Contest entry tips?

[beernutz]

I'm entering a beer in a contest for the first time since 1994 and though the rules are pretty straightforward I thought I'd ask the HBT community if they had any pre-submission tips.

My previous entries were all to local contests with dropoffs so this will be the first time I will mail, or UPS actually, entries to the contest.

The entries are due in late October so I plan to wait until about 10 days before they're due to fill 3 bottles from a keg and give them to big brown.

Any other things I can do to maximize my chances?

 

[Yooper]

If it's a BJCP competition, make sure that your beer meets the style guidelines exactly. The beers will be judged according to the style guidelines, and having something in there that isn't part of those guidelines would mean a poor score.

 

[beernutz]

If it's a BJCP competition, make sure that your beer meets the style guidelines exactly. The beers will be judged according to the style guidelines, and having something in there that isn't part of those guidelines would mean a poor score.

Thanks Yooper, that's a great point. I knew going in that my beer might be slightly out of style as it contains some smoked wheat malt which isn't mentioned in the BJCP style guide for this category but I'm going to roll the dice with it anyway since I've already paid for the entry. But that flavor is very subtle and the beer is pretty tasty imo so I may get away with it and if not I'll completely understand if I get dinged for it.

 

[Talgrath]

If you're looking to win, more than looking to get feedback, enter an obscure category. Stouts, IPAs, pale ales and amber ales will all be stuffed to the gills with entries; in one competition I scored a 47 out of a possible 50 points average with my oatmeal stout and the notes from one of judges that they would buy another if it was at a bar...and did not place. Saisons, smoked beers, sours and the like are rarely entered into competitions, so if you can brew a good one you have a better chance of getting a prize. Also keep in mind that when you enter, the judges are looking at how your beer fits the style, not how good it is; my pale ale got middling scores because I dry hop it with a noble hop to give it more of a "german" taste and it's a little darker due to Vienna malt additions (I call it a German pale ale), I love it and my buddies love it, but it wasn't what a dry-hopped pale ale should be according to standards.

When entering, don't forget to follow entry instructions to the letter, if you mess up your entry may never get judged and your money goes up in smoke. They really are serious about following things to the letter, they have too many entries to process to try to decipher which bottle is which or who dropped off the bottles.

 

[beernutz]

If you're looking to win, more than looking to get feedback, enter an obscure category. Stouts, IPAs, pale ales and amber ales will all be stuffed to the gills with entries; in one competition I scored a 47 out of a possible 50 points average with my oatmeal stout and the notes from one of judges that they would buy another if it was at a bar...and did not place. Saisons, smoked beers, sours and the like are rarely entered into competitions, so if you can brew a good one you have a better chance of getting a prize. Also keep in mind that when you enter, the judges are looking at how your beer fits the style, not how good it is; my pale ale got middling scores because I dry hop it with a noble hop to give it more of a "german" taste and it's a little darker due to Vienna malt additions (I call it a German pale ale), I love it and my buddies love it, but it wasn't what a dry-hopped pale ale should be according to standards.

When entering, don't forget to follow entry instructions to the letter, if you mess up your entry may never get judged and your money goes up in smoke. They really are serious about following things to the letter, they have too many entries to process to try to decipher which bottle is which or who dropped off the bottles.

Thanks Talgrath, those are interesting ideas to consider.

 

[Darwin18]

Saisons, smoked beers, sours and the like are rarely entered into competitions, so if you can brew a good one you have a better chance of getting a prize.

I agreed with your entire post except for what I bolded. In my personal experience, the number of saison and sours category entries have grown incredibly over the last few years and are no longer what I would consider "obscure". If anything these are two of the fastest growing categories are, recently, just behind IPAs/PA entries. That's just my personal observation from judging.

 

[Yooper]

I agreed with your entire post except for what I bolded. In my personal experience, the number of saison and sours category entries have grown incredibly over the last few years and are no longer what I would consider "obscure". If anything these are two of the fastest growing categories are, recently, just behind IPAs/PA entries. That's just my personal observation from judging.

Yes, mine too. That, and some Belgians. I think for saisons and Belgians, some brewers heard, "Oh, you don't need temperature control for those beers, so brew those!" and I've some terrible wits, Belgians, and saisons to judge as a result.

 

[uncleleon]

Ha! I think I'm going to blend from two not so good saisons and send that in to the next local contest.

Weren't Belgian/yeasty phenolic beers big in small breweries like 3 years ago or is that still gaining traction?

 

[Wynne-R]

My best advice is to be sure it’s well carbonated. If a beer is over-carbonated it will cost you a point or two. If it’s under-carbonated it will cost fifteen or twenty points. Carbonation brings out the head, aroma and taste, as well as mouthfeel. Pretty much everything except color.

If you bottle from a keg, increase the pressure ahead of time to compensate for the CO2 you’ll lose in bottling. Cap on the foam to minimize oxidation.

 

[beernutz]

My best advice is to be sure it’s well carbonated. If a beer is over-carbonated it will cost you a point or two. If it’s under-carbonated it will cost fifteen or twenty points. Carbonation brings out the head, aroma and taste, as well as mouthfeel. Pretty much everything except color.

If you bottle from a keg, increase the pressure ahead of time to compensate for the CO2 you’ll lose in bottling. Cap on the foam to minimize oxidation.

That's another good suggestion, thanks. I think I will bottle a few more than I needed to submit, then wait a couple of days and open one to see that it is carbonated correctly.

 

[Talgrath]

I agreed with your entire post except for what I bolded. In my personal experience, the number of saison and sours category entries have grown incredibly over the last few years and are no longer what I would consider "obscure". If anything these are two of the fastest growing categories are, recently, just behind IPAs/PA entries. That's just my personal observation from judging.

That's true, those were just some of the less popular categories that jumped to mind off the top of my head. Looking at the styles, the categories I recall (from the last competition I was in) being pretty sparse were 6 (light hybrid beers), 17 (sour ales), 19 (strong ales) and 22 (smoked/wood aged beer). The light hybrids might be a regional thing, not a lot of people brew them or like them, in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[beernutz]

That's true, those were just some of the less popular categories that jumped to mind off the top of my head. Looking at the styles, the categories I recall (from the last competition I was in) being pretty sparse were 6 (light hybrid beers), 17 (sour ales), 19 (strong ales) and 22 (smoked/wood aged beer). The light hybrids might be a regional thing, not a lot of people brew them or like them, in the Pacific Northwest.

What is the american brown ale category typically like? Lots of entries and tough competition? Do the category winners typically have any chance at BOS? I don't think my entry is that great but I was just curious about that category.

 

[Darwin18]

Unless your competition has an excess of American Brown Ale entries then your entry will likely get lumped in with the rest of American Ales. You may get lucky and they'll split the Ambers/Browns away from the Pale Ales but you're just as likely to have your Browns in the same flight with the Pales. Strategically, not the best spot for a ribbon. The best advice that I can give is to look up the results from last year and see how they split the category.

Any beer that wins it's category has a shot at BOS. I've participated in only one BOS, but I will say that any beer that had even a slight flaw was immediately booted. It wasn't too hard to narrow it down to a top ten but going from ten to top five was difficult. Your beer needs to stand out while also staying true to style.

 

[uncleleon]

From what I've seen from the comps in my area, lagers or altbeers seemed to have the least entries.

 

[beernutz]

Thanks guys, that is very interesting "behind the curtain" information. I looked up the contest results from last year and there was just a category 10 for American ale and the winner of that category placed 3rd in BOS.

 

[Flipadelphia]

I'm not sure what is satisfying about purposefully aiming for a category that has 4-5 entries so that you can get a medal. That's like, what little kids want in youth baseball. I just want to make better beer, not collect medals.

Case in point, I competed with 3 beers at the largest keg only homebrew competition in the country, Beer & Sweat back in August.

http://bloatarian.com/bbl-competiti...nd-sweat-results/2014-beer-and-sweat-results/

I submitted a German Pils, American Pale Ale, and California Common.

I placed 1st out of 11 entries with the Pilsner, 3rd out of 29 in American Ale, and didn't place with my Common.

My Common ended up being the highest scoring beer out of the 3, I believe it was 38.

I was way more proud of the Common and American Pale Ale than the beer I won a category with.

For me, it's just about getting good feedback and knowing that you make decent beer. That stays in my mind forever, the medals are stuck somewhere in a drawer.

 

[beernutz]

I'm not sure what is satisfying about purposefully aiming for a category that has 4-5 entries so that you can get a medal. That's like, what little kids want in youth baseball. I just want to make better beer, not collect medals.

Case in point, I competed with 3 beers at the largest keg only homebrew competition in the country, Beer & Sweat back in August.

http://bloatarian.com/bbl-competiti...nd-sweat-results/2014-beer-and-sweat-results/

I submitted a German Pils, American Pale Ale, and California Common.

I placed 1st out of 11 entries with the Pilsner, 3rd out of 29 in American Ale, and didn't place with my Common.

My Common ended up being the highest scoring beer out of the 3, I believe it was 38.

I was way more proud of the Common and American Pale Ale than the beer I won a category with.

For me, it's just about getting good feedback and knowing that you make decent beer. That stays in my mind forever, the medals are stuck somewhere in a drawer.

That was not my plan when entering the contest and if you are implying that it was I resent the implication. If not, then I agree with everything you wrote.

 

[jbaysurfer]

^ One of your responses advocated doing this. It wasn't an implication directed at you.

PS: I don't really have a problem with anyone doing that anyway...even if it's not for me, everyone enters contests for their own reasons. If a medal haul is your goal, arbitrage away. If it's to get feedback and/or validation on what you like to brew, enter the beers you like to brew. If its' to prove your worth on a certain style...enter that style. It's a competition...gaming it for an edge to whatever means you're looking for is all fair.

 

[Flipadelphia]

^ One of your responses advocated doing this. It wasn't an implication directed at you.

PS: I don't really have a problem with anyone doing that anyway...even if it's not for me, everyone enters contests for their own reasons. If a medal haul is your goal, arbitrage away. If it's to get feedback and/or validation on what you like to brew, enter the beers you like to brew. If its' to prove your worth on a certain style...enter that style. It's a competition...gaming it for an edge to whatever means you're looking for is all fair.

Correct I didn't mean that at the OP. I should've used the quote function instead of a blank response. My bad.

 

[Talgrath]

I'm not sure what is satisfying about purposefully aiming for a category that has 4-5 entries so that you can get a medal. That's like, what little kids want in youth baseball. I just want to make better beer, not collect medals.

Case in point, I competed with 3 beers at the largest keg only homebrew competition in the country, Beer & Sweat back in August.

http://bloatarian.com/bbl-competiti...nd-sweat-results/2014-beer-and-sweat-results/

I submitted a German Pils, American Pale Ale, and California Common.

I placed 1st out of 11 entries with the Pilsner, 3rd out of 29 in American Ale, and didn't place with my Common.

My Common ended up being the highest scoring beer out of the 3, I believe it was 38.

I was way more proud of the Common and American Pale Ale than the beer I won a category with.

For me, it's just about getting good feedback and knowing that you make decent beer. That stays in my mind forever, the medals are stuck somewhere in a drawer.

Well, as I said in my post, my advice is based on the idea that you are aiming for medals, if (like me) you submit to get feedback then you can safely ignore most of that. Some people do submit beers to deliberately get a shot at medals and trophies via the easiest path possible, for some people the trophy is what matters and not the beer or the feedback; at one competition I was seated near a brewery club that was talking about specifically doing things to get "Club of the Year" from the local Homebrewers Association. If you're entering a competition because you want feedback or you think it will be fun, then the only portion of my advice that matters are the bits about style and following instructions are all that matters. The post broadly asked for advice, so I provided it.

 

[Talgrath]

What is the american brown ale category typically like? Lots of entries and tough competition? Do the category winners typically have any chance at BOS? I don't think my entry is that great but I was just curious about that category.

The last competition I was at, this was a pretty popular category, but I imagine that varies from competition to competition.

 

[paperairplane]

Just like anything else, people have different goals. Some just want ribbons. So they spam every contest with a ton of entries and enter a beer into multiple categories to improve their odds.

BJCP is just like any other competition, there are ways to game the contest.

No one is more critical of my beer than me.