competition advice

[brewshki]

I have been brewing for about 9 months and am wanting to see if I am actually getting anywhere. My first few batches were obviously bad and it was easy to tell. I am getting to the point where I think my beers are pretty darn good. I share with my friends and family and besides the BMC drinkers who think my pale ales are way too bitter, I have gotten good remarks.

Of course, this really doesn't mean a lot. It is really hard for these people to remove any amount of bias.

I have been doing some research and am currently contemplating entering a competition or two. Is this a good way to get some objective feedback? Im really not looking for my ego to get a boost or anything, I just need honest opinions form people who know what they are tasting so I can improve.

Are there better ways to get this than competitions? How has your experience with competitions been? Do you have any suggestions about which ones to enter? Are un-certified ones worth entering? Would I be better off going to my local store and asking them to taste it? Do I need to enter a special beer or can I just grab what I finished bottling yesterday?

Thanks!

Johnny

 

[EcuPirate07]

Look into local brew clubs they are always willing to help you fine tune your beers plus a lot will actually have beer tasting contest. Another route is beer competitions you can google ones close to you. And yes you can send the beer you just got done doing, just have to add it to the correct style category in the competition. Hope this helps.

 

[zippy84]

...wanting to see if I am actually getting anywhere.... friends and family... remove any amount of bias.... I just need honest opinions..

Not too sure about the competition side of things but in terms of objective unbiassed feedback... why not try bottling a few of of your beers into craft brew bottles that you have bought/drank previously? 'Hey check out this Ale from X micro brewery (or whatever), what do you think, taste nice?'

 

[Qhrumphf]

Here's my 2c as both regular competition entrant, as well as BJCP judge...

If you're looking for good reliable feedback, I'd steer clear of competitions not sanctioned by the AHA/BJCP. Not that there's anything wrong with a non-sanctioned competition, just that the rules can be weird, the tasting may not be blind or objective, and they may not have to provide you any feedback. Can get some great prizes if you win, but ultimately if you want feedback you're going to want scoresheets against an established standard, which you'll get from a BJCP comp. And yes, you can enter any beer you want as long as it follows the rules of that particular comp (which can vary widely, so check the rules carefully before you enter, some allow all styles, some don't. Some require more bottles than others. Some allow any sized/format bottle, some are strict enough that even 12 oz stubbies are forbidden, etc).

While competitions are the best way for true unbiased, objective feedback, there are some drawbacks. Namely, the judging is blind, meaning that the judges don't know who you are, or anything about the beer, only what is in their tasting glass and what style it was entered as. They don't know your recipe, your process, beer stats (gravity, IBUs, ABV, etc) or anything like that. Now, a good judge can usually put the pieces together and make a good guess as to where an off-flavor is coming from, but it's still just a guess because the only info provided is the beer and the entered style (or with specialty beers, base style and special ingredient(s)/processes). So the utility into figuring out exactly what went wrong or how to fix it can be limited. If you think the beers are good already, and you're looking for stylistic quibbles and suggestions to make a good beer a great beer, you may find it a bit more useful. The other issue is that different judges see things different ways, and while the style guidelines are supposed to make it objective, judging is still a subjective process and some judges are better than others. Some judges are more accurate than others, some have better palates than others, some know a given style better than others, and some provide better, more complete feedback than others. Depending on the competition, the quality of judges can vary. Small local comps that are in their first incarnation may get a lot of novice judges and their feedback needs to be viewed as such. Where larger, more established competitions can often get some very qualified, high ranking judges.

And then, of course, there's the checkbox scoresheet, as opposed to the written scoresheet. I don't know how many comps use the checkbox outside of the National Homebrew Competition (every other comp I've judged or entered has used the full written scoresheet), but comps with the checkbox sheet tend to provide much less feedback than the written sheet. Some judges will still write comments, but some won't. But like I said, most comps still use the written sheet and likely will for the future.


Sooooo....if you're looking for help improving a beer, I'd say your best option is a homebrew club, particularly one with experienced brewers, and ideally BJCP Certified (or better yet, National or higher ranked) judges. Who could then taste your beer with you, talk about ingredients and process, and go from there. You'll lose the blind judging for a truly unbiased tasting, but I can't tell you how many times I've judged beers in competitions and wanted to ask the brewer if they did such-and-such, but can't do it. But if you think the beer is good and want objective feedback, then by all means enter.

 

[Oginme]

The answer on competitions is yes... and no. The feedback will be good in terms of any faults which can be tasted. It will also be skewed based upon how well your brew represents whichever category you enter it into. If the competition is sanctioned, the judges will have some BJCP experience and hopefully certification to give you consistent and constructive feedback.

Thus if you have a recipe that matches the description of one of the recognized styles, it may give you very good feedback. If your recipe does not fit nicely into a style, your feedback may be focused more on how it does not fit the style it was entered under.

The suggestion of taking it to a local brew club is a good one. Also consider talking to local micro- or nano- brewers who may be willing to taste and give you feedback. Same with the owner of your local home brew supply shop or specialty beer store.

 

[bob1852]

Go through the process of becoming a BJCP judge.

What a better way to evaluate your beer effectively then to do it yourself?

I find myself to be much more critical of my beers than my friends, and even some judges.

 

[brewcat]

Maybe your pales are too bitter? All comments are good feedback. Just from that one comment you have a few questions you can answer about your pales:

• Is this an off flavor? Astringency from grains? Fermenting too hot?
• How does this beer balance? IBU/GU scale.
• Does the hop schedule need work? What is the recipe's current IBU? Should I experiment with less hops?

It may just be their taste buds, but it is valuable feedback. I personally like my pale ales to be balanced. Just had a local one that I find too hoppy. Too much an IPA. Certainly wasn't what I expected or wanted.

The best thing to improve is to improve your own palette. Know what you like and how to get there.

 

[brewshki]

Maybe your pales are too bitter? All comments are good feedback. Just from that one comment you have a few questions you can answer about your pales:

• Is this an off flavor? Astringency from grains? Fermenting too hot?
• How does this beer balance? IBU/GU scale.
• Does the hop schedule need work? What is the recipe's current IBU? Should I experiment with less hops?

It may just be their taste buds, but it is valuable feedback. I personally like my pale ales to be balanced. Just had a local one that I find too hoppy. Too much an IPA. Certainly wasn't what I expected or wanted.

The best thing to improve is to improve your own palette. Know what you like and how to get there.

I totally agree with improving my palette, I just don't know how. I know all these words, but I don't know what it all actually tastes like. I think a club would be great
For this

 

[madscientist451]

Sure, enter a few competitions. In fact I'd enter the same beer in several competitions to get as many different opinions as you can.
Download the style guidlines:

http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php

And brew a beer that fits in a category and see what happens.
Just remember, the beer judges have good days and bad days and may or may not be very good at judging beer and/or giving useful feedback.
I'd also get involved with any brewclubs in your area and get your beer out to taste there.

 

[Handsaw]

The people in my homebrew club have always given me honest opinions and good advice. And they will come help you brew at the drop of a bottle cap.

 

[brewshki]

Had a little bit of a humbling moment on my last brew day. It was my second time using my new kettle and got 4 gallons instead of 5 into the fermenter... I drained the hop sludge and stuff after i got the 4 gallons and it was less than a half a gallon. this makes me think i really just don't know my system yet and it boiled off more than i was expecting.

Additionally, I totally forgot to sanitize my spigot... I chilled my wort down to about 85 F, which is about all I can get in Southern California, and drained into my bucket. Totally forgot to sanitize the spigot at the bottom of my kettle. That is a dumb mistake. Probably shouldnt do comps yet...

 

[brewshki]

I am entering another competition soon and am having trouble deciding which category to enter my beer into. Last time it was a german hefe, so that was easy. I brewed More Beer's Scottish 80 Export. The competition is based on the 2015 guidelines. It should go into the scottish export category right?