Looking for advice, tomorrow will be my first time judging a home brew contest. I know I’m paired with an experienced judge - anyone have any pointers or tips to calm the nerves a bit? Cheers!
When I started as a non-ranked judge I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the old timers. Listen to what they say, but don't be afraid to state what you feel are strengths and weakness of the beers. A couple of suggestions that might make it easier: Download a scoresheet and really read it, maybe even fill in a scoresheet or two on what ever is in your fridge. Make sure you have the BJCP criteria on your phone/tablet, it's not cheating to make reference to the written guidelines. If you really are out of touch with a certain style, tell them. You really don't want to be judging something like "sours" if you've never spent time drinking them. Ideally they will work with you in assigning a comfortable category. You'll be doing a lot of writing, in addition to your judgment, your penmanship is how the brewer gets objective feedback. I personally thought my brewing improved when I started judging . . . learned to evaluate my final product based on taste rather than trying to justify what was in the recipe. Good luck.
Thanks for the reply. As a home brewer that has entered comps I have had both good and poor feedback. That’s what I’m most nervous, want to provide quality feedback. I feel like this will be another rabbit hole! Thanks!
Just general good judging advice: Dont judge styles you don’t like. Judge by the guidelines of the competition, not personal preference. Be mindful of your tasting strengths and weaknesses. If you can taste diacetyl at an extremely low threshold, don’t knock a beer that has a *hint* of it. Listen to other judges, but don’t let people put thoughts in your head. Don’t guess at what ingredients or processes the brewer used. If you are wrong, you make yourself look like a fool and create skepticism for the whole process in the brewer. Specific to homebrew comps: Prepare to drink a lot of bad beer...
Write down everything you perceive, and when you've run out of descriptors for things you are tasting/smelling/feeling start writing pertinent things are you not detecting.
The experienced judge(s) that you're paired with will be more than willing to guide you. They all had a first time. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If the other judge(s) make comments that you don't understand, just ask. Most of my sessions are pretty quiet now, but at your stage, feel free to talk about what you're tasting and smelling. And don't hesitate to make comments that the other judge(s) didn't mention. If you taste something that they didn't, they'll likely give it another taste and either validate your opinion or maybe clarify your perception. Either way, you benefit. I recall my first many years ago when I was paired with Gordon Strong. A very educational, confidence building session. And, since it was my first time judging, he was much more talkative than the next time we judged together a few years later. Relax. You'll do fine.
Thanks for asking! Ended up missing it as felt awful the morning of. A visit to the Dr and diagnosed with pneumonia. Good thing is there are plenty of contests and will get another chance.
