BJCP 2015 Style Guidelines

That's a lot of reading. @Smokingtony are you working on a Cliff's Notes version?

 

I noticed they have an Italian Style as well

 

Are these changed from the previous 2015 guidelines? I feel like I've had this open before.

 

The 2015 guidelines were released in May.

Nov 1, all exams are to use the 2015 guidelines

 

I like that they've gotten a lot more people involved in fine-tuning the styles, but there seems to be some odd distinctions. I've never really considered a Vienna Lager "bitter."

 

I consider them more "spicy" than bitter.

 

So many categories of styles...

I love the part about the style guidelines specifically "they are guidelines, they are suggestions, not specifications". I suppose that's always been the case. "The style guidelines are not the Ten Commandments"

 

I think Ron Pattinson wrote that part.

 

Is Guinness still a stout? Harp or Bass pale ale? I entered a perfect carbonation Guinness and every judge said way too watery for a stout

 

Did you enter it as an Irish Stout (15B) or one of the other stout categories? If beer categories were like a tree with "beer" as the trunk, then "stout/porter" is a main branch with many secondary branches for the specific sub-styles, but there is no set style for just "stout"

 

Sounds like judges lacking in experience. Unless, as Ranbot points out, it was mis-categorized.

 

From "Specialty IPA," I'm excited to one day try a "Zima Clear IPA"!!!

 

So how useful is this for a newbie to beer, at least understanding the different styles and what constitutes them? I swear when people say it tastes hoppy or malty, it just registers as nothing in my head. I figure this combined with the guide on this site should be useful, right?

 

Maybe the book “Tasting Beer: An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink” would be helpful for you.

http://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Beer-Insiders-Worlds-Greatest/dp/1603420894

Cheers!

 

I would say it's marginally useful. The guidelines really exist just to help home-brewers make beers for competitions, and to give the judges criteria for scoring entries into a particular category.

 

But they also include commercial examples of each "style" as another guideline. Useful in that it shows what professionals are brewing as such a style.

 

Thanks guys. I've had the book recommended to me before and seeing how it's only 9 bucks shipped from Amazon and 2.99 for the Kindle edition if you get the paperback one...I figured why not and bought them both.