First competition....here's hoping...

[Skagdog]

Dropped off an American Pale Ale (10a), an American Amber Ale (10b), an American IPA (14b) and a Fruit Beer (20a).

The comp is the E.T. Barnett comp in Fox, Alaska, and Silver Gulch (America's Most Northern Brewery).

Judgement day is Saturday, I can't wait to get some critical/useful feed back on my brews.

I can't figure out how to post the little clinking mug smiley from my phone so I'll just leave y'all with a big.......CHEERS!

 

[VagabondBrew]

Good Luck!

 

[ktblunden]

I just sent in my first competition entry as well. Submitted my APA to Inland Empire Brewers' 25th SoCal Regional in Corona, CA. That one's the beginning of next month, but I wanted to make sure I got in by the submission deadline.

 

[Darwin18]

Good luck! Remember if its a BJCP competition your beer is going to be judged to those standards. It doesn't matter if your beer is delicious and amazing, if it is outside the parameters for the style it's not going to score well. Also, try to take the comments/critiques positively. It's hard sometimes to do so, but the judges comments can really help to improve your process and recipes.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Good luck!

If you don't get any medals, don't be disappointed. Category 10 and 14 are usually some of the biggest and most competitive categories in a BJCP competition (and 20 can be a crapshoot). So hopefully you'll get good judges who can provide decent feedback.

And if you *do* get any medals, well then good for you! Getting medals in those categories is a special treat *because* they're so competitive.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I just sent in my first competition entry as well. Submitted my APA to Inland Empire Brewers' 25th SoCal Regional in Corona, CA. That one's the beginning of next month, but I wanted to make sure I got in by the submission deadline.

Yep. I'm going to bottle this weekend for that comp... First comp I'm participating in since 2011 OC Fair. I'm sending in a milk stout, american IPA, and Gose (cat 23).

 

[ktblunden]

Good luck!

If you don't get any medals, don't be disappointed. Category 10 and 14 are usually some of the biggest and most competitive categories in a BJCP competition (and 20 can be a crapshoot). So hopefully you'll get good judges who can provide decent feedback.

And if you *do* get any medals, well then good for you! Getting medals in those categories is a special treat *because* they're so competitive.

Yeah, I entered a beer that I think turned out pretty well solely for the purpose of getting constructive feedback from people who know. I'm not expecting to win anything, I just hope I get some good comments so I can tweak the recipe.

 

[user 103238]

So Skagdog, how did your brews do in the competition?

 

[Skagdog]

So Skagdog, how did your brews do in the competition?

I didn't place in any category. As much as I told myself I was just in it for feedback there was still a small let down when the results were posted.

Oh well, they will mail out the score sheets in two to three weeks.

I am a little confused though, I fear I may have been DQ'd. The instructions sAid "No labels" on the bottles but the instructions also said "Attach one bottle ID form to each bottle".

Most of the bottles in the pics were blank....hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot using milk...

 

[watersr]

I feel your pain. I entered my first comp about a month ago. Just our local club competition but there were about 40 entries. I entered a brown ale and only scored a 27. I told myself I didn't expect to win just wanted the feedback but it was a little saddening to do poorly. But I've already entered my next comp, I have 3 beers in our regional competition, close to 600 entries in this one. And as for the labels, the rules I've seen want the entry label affixed with a rubber band.

 

[Skagdog]

Rubber bands! Ah ha!

Face palm......

Maybe they were nice and judged them anyways. They were checked in okay, I had confirmation on that.

 

[ktblunden]

I don't think the entry ID labels are what they're referring to when they say "no labels" so you might be ok. I also used rubber bands for the ones I submitted.

 

[Skagdog]

Picked up my score sheets and swag today. Lowest score was a 27 on my American Amber. I know that's not great but it qualifies as "good" officially. My IPA earned a 37 from one judge who happens to be a professional brewer. That's the one that means the most me! Got some good notes and advice to improve my brews.

I got marked down on aroma for nearly every brew. Gotta work on that..

 

[user 103238]

Congrats Skagdog, sounds like you got some great feedback, and to get a solid score on your IPA is even better! I'm hoping to have a few to submit next year.

 

[watersr]

Way to go Ska! I just entered my first comp that included more than just my own club. It's a regional competition for Florida with nearly 600 beers entered. I entered an American lager, A Kolsch and an oatmeal stout. All scores were in the low to mid 30s and the lager took a silver medal! Got greet feedback. Can't wait till the next one!

 

[Skagdog]

Haha. I was going through my bag of swag and stumbled on this little gem. For the record it was milk, not glue. Rubber bands from now on.....

 

[Darwin18]

Picked up my score sheets and swag today. Lowest score was a 27 on my American Amber. I know that's not great but it qualifies as "good" officially. My IPA earned a 37 from one judge who happens to be a professional brewer. That's the one that means the most me! Got some good notes and advice to improve my brews.

I got marked down on aroma for nearly every brew. Gotta work on that..

Those are very good marks. A 27 is certainly nothing to be embarrassed about and the judges comments should help you to improve that beer. A 37 is very good - sounds like you were close to placing if you didn't.

 

[Skagdog]

didn't place, some guy from Anchorage took first in most categories and won the $500 for best of show. I'm pleased with what I've done so far as I haven't even been doing this a year. Next year I'll brew closer to contest date, maybe try to control ferm/conditioning/storage temps better for hop retention...

 

[osagedr]

27 is a nice, drinkable beer.

I had a beer (eisbock) score 15 this year. On the other hand, the same beer went to the second round of the NHC where is scored 32.6 average. It scored 40+ in a few competitions. I think I had a capping issue with the bottle that was judged a 15.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Yep. I'm going to bottle this weekend for that comp... First comp I'm participating in since 2011 OC Fair. I'm sending in a milk stout, american IPA, and Gose (cat 23).

So I submitted to the IEB competition... In addition to the above, I sent a smoked porter and an APA.

After bottling up 10 off the kegerator, boxing them up nicely, putting a lot of effort into making sure that all the forms were filled out correctly and that everything was perfect...


...it appears O'Shea Brewing "lost" my entries. So they never made it to the competition.

 

[Skagdog]

So I submitted to the IEB competition... In addition to the above, I sent a smoked porter and an APA.

After bottling up 10 off the kegerator, boxing them up nicely, putting a lot of effort into making sure that all the forms were filled out correctly and that everything was perfect...

...it appears O'Shea Brewing "lost" my entries. So they never made it to the competition.

Bummer. That was on reason I settled on the ET Barnett comp, it's local. There were entries from at least a dozen states, maybe two dozen but I didn't have to worry about the shipping and all that.

Hopefully someone got the beer and enjoyed it. I'd hate to see it go to waste....

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Bummer. That was on reason I settled on the ET Barnett comp, it's local. There were entries from at least a dozen states, maybe two dozen but I didn't have to worry about the shipping and all that.

Hopefully someone got the beer and enjoyed it. I'd hate to see it go to waste....

One of the advantages here in SoCal is that there are a pretty solid number of "local" competitions, and they work with all the local homebrew stores to have regular dropoff locations. So while the IEB was "local", i.e. about 35-40 miles away, the homebrew store is about 5 miles away...

Either way, I've got to go to the store today, so I think I might ask them if they still have a box sitting around. Or at least ask them if they enjoyed my Gose.

 

[Darwin18]

So I submitted to the IEB competition... In addition to the above, I sent a smoked porter and an APA.

After bottling up 10 off the kegerator, boxing them up nicely, putting a lot of effort into making sure that all the forms were filled out correctly and that everything was perfect...


...it appears O'Shea Brewing "lost" my entries. So they never made it to the competition.

My last competition, 8 Seconds of Froth, apparently threw out my score sheets along with everyone elses that was in the same box. I got a medal but no idea what my scores were let alone any feedback. I was and still am pissed about that.

 

[TheB]

I've got a question for this section; I have entered 2 competitions so far and both seemed to offer very petty advice on the judging. Is this common? One judge remarked that my fluid " was 1 inch from the top, should be more". I've also noted in both competitions that the sponsoring club seems to garner the largest amount of medals/ribbons. I may be overreacting since I have only been brewing for a year but I am starting to get jaded with the shipping cost, packaging, and entire wait only to find that the local club doing the competition will walk away with the medals anyhow. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

 

[osagedr]

I've got a question for this section; I have entered 2 competitions so far and both seemed to offer very petty advice on the judging. Is this common? One judge remarked that my fluid " was 1 inch from the top, should be more". I've also noted in both competitions that the sponsoring club seems to garner the largest amount of medals/ribbons. I may be overreacting since I have only been brewing for a year but I am starting to get jaded with the shipping cost, packaging, and entire wait only to find that the local club doing the competition will walk away with the medals anyhow. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

Beer judges are supposed to provide really detailed feeback, and they typically embrace this responsibility with enthusiasm. With respect to the "fill level" comment, I get that one all the time! Seriously...who gives a $hit about fill level? Now, if you are bottle conditioning, there is apparently an optimum fill level that lets the pressure in the headspace and beer equilibrate properly. But...I use a beer gun to bottle beer that is already carbonated. So headspace is, as far as I can tell, not a good thing in any way, shape or form. Even for bottle-conditioned beers, either the beer is carbed to style, or it isn't. If it isn't, and there was too much or too little headspace, then a judge should bring it up. Otherwise, who cares?

Members of local clubs often win the most medals because they have the most entries. A lot of members (propbably most) who do not submit to other clubs' comps will put beer in their own. Having said that...based on my experience there is no doubt that some clubs engage in shenanigans when it comes to running their comps; there are various ways in which this can be done, and it really just comes down to the integrity of the comp organizers, judges and even club members to determine whether a competition is run fairly or not.

 

[ktblunden]

Still waiting on my score sheets from the IEB comp a month ago. They posted last week that they would be getting them in the mail, so hopefully I'll get it this week. Really just want to get my feedback.

 

[TheB]

Thanks for the reply. I too was a little surprised with the fill level feedback since the carbonation was sufficient for the beverage. I bottle condition but the carbonation has never been a problem for me except when I first started with the Brooklyn Beer Shop kits. They either never carbonated or left stains on my kitchen ceiling (still have to get the gingerbread porter off one of these days). I still have 1 jalapeno beer and 3 meads out in competitions so I'm hoping that I may get some better success and better feedback. Downside is that both of them are out of state so I may have that going against me. Locally, I never placed but the local club seemed to have done very well during the last competition.

 

[Darwin18]

I've got a question for this section; I have entered 2 competitions so far and both seemed to offer very petty advice on the judging. Is this common? One judge remarked that my fluid " was 1 inch from the top, should be more". I've also noted in both competitions that the sponsoring club seems to garner the largest amount of medals/ribbons. I may be overreacting since I have only been brewing for a year but I am starting to get jaded with the shipping cost, packaging, and entire wait only to find that the local club doing the competition will walk away with the medals anyhow. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

I have gotten the "low fill" comment on my early entries. The first thing the judges will do when they judge your entry is to look at the exterior of the bottle. It's an easy comment for them to make but also very easy for you to correct for future entries. I don't think it impacts your score at all but you want to start off right when being judged.

As for the local clubs walking away with the medals - I also have my suspicions. I do think that regional and local bias have a much bigger impact on the judging. For example, I would not send in a lightly hopped pale ale, no matter how well balanced and to style, to a west coast competition but might enter it into one here in North Carolina. I try to enter establish competitions that have a track record. Usually these competitions will post previous years of results so you can see who has won. The local club also has the advantage that they can drop off their fresh samples without subjecting them to travel; I think this is really why you see locals score well in local competitions.

I would suggest that you continue brewing and take the judging critiques constructively. That's the entire point of the competition and what the judges trained and taught to do. The point is not to make you feel bad or hand out medals but to provide constructive recommendations to improve your beer. If you have not already, I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of Brewing Classic Styles. I have brewed many of these recipes and they always score well in competition.

 

[Yooper]

I've got a question for this section; I have entered 2 competitions so far and both seemed to offer very petty advice on the judging. Is this common? One judge remarked that my fluid " was 1 inch from the top, should be more". I've also noted in both competitions that the sponsoring club seems to garner the largest amount of medals/ribbons. I may be overreacting since I have only been brewing for a year but I am starting to get jaded with the shipping cost, packaging, and entire wait only to find that the local club doing the competition will walk away with the medals anyhow. Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

At every competition I've judged, I only see the brewer # and the style of beer on the flight sheets. I have no idea who brewer number 458 is, and I have no idea who brewed entry #125. I can't see how it's possible for the local brewers to have a leg up in any competition. In fact, in many of the competitions I've judged, it's been non-local people (mail entries, I assume) who walked away with the medals and prizes. At the end of the last comp, the organizer announced the winners, and I never even heard of any of them and some were from California (this was in Wisconsin).

Although, in 2010 I was at the NHC in Minneapolis and walked by a booth and the name of the club rang a bell with me. I asked one of the homebrewers if he happened to ever enter a county fair competition in Wisconsin, and he said he did. We had a nice chat- it was a guy who won the BOS in a comp I judged many miles away! Small world. (But then, truth be told, anybody who ever met me will tell you that I talk to EVERYBODY and I've never yet met a stranger).

Anyway, my guess as to why it seems the locals win in those competitions, maybe they simply have a lot more entries?

 

[TheB]

Thanks for the help on this everyone. I can understand the "impartial" air that should be on each entry but looking at most of the competitions are the country, it seems that the majority of the medals go local, not all but the majority. It does make sense that freshness would play a factor since UPS isn't really air conditioned at optimal temps. nor does the transit vibration do well on the beverage. I had not considered local taste favorites but it does make sense. I have sampled different regional beers and found some great while others were horrible. I actually find the same true locally.
Thanks all and good beer to you.

 

[Skagdog]

As someone has already stated, the locals probably win more because there are more local entries.

It is a bummer that your feedback wasn't comprehensive. Once you finally get some feedback it'll be neat to look at the different judge evaluations for each entry. I had one judge mark my IPA down while another judge wrote it was excellent and scored big for the super bitter hop punch to the throat.

 

[TheB]

Well, results have come in for my last 2 competitions. Seems that one thought my meads were great (it was a mead-only event and I garnered a 2nd & 3rd) whereas the other seems to be mostly locals again. I appreciate everyone's feedback but I think I'm going to limit myself to mead-only or maybe I need to join one of the local home brew clubs.

Good brews all!

 

[ktblunden]

I got my scoresheets from the competition last month and both judges gave my APA a 36, which I'm pretty happy with. Got some actual comments (some of which contradict each other between the judges) and I know what I'll be changing on the next batch.

 

[AmandaK]

I got my scoresheets from the competition last month and both judges gave my APA a 36, which I'm pretty happy with. Got some actual comments (some of which contradict each other between the judges) and I know what I'll be changing on the next batch.

Very good job! Those comments ate exactly why I send my beers off to comps.

 

[ktblunden]

Very good job! Those comments ate exactly why I send my beers off to comps.

It was interesting, though. One judge said the alcohol wasn't noticeable at all, the other one thought maybe it was closer in gravity to an IPA than a pale (OG was 1.053, somewhat close to the low of IPA, but right in the middle of APA range).

 

[AmandaK]

It was interesting, though. One judge said the alcohol wasn't noticeable at all, the other one thought maybe it was closer in gravity to an IPA than a pale (OG was 1.053, somewhat close to the low of IPA, but right in the middle of APA range).

Judging things (especially beer) is very subjective. Everyone has a slightly different palate. Some people are blind to diacetyl (crazy, right?) while some people detect alcohol (among many other compounds) at different thresholds.

At least your beer didn't come back with the descriptor "FECAL" on the score sheet with almost no hints of improvement. Happens to the best of us, I presume.