Need extract recipe suggestions for my first competition!!

[tradermgp]

Hey Guys, I'm entering my first homebrew competition in Early October and I want to do 3 more batches before then to enter. So far I have made a dry stout, a sweet stout and an American Light Lager.

I'm interested in making brews that will taste amazing, but also hopefully place in the competition!!

Any suggestions on recipes or competing in general would be greatly appreciated!!

Cheers

 

[Pappers_]

First, there is an element of randomness in competitions - I never go into a competition thinking I'll place.

Second, make really good beer. So, that means fresh ingredients, no off flavors, as clean as you can get it, pitch the right amount of yeast and ferment at the right temps, oxygenate, etc.

Third, brew to style. Use the BJCP style guidelines and try to match them. Skew towards the upper limits of the style, to make your beer stand out in the flight. But still within the style guidelines.

 

[fosaisu]

If you don't have temperature control yet I'd stick to ales, since it's especially tough to make a lager that will compete well if it's fermented too warm (you'll still want to do your best to control fermentation temps appropriately for your ales).

As Pappers says, keep the style guidelines in mind. I've been very impressed with all the recipes I've tried from Brewing Classic Styles and as the name suggests, it's entirely focused on beers that should fit within the style guidelines. That said, I've won a ribbon or two in the "Specialty Beer" category (the catch all that covered my Ginger Beer and Coconut Porter) so it's not a total lost cause if you like to brew only the weirder stuff.

If you want to maximize your chances of winning and don't mind gaming the system a bit, you could see if there are any stats from previous years and enter categories that have had the fewest entrants (or just take a guess at which categories are likely to be under-enrolled). But most of all pick a style you're excited about brewing (and drinking). Win or lose you'll have a bunch of it left over!