Questions on entering 29b fruit and spice beer category

[Dgallo]

Is it ok to enter a beer with vanilla and raspberries/blackberries In the 29b category if it’s mix fermented? Or am I better off entering it in 28c Wild specialty beer?

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[TheMadKing]

Is it ok to enter a beer with vanilla and raspberries/blackberries In the 29b category if it’s mix fermented? Or am I better off entering it in 28c Wild specialty beer?

Thanks in advance for your time.

It depends on how the beer tastes

My initial reaction is that 28c is more appropriate because 29b requires that you list a base style of beer. If you didn't start out with a "base style" and then add fruit and spice to it, then I think 29b is out.

That said, it all depends on taste - so if I drink your beer and say "wow that's a great example of a berliner weisse with a nice addition of raspberries and blackberries and subtle vanilla undertone" (whether that was your intention or not) then 29b would work just fine.

If your beer is funky, not recognizable as a base style, and all of the elements of vanilla, raspberry and blackberry are detectable then I would go with 28c

It's also important to remember that you should only declare ingredients you can actually detect in the beer. If you declare it, then the judges will be looking for it, and if they don't taste it they should deduct points for that. Judges will evaluate your beer based on what is in front of them and don't get the know what you intended

 

[Dgallo]

It depends on how the beer tastes

My initial reaction is that 28c is more appropriate because 29b requires that you list a base style of beer. If you didn't start out with a "base style" and then add fruit and spice to it, then I think 29b is out.

That said, it all depends on taste - so if I drink your beer and say "wow that's a great example of a berliner weisse with a nice addition of raspberries and blackberries and subtle vanilla undertone" (whether that was your intention or not) then 29b would work just fine.

If your beer is funky, not recognizable as a base style, and all of the elements of vanilla, raspberry and blackberry are detectable then I would go with 28c

It's also important to remember that you should only declare ingredients you can actually detect in the beer. If you declare it, then the judges will be looking for it, and if they don't taste it they should deduct points for that. Judges will evaluate your beer based on what is in front of them and don't get the know what you intended

Thanks for the info. It’s certainly a mix ferm beer with lacto and brett characteristics and finishes with the fruit and vanilla

 

[TheMadKing]

Thanks for the info. It’s certainly a mix ferm beer with lacto and brett characteristics and finishes with the fruit and vanilla

I would go with 28c then

 

[Qhrumphf]

From the 2015 BJCP style guidelines:

Deciding where to enter a Specialty-Type Beer is often difficult for entrants. Be sure to reach each style carefully, as some styles will specify where to enter a beer with a certain combination of ingredients. We have
arbitrarily defined some ingredients as taking precedence over others (in order of highest precedence: wild, smoke, wood, fruit/spice, grain/sugar), but that
only applies if you can perceive that ingredient.

Unless it's clearly an existing classic style (so you could plainly say, for example, "Berliner Weisse with raspberry, blackberry, and vanilla" with no further explanation), I'd go Wild Specialty.

 

[Dgallo]

From the 2015 BJCP style guidelines:



Unless it's clearly an existing classic style (so you could plainly say, for example, "Berliner Weisse with raspberry, blackberry, and vanilla" with no further explanation), I'd go Wild Specialty.

The main reason I asked is because I have 3 mix ferm/spontaneously fermentated ales and I didn’t want them to complete against each other within the same category. But the truth is, those categories will most likely be combined anyway since the competition isn’t too big

 

[Qhrumphf]

Hah. Well, if you can justify its *perception* and not *intent* as a Lambic, Berliner, Flanders Red, Oud Bruin, etc, plus your fruit and vanilla, then yeah. But like you said, chance they end up combined anyway. Just hope to sweep the category, or hold back entering one or two of em.