BJCP category questions

[Bcarlton74]

Going to be entering 3 or 4 beers into a local bjcp judged competition. 2 of the beers are not to style. Trying to figure out what category they fall into.
1st is a Kölsch that uses Superior Pilsen, Superior Pale Ale, Rahr White Wheat and Bestmalz Vienna. Hops are Columbus for bittering and Lemondrop for flavor and aroma. Fermenting with Omega Kölsch II
2nd is a Chocolate Marshmallow Porter(not my recipe, not sure yet what the grain bill is)

 

[AlexKay]

I've entered Kolsches that didn't quite hit the mark as Cream Ales, and that's worked well. It depends on the aroma hop level -- if it's higher, I'd probably lean toward Blonde Ale.

 

[jdauria]

As for the Kolsch, the grain itself is nothing out of the ordinary for a Kolsch, but the hops are definitely. Kolsch should have low floral. spicy or herbal aroma, ditto in flavor...but the Columbus has strong citrus notes and Lemondrop adds more citrus and herbal notes. I would say enter it as a Blonde Ale...you really need to drink some while looking at the style guidelines to decide.

As for the Chocolate Marshmallow Porter, that's a tough one without tasting it. Is the chocolate just from chocolate malt or are you adding chocolate too it? Can you taste the marshmallow or did it just add sweetness? I mean nothing is stopping you from entering in American Porter, but you need to have a good hop presence in that style too. How strong does the chocolate come through? If you added like baker's chocolate, you may want to consider 30A Spice, Herb or Vegetable beer...chocolate is considered a spice, so if you can really pick it up, that might be your spot. Third option...13C English Porter - has a more restrained roastiness and is sweeter than American Porter and "chocolate" is used a lot in the style guidelines, though the reference is to chocolate malts. But if the marshmallows and chocolate created a sweet beer, this could be the spot. Last option, but not likely worth is would be 31B Alternative Sugar Beer - which says:

An Alternative Sugar Beer is a standard beer (Classic
Style or not) with added sweeteners, including fermentable
sugars (e.g., honey, brown sugar, invert sugar, molasses,
treacle, maple syrup, sorghum), unfermentable sugars (e.g.,
lactose), sugar alcohols (e.g., sorbitol), and any other
sweetener (natural or artificial) that affects the flavor profile

So marshmallows and chocolate (if you added) are fermentable sugars you added, so could play there. So I guess I was not really any help on this once since I gave you the 4 categories that it could fit into. Like I said, you really need to taste your own beer vs the style guidelines and decide where it belongs. One competition saying is "Enter your beer based on what it tastes like, not on what you attempted to make"

Also, there is nothing stopping you from entering it in more than one category. I did that once with a Pre-Prohibition Porter, entered it as Pre-Prohibition, English Porter and American Porter...it took gold in the first two categories.

 

[Bcarlton74]

Thank you for that info. Beer is a friend's recipe that we haven't brewed yet. He says chocolate and marshmallow gets added, I'm assuming in secondary because he does a lot of beers using a secondary. He uses roasted malts to help the marshmallow. I think he's shooting for a smore beer.

 

[Bobby_M]

Going to be entering 3 or 4 beers into a local bjcp judged competition. 2 of the beers are not to style. Trying to figure out what category they fall into.
1st is a Kölsch that uses Superior Pilsen, Superior Pale Ale, Rahr White Wheat and Bestmalz Vienna. Hops are Columbus for bittering and Lemondrop for flavor and aroma. Fermenting with Omega Kölsch II
2nd is a Chocolate Marshmallow Porter(not my recipe, not sure yet what the grain bill is)

Kolsch: Using whatever ingredients you used does not make it out of style. When you taste the beer, does it taste like any commercial Kolsch you've ever had? If not, what does it taste like? I'm taking a wild guess that the yeast left it with a bit of sulfur but is otherwise drinking a bit like an American blonde or pale ale due to american (late) hops.

Porter: Most likely going into the 30A: vegetable beer due to the chocolate. List the classic style as porter if it's relatively dry. If it's really sweet, probably a sweet stout would be a better classic style description. Only mention marshmallow if you absolutely taste it. In fact, make others taste the beer without telling what's in it and see if anyone brings up chocolate or marshmallow. If not, don't say it and just enter it as a Porter.

One of the biggest frustrations I have as a judge on the specialty beer tables is when people list 10 special ingredients and I can only taste one (or none) of them. Sometimes I have to comment that it's a perfectly good, even great beer, but it has no chance on this table because it's not what you said it is (and you didn't have to say it). It's sometime just a stubborn insistence that it's a particular kind of beer.

As was mentioned, entering in the proper category is about what the beer currently IS, not what you intended or what ingredients you used. Sure, using the correct ingredients is usually a good step to making a particular style but you get the point. I have intended to make a German Pilsner in the past and missed the hopping rates a bit. It was not a good German Pils, but it was a gold medal Dortmunder (Helles Exportbier). When that beer got a little old in the keg, it was no longer drinking like a Dortmunder but it sure was a pretty good International Pale Lager.