bottles for competitions

[sharpstick]

most competitions do not allow bottles with any identifiable caps or embossing, right?
i was bottling today and, just in case i decide to enter some of this swill, was looking for some plain bottles. most of what i found in my recycle bottle box had embossing on them. michelob and sam adams were predominant.
considering that i didn't have the embossing commissioned for my brewery, why does it matter if there is an embossing on the bottles?
i've been marking out the printed caps too. i have a bunch of them lying around.
how important is it to not have embossing on bottles?

 

[thedigitale]

Anything on a bottle (yours or someone else's) makes the bottle identifiable. If you're the only person with an embossed bottle, it can easily be picked out of a flight, thus giving the judges an opportunity to be biased. So it's very important to have plain bottles.

Use the bottles you have for yourself, and go pick up a good 6 pack without markings. Drink the 6 and you'll have perfect bottles and a nice buzz... it's a win-win!

 

[Revvy]

Anything on a bottle (yours or someone else's) makes the bottle identifiable. If you're the only person with an embossed bottle, it can easily be picked out of a flight, thus giving the judges an opportunity to be biased. So it's very important to have plain bottles.

Use the bottles you have for yourself, and go pick up a good 6 pack without markings. Drink the 6 and you'll have perfect bottles and a nice buzz... it's a win-win!

This is the biggest part, they want every bottle to look the same, and plain...blind judging. That's even why they usually have a certain type of label to rubberband onto the bottle, with basic info...Nothing that stands out above the others.

And that's why, even though many of us mark the tops of our caps with a sharpie, the give a proviso to black out any identifying marks on top. I use a black avery dot then go over it all the rest of the cap with a loarge black sharpie.

I bottle some beers in bombers, flippies, squat bottles, belgians but I always make sure that a sixer of if the beers go into PLAIN BROWN 12 OUNCE BOTTLES with no identifying marks in them. That way if any of those batches turn out good enough that I want to enter them into some contest sometime in the next year or so, then I don't have to worry, because I know I have enough in plain bottles to enter three contests with them.

 

[Synovia]

PLAIN BROWN 12 OUNCE BOTTLES with no identifying marks in them.

The problem is, even those have different shapes. Theres a big difference between some of the more 'smooth looking' European bottles, and the really angular bud american bottles, or whatever.

 

[humann_brewing]

I bottle some beers in bombers, flippies, squat bottles, belgians but I always make sure that a sixer of if the beers go into PLAIN BROWN 12 OUNCE BOTTLES with no identifying marks in them. That way if any of those batches turn out good enough that I want to enter them into some contest sometime in the next year or so, then I don't have to worry, because I know I have enough in plain bottles to enter three contests with them.

I wish I thought about this a few months back when I bottled my RIS

I think luckily there is at least one unmarked and one Sam Adams which I hear are possibly accepted sometimes.

 

[Revvy]

The problem is, even those have different shapes. Theres a big difference between some of the more 'smooth looking' European bottles, and the really angular bud american bottles, or whatever.

Most of the bottles I get are pretty "plain," I use mostly Bell's and other Micro-brewery bottles, and those are pretty generic.

There's really not enough of a difference between these to bottles to warrant a judges ire...

I do have plenty of others as well....but I always make sure I use six that look pretty unremarkable...

 

[Revvy]

I wish I thought about this a few months back when I bottled my RIS

I think luckily there is at least one unmarked and one Sam Adams which I hear are possibly accepted sometimes.

Sometimes..check the rules for sure they will actually indicate what is allowable as bottles...including whether or not no descript etches are allowed.

This is that section from the Michigan Sate Fair Comp where over 800 beers will be judged.

Each entry must consist of two (2) bottles of between 10 and 22 oz from a single batch of beer, with no labels or identifying marks. Caps with any markings must be blackened with a marker. Commercially available bottles from widely distributed beers are acceptable. Unique bottles will only be allowed at the discretion of the Competition Organizer.

ANd the Michigan Rennaissance Festival Beer Barons Brew Brawl;

Each entry must consist of two (2) bottles from a single batch of beer,cider or mead, with no labels or identifying marks. Raised lettering on bottles is strongly discouraged, but bottles with generic raised lettering will be accepted. Caps must be plain or blacked out. Unique bottles will only be allowed at the discretion of the competition organizer.

Looks like standard cut and paste BJCP rules boilerplate.


But I got into that habit a couple years back...make sure you have at least a 6-er of every brewed batch in plain 12 ounce bottles (usually a few more than 6 but a minimum of 6)...then those I think are "worthy" of entering I set aside, those that the batches are "eh" I just drink. Then come competition deadline time (Which was last week for both of those comps I entered) I dig out the bottles (some may be a year old or more old) Chill down 1 for a few days and taste it, to make sure it is good, not infected, etc.

And then I decide which I am going to enter. I never brew "for competition" I see if what I have brewed is competition worthy. And what category to enter in. Because honestly not every beer turns out to be the style you mean it to after it has conditioned...for example a 6 month old IPA, after the hops have faded, may realistically be best called a PALE ALE now...so it is best to figure out what to put a beer into.

I even dug out a sixer of the strongest feeling plain brown bottles for my saison which was carbed at iirc 3.5 volumes of co2 and the rest of them were in champagne bottles and 22 ouncers.

I did three beers for state fair.

Vienna Lager
Chile Powder Porter (formerly called chocolate mole porter-but the chocolate has faded)
Oaked Old Bog Road Brown Ale-(1 year old)

And for the renfest I did those same ones, and the saison (I didn't really want to part with 4 bottles of this gem, and figured there would be more competition to get lost in in the State fair, and less in the renn. fest, so I figure I have a better chance at placing in that one.