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Competition question

Northern Brewer General
#1

So I am entering one of my beers in a BJCP competition for the first time and I have a couple questions. The beer I am entering is an Oak Aged Old Ale and I wasn’t sure if it should be entered under category 19A Old Ale or under 22C Wood-Aged Beer.
It only had 4oz of oak chips but it aged on them for about a month. It has a nice oak flavor but it isn’t too pronounced. It is balanced well with molasses and a little rye spiciness. Any help would be great, I just want to make sure I am entering it in the right category.

Here are some details on the beer if they help:
OG: 1.073
FG: 1.008
IBU: ~33

#2

The rye caught my eye. If the rye is noticeable it should go in Category 23 - Specialty Beer (•Unusual adjuncts - e.g., oats, rye, buckwheat, potatoes).
Sounds yummy. How much rye malt did you use?

#3

It has 1lb of flaked rye, so it’s present but not overpowering. Here is the recipe:

9 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter
3 lbs 2.5 oz Munich I
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
4.6 oz Chocolate Malt
1 lbs Cara-Pils/Dextrine
12.0 oz Molasses
1 lbs Barley, Flaked
1 lbs Maize, Flaked
1 lbs Rye, Flaked
12.0 oz Molasses
2.00 oz Magnum [13.50 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
0.26 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins)
1.0 pkg British Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1335)
4.00 oz Oak Chips (Secondary 29 days)
1.00 Items Vanilla Bean

#4

If it doesn’t taste like this description http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style19.php#1a , don’t enter it in cat. 19.

#5

I think it does taste like that description, honestly I was asking because I didn’t know if the oak was acceptable for that category. Of course now that you have brought it up, I don’t know if the rye might be too much as well. I think it’s pretty subtle though, I guess I will have to do some research and taste another one while reading the discription again.

So if you can taste the rye what category should I enter it into? Should it go into category 23 Specialty Beer? If so, how do I enter it and how do I specify the base style? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I enter it in the right category.

This beer was brewed as a variation of an Old Ale I brewed before but this time I was trying to bring out the whiskey/bourbon flavors a little more.

#6

Yeah, if you can detect the rye, enter it in 23. The judges don’t know what you put in it, only what they can taste.

#7

So the instructions for the competition state:

From the recipe above do you think I should list the rye and oak as special ingredients?

On the entry form it asks for: Category Number, Sub-category Letter, Description, and Special Ingredients (list categories). It might be a silly question but I would list the base style and special ingredients in the Special Ingredients section? And what goes in the description section? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all your help.

#8

So after drinking a couple of these beers with a friend while reading the description I decided that I am going to enter it into category 23 and state the base style as Old Ale. My question is what is supposed to go in the description section? Here is a link to the entry form I am filling out in case that helps.

http://saltcitybrew.org/wordpress/wp-co ... y_form.pdf
#9

If the rye and oak are noticeable I would put them down as the special ingredients.

#10

Only put a special ingredient down if it is quite noticeable. By stating an ingredient you are telling the judge it has this character, if it doesn’t come across then you get dinged. I can believe the oak would be noticeable, maybe the vanilla, but I’m skeptical about a pound of rye being noticeable in that recipe. Maybe it contributes to mouthfeel but that could be from something else.

Why not put it in 22C? That would seem to be a good potential fit, and possibly a better chance of placing.

Sounds like a tasty beer.

#11

So I am supposed to fill out a label for the bottles and it includes Brewer’s Name, Style, and Class. What is class? Style would be Specialty Beer? And again where would I list the base style? Under special ingredients or under description?

#12

Special ingredients under its own category, then under description put the base style and you can also indicate the special ingredients there as well. You can even put “hint of vanilla” if you want to indicate the level of the ingredient. But again, if you can’t really tell its there then don’t list it. Try and keep the description fairly short and to the point.

Not sure about Class. Normally its called style and substyle. There is no substyle for category 23.

#13

So should I list the base style under class (substyle)?

Thanks for everyone’s help. I just don’t want to be disqualified because I filled it out wrong or not do well because it was entered into the wrong category.

So I am thinking that I will list it as Category 23, subcategory A, description: Oak Aged Old Ale with a hint of Rye. And under special ingredients I will list rye and oak chips. On the bottle lables I will list the style as Specialty Beer and leave the class blank??

#14

What contest is this? Maybe they have separate homebrew and pro-am classes? As long as you put Category 23 and list your special ingredients and base style, I’m sure it’ll get put in the right place and have a fair judging. Good luck, sounds like a well thought out and tasty beer. How old is it anyway?

#15

Thanks everyone for your help, I will let you know when I get the results.

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