So I’ve been doing this for two years last batch for 2012 will be number 50, last 20 AG. Friends and family who get beer free tell me it’s really good ( Can’t trust em it’s free). I have been encouraged to enter my Thanksgiving beer in a contest.
1, Will public humilation follow?
2, Have any of you found the competition has helped you in improving your beer?
3, Will my ego be crushed and I will end up under my desk curled up in the fetal position crying like a small child?
Thanks.
- Perhaps, if you’re beer sucks.
- Yes, if the judge is both knowledgeable and able to communicate.
- See #1.
[quote=“flytyer”]So I’ve been doing this for two years last batch for 2012 will be number 50, last 20 AG. Friends and family who get beer free tell me it’s really good ( Can’t trust em it’s free). I have been encouraged to enter my Thanksgiving beer in a contest.
1, Will public humilation follow?
2, Have any of you found the competition has helped you in improving your beer?
3, Will my ego be crushed and I will end up under my desk curled up in the fetal position crying like a small child?
Thanks.[/quote]
These answers pertain to BJCP-sanctioned comps:
1.) No. You are anonymous to the judges, just an entry number. They are not anonymous to you, however. So if one writes down something that doesn’t make sense to you, you can email them and ask them what the hell they were talking about. When you get your scoresheets back, you will have unbiased, well-trained, third party feedback on your beer.
2.) Ab-so-effing-lutely. To get BJCP-certified, one needs to be able to not only ID technical and procedural flaws, but also needs to be very familiar with the brewing process and style guidelines. Also, across judges, different people have different flavor thresholds. I was judging saisons a few weeks ago with Dave Houseman, one of the highest-ranked, most experienced judges in the country. I was perceiving vanilla in one saison, where he didn’t get any (for the record, we came up with identical scores on several beers, and had similar perceptions of flavor/dryness, etc.). He pointed out that the compounds making up the vanilla might simply be below his palette threshold, but not mine. So you will get DIFFERENT trained palettes evaluating your beer. Also, for the record, Dave is one of the nicest people I have ever met in the beer universe.
I entered the fifth and sixth beers I ever made, my scores were in the low 30’s, so not great, but the comments helped me ID and trace a few issues back to some simple process flaws, namely fermentation temp control and yeast pitching rates (also one beer had a malt bill longer than my…well…it was long). Also, remember judges are there to help other (usually fellow) brewers, not just to get drunk or drink beers and socialize. The whole point is help people make better beer. Now obviously, some brewers become obsessed with comps and ONLY brew to appease judges, which to me sounds like being pecked to death by a duck.
3.) Only if you are a huge wuss.
In all honesty, its a fun process. Chefs, brewers, and any artists really, need to learn to take criticism and work with it, recognizing that the person criticizing (even trained judges) might not know what the H they are talking about.
I would encourage you to try to steward a commercial or HB competition to get a flavor for the process/environment. I would ALSO encourage you to enter your beer! It sounds like you know what you are doing (and drinking), so this will be yet another component of this world to love and become obsessed with!
I entered two beers into a recent local “Real Ale” competition. It was my first competition. It was a keg only competition and it had to be naturally fermented, so that was new to me. And being “real ale” the beers were pretty young. I picked two of three brews that I considered for the competition and submitted. I thought they were good, but not my best beers but gave it a shot anyway.
I scored low 30’s on each of the two, which I was told is very good for a first time. My son looked at the score sheet and saw 32 out of 50 and told me I got a “D”. But it qualifies as good to very good I think.
The write ups were interesting. I did chuckle when one said I needed better control on fermentation temps as I am totally in control of that if anything, ferment cooler and slower than I should.
The reality is that this is a big brew club and they are really into the Real Ale competition. There were some very good beers there and I thought I did just fine considering it was my first time. But the feedback was good, although I need to go back thru it in more detail soon.
No humiliation, but could be a shot to the ego. Just go into the competition with an open mind. Regardless of what you score you should receive some good feedback on your beer. Just make sure that you have it entered into the appropriate category. If your beer scores well you might have a chance at winning some great prizes.
I’ll add that althoug competiton feedback is useful, don’t take too much away from a single comp. It really helps to enter the beer in several comps to get an average of the comments.
Like anything else, you will find varying levels of usefulness. I had not entered a competition (Other than local tastings/people’s choice type things) until last march and the AHA comp. I have since entered beer in about a dozen comps. this year. My goal - like yours - unbiased feedback from people who don’t know me. I have definitely learned several things and really enjoy getting the feedback. Some is better than others, but overall, very helpful for me. In particular, I think it really hones your ability to “brew to style.” If you are someone who never brews the same thing twice, and likes to put all kinds of crazy stuff in your beer all the time. . … . not sure it is really all that helpful. However, if you want to learn to brew a good oktoberfest, or a great porter - definitely.
I would especially recommend entering beers in multiple comps to get consistency. You can learn things in two different ways. On the one hand, I entered an amber ale on 6 different ocassions, using 3 different batches. I was able to place top 3 in american ale category 5 times, the 6th time being the AHA regional where it scored 41, mini best of show, but did not medal. Comments were consistently similar, and minor suggestions were consistently similar. That tells me I make a mean Amber Ale that I could toy around with in hopes of making it really great.
On the other hand, I have an Alt that I always loved and “thought” was an alt. Scored a 24 at AHA for not really being within category to the extent it should. entered it 3 more times with a couple versions and continuously had the same feed back in regard to not being hoppy enough, malt suggestions, etc. Have brought the scores up on it, but still not to where I would like. I have my 4th variation of it entered in a comp. next week, hoping to see if changes I made have brought it toward what an alt “should be.” By the way, it is a much better tasting beer than where I started with it a year ago, IMO.
However, you will also get some odd feedback, maybe even feedback that is not all that accurate if the comp. had untrained judges, etc. The best feedback tends to come from well respected, good sized competitions in my opinion. I am really glad I have taken the time to being entering as I feel it has helped me refine my process, take better notes, and pay attention to the details of what I am brewing.
I have been brewing for a long time, but started going to my local homebrew club meetings a few months ago. They have a monthly competition where all of the members try beers made by other club members, and vote on them. the club has several BJCP certified judges, and it is interesting to see what people are doing and try variations on different styles. I don’t think I have tasted any bad beers, and everyone is pretty positive and constructive. Each month there are usually 5 or 6 competitors, and no one is out to humiliate anyone. I managed to win the first two times I entered. If you have a local club that does anything like this, it might be worth going, and it will give you an idea of what the bigger competitions are like.
One of my clubs in Baltimore does the same thing. Really useful stuff most of the time.
If there isn’t a club by you that does this, start one!
I’ll third these thoughts and those of Denny. Just like anything else, the quality of judges and the competition vary a lot. Judging is not perfect. Style guidelines are not the be all and end all of great beer. Ultimately, you have to decide whether you agree with the comments given or not, and whether you’d change anything if you make that beer again. I like to get the feedback and especially pay attention to process-oriented comments, like if they are detecting off-flavors from my process. If you don’t like entering competitions after trying it, stop.
