Competition worthy beers

[Chombo]

Hey Everyone,
so im just curious what everyone opinion is on what makes a good award winning beer in a homebrew competition. i have 6 brews under my belt and i made the jump to all grain on my second brew (with great success). i have been a cook in restaurants for 6 years and i concider myself to have a good feel for flavor and kitchen/cooking techniques. however i would like some input on some qualities a homebrewer should have to make an award winning beer.

to be honest my last 2 beers have been some of the best beers i have ever had (and there is a good selection of worldly/craft beers here in toronto) but im afraid i may be biased just because they are made solely by me. im still learning quite a lot and reading a lot about techniques that is still taking some time for me to understand.

so my questions are what are some qualities that a homebrewer must have to make award winning beers. can they be made by accident? can very simple (beginner) techniques be used? do i have to understand advanced techniques to make award winners (such as filtering, kegging, getting rid of chilhaze, etc...)? should my palate be as refined as much as a typical judges would be? do i have to spend a lot of money on high end equipment? where can i get a good professional second opinion on a recipe?

the reason i ask is because im currently drinking edworts hefeweizen and i see that he has won awards for it, and yet it is easily one of the best beers i have ever had, however, it was extremely simple to make. Although it seems as though there is an overwhelming amount of yeasts, malts, specialty grains, and hops and i am not yet quite confident in concocting my own recipe, let alone a competition winning one. i wouldnt want to make a good beer where a judge would tell me that i used a strange combination of malts and yeasts or something.

thanks for any input! sorry for the rambling, Hefewiezen is delicious!

EDIT: if this is the wrong forum, my apologies.

 

[MattTheBrewer]

You can make anything... Really anything, as long as the basic guidelines are met and sanitation kept well anything is going come out good. If you want to start making your own recipes you could start out with adding fruit or spices to already used recipes, or study a traditional recipes and make your own little tweeks to it (alter the grain slightly or measurements and types of hops.) Your really cant go wrong if you do everything correctly.

 

[Chombo]

well i have been working on my own recipe for something i have been calling a "canadian ale" (generic, i know) but it will be my first batch of my own recipe and although i have no doubts that it will turn out good i have that question in the back of my mind is how would i know if its competition worthy, and how would i be able to improve on it etc...

i have tweaked all the recipes that i have used (all from here) except eds hefe so i know where your coming from (due to ingredient availability for me). another thing i have been pondering regarding ed worts hefe is surely mine doesnt taste exactly the same as his because of different mashing, boiling, temperatures, length in primary, different equipment and many more variables. if i submitted his recipe would i get the same placement in the competition? just some things i have been pondering...

great points you have brought up about studying certain styles. i have recently read winners of a local competition where the same guy made 1st, 2nd or 3rd placement for half of the styles. what makes him a multi award winner? or would he just brew a massive amount of beer and submit it all...

just stuff i have been thinking about... thanks for the reply matt!

 

[Lefty]

Good beer is easy to make. You can make good beer by accident. It is exponentially harder to make great beer. A good solid sanitary brew process will make good beer. To make world class beer you have to pay attention to all the small details of the brew process. Fermentation temperature is the next big step in making great brews.

 

[twigboy2000]

Give this a read to see what the judges are going to go through as part of the judging process:

http://www.bjcp.org/study.php#beereval

For me, the first questions I ask of my beer is 'does it have any discernable flaws?' and 'how well does it fit the style i want to use for this beer'. Of course sometimes it's hard to be critical of your beer if it's one you personally really enjoy. If it can meet my criteria and i feel it's a good beer, I'll send it.

 

[Yooper]

There are differences between great beers and competition winning beers. What I mean by that is that beers are judged strictly "to style". So, if you made a blonde ale, for example, this is what the judges are looking for:

Aroma: Light to moderate sweet malty aroma. Low to moderate fruitiness is optional, but acceptable. May have a low to medium hop aroma, and can reflect almost any hop variety. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Light yellow to deep gold in color. Clear to brilliant. Low to medium white head with fair to good retention.

Flavor: Initial soft malty sweetness, but optionally some light character malt flavor (e.g., bread, toast, biscuit, wheat) can also be present. Caramel flavors typically absent. Low to medium esters optional, but are commonly found in many examples. Light to moderate hop flavor (any variety), but shouldn't be overly aggressive. Low to medium bitterness, but the balance is normally towards the malt. Finishes medium-dry to somewhat sweet. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium-full body. Medium to high carbonation. Smooth without harsh bitterness or astringency.

Overall Impression: Easy-drinking, approachable, malt-oriented American craft beer.

History: Currently produced by many (American) microbreweries and brewpubs. Regional variations exist (many West Coast brewpub examples are more assertive, like pale ales) but in most areas this beer is designed as the entry-level craft beer.

Comments: In addition to the more common American Blond Ale, this category can also include modern English Summer Ales, American Kölsch-style beers, and less assertive American and English pale ales.

Ingredients: Generally all malt, but can include up to 25% wheat malt and some sugar adjuncts. Any hop variety can be used. Clean American, lightly fruity English, or Kölsch yeast. May also be made with lager yeast, or cold-conditioned. Some versions may have honey, spices and/or fruit added, although if any of these ingredients are stronger than a background flavor they should be entered in specialty, spiced or fruit beer categories instead. Extract versions should only use the lightest malt extracts and avoid kettle caramelization.

Vital Statistics:
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1.038 - 1.054 1.008 - 1.013 15 - 28 3 - 6 3.8 - 5.5%
So, if your beer is carmelly, or hoppy, it will score low even if it's a fantastic tasting beer. If you want to brew a competition worthy beer, it really has to be according to the style guidelines.

I really like Jamil Zainasheff's book, "Brewing Classic Styles" which gives the characteristics of each style, along with a good recipe for each style.

I've had some fantastic beers that weren't even close to a style, but loved the taste. They would have scored poorly in competition, though.

 

[flyerwire]

find a local competition and enter a few, it doesnt hurt, and spending 5-7 bucks per entry for some feedback from a judge can be worth it, and you never know, you may surprise yourself.

I entered my first competition solely to get feedback on a few recipes i was trying to tweak (usually get at least one of the judges to give you detailed feedback, sometimes you'll be a little disappointed in the lack of feedback) and placed 2nd on one of my beers.

 

[boo boo]

A good award winning beer would be one with few faults regarding process and lots of flavour for the style you are entering.
Judges like brews that push the limit of the style you have entered.

And you can take just about any recipie out there and make it and call it your own. The chances of replicating a recipie excatly as the author did are pretty small.

 

[david_42]

Winning beers follow the style guide. Don't push the limits of a style (except American IPAs, which have no upside). Also, there is absolutely no barrier to brewing someone else's recipe (other than personal pride maybe) After all, they are beer competitions, not recipe competitions. If you do uses a HBT recipe and win, be certain to post.