NHC 2023 First Round

[oldschool]

Winners list is out:
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/national-homebrew-competition/winners/
I also got an email with links to my scoresheets. They are not as useful as sheets from other competitions, but they are something.

I don't have to worry about scheduling a rebrew as none of mine advanced. My Dubbel scored a 42, but did not place.

I guess I should swap out Willamette hops in my American Porter for a more recognized American hop. The feedback seemed to be "no hop character" and all the aroma and flavor "flaws" described what Willamette hops smell and taste like. That means I can drink the bottles I set aside incase I needed to send them to the 2nd round!

Wow 42 and didn’t move on, that’s totally brutal.
Makes you really wish you could try the other ones. Also very surprised that so many can nail down a style like that.

 

[kingmatt]

I do get pretty disappointed when a beer I think is really good doesn't score well. Sometimes I send a beer in that I know isn't perfect, or that doesn't quite fit a category, and if judges don't like those it's easy to roll with that. But when they find flaws I don't think are there it's very discouraging.

This year I entered a rauchbier that's scored in the low 40s at a couple of other competitions ... and it got a 26. Same recipe, same batch. But now apparently it has acetaldehyde? I don't know what to think.

Overall I think I enter competitions to get a straight hedonic impression from a couple of strangers. This tells me if other people like my beer, when I'm not standing there and it doesn't have a free-beer-is-good-beer halo. But it's rare that I get specific and actionable feedback.

When I first started brewing I entered competitions for feedback but now I just enter trying to win.

 

[505-Brewer]

Gold and a bronze. Only got two through. Time to rebrew and maybe reblend.

 

[Braufessor]

Had an American Brown and Dark Mild that both got first. British Ordinary Bitter looked like it must have just missed out as it scored well and made it to mini BOS.

 

[Boilerbrew]

I thought it was interesting to look at the disparity of the size of flights based on the locations. I helped steward Indianapolis and was told it had the second most entries of all the judging locations. Looking at those flight sizes versus say Tampa and New York there is certainly a difference. My Special Bitter scored a 39 (which I think was kind of high) made it to the mini-BOS but not in the top three. I'll definitely enter again next year and stewarding the first round was very informative.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I thought it was interesting to look at the disparity of the size of flights based on the locations.

The following info came from the Master Homebrewer Program Facebook group:

Total Entries - 3861
SD 764
Indy 562
Seattle 451
Denver 437
Philly 433
Chicago 385
KC 322
Tampa 275
NY 232

Yeah, that is quite the difference. 764 in San Diego is a large regional competition, where 232 in NY is like a local club competition.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

and stewarding the first round was very informative.

Do you have any insights you are willing to share?

---

eta: with NHC back to being a two round event, some of the "in it to win it" HomeBrewCon presentations from 2017-2019 may be useful for those entering next year.

 

[Boilerbrew]

Do you have any insights you are willing to share?

---

eta: with NHC back to being a two round event, some of the "in it to win it" HomeBrewCon presentations from 2017-2019 may be useful for those entering next year.

I've only stewarded or judged a small number of competitions before so the things I learned could fill up a pretty long post. Here are a few things off the top of my head that might be of interest to others.

- The logistics of holding a larger competition let alone the number of sites the NHC has to find is difficult
- Organizing the beers, judges, stewards, the scoring system, feeding everyone, is from as far as I can tell not something that happens without considerable dedication
- I was surprised how well the online scoring system worked and as a steward my job was simplified down to go fetch beer, make sure the table has everything it needs, and help clean up, which was still work but not difficult
- Almost all the judges were interested in talking with me on their process and letting me sample the flawed beers and talking through their feedback for the entry (the other stewards were quick to share what was left of the 40+ point beers but the judges took a little time to help me learn)
- One flight I was stewarding had a beer that appeared like it had been miscategorized, so the judges asked for the second bottle to check and it was the same, but at least they did what they could to make sure they scored the right beer
- The people I worked with definitely were trying their best to give every beer a fair shot and provide feedback but getting through 562 beers in 2 days means that you have to keep to a bit of schedule

All that might sound obvious to many of you with more experience but it was nice to see firsthand and I got to meet some great people that this community has to offer. I could go on about broken bottles, some less than stellar entries, why I now would suggest you not put ginger in your autumn seasonal beer, and why packaging the beer in the bottle is likely an overlooked but important step that I know I need to work on, but that is what I can share quickly. I would recommend anyone who gets the chance to consider volunteering. It was a bit of work at times but I'm happy to have made a small part of the NHC happen.

 

[dougvohden]

Scored a 45 with a specialty Mead. First place and moving on. Look out!

Good luck in 2nd round!

 

[505-Brewer]

I've only stewarded or judged a small number of competitions before so the things I learned could fill up a pretty long post. Here are a few things off the top of my head that might be of interest to others.

- The logistics of holding a larger competition let alone the number of sites the NHC has to find is difficult
- Organizing the beers, judges, stewards, the scoring system, feeding everyone, is from as far as I can tell not something that happens without considerable dedication
- I was surprised how well the online scoring system worked and as a steward my job was simplified down to go fetch beer, make sure the table has everything it needs, and help clean up, which was still work but not difficult
- Almost all the judges were interested in talking with me on their process and letting me sample the flawed beers and talking through their feedback for the entry (the other stewards were quick to share what was left of the 40+ point beers but the judges took a little time to help me learn)
- One flight I was stewarding had a beer that appeared like it had been miscategorized, so the judges asked for the second bottle to check and it was the same, but at least they did what they could to make sure they scored the right beer
- The people I worked with definitely were trying their best to give every beer a fair shot and provide feedback but getting through 562 beers in 2 days means that you have to keep to a bit of schedule

All that might sound obvious to many of you with more experience but it was nice to see firsthand and I got to meet some great people that this community has to offer. I could go on about broken bottles, some less than stellar entries, why I now would suggest you not put ginger in your autumn seasonal beer, and why packaging the beer in the bottle is likely an overlooked but important step that I know I need to work on, but that is what I can share quickly. I would recommend anyone who gets the chance to consider volunteering. It was a bit of work at times but I'm happy to have made a small part of the NHC happen.

Thank you for your service!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Thanks @Boilerbrew for the insights!

I was a steward a number of years ago (with no serious plans of getting back into competitions or stewarding at the moment). Many things seem to be the same, some things (like tracking scores at the event) appear to have improved.

It's good to see that this

I got to meet some great people that this community has to offer.

and this

Almost all the judges were interested in talking with me on their process and letting me sample the flawed beers and talking through their feedback for the entry (the other stewards were quick to share what was left of the 40+ point beers but the judges took a little time to help me learn)

is consistent across the years and regions of the USA.

---

... and for those "in it to win it" next year, /r/homebrewing and AHA forums has some recent topics with good discussion.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

... might be creating a long running side topic ...

packaging the beer in the bottle is likely an overlooked but important step that I know I need to work on

Do you bottle condition or package from kegs?

 

[Boilerbrew]

... might be creating a long running side topic ...


Do you bottle condition or package from kegs?

I package from the keg right now with a picnic tap and a piece of racking cane capping on foam, or at least trying to. I hate bottling beers and my old process was one founded off of that disdain. I now have come to realize it's an important part of the entering beer and receiving good feedback. Being patient and realizing that it might take more time and effort than I want but that it is still important to get a good fill level as well as making sure the beer I'm bottling is at an appropriate carbonation level for the style. So as of right now I always sanitize and fill more bottles than I intend to enter. I also try to package a little early and then wait and sample a packaged bottle before submitting to double check my process. And I've recently purchased a counterpressure bottle filler for future use.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I hate bottling beers and my old process was one founded off of that disdain.

There is a section on packaging techniques that extend shelf life in The New IPA. I'm early in adopting some of the packaging techniques. So far, I'm seeing positive results and it doesn't take much additional time when I bottle.

---

eta: there's more in the book on shelf life, packaging, and sources of "staling agents"; some of the ideas are scattered throughout the book. The searchable e-book can be helpful in finding them.

 

[oldschool]

I don’t know about ya’ll, but my two second round entry kegs just went on gas this weekend.

The IPA won’t clear up but oh well a Michigander couldn’t win an IPA medal in San Diego anyway

 

[jdauria]

So for me, the beer I thought would advance, my NZ Pils was my highest scorer at 39.5, but was eliminated in mini-BOS, though my Czech Dark that I thought was not my best, took silver with a 37 in Philly, so 5th NHC in a row I have a horse in the race. Have to say my re-brew of the Czech Dark, which is currently lagering for another week before I carb it, is miles better than the original one as I was able to get CaraBohemian malt this time where I could not last time and subbed it with a blend of Victory malt and Deer Creek First Crack, a melanoidin malt. I also had a longer boil and switched up the yeast, going with White Labs Oktoberfest yeast in order to try to get as much malt complexity the style is know for out of the beer. So high hopes, but going up again 26 other very good Dark Euro lagers, so you never know.

 

[505-Brewer]

Kegged and quick carbed one of my final entries. Tasting mighty fine! Will do the next in a week or so. I want a Gold Medal! Tired of Silver and Bronze .
Best of luck to everyone!

 

[505-Brewer]

Tick tock. Tick tock. Who will win?

 

[kingmatt]

I fly out to San Diego Wednesday morning...can't wait