BJCP Style Guidelines

makes lots of sense, and I don't like entering that category either. I do not bother unless I have something already specifically mentioned in the guidelines for 23 - like a beer I entered last year as "Wiess: cloudy young unfiltered Kolsch" - it's hard for the judges to misunderstand something like that.

however think of the specialty information as just the missing A/A/F/M portion that is listed on the other styles. I'm certain I'm not the only one who has had judges say they could not taste the oatmeal in my oatmeal stout. - ya gotta bash them over the head with it sometimes. In this case the oatmeal is sort of the specialty ingredient, and judges are looking for it.

 

To me this looks very 19. It fits every quantitive trait except colour. I don't think its nearly unique enough to be 23.

 

You will not get a high score for a beer that is not in the right category. I have judged ones that were very good, but were not entered in the correct category. Those are not brewing mistakes, those are mistakes made in following the competition guidelines.

A beer that is well brewed with no technical defects and hits the style category will get a high score, and that is a quality beer for what ever style. If I make a CAP that gets a 40+, it is a good CAP. If I screw up and enter those bottles as a Maibock, it will score poorly, even though it is the same beer.

Edit - I also make some beers that are tasty. One is a German Lagerbier/Landbier type similar to Two Women Lager - no category for that one. Another is the one inspired by Bells Quinannanon falls Special Lager, at 1.060+ and with American hops, no category for that either. So they would no score well, no reason to kid myself and waste the time and money to enter those.

 

Not to pile on, but just explain the method to the madness. There are reasons for how the judging process is done. One of the major issues people have is the inconsistencies in beer judging. These types of processes help to standardize judging, make it more objective, and consistent. I can see it being silly, but as someone who has entered and judged, it would probably be a lot less inconsistent, and more frustrating without these types of controls. Competitions arent for everyone. At least you realize they arent for you. The people that enter time and time again and bitch about it, those are the people that grind my gears.

 

I understand that Jeff.

What I appreciated about the post that udubdawg made was there is not a 100% correlation of beer quality to BJCP score since he detailed the aspect of "how it rates per style". Again, in one simple sentence he summarized BJCP competitions and scoring.

Once again: Cheers to udubdawg!

 

“One of the major issues people have is the inconsistencies in beer judging.” A BIG +1 to that!

Cheers!

 

You have to remember that brewing competitions rate to style, and high points reflect that the beer was made skillfully to match the style. You like CAPs, so one that scores high would not be a quality beer?

One can define quality in many ways. Lets just say that the homebrewer of the year last year was, Annie Johnson, and she won with a AAL in Cat 1. That beer was on the table with all of the other Gold Medal winners, cat 2 -23. Some thing about it made it stand out as well made, and the judges for the BOS (probably all Master and higher) determined it was the one that was best.

 

“You have to remember that brewing competitions rate to style, and high points reflect that the beer was made skillfully to match the style.” Yes, I know that.

As I posted previously: “Cheers to @udubdawg for summarizing BJCP competitions in one sentence: “The score isn't necessarily a comment on the quality of the beer, just how it rates per style.”

I am fully capable of reading and understanding what the words “how it rates per style” mean. In addition to having reasonable reading comprehension skills, I have entered enough BJCP competitions back in the 1990’s to understand on a visceral and personal level that BJCP competitions rate to style.

Cheers!

 

If you mean that on any given day, a beer that scores a 40 (for example) might be a better beer than one that scores 45, that would be true. But you will not get a high score without a high quality beer. But bad or average beers do not get high scores.

 

So now I don't have a clue to as to your quality vs. style statement. Can you say more?

 

love that beer...anything I should know if I wanted to make a version of it myself?

 

I don't think I have nailed, but shoot for 1.064 and use American hops. Finish/dry hop with Simcoe. Not too much.

 

Brewed today...1.065 IPA...finished with Simcoe (and Mosaic)...but flavored with Centennial.

dry hopping with Simcoe, Mosaic, and Chinook. Not too much might be a problem

To OP: color doesn't sseem to matter much with judges

 

Entering a beer in the wrong style category is kind of like entering your Bluegrass band in a Rap Battle. You may lay down the best damn Bluegrass since Lester and Earl, and the Judges' comments may reflect that. But you won't score well.

 

Mike, it is not always clear-cut which style category to enter a given beer. This thread was started since beachbrewer was unsure which category to enter his Imperial Red Ale. SFACRKight related his personal experience when he entered his Red IPA in the special category; he got docked points.

Selecting which category to enter is not always cut & dry.

Cheers!

 

I understand that. My analogy was intended to address what appears to be the opinion that an excellent beer should not be dinged simply it doesn't fit the style that it is being judged against. Regarding selecting the right category, I've been known to enter the same beer into two different categories. My most recent attempt (10A, 14B) resulted in two very respectable, and nearly identical scores.

 

It is not. In these dire instances, I will enter the same beer in multiple sub-categories, assuming I don't have a different beer that exactly fits the style guidelines in these categories.

I've had instances where the same beer entered in multiple categories has scored incredibly well in both (similar categories, e.g. Am. Pale Ale and West Coast Extra Pale ale, where both entries resulted in medals and 40+ scores) and instances where one has scored highly and the other was trashed (this was with disparate categories, e.g. wheatwine and DIPA).

 

After perusing many a thread on here about BJCP guidelines and judging, I'm almost sure I'll never enter a competition. I'd love the professional feedback but the way the categories and tasting works, there's no way to say anyone's beers are getting a fair shake. Do those of you who have participated in comps feel like it was worth jumping through all the hoops?

 

It's worth it. But it's not foolproof. I think it was Gordon Strong who said something like - Make great beer and expect to win 1/3 of the time. And I think he's spot on. (You won't be the only one entering good/great beers.) Note that's over a long period of time and many entries. The results for less entries and/or over a shorter length of time would be less useful. But over time, you'll see trends in your scores/comments that you can do something about. My way of rephrasing what Gordon said is "Good/great beers don't always win, but bad ones never do."