First Competition?

[yohoe]

I'm thinking about entering my first competition but I'm not sure if it's worth it. In Oct/Nov, I made a spice pumpkin ale that everyone loves but there's sediment still in the bottles (spices). Will this destroy me?

 

[schematix]

Competitions are all over the place. You could easily get a 20 point differential between judges and competitions with the same beer. And just remember it's not about how good this beer is, it's about how well it matches the expectations in regards to the style. If the beer doesn't perfectly fit the category in terms of color, alcohol, bitterness, etc, you won't score well.

If you really want to know a critical judge's opinion, go for it.

 

[smizak]

Competitions are all over the place. You could easily get a 20 point differential between judges and competitions with the same beer.

That's overstated. There are variations, but it is HIGHLY unlikely a beer will score 40 in a BJCP sanctioned competition and 20 in another.

And just remember it's not about how good this beer is

That's not accurate at all. The "Overall Impression" section counts for 20% of the total score.

 

[Darwin18]

And just remember it's not about how good this beer is, it's about how well it matches the expectations in regards to the style. If the beer doesn't perfectly fit the category in terms of color, alcohol, bitterness, etc, you won't score well.

Dude, that's not at all correct. The style guidelines are guidelines. That's all. Unless your beer is egregiously outside the style guidelines then you'll be fine. Besides a spice/herb/veg entry has a huge amount of room in it for interpretation. If you want to score well then brew a beer without any off-flavors that is generally within the style guidelines.

OP - Enter your beer in the competition but keep a few bottles on hand. When you get your score sheets back taste your beer and see if you agree with the judges feedback.

 

[schematix]

My experience with competitions has been as I stated. I've had the same beer score exactly a 20 and exactly a 40. Bottled at the same time and the competitions were a couple weeks apart. I also know several excellent brewers who regularly have this happen to them as well (20 points is on the high side of the point differential, more typically its within 10). The reality is that every judge is biased to the styles they prefer, and even within the style some look for certain characteristics more than others, and that will impact a large portion of the scoring. Some of this is regional preferences too, especially with the IPA category.