National Homebrew Competition 2015

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Do you plan on submitting beers to the 2015 NHC?

  • Yes

    Votes: 18 69.2%

  • No

    Votes: 8 30.8%
  • Total voters
    26
drgarage said:
I did not get through!
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Me neither...

2BGCG6r.jpg


I'm still not sure why they called me Ernest...
 
When do they send out first round ribbons? I got scoresheets a couple weeks back indicating entries moving on. No ribbons yet. Just curious - My first year making finals.
 
I'm trying to think back to last year how that worked. You'd think it would come with the score sheets but I vaguely remember them coming later in a different package.
 
rcubed said:
I'm trying to think back to last year how that worked. You'd think it would come with the score sheets but I vaguely remember them coming later in a different package.
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It was definitely a week or two after last year. I remember thinking I didn't place only to find out shortly after that I took first. My post history should show it, but I'm tired as **** right now.
 
Unbeknownst to me, I was involved with it. Janis contacted me about what Brian and I entered in that category and that was the decision they made. I thought maybe they would put the highest scoring beer that didn't medal there but they decided against apparently.
 
rcubed said:
Unbeknownst to me, I was involved with it. Janis contacted me about what Brian and I entered in that category and that was the decision they made. I thought maybe they would put the highest scoring beer that didn't medal there but they decided against apparently.
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So you are implying that it's not that 23 entries were disqualified, but just the entry that was initially given 3rd. When that entry was DQ, they didn't move something else into its place.
 
2nd place was DQ'ed and they moved up the 3rd place entry to 2nd. There was not an honorable mention and the judges cannot remember what beer would have been 4th in mini-BOS. So no medal for third.

I'm fine with their decision.

I told Brian I was going to enter the beer (which came from two similar blends) but he went ahead and entered it anyway without my knowledge. The AHA determined that the beers were too similar based on scores and notes. It's an unfortunate situation that I'm not happy about since someone missed on a medal.
 
Any of you guys that entered in San Diego have your scores posted to your entries yet? Their information page said that these should be available after 4/25, but I can't locate my info anywhere. I'm not sure if it's just me, or the AHA running late.
 
keithwell said:
So will AHA update the comp site with final round details?
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Last year a ribbon/instructions how to enter second round was sent separately then the score sheets. I think you could also log in and see the instructions if you had a qualifying beer, I remember having trouble finding it.
 
I have checked the competition site but I got my score sheets yesterday. Bummed about my English Barleywine not scoring well after it did at AFC but my Belgian Pale Ale did really well and went to mini-BOS. Just a tough beer to medal with.
 
True confession: I entered a beer I'm quite proud of that didn't fit any categories. It's a soured saison aged on spent cherries blended with a cherry berliner and a rosemary berliner. American Wild Ale wasn't implemented, so it was just awkward.

Understandably, I entered multiple categories. Today, the scores arrived.

As a saison, it averaged 13.5, with sourness and acidity, along with brett, noted as major flaws.

As a Belgian specialty, described as a soured brett saison blended with soured witbiers, it scored a 19, with sourness and acidity noted as major flaws (I so don't understand 16e rules).

As a geueze, it got a 34, with mouthfeel and low carb levels (a totally valid criticism for this beer) called out as problems. Also criticized for low levels of brett character, I assume because it was only Brett L., with no classic Brett B. funk and horsiness.

I don't know what this means. But it was a fun experiment. And the high score was in the category least related to how the beer was made.
 
drgarage said:
True confession: I entered a beer I'm quite proud of that didn't fit any categories. It's a soured saison aged on spent cherries blended with a cherry berliner and a rosemary berliner. American Wild Ale wasn't implemented, so it was just awkward.

Understandably, I entered multiple categories. Today, the scores arrived.

As a saison, it averaged 13.5, with sourness and acidity, along with brett, noted as major flaws.

As a Belgian specialty, described as a soured brett saison blended with soured witbiers, it scored a 19, with sourness and acidity noted as major flaws (I so don't understand 16e rules).

As a geueze, it got a 34, with mouthfeel and low carb levels (a totally valid criticism for this beer) called out as problems. Also criticized for low levels of brett character, I assume because it was only Brett L., with no classic Brett B. funk and horsiness.

I don't know what this means. But it was a fun experiment. And the high score was in the category least related to how the beer was made.
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I've done this before for certain beers. What did you declare for belgian speciality? also was it pink and the cherry noticable? might have done better as a fruit lambic. (or straight unblended might have helped with the B.Brux missing. I find how somone describes, is a big deal, describe what you taste not what you did.

I once a long time ago when there was less entries, etc Won three times with the same beer, at the same competition, straight unblended lambic, berliner weise, and fruit lambic (adding one oz of cherry syrup to the bottle) Back then there were very few lambics, and no berliner weises commercially available in the area. Which I also think helped.
 
Sounds like a Cat 23 or Cat 16e entry to me. I find most judges don't really understand the reason for 16e. I'm done entering 16e at this point and will wait for the new guidelines.

In my experience most judges are not qualified to judge feral/funky/sour beers.
 
rcubed said:
Sounds like a Cat 23 or Cat 16e entry to me. I find most judges don't really understand the reason for 16e. I'm done entering 16e at this point and will wait for the new guidelines.

In my experience most judges are not qualified to judge feral/funky/sour beers.
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My experience has led me to believe that judges are less inclined to judge based on the category parameters and much more likely to select a world class example of the category and judge compared to that. Most of the categories are written with a fair amount of wiggle room but the judges seem to fixate on specifics that are not necessarily called out in the category descriptions. This is ESPECIALLY true of feral/sour beers.

The miscellaneous/catchall categories are a total crapshoot. There aren't really defined parameters so it all comes down to lucking out and getting judges whose palates are aligned with yours and can see what you were trying to do.
 

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