Finding and Entering Competitions

[biertourist]

Despite brewing all grain for a number of years, I haven't had the opportunity to enter competitions (lived in Ireland, traveled too much for work, and about 5% of my beers are brewed "to style"), now I'm considering it and I'm looking for tips on finding and entering competitions.

There's a few tips in BCS and "Brewing Better Beer" but I'm looking for more.


I'm not looking for brewing tips; but just a better understanding of how competitions work.

I live in Seattle and the Washington Homebrewers Association's website has a very dated design and it's pretty hard / impossible? to find competitions by date; you just get a list of competitions and have to click through them one at a time to find a competition that might be occurring soon unless I'm missing something. http://www.wahomebrewers.org/

The AHA website's calendar is just insanely busy and doesn't allow you to filter by region/state; are there any other options or does everyone just deal with the various homebrew association websites' limitations?


There is an upcoming competition in my area, "XBREW" http://xbrew.azurewebsites.net/ but it seems to focus on big versions of typically small beers and small versions of typically big beers. For the first time in a very long time, I find myself brewing to-style, properly German versions of German beers so I wonder it's even worth entering this type of competition as I'd guess that they're going to be picking out the beers that match the theme of the competition...


Another question: I've got a kick-ass modern German Oktoberfest in the keg right now, but I very much brewed it to be like the beers that you ACTUALLY get in the tents at Oktoberfest (as much or more Helles than they are Marzen beers), so its not the typical orange syrupy BJCP-style Oktoberfest; does this pretty much kill my chances?


A lot of my questions center around determining what category to enter a beer in. I've entered one competition EVER and it was with a bog-oak smoked, stronger-than-normal, hoppy oatmeal stout. -Needless to say this was a styleless beer (a great tasting one) and I got "dinged" for "phenolic notes" (yep, that's what wood smoking does), "too strong", and "too hoppy" (I'd call it "extra delicious"; an improvement on the style for sure; lol!). It seems that you brew strictly according to the BJCP style nazi guidelines or there's pretty much no reason to bother entering a BJCP competition - safe assumption?

Real example: Because I brewed an authentic modern German Oktoberfest vs. the orangy syrupy crystal malt-laden version (mine is NOTHING like Sam Adams' version) should I enter it as a Helles instead of an Oktoberfest? -If it actually has some hop flavor and bitterness left does that exclude it from both styles and I should instead chuck in some extra salt and call it a Dortmunder? (This whole judging against a style thing is mysterious and slightly strange for me.)


Thanks for any advice in advance.
Adam

 

[duboman]

Both the AHA and the BJCP site list comps and yes, you basically have to scroll through to see what's out there.

For categories, it depends on the beer. Comps are all about style categories and if your entry does not fit the style it gets dinged even if it's a great beer. For example: " This was a really great beer but it would have done better as category XXX"

Visit the BJCP site and read the style guidelines and evaluate your entry accordingly. Just because it was brewed to be one style doesn't mean it can't be entered in a category that more resembles the beer.

There is always value in entering comps if you are looking for genuine feedback on your beer. Most BJCP comps will have BJCP ranked judges evaluating beer, sometimes even Grand Master judges! My entry in the National comp this year was evaluated by Gordon Strong! It didn't advance but I got a score I was happy with and his feed back was extremely helpful in improving the recipe. Most of the comps I have entered I have always had at least one nationally ranked judge evaluate a beer so it's worth it from that stand point.

 

[Yooper]

I think the competition calendar is easy to read- and almost all competitions accept mail-in (or rather, Fedex'd or UPS'd) entries. A few are international, so those would be out of course, but there are plenty in the US.

http://www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_schedule/competition_schedule.php

That said, there are a couple of notable competitions each year that many of us know about and consider "good" ones. I'm sure some of us judge or enter those and can steer you towards one or two of them.

I can't remember the name of the competition, but I know there is one this fall that is great for lagers. I think it's in Cincinatti?

The key to doing well in competitions is to perfectly nail the BJCP guidelines- so for your Oktoberfest, I'd read up on style 3B and see how you compare to those guidelines as you sip it. If it's an awesome beer, but you're not close to those style guidelines, you won't score well. You could try entering it as 23B (specialty) as a "real" Oktoberfest like you'd get in a bier tent in Munchen, and it may do better for scoring as long as you described it well and it really did taste like that.

 

[biertourist]

I think the competition calendar is easy to read- and almost all competitions accept mail-in (or rather, Fedex'd or UPS'd) entries. A few are international, so those would be out of course, but there are plenty in the US.

http://www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_schedule/competition_schedule.php

That said, there are a couple of notable competitions each year that many of us know about and consider "good" ones. I'm sure some of us judge or enter those and can steer you towards one or two of them.

I can't remember the name of the competition, but I know there is one this fall that is great for lagers. I think it's in Cincinatti?

The key to doing well in competitions is to perfectly nail the BJCP guidelines- so for your Oktoberfest, I'd read up on style 3B and see how you compare to those guidelines as you sip it. If it's an awesome beer, but you're not close to those style guidelines, you won't score well. You could try entering it as 23B (specialty) as a "real" Oktoberfest like you'd get in a bier tent in Munchen, and it may do better for scoring as long as you described it well and it really did taste like that.

Thanks for the BJCP link; I hadn't seen that one yet and that's basically what I'm looking for.

Wait- do you guys actually mail in entries to far-away competitions? (Doesn't heat-in-transit hurt your chances of your beer arriving in judging-ready condition?)


Thanks for the clarification on brewing to style for BJCP competitions; that was my assumption. It's not that I'm not aware of the BJCP style guidelines, it's just that I normally brew beers "with a twist" and it certainly makes things more complicated when it comes to determine what category to enter them in, I guess. When I brew something that's to style I'll bottle it and set it aside for competitions, then.


-I've also been noticing that some categories include quite different beer styles in one category and that one style often seems to be in vogue and win all the medals; example: Category 4: Schwartz beers seem to win the overwhelming majority of the time they're pitted against a Munich Dunkel or a Dark American lager (Dunkel = soft malt, restrained almost hidden roast character; Schwartz bier dry, significantly more roast, definite hop presence) -seems so odd that two so different beers would be pitted against each other; almost to the point that judging to style guidelines seems pointless. Again, the Schwartzbiers seem to walk away with the medals.
--And where's the Czech dark / black lagers? Do they go in this category or somewhere else?


I've spent the last 5 years traveling and drinking beer around Europe and now I think my body is just rejecting putting them into these made-for-homebrewers style buckets like a bad organ transplant. (I need some anti-rejection drugs or something.)

Are there any other tips on beer styles to not bother with because other styles in the same category usually walk away with the medals?


Adam

 

[duboman]

Thanks for the BJCP link; I hadn't seen that one yet and that's basically what I'm looking for.

Wait- do you guys actually mail in entries to far-away competitions? (Doesn't heat-in-transit hurt your chances of your beer arriving in judging-ready condition?)

Thanks for the clarification on brewing to style for BJCP competitions; that was my assumption. It's not that I'm not aware of the BJCP style guidelines, it's just that I normally brew beers "with a twist" and it certainly makes things more complicated when it comes to determine what category to enter them in, I guess. When I brew something that's to style I'll bottle it and set it aside for competitions, then.

-I've also been noticing that some categories include quite different beer styles in one category and that one style often seems to be in vogue and win all the medals; example: Category 4: Schwartz beers seem to win the overwhelming majority of the time they're pitted against a Munich Dunkel or a Dark American lager (Dunkel = soft malt, restrained almost hidden roast character; Schwartz bier dry, significantly more roast, definite hop presence) -seems so odd that two so different beers would be pitted against each other; almost to the point that judging to style guidelines seems pointless. Again, the Schwartzbiers seem to walk away with the medals.
--And where's the Czech dark / black lagers? Do they go in this category or somewhere else?

I've spent the last 5 years traveling and drinking beer around Europe and now I think my body is just rejecting putting them into these made-for-homebrewers style buckets like a bad organ transplant. (I need some anti-rejection drugs or something.)

Are there any other tips on beer styles to not bother with because other styles in the same category usually walk away with the medals?

Adam

Yes we do ship! I don't do a lot of comps but I shipped to Ohio for national and Wisconsin as well as other states for a few. I don't really think it presents an issue with the product at all.

As for styles being clumped together, yes it sometimes happens depending on the number of judges, flights, entries per category. Yooper can probably explain better but I've had beers be a victim of this at times and I just roll with it

 

[biertourist]

What about the missing styles, though?
-Would you enter a Czech Dark/Black lager into Cat 4 or "Specialty"? Its malty like a Munich Dunkel and Roasty like a Schwartzbier; it fits squarely in the description of "Dark Lagers" but not really in any of the defined sub-categories. (It would be too malty if you entered it as a Schwartzbier and too dark and roasty if you entered it as a Munich Dunkel.)


Adam

 

[Yooper]

What about the missing styles, though?
-Would you enter a Czech Dark/Black lager into Cat 4 or "Specialty"? Its malty like a Munich Dunkel and Roasty like a Schwartzbier; it fits squarely in the description of "Dark Lagers" but not really in any of the defined sub-categories. (It would be too malty if you entered it as a Schwartzbier and too dark and roasty if you entered it as a Munich Dunkel.)


Adam

If it's not "to style", it should be a specialty beer. A roasty dunkel will get dinged badly, for example. Check out the schwartbier guidelines carefully, though- maybe it still fits. Trust me- the judges have the guidelines right in front of them while they judge and each judge reads the guidelines (again and again) with each sip!

I had an Arrogant Bastard clone that I had terrible efficiency on. It was a great and flavorful beer, though- and after a wee bit of aging, I entered it as a 23A- specialty beer with the tag "Imperial Amber Ale". It scored very well! It really didn't fit any category, but it turned out to be a wonderful beer, and it was a great Imperial Amber Ale (which of course doesn't really exist!).

 

[tnlandsailor]

Just remember that beer competitions follow the "dog show" model. It's how well you conform to a given set of standards (at least that is how it is supposed to work). Competitions are not a great way to see if your beer is "good", that is best left to your own palate and those of your friends and homebrew club members. But if you want to test your abilities to brew to style (as defined by the BJCP), then competitions are a good place to go. Make sure you enter multiple competitions with the same beer to maximize the feedback on the same beer. Some judges are pretty good and some are outright boneheads, but the more feedback you get, the easier it will be to tell the real judges from the boneheads.

If you can't decide on a style, you can always enter the same beer into different categories in the same competition and see what the judges have to say. That's a common strategy.

 

[biertourist]

Awesome! Thanks for the great advice so far.


Adam