Competition optimum maturation timing by style

[stealthfixr]

Seeking advice from competitive homebrewers.

I am into my second year of entering in competitions, and timing some styles for when they will be judged is clearer to me. An IPA seems (to me) like it hits the 'best' timing wise about 3-6 weeks after kegging. I think most Imperial Stouts would be 10+ months. An American Wheat Ale might be 2-3 weeks. Or so it seems to me.

However, there is a lot of styles I have not brewed for competition and it is difficult to know how far out to brew before a judging. I am considering a Belgian Golden Strong Ale for a fall competition, but not at all sure how early to brew it. On one hand, high ABV (~9%) lends towards more maturation. On the other hand, Belgian characteristics seem more 'perishable' time wise. Does that mean 3.5 months in the keg (@ 35F) is about right for this style?

Is there a rough matrix for knowing how far out to brew for each style before a judging?

 

[DonT]

I just started entering comps this year and have thought about the same thing. I googled "brewing calendar" and found this. Suggests time of year but also how long to age.

 

[stealthfixr]

I just started entering comps this year and have thought about the same thing. I googled "brewing calendar" and found this. Suggests time of year but also how long to age.

Interesting. I had seen this before, but not in this context. It may be a good guideline for some styles, but not all. For example, it list three months of maturation from brewing for a Lambic, which for a complex sour I am not sure is possible. I am curious if anything more definitive or specific is out there.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Some brews age well some brews need to age and others are better fresh. Some brewers keep brews that get better with age on hand to have entries for comps. The graphic shared by @DonT should be useful in what to enter quickly and what styles you can store to have available.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

As somebody playing around more with competitions, it is an interesting topic.

I suspect a lot will be driven by the recipe and the brewer's practices. A recipe on the low end of the style's ABV range that had a healthy pitch of yeast and a clean fermentation might be ready much sooner than a high ABV version or one with yeast stress issues. Storage and packaging will have impact as well.

My understanding is that when Jamil Zainasheff was deep into competitions, he had a walk in cooler where he would store beers so he always had a wide selection of beers for any competition. In a recent podcast, the winner of the Circuit of America last year said he kept a spreadsheet where it would sample and rate his beers so he could determine when they were at peak.

For the specific example of a Belgian Golden Strong, I would think this beer would be solid at about 3 months, and could potentially improve over a year or longer. While I have not brewed that style myself, I had a bottle conditioned Trippel that was excellent from 3 months up to 2 years.

I have a Dubbel that is going into NHC where it will be judged about 2.5 months from brew day. I also plan to set aside several bottles to target other competitions over the year. It will be interesting to see how scores and feedback change.

 

[DonT]

My understanding is that when Jamil Zainasheff was deep into competitions, he had a walk in cooler where he would store beers so he always had a wide selection of beers for any competition. In a recent podcast, the winner of the Circuit of America last year said he kept a spreadsheet where it would sample and rate his beers so he could determine when they were at peak.

From now on, I've been bottling 3 or more of any beer that's half way decent and sticking them in the back of the fridge, since I don't have a walk-in cooler...lol. Also, I had to tell the wife "hands off" any beer in a six-pack holder as they're destined for comps

 

[Mutant]

I have two kegs of Eisbock brewed over two years ago, and ice condensed over a year ago. Each ice condensed slightly differently, so one is a bit harsher than the other and needs to mellow from the higher ABV. The other keg is really nice at this point. No idea if the harsher keg will truly mellow over time, but it just sits there aging. I have thought about blending them, but that could just make things worse for me.