After judging hundreds of homebrews you start to pick up on trends. Judging is a crash course in beer education. Think about it - you taste around a dozen different homebrews in rapid fire succession while thinking critically and writing useful feedback about each one.
You learn a lot - the hop varieties brewers are using, the angles they are taking on classic styles, and yes, even their flaws.
There's a constant debate about whether or not you should enter competitions. Sorry, this article isn't going into that (maybe another time).
This also isn't about "brewing to style", another hotly debated topic.
Instead, I'm just here to offer up some tips based on what I've witnessed in competitions. Chances are, even non-competition goers are affected by similar issues.
Focus on the Basics for the Biggest Wins
Something I teach my students at The Homebrew Academy is setting priorities. You'll get much better results if you focus on the few things that make big differences.
I used to be guilty of this myself.
Hell, it happened to me recently. I obsessed about the exact weight and timing of hop additions for an IPA.
"Should I add these 2 oz. of Cascade at five minutes or three minutes? Hmm...."
Then, like an idiot, I screwed up the setting on my thermostat and the fermentation temperature got too high, resulting in some flavors I didn't want. If I had focused on the far more important factor of fermentation instead of obsessing over the minutiae of hop timings, my beer would have turned out better.
Likewise, these 5 items below aren't about crazy expert techniques. They're more like brewing fundamentals that many people still get wrong. Evaluate your own beer and work to fix these mistakes. If you enter competitions you'll put yourself ahead of at least half the other entrants. If you don't compete, you'll still improve your beer.
Here they are:
- Under-attenuation
It's likely under attenuated. Make sure you're pitching enough yeast and giving the wort plenty of oxygen before fermentation begins. It's easy to get lazy at the end of the brew day. I'm always exhausted and just want to go eat buffalo wings. But getting fermentation off to a good start is critical. Finish your brew day strong.
- Too many specialty malts
Who wouldn't want that in their beer?!?
But I'm shocked by how many beers I taste that are just...muddy. The use of too many specialty grains hides flavors and makes for a messy tasting beer. Don't be afraid to let those base malts shine. Take a minimalist approach to brewing. It's easier to know which grains to add than which ones to remove when you go to re- brew.
- Stale flavors
Old beer, old ingredients, or a combination of both will give a beer a washed out, stale flavor. Oxidation will do it as well. Take care to use the freshest ingredients, minimize oxidation, and know when your beers are at their peak.
- Unattractive
Nail your first impression and you'll automatically leave the person drinking your beer with an favorable outlook.
- Young/Green beer
Your beer needs time. It could be that the yeast is still cleaning up some off flavors. Other times, with high gravity beers, the alcohol is too intense and it needs a stint in the cellar to mellow out.
Unfortunately there's no formula for knowing exactly when your beer will be at its best. It takes experience and careful note taking. I recommend using the 5 bottle rule to determine when your recipe is in what I call its "prime drinking period.".
I often say that becoming a BJCP judge was one of the best thing I've done to improve my homebrew. Maybe this article will even inspire you to become one yourself.
Regardless, these tips should help you step up your game. That's whether you're brewing for judges, friends, or just yourself.
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Billy Broas heads up The Homebrew Academy, where you can find tips, videos, and online courses for brewing world-class beer at home. He's co-author of the book Craft Beer for the Homebrewer, a certified BJCP beer judge, and his beer philosophy is that "we should all be beer geeks, not beer snobs."
