entering a contest using someone elses recipe

[jonp9576]

so i have brewed a bunch of beer in the past few months, but none of my own recipes. i keep hearing about people entering contests because the feedback is great and the judges really know what to look for. i would like to enter a contest so i can have a pro try my beer and get some good feedback.

is it bad practice to enter something that you didnt come up with. i have one here that i really like, and i did change the recipe a little, but not that much.


i sent a message to the person who i got the recipe from telling them how much i liked the beer when i tried it, but they didnt respond. a followup message went unanswered as well.


what would you do?

 

[zman]

I have wondered the same thing. I have read that people enter competitions with other peoples recipes, clone brews, extract...etc. I have yet to develop any of my own recipes yet but plan to enter some competitions soon. I am more concerned about the feed back and how close I come to a specific style of Beer. I say you should go for it.

 

[mstev50]

You brew it, it's yours. You and I could brew the exact same recipe and have two distinctly different beers, though I'm sure mine would be much better

 

[carnevoodoo]

You brew it, it's yours. You and I could brew the exact same recipe and have two distinctly different beers, though I'm sure mine would be much better

Exactly. Even if you came up with a recipe, there's a good chance someone else has already brewed pretty much the same beer, especially if you are sticking to more common styles.

 

[GreenwoodRover]

As soon as you pitch the yeast it's yours.
Jamil Zanisheff encourages people to use his recipes for competitions.
So much is in control of the brewer that the ingredients IMO are only 50% of the skill/process.

 

[jonp9576]

awesome. thats all i needed. thaks a lot folks. i just didnt know if was one of those touchy subjects like legal kegs, aluminum vs stainless brew pots or asking what SWMBO means

 

[jonp9576]

mstev that sounds like a challange.

 

[carnevoodoo]

As soon as you pitch the yeast it's yours.
Jamil Zanisheff encourages people to use his recipes for competitions.
So much is in control of the brewer that the ingredients IMO are only 50% of the skill/process.

There should be a Jamil only contest. It'd be neat for everyone to brew the exact same recipes.

 

[Yooper]

awesome. thats all i needed. thaks a lot folks. i just didnt know if was one of those touchy subjects like legal kegs, aluminum vs stainless brew pots or asking what SWMBO means

Nope, as far as I'm concerned, if you brewed it- it's 100% yours!

It's like spaghetti sauce- even if you follow Grandma's recipe, it's still not exactly the same, and much of it is technique.

Even with the same ingredients, variations in water chemistry, temperature, hops, etc, make it unique. Enter it and claim it as your own!

 

[IrregularPulse]

As long as you're not entering a recipe formulation competition it's your beer.