IMHO most commercial beer isn't good enough to win anyways.
The answer IMO is nothing.Random thought...
When someone is entering a brewing competition what stops someone from entering a really good commercial beer as their submition? If they took off the label with PBW how would anyone know?
Nothing more than the honesty of the person entering.Random thought...
When someone is entering a brewing competition what stops someone from entering a really good commercial beer as their submition? If they took off the label with PBW how would anyone know?
Caps can be blacked out per the rules. Many, if not most, homebrewers could carefully repackage the beer or fill their own bottles from a keg.Don't most commercial beers have some sort of decorative or identifying cap? The rules, for at least the National Homebrew Competition state: Bottles and caps must be free from labels, tape or any identifying marks.
Well, neither is most homebrew! (hundreds or thousands of entries, one BOS)IMHO most commercial beer isn't good enough to win anyways.
There is nothing about commercial vs home production that inherently makes better beer.agreed.
I've yet to taste a packaged commercial beer that I thought was as good as good homebrew. I've had some on tap, but never in a can or bottle.
and what would be the point? fabulous prizes? Getting to share your recipe in zymurgy magazine? lol.
I don't think you'd be "fooling" the judges. They would judge the beer and give it an appropriate score. One could even enter a commercial beer in the clone category. Even IF the judge decided that it tasted EXACTLY like a commercial beer that they knew, it would not be entirely unexpected and wouldn't be reason for disqualification.The entry rules clearly state that the entered beer is made with equiptment and ingredients redily available to home brewers. In other word not made in a commercial brewery. There is an expectation that homebrewers enter with integrity. Is there a test to prevent someone from doing what OP describes? No. Is most commercial beer going to fit within the guidelines? No. Could most judges be fooled? I'm thinking not likely. One final question, would one feel accomplished winning by cheating? I would not.
Random thought...
When someone is entering a brewing competition what stops someone from entering a really good commercial beer as their submition? If they took off the label with PBW how would anyone know?
There is nothing about commercial vs home production that inherently makes better beer.
I've given this some thought. Let me just say, I would never do it, but keep reading.. I'd just be curious to see how an actual "bud light" would compare in scoring to an actual homebrew lager in a competition if the judge didn't know they were drinking bud light.
How can one say that commercial beers aren't good enough to win competitions when they are the reference? Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier not good enough? It's one of the references which homebrewers are trying to match.
If you could get a fresh one, it would probably do fine. In my experience, hefeweizen is a fairly easy style, and the imported bottled ones are no better than the ones I make (according to non bjcp tasters such as my swmbo and friends, in blind tastings).
IMHO Hefeweizens are not easy, but rather extemely difficult. But I bet you'd get the same answer from anyone who tries to nail any other style. Everybody can get a certain beer in the ballpark, but after that it's about the nuances. If the reference is "old"/or exported the threshold for whats good is a bit lower. Where I come from most Hefes score about 22-29. A few ones sniff on the 40'ies. But those are one out of 40 maybe. 29 is not great. My target for Hefes is 40+.
IMHO most commercial beer isn't good enough to win anyways.
Random thought...
When someone is entering a brewing competition what stops someone from entering a really good commercial beer as their submition? If they took off the label with PBW how would anyone know?
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