink and simply put never spent time getting caught up in the styles/guidelines. A bigger issue given I'm doing lagers that deviate from noble hop varieties, etc....

Sounds like I can be a victim of my own demise here.

What about 2015 style, X5 New Zealand Pilsner?

Good idea. I looked and they aren't listing the pale commonwealth beer as a category. Also I originally was thinking with the carahell that it might be out of style but it wasn't a lot to the overall grist. I did also hit the distilled water with a decent amount of sulfate.

With that said it might be the best category if they make it available because even a modern pale kellerbier would be a bit of a stretch. I appreciate the idea

 

[madscientistbrewNq]

Fyi decided to go with the mixed style category and landed a 41 out of 50. I placed at the event and wanted to say thanks to those who provided feedback. It helped me reconsider where I was thinking of putting the beer.