Competition Question

[CRoth36]

So I have a question about entering a beer into competition. It's a brown ale and I'm not quite sure which one to enter it as. Here's the recipe. Let me know what you think.

Grain
12 lbs Maris Otter
1 lbs CaraBrown
1 lbs Crystal 60L
1/4 Chocolate
1/4 CaraFoam
1/4 Abbey
1/4 Victory

Hops
1/2 Magnum (60)
1 Kent Goldings (10)
1 Kent Goldings (5)

Yeast
Wyeast London III

Mash
Single infusion at 160F
OG
1.070

FG
1.018


So English or American? I'm thinking English with a high alcohol. Will that affect it?

 

[zombiefreak]

So I have a question about entering a beer into competition. It's a brown ale and I'm not quite sure which one to enter it as. Here's the recipe. Let me know what you think.

Grain
12 lbs Maris Otter
1 lbs CaraBrown
1 lbs Crystal 60L
1/4 Chocolate
1/4 CaraFoam
1/4 Abbey
1/4 Victory

Hops
1/2 Magnum (60)
1 Kent Goldings (10)
1 Kent Goldings (5)

Yeast
Wyeast London III

Mash
Single infusion at 160F
OG
1.070

FG
1.018


So English or American? I'm thinking English with a high alcohol. Will that affect it?

Since you're using mostly coninental ingredients, I'd go English. If you are going for High Alcohol as you say and you're OG will be 1.070 as you state you would do well to enter it into a specialty category like 23A. If you do this, call it an Imperial English Brown Ale, if English is what you're going for. You'd do well to specify exactly what type of Brown Ale, Southern English Brown or Northern English Brown you're shooting for. The reason for this is if you don't specify, the judges don't know you're intentions and it's harder for them to judge what you were shooting for. The reason I say 23A has to do with your desire to do high alcohol. If you enter it in say 11B or 10C, you would likely lose points because of the high alcohol. With 23A you don't lose points for the alcohol being high if you specify that you're going for an Imperial version of a Brown ale when it asks you what you're modeling your beer after.

With an OG of 1.070 and FG of 1.018 you could come in at about 6.7% abv. If you did this you're not far outside the 6.2% on the high end of an American Brown Ale. Keep in mind the flavor and aroma need to play in as well and an American Brown is usually more robust in malt flavor. But sticking with the fact that you're only .5% above on the ABV, you could enter it in two categories and see what happens. Enter in 23A as I specified above and try 10C. If you only want to do one, I'd stick with an English Brown and go 23A.

 

[CRoth36]

Thanks for the advice. I only sent enough for one entry so I'll go with 23A. Appreciate the info.

 

[gbx]

I doubt its "imperial" enough to do well in 23. If you say "imperial" it better be huge not just 1%abv above the style. Could a 2oz judging sample pass for a North Brown? (nobody is going to float a hydrometer in it). Without tasting your beer, I'd say it would do better there.

 

[Gameface]

I doubt its "imperial" enough to do well in 23. If you say "imperial" it better be huge not just 1%abv above the style. Could a 2oz judging sample pass for a North Brown? (nobody is going to float a hydrometer in it). Without tasting your beer, I'd say it would do better there.

Agreed.

I actually think today's judges are a little desensitized to alcohol content and bitterness, especially when trying to judge as many entries as they do. I have won medals with beers that had higher ABVs and IBUs than style guidelines. I actually think I had a bit of an edge by going a little above style guidelines as it allowed my beer to stand out.

I made this decision after the judge's feedback I got on beer that fell right in the middle of the guidelines. They wanted "more" so I gave them "more." And it worked.

 

[biereblanche]

^ agree with the above.

You will get creamed for calling that either Imperial (not enough ABV and FG) or American (w/o identifiable Am. hops in higher qty). Check the No. and So. English browns descriptions, taste and see which you think it falls into and enter it there.Slightly too high ABV, IBU and gravities won't get you tossed out of category by most judges. Nothing special about it, doesn't belong in 23a specialty category.

 

[Darwin18]

I'll echo the above. Do not enter that beer as an "Imperial" or "American" in 23A. You will not score well at all. When your descriptors are Imperial and American, the judges are going to expect a high gravity beer with lots of American hops, neither of which your beer has. Expect a score in the mid-20's with that recipe and the category you're trying to enter. I'd sit down with a sample of that beer and see how close it aligns with the Northern English Brown category: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style11.php

 

[Pappers_]

I'll echo the above. Do not enter that beer as an "Imperial" or "American" in 23A. You will not score well at all. When your descriptors are Imperial and American, the judges are going to expect a high gravity beer with lots of American hops, neither of which your beer has. Expect a score in the mid-20's with that recipe and the category you're trying to enter. I'd sit down with a sample of that beer and see how close it aligns with the Northern English Brown category: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style11.php

I second the method that Darwin suggests. Don't worry about your recipe. Sit down with the style guidelines and taste your beer and decide which category it best fits in. The judges won't know your recipe, all they will be doing is tasting the beer.

A friend tried to brew a style that I'm forgetting right now, but it ended up being a damn good California Common and won a gold medal in that category at a competition. Your intentions or your recipe aren't being judged - just the beer.