I have heard great things about NB’s patersbier kit.
Anybody know which BJCP category it would be? i though maybe 18A Belgian Blond but the ABV is too low? Maybe 16E Belgian Specialty as a trappist table beer?
16E Belgian Specialty. It’s kind of a catch all category and as good as it is, if you were to enter a Patersbier in a competition, which I did, it’s tough to score well when up against other strong and flavorful Belgians. At least this is what I experienced and was told by a judge.
You should be able to score well as long as the beer is good and you enter it in the right category - Belgian Specialty as a Belgian Table Beer or something like that. I think a clear accurate description of the beer and what you were trying to make is critical to help the judges appreciate it. It does sometimes happen that newer judges go for the most intense beer rather than the best and judging specialty categories is tough in any case because there is so much variation. However, some judges do the opposite and give extra attention to a well made small beer because they are aware of the tendencies of others.
