I have a hoppy red fermenting right now that I have high hopes for and would like to enter it in a competition pending the outcome. The beer is pale ale malt, Munich 10, c120, and Carapils. Bittered with magnum and has a good amount of Amarillo late in the boil and dry hop. Comes in at 50-55 IBU, 14 SRM, and about 6% abv (if it hits my expected fg.) Fermented with WLP004. So my question is where to categorize it? By the 2008 guidelines it's too hoppy for Irish Red Ale but I don't think it fits an IPA category either. Suggestions? Thanks in advanced!
Not sure of the number or category of the top of my head but sounds like an American Amber ale to me.
It hits all the marks for American IPA, but of course it won't score well there because it's a deep red color and maybe too sweet and not enough hops. (And this truth is a damn shame, too.) What you could try instead is to enter it as an ESB. A lot of judges don't know what the hell an ESB really is, plus the style guidelines provide a ton of latitude for this style, so you could rock their world in the ESB category. That's my suggestion.
The same route would be Specialty Beer (23), but I would be tempted to enter as an American Amber Ale (10B). If feeling especially mischievous maybe both.
I would enter it as an American amber; http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style10.php#1b Just looking at your ingredients and noting what is says in the guidelines is a pretty good match to what you used. It might be a bit over hopped, but enter in a West Coast Competition, we tend to like hops a bit more so you might not get dinged as much. Ingredients: Pale ale malt, typically American two-row. Medium to dark crystal malts. May also contain specialty grains which add additional character and uniqueness. American hops, often with citrusy flavors, are common but others may also be used. Water can vary in sulfate and carbonate content.
American Amber is one of those categories I almost never enter. Basically many judges tend to look to be smacked over the head with caramel, demand more hops, and reward beers that are bigger than the category. The category tends to have a bunch of "Session IPAs" in the APA style that are basically Hop Juice so by the time they get to 10B anything not-that-hoppy sticks out. /rant ...10B could indeed be a good place for your beer. Don't know just how hoppy it will be or how much the caramel shows. good luck-- --Michael
I'd go American Amber all the way. I've had a few red India ales early in my competition days that were enters as IPA's due to being so hoppy; I got dinged on points due to color. Enters the same beer in another comp a few weeks later into American amber and won 1st place. Judges from the first comp all gave notes to enter into American amber as they would have scored it very high in that category. Really it all depends on the judges that show up that day If you have enough enter it into multiple categories and get feedback.
I agree that amber ale would be your best shot. But don't get your hopes up, anything that is between styles like this is really a crapshoot.
