Competition Experiences & Advice

tagz · Dec 18, 2010

My local homebrew competition is coming up soon. I entered a couple years ago and enjoyed receiving comments back on my beers. I'm going to give it another go this year, and I'm curious what advice experienced competitors have to offer.

What styles are the most competitive? Are some styles more rigidly judged than others? Do you tend to enter your go-to beer, or try out new recipes? Is it more about making a solid match to the style, or making a beer that catches people's attention?

I should add that I'm not at all concerned about placing, I'll be entering for fun and feedback. But I am interested in the approach that seaoned brewers take.

SkinnyShamrock · Dec 18, 2010

Competitions are usually about style categories. If you're not worried about placing, it doesn't really matter, but if you want to get a medal, brew to style.

As for most competitive, popular categories. IPA, stout, pale ale, stuff like that, stuff everyone and their mother brews.

Edcculus · Dec 18, 2010

A lot of people brew IPA, Pale Ale, etc like SkinnyShamrock said. While they might not necessarily be more competitive, there is a chance of your beer getting "lost in the crowd" so to speak.

Judges are looking at how well your beer matches up to the style descriptions on the BJCP website. For what should be there, and for what should not be there. If you hop the ever loving crap out of a Mild, yea it will stand out, but it won't be to style.

That being said, there is a tendency for people to brew to the larger side of each style. Bigger beer = more flavor, more flavor = your beer standing out more (if its well made).

Look for something that will make your beer interesting in that category. For an IPA, it might be an interesting hop combo. For an American Pale Ale, you could opt for British malts instead of domestic 2 row. The possibilities are endless. Obviously, don't go too crazy, or your beer will get docked. Stay within the style guidelines, but have fun with it.

Phunhog · Dec 18, 2010

What they said! Brewing to the style is paramount IMO. You can have a very good beer that doesn't do well in comps because it doesn't fit the "style". If you haven't already I would get Jamil's "Brewing Classic Styles". All the recipes are winners and you can experiment off of a winning recipe. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with comps.

piteko · Dec 18, 2010

I agree to the above comments. Lately I've been a fan of IPA and on february I had a pilsner. I took some things from the IPA style and putted in it. Some months later, I decided to test it in a local brewing contest. It went not that far with the score (42/60), but before the contest every contender had been invited to share a bottle for an open test. The guy who ended up being the winner told me that my beer was the one he preferred.
So, catching the attention is good, but not for the score

Cheers from Italy!
Piteko

remilard · Dec 18, 2010

tagz said:
What styles are the most competitive?

Generally American Ales, Stouts, and IPA followed by both Belgian categories.

Are some styles more rigidly judged than others?

They shouldn't be. A few styles are very narrowly defined. IMO California Common is basically "clone Anchor Steam" and Belgian Golden Strong is "clone Duvel". Also some judges have very limited experience with a style and will judge it too narrowly. A good example is 8C. A lot of judges have only had Fullers, which is idiosyncratic, and will mark you down for not being the same. This happens a lot in Bo Pils, Flanders Brown etc.

Do you tend to enter your go-to beer, or try out new recipes?

I like to brew a lot of new stuff. When it comes to enter, I'll tend to enter new stuff in the competitions with the best judges since I want good feedback. If I want to win I enter what I know is good.

Is it more about making a solid match to the style, or making a beer that catches people's attention?

Any good beer will win medals, the trick is knowing what style to enter it in. You enter the beer you have, not the one you thought you were brewing. I would like to think BJCP judges are savvy enough to not reward one note aggressive beers like the Beer Advocate crowd but big stouts, really sour sours and really hoppy IPAs will do well. In some of the other styles being too aggressive doesn't help as much.

I should add that I'm not at all concerned about placing, I'll be entering for fun and feedback.

Thats the best reason to enter. If you want good feedback, enter the best competitions (often also the biggest). Upper Mississippi Mashout in January is one of the best. If you tell me where you live roughly I can recommend a couple of great competitions in your region. Of course you should enter the local one regardless since it is so easy (no shipping).