Competition question

[rpolzin25]

So, quick question on entering beers into a competition. Do the beers have to fit exactly into a category based on stats? For example I made a Belgian Dark Strong that ended up finishing higher than expected abv. It actually finished at 11.7% abv which is w/in guidelines (8-12%) however the final gravity finished at 1.003 which is below what the guidelines say (1.010-1.024). Just curious how much that matters and if I should just not enter the beer since it's "out of style" per the FG. Thanks

 

[oceanic_brew]

If you made an amazing beer according to style guidelines and the only thing you get knocked on is it finishing too dry for style you will do very well. Some Belgians are dry anyway so I don't think a judge will be completely off put by it and start knocking you in other areas grudgingly.

If you feel that this is your only flaw it would be a great idea to get some judge input so that you can brew it to perfection next time!

Good luck!

 

[rpolzin25]

If you feel that this is your only flaw it would be a great idea to get some judge input so that you can brew it to perfection next time!

Good luck!

Well the beer is only 2 months old from its brew date. A month ago I tried it and it was downright not drinkable. Too early and had a strong medicine taste. I bottled 2 bottles and transferred the rest to a secondary. Bottled the rest the other day. I tried one of the 2 original bottles I bottled and I could actually finish a whole glass and it wasn't too bad. Medicine taste was minimal and this competition is another month away so I figure why not enter to get some feedback as it should have improved that much more.

 

[oceanic_brew]

Yeah it seems you have other problems beyond low FG.

A perfect opportunity to get some feedback. Belgian ales can take quite some time to perfect, there are Brewers on here who have spent many years tweaking recipes and procedures.

The medicinal "quality" you are noticing is not an uncommon yeast characteristic, I've tasted it in small amounts in some major brews but unfortunately a low FG could be helping to accentuate that characteristic.

Medicinal notes can come from contamination be it bacteria, wild yeast, or equipment like with cleaners and plastic leaching. A wild yeast/bacteria potentially could have dried your beer out but most likely it was just an over achieving Belgian strain and simple sugar addition i'm guessing?

Let us know what the judges think, always interesting.

 

[bobeer]

Brew to style and enter to taste is the common saying. Don't try to force a beer into the style you were trying to make it when you brewed it.

With that said it sounds like your beer is close enough to enter it in as what you were aiming for. If the FG is the only issue I'd enter it in as a Belgian Dark Strong and see what the comments are but if the beer also fits better into another category then I'd enter it in whatever that is.

 

[dmtaylor]

Always enter based on taste, not based on recipe. If it tastes like a Belgian Dark Strong, then that's where you enter it.

Cheers.

 

[oceanic_brew]

Always enter based on taste, not based on recipe. If it tastes like a Belgian Dark Strong, then that's where you enter it.

Cheers.

That's a good way to put it

I've heard on here about a guy/gal entering a beer in a variety of categories in different comps and doing well. I mean there's limits but a lot of people do well in comps by being the outlier of a style, making a beer at the very edge of a style parameter.

I narrowly lost out to someone in an experimental sour category. Mine was a triple decoction sour raspberry dopelbock, his was a cherry Berliner weisse. Clearly the "Experimental" part of the category came second in importance to how great the beer tasted. Point being that if it's close enough it's worth going for it.

 

[rpolzin25]

The medicinal "quality" you are noticing is not an uncommon yeast characteristic, I've tasted it in small amounts in some major brews but unfortunately a low FG could be helping to accentuate that characteristic.

Medicinal notes can come from contamination be it bacteria, wild yeast, or equipment like with cleaners and plastic leaching. A wild yeast/bacteria potentially could have dried your beer out but most likely it was just an over achieving Belgian strain and simple sugar addition i'm guessing?

Let us know what the judges think, always interesting.

I really think this yeast just went nuts as I used 3 lbs of belgian candi sugar (6 gallon batch) and M41 from mangrove jacks. Not once did it appear infected or smell infected or really taste infected aside from the medicine taste. The medicine taste dropped significantly a month ago so I figure another month and maybe it won't even be noticeable.