I am planning on entering the upcoming Beehive Brewoff homebrew competition. On of the beers that I am thinking of entering is an Evil-Twin clone, very similar to the NB recipe (but with Wy 1968 yeast): http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/allgrain/AG-JamilsEvilTwin.pdf Ay ideas on what might be the best BJCP category, or is there really no suitable category for this beer?
In terms of original gravity (1.071 vs 1.040 to 1.060) and thus alcohol content (7.8% vs 4.5 to 6.2%) it's outside the style guidelines; should I simply enter it in that category anyway?
Would also not fit in Amber ale because the flavor profile is supposed to be more malt balanced to fit to style guidelines. It seems that this recipe is a bit hop forward despite not having usual IPA level bitterness. The color seems to be a bit higher than guidelines for American IPA, but everything else fits across the board. To be on the safe side you could just throw it into 23A as an imperial red and call it a day.
Even Jamil, in it's current form (brewed by Heretic), brews it as an American Amber Ale and he created the recipe as an American Amber Ale. Maybe ChrisKennedy will weigh in, since I beleive he is now brewing it for Heretic. As a side note, I've been steward for quite a few comps where this exact beer is entered into 10B. You can brew it to a lower OG if you wish. I'm also pretty sure that this is the recipe that has won a ton of comps as an American Amber Ale. My one suggestion is if you are using 1968, is to mash it lower than what they call for, say 149-150. I've brewed using this grain bill or a slight variation on it probably two dozen times and when using 1968 with that slug of crystal and those malty bases you can get cloying/sweet in a hurry. The malt/toasty/toffee backbone will be there but the gravity will be more inline with the intended target and won't finish so sweet. As far as style guidlines, 10B is pretty loose, the beers that often win are quite hop forward, much as this.
I forget who said "If you want to win in APA, make an IPA." I think there is a kernel of truth in that.
There's more than a kernel. Remember the judges at the table don't see the specs of the beer in front of them, just a glass of amber nectar. Especially in categories like american amber or american brown, where beers can be hoppy / not hoppy, a well made hoppy example is always going to have an advantage. More bang for the buck, ceterus paribus and all that.
Thanks for the feedback, all. While I have been brewing for over a decade, this is the first contest that I have entered. I look forward to the feedback on my beers.
