BJCP Style Help Please

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TheWeeb

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Greetings,

I am going to enter my Red Stag Rye in the national competition this year, and having trouble with which category to enter it in. It is an imperial red rye that comes in at 10% abv, with a wonderful malt/rye/hop backbone, aged on medium char oak soaked in 8oz of Red Stag cherry bourbon.

What category should I enter in?

6D, wheat or rye, but it is more than that.

20, Fruit, but the cherry is pretty subtle, but the style guidelines are pretty broad when it comes to fruit intensity

22c, Wood Aged, as the oak is there as well as a bit of bourbon

23, Other Specialty, which is of course wide open

Can I enter the same beer in multiple categories, and if so, does this make sense?

This is my first national competition, and of course I want the best match of beer/category.

Thanks!
:mug:
 
i have zero experience, but i would think that you should look at those styles, see what would make it not that style and choose the one that has the least cons. i had the same problem with a stout i made. it had oysters, lactose and oatmeal. it wasn't hopped enough form american stout. not sweet enough for sweet stout. oatmeal fit the best, but i imagine i will lose some points for the extra sweetness.
 
I definitely wouldn't do 6D or 20. If you enter it into the Wood Aged category, you must specify the base style (Old Ale or English Barleywine?) 23 is probably your best bet, but you can definitely enter it into multiple categories.
 
23

If you can actually taste/smell cherry, oak, and rye, then it doesn't belong in any of the other respective categories.

This.

You will be judged on the base beer as well, though, so be careful how you pick that. As an example, I took a Bavarian Heff one time, soured it, and added ginger. By the time it made it to NHC, I got dinged for calling it a sour heff because there was no heff yeast character. That beer would likely have scored better as a sour "American Wheat".
 
23

If you can actually taste/smell cherry, oak, and rye, then it doesn't belong in any of the other respective categories.

Yep. Seeing as how there isn't much of a base style 23 is what you should enter it in. I'd say that you kicked it up too many notches for it to do well in the wood aged category :D
 
Thanks for all of the advice, 23 it is then, base style is even tough, as it was a red rye - an amber rye - that I cranked up the fermentables to "imperialize" it. See you in Seattle!
 
In 23, the judges are probably going to expect to be able to taste (or otherwise perceive) all of these ingredients, so I'm hoping for you that the cherry and bourbon are noticable.

The beer SOUNDS really tasty and I hope you bring home the gold!
 
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