# Beerfest 2007



## Fish (11/12/06)

Melbourne Brewers are excited to announce the details for Beerfest 2007 (Feb 9-11).

Please visit our dedicated web-site http://www.beerfest.org.au/ for entry forms and full details of over $2000 dollars in cash and prizes, including:

*Champion Beer of Show*:
Grand Ridge Brewery has again generously provided $500, which will go to the beer with the highest points score. 

*Champion Brewer* (New Prize):
The Transport Bar, Federation Square has arranged for the Champion Brewer at Beerfest to brew a 1000L batch of beer in a commercial brewery. The Champion Brewer and the Transport Bar will agree on the recipe/beer which will be served on tap at the Transport Bar on a date to be arranged. 

Melbourne Brewers would like to thank all our generous sponsors.

Any queries re. the event should be directed to [email protected]

Melbourne Brewers Committee


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## Beer Krout (15/12/06)

Looking forward to it.

Maybe you'll all be drinking my beer at the Transport!

Brett


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## Ross (15/12/06)

$6 to $8 per entry is a bit steep don't you think - especially for interstaters who have mailing costs as well.
A shame, as looks like a good comp.

cheers Ross


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## Weizguy (15/12/06)

C'mon Ross,

I'm sure that a couple of bucks won't hurt you. (joking, buddy. U know I'm a stirrer)

Could you, or other out-of Staters (such as me) afford to send just one beer?
I'd like to...., but as Ross suggests: the shipping gets pricey. It cost me a small bomb to get my beers to the AABC comp, as I'm sure it cost them to produce all those etched beer trophy/mugs.
I'll prob send 1 entry, until I become old enough to draw a superannuation/indexed pension, and have less ongoing costs. I'll start a hydroponic lettuce &/or herb farm. :chug: O

What price would you pay for those bragging rights? I'd be well chuffed, to see my beer on tap in another State. Testify!! :beer: 
Everyone who can afford to send a beer, should send their best beer ATM. I'd like to see support for my local event, mentioned elsewhere on this forum... And I expect to support theirs. Everyone's judges become more experienced, and you may find yourselves becoming a valuable resource. pm sent to Fish

BTW, and a little O/T, but did U see that the beer glass thread has been closed? Looks like the glasses are on the way, and I'm becoming a little excited. news soon ----->>

Seth out (to review Stuster's Rye, with a critical eye, fie!)
(* spell edit performed)


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## bigfridge (15/12/06)

Ross said:


> $6 to $8 per entry is a bit steep don't you think - especially for interstaters who have mailing costs as well.
> A shame, as looks like a good comp.
> 
> cheers Ross



Yes, it does look like a fair bit of money per entry, but you would be surprised what it costs to put on a comp. It costs close to $6 to get the entry in a glass in front of 3 judges, give them some score sheets and style guides and then send the results back to the entrant. Then you have to feed and water all the judges and helpers etc etc etc - it all adds up very quickly.

There is usually little left once the basics are covered so any prizes have to be covered by the sponsors.

But our comps are cheap by comparison to those in America - after converting to Aussie Dollars their entry cost is closer to $10 !

But still much cheaper than comps for commercial beer - these run to $100-$200 per entry :blink: 

David


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## DarkFaerytale (16/12/06)

Ross + Les: perhaps you should get a few guys together and put the whole lot in one box, i'm sure shipping would be cheaper when it's split over a few people, the more the merrier i say would be great to see some interstate beers there

beer krout: you mean my beer don't you? 

-Phill


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## Fish (19/12/06)

Hi Ross / all - The committee discussed at some length the issue of entry fees and in the end settled for what we considered a minor increase ($5 to $6 for brew club members and $5 to $8 for Independents). As has been alluded to by 'bigfridge' the time, effort and costs involved in running such a comp (especially one that goes all weekend) are significant. To off-set this we believe we have gathered together some brilliant prizes thanks to our sponsors. That said I hope we haven't excluded anyone due to costs. I think the group-post idea is great - especially for interstate clubs, etc...

Just a quick update re. the event:

- 9 holes of golf is available for those keen on the Friday (registration for this will be available via the web-site http://www.beerfest.org.au/ shortly or simply e-mail [email protected] )

- To launch / co-incide with Beerfest the team at Grand Ridge are planning a festival / farmers market during the day and bands on Fri, Sat, & Sun. 

- In addition there will be plenty of beer coming off the judging tables so hopefully there will be something to interest everyone. 

Get a car-load organised and come for the day / weekend. 

Hope to see you there.

Fish


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## Fish (30/1/07)

A reminder that the closing dates for entries to Beerfest is this Wed 31 January 2007. 

The Beerfest website  has all the information on the event, Style Guidelines, prizes and sponsors, entry forms, drop off points, weekend activities, judging roster etc.

In addition we still require Judges and Stewards for the following categories:

*Judges and Stewards*

Friday Feb 9th 5pm - Strong Lager, Strong Ale.
Judge 1 Vacant
Steward - Vacant

Saturday Feb 10th 9am - Pale Ale.
Steward - Vacant

Saturday Feb 10th 9am - Porter & Stout.
Judge 3 Vacant

Saturday Feb 10th 2pm - Dark Lager & Dark Ale
Steward - Vacant

Brewers who would like to judge at Beerfest are to contact conveners at [email protected]  [email protected] Please leave your mobile phone number. If you are a recognised Judge or apprentice please provide your BJCP registration number. All judges will receive the updated roster and contact list.


*I LOOK FORWARD TO KNOCKING BACK A FEW 'OFF THE WOOD' AT TRANSPORT WITH THE WINNERS.*

Cheers
Fish


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## sluggerdog (30/1/07)

Oh bugger, too late, haven't seen this before today. Have a cracker of a pils on tap at the moment too that I'd love to enter into a comp.


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## Stuster (30/1/07)

It's not too late if you can get to a PO today, sluggerdog. Express Post 'should' get there. :unsure:


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## Linz (30/1/07)

Ive combined 3 entrants brews into one box. It could have been sent snail yesterday for $12 from Silverwater and was informed that it 'should' get there, but I decided to go express to guarantee it getting there by today for $29.
So the total for 5(x $8) entries plus express post was $70 otherwise it wouldve been $52

We'll talk later about what constitues a club  B) 




Stirring the brew...........


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## Jye (12/2/07)

Hey guys how did the comp go?

Any idea when the results will be posted? online and in the mail.


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## fixa (12/2/07)

Bump... anyone know results?


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## Beer Krout (12/2/07)

The results will be out soon. I am told.

Cheers
BK


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## fixa (13/2/07)

How soon is soon? :lol:


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## chris.taylor.98 (13/2/07)

For all you impatient types here are the results that where emailed through to the Melbourne Brewer's members. I believe the "official" results should be posted to the website around about the 15th Feb.

(Sorry about the crappy cut and paste job, but you should get the drift)


Major Prizes

Champion Beer ($500 Cash provided by Grand Ridge Brewery)


* Bryce van Denderen (Bayside Brewers) with a Dubbel - 128.5 points



Champion Brewer (to brew a 1000L batch at a commercial brewery and the beer will be served at the Transport Bar, Federation Square).


* Robin Brown (Independent) with a total of 6 points {1 1st (3), 1 2nd (2) and 1 3rd (1)}


Best Club

* Worthogs & Bayside with 9 points {Worthogs 1 1st (3), 2 2nds (4) and 2 3rds (2) = 9) (Bayside 2 1sts (6), 1 2nd (2) and 1 3rd (1)}

Melbourne Brewers scored 6 points and Westgate 2 points.

Best Novice

* To be advised

Category Winners and Placegetters


Pale Lager (27)

Tony Vandenberg



Independent



Munich Helles



108



1

John Kingston


Westgate Brewers


American Pils


106.5


2

Michael vander Heyden


Worthogs


Bohemian Pilsner


105


3

Wheat (16)


Robin Brown


Independent


Weizen


121.5


1

Tony Wheeler


Melbourne Brewers


Hefeweizen


121


2

Robin Brown


Independent


Belgium Wit


110.5


3

Porter/Stout (23)


Nikolai Dontschuk, Brendan


(Westhorpe)Indpndnt


Classic Dry Irish


114.5


1

Laurie Cunningham


Worthogs


Australian Stout


112.5


2

Lukas Deadman


Worthogs


Australian Stout


111


3

Strong Lager/Ale (25)


John Strantzen


Worthogs


Strong Scotch Ale


116.5


1

Rod Patterson


Bayside Brewers


Imperial Stout


107


2

Lachlan Strong


Independent


Imperial Indian Pale Ale


105.5


3


Belgium Ale (30)


Bryce van Denderen


Bayside Brewers


Dubbel


128.5


1

Ben Lloyd


Independent


Bierre de Garde


126.5


2

Stuart Upton


Inner Sydney Brewers


Saison


126


3

Dark Lager/Ale (30)


Rod Patterson


Bayside Brewers


Schwarzbier


122.5


1

Michael vander Heyden


Worthogs


Altbier


118.5


2

Graeme Ward


Melbourne Brewers


Vienna Lager


113.5


3

British Ale (32)


Tony Wheeler


Melbourne Brewers


English Pale Ale


129.5


1


Robin Brown


Independent


Scottish Ale


114.5


2


Chan & Eileen Lay


Bayside Brewers


Scottish Export


109


3



Pale Ale (49)


Scott Simpson


Hunter All Grain


American Pale Ale


118.5


1

Lachlan Strong


Independent


Australian Pale Ale


117.5


2

Jye Smith


Brisbane Brewers


Indian Pale Ale Brit


112


3


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## Jye (14/2/07)

Cheers Chris :beer: 

Pretty happy Im on the list :beerbang: but next time I should mark my entry a bit better, was an AIPA and not a "Indian Pale Ale Brit"

I see there are no results for the specialty class, will they be up later?


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## chris.taylor.98 (14/2/07)

Belgian Ale, French Ale & Specialty

Where all combined in the one category


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## Beer Krout (15/2/07)

The results are now up on the Beerfest 2007 website.

Note:

Melbourne Brewers President has released this apology.

"The highest score for Belgium Ales (Cat 5) was 128.5 points for a Dubbel brewed by
Bryce van Denderen. The highest score for British Ales (Cat 7) was 129.5 points for
an English Pale Ale brewed by Tony Wheeler.

Therefore, Tony won the Champion Beer of Show not Bryce, who was a close second."

Read the full letter attachment.

Cheers
BK 

View attachment Apology_to_Brewers_beerfest_07_Best_of_Show.pdf


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## warrenlw63 (15/2/07)

:beerbang: :beerbang: Go Stuster 3rd place Belgian. 

Well done.  

Warren -


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## warrenlw63 (15/2/07)

:beerbang: :beerbang: Two more beer bangs for Jye too. 

Forum members did well. There's others there but I'm not sure who they are. Well done also. B) 

Warren -


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## goatherder (15/2/07)

Woohoo, 1st place pale ale!

That was my case beer from the NSW xmas swap. I'm glad now there were a couple of drop outs in the swap which gave me spare bottle to send.

Well done to the other prize winners, are there many AHBers on the list?


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## warrenlw63 (15/2/07)

So that's you Goat. Well done!! :beer: 

Warren -


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## Jye (15/2/07)

Beer Krout said:


> The results are now up on the Beerfest 2007 website.



I cant find them


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## craig maher (15/2/07)

Jye said:


> I cant find them




Left hand side - results tab


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## warrenlw63 (15/2/07)

All yours Jye.  

Warren - 

View attachment Beerfest2007scores.pdf


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## Jye (15/2/07)

goatherder said:


> Woohoo, 1st place pale ale!
> 
> That was my case beer from the NSW xmas swap. I'm glad now there were a couple of drop outs in the swap which gave me spare bottle to send.
> 
> Well done to the other prize winners, are there many AHBers on the list?



Nice work goatherder :beerbang: Just checked your recipe out and you cant go wrong with a bit of hopbursting :chug: 



craigm said:


> Left hand side - results tab





warrenlw63 said:


> All yours Jye.
> 
> Warren -



Cheers Warren, the results tab isnt showing up for me <_< 

I guess the judges didnt like my 100 IBU oaked Imperial Porter  cant wait to see the judges notes LOL


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## Stuster (15/2/07)

Just got on line and saw this. Woohoo! Better celebrate with a beer on the beach. :chug: 

Well done, goatherder. That was definitely a yummy beer. :super:


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## DJR (15/2/07)

Stuster said:


> Just got on line and saw this. Woohoo! Better celebrate with a beer on the beach. :chug:
> 
> Well done, goatherder. That was definitely a yummy beer. :super:



Hey Stu you didn't do too badly with the IIPA as well  Good work on the Saison.

Sure was a lot of APA's entered, well done Goat.


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## fixa (15/2/07)

I placed 10th in pale ales for my third ever AG! pretty stoked with that!
First time in comp too.


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## marky_mark (24/2/07)

Any idea when score sheets are coming out guys?


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## brendanos (24/2/07)

Hopefully soon?  Could use the comments, I'm currently reworking a few beers I had judged.


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## Anachi (24/2/07)

Well there is two things you could do with your sassy red clone... 1. More Hops (always more hops). 2. Get it red 

Otherwise its an f'ing awsome beer even if it don't have a real catagory. You still want my stout recipe??


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## brendanos (24/2/07)

Still waiting...... 

pm it, or better yet pm me the forum so I can steal *all* your recipes!

I found Sassy Red over here at my local, bought a carton, and after drinking my "ode" for so long, was greatly dissapointed with the lack of hops!! Though in it's defense the Macs was a lot more balanced... and I guess 10g/L isn't particularly cost effective.

Brewing it again tomorrow/monday with more saaz, less crystal, and I'm even considering less overall hops......... 

*edit formatting


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## brendanos (24/2/07)

Congrats on the gold btw 

Anyone know when they're going to announce Anachi as "champeen novice"?


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## brendanos (28/2/07)

Anachi said:


> Well there is two things you could do with your sassy red clone... 1. More Hops (always more hops). 2. Get it red
> 
> Otherwise its an f'ing awsome beer even if it don't have a real catagory. You still want my stout recipe??



Just compared the two side by side (with a witness), and it turns out mine's more red than Macs'. The Macs is a golden amber-red, whilst mine is deep red/dark ruby. And mine has more hops..... but that was a given.


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## Anachi (28/2/07)

Haha... Nice!
Well i guess all that time apart from the Sassy just made you think she was better looking than she really was


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## Jye (1/3/07)

Any news on when the judges notes will be sent out?


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## Malnourished (1/3/07)

Jye said:


> Any news on when the judges notes will be sent out?


From the website: "Judging scoresheets will be returned to entrants by approximately the end of March 2007."


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## Jye (1/3/07)

Malnourished said:


> From the website: "Judging scoresheets will be returned to entrants by approximately the end of March 2007."



Cheers Malnourished

Im not very happy about the 5-6 week wait :angry: :angry:


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## Fish (1/3/07)

To All Beerfest entrants,

Prizes and judging sheets will be sent by the end of the week (some have already been sent I believe). 

The date of end of March to return scoresheets etc, was to allow Melbourne Brewers volunteers plenty of time to allocate and obtain prizes, communicate with the 21 sponsors and prepare & distribute letters etc quite a large task particularly given the number of entries from independent brewers, who have to be written to individually. 

We are very happy with the way the competition went - we managed to get through a record number of entries (229) without too many dramas. A very busy few days! Melbourne Based Club brewers submitted 136 entries (60%), 68 of the entries (29%) came from independent brewers and 25 entries (11%) came from interstate Brewing Clubs. 

Thanks to all who entered and especially those who participated on the weekend by convening, judging, etc. 

In addition we would like to again thank our sponsors who provided such generous support and allowed us to offer some great prizes. Grand Ridge provided magnificent facilities and were very accommodating as usual. They also continue to offer the huge $500 cash prize for Champion Beer. Robin Brown, The Champion Brewer, will be discussing his prize with the Transport Bar and we hope to have details shortly re. a launch date for his commercially brewed recipe.

There has been some post event-discussion within Melbourne Brewers about the growth in entry numbers (mainly independent' brewers) experienced over recent years and the resources required to manage the competition. We are keen to see Beefest continue and grow. However, it has almost reached a point where, unless we are able to get more resources to help at Mirboo North, we may have to consider restricting entries in some way. 

We would be very interested in any feedback people may have:.

	Do members of inter-state brewing clubs and independent brewers see Beerfest as a worthwhile competition and are keen to see it continue in its present format?

Judges while we had a few new judges from Melbourne Brewers, the bulk of the judging is being done by some regulars again, members of Melbourne based Brewing Clubs . Our concern being these judges get burnt-out (some are judging 3 flights over the weekend with some flights taking 6 hours), especially as Beerfest continues to grow. 

Are those that are entering beers (logistics allowing) prepared in future to get involved in event organisation, judging, convening etc if asked?

Independents The logistics of communicating with Independents, distributing prizes, etc as opposed to dealing with brewing clubs, makes the (post-event) administrative side of Beerfest a huge task. 

Are independents prepared to join and actively participate in brewing clubs or are there issues that are stopping them from doing so, such as location, time, desire for independence etc?

Cheers and thanks again.

Melbourne Brewers
Committee


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## Linz (1/3/07)

Hows about relaxing the definition of a brew club???

Im still confused....I was in contact with an organizer and was told that MALE didnt 'qualify' as a club, so we paid 'independant' prices, but our entries were listed as club entries in the results??

So whats the go???


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## Fish (5/3/07)

Hi Linz,

I'll try to answer your questions as follows:

Hows about relaxing the definition of a brew club???.................I believe we are looking to work with anyone who is willing to actively participate in the organisation / running of Beerfest. If your 'web-based' club is happy to do so then we would certainly consider you as a club. If on the other hand the club is being used to gain cheaper entries then this does not help us.

but our entries were listed as club entries in the results??..........if you put MALE on the entry form then that is what would have been put on the results sheet / any correspondence.

So whats the go???...............Apologies if you feel in any way wronged here. 

Cheers Fish

p.s. - Hopefully by now most of you have received your score-sheets, prizes, etc... Can I just remind you all we are still looking for as much *feed-back * as possible on the event, the issues of judges, independents, etc...


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## Stuster (5/3/07)

Just received my scoresheets today along with the nice glass tankard! I also now have Beersmith.   

The comp seemed very well run to me and I'm definitely planning on entering again next year. Like Linz, I was a bit confused by the individual/club thing. That seems clear and fair now. I am very happy to get Beersmith, but I was wondering how pleased somebody who already has it would be to get it as their prize. :unsure: 

One small and (for me) good snafu was that my Belgian Pale Ale turned out to have a score of 99.5 rather than the 61 on the website results. My entry number was 61 though which might explain it.


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## fixa (5/3/07)

Fish said:


> Independents The logistics of communicating with Independents, distributing prizes, etc as opposed to dealing with brewing clubs, makes the (post-event) administrative side of Beerfest a huge task.
> 
> Are independents prepared to join and actively participate in brewing clubs or are there issues that are stopping them from doing so, such as location, time, desire for independence etc?



Fish;
My reason is purely location. i doubt there is another AG brewer within 500km's of me. If the entry's were closed off to independants, that would leave me nowhere to go (except other comps). I personally don't see why independants cause so much of a problem. Is it because you need to send out more letters/prizes? i thought the increase in cost for this would be covered by the increased premium paid by independant brewers. Believe me, if i could be in a club, i would!!!!
Having said that;
Thanks to all who ran the event, and look forward to next year.


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## brendanos (8/3/07)

So when do we start discussing humorous/conflicting scorecards?


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## brendanos (8/3/07)

Ok I'd better start us off! 


"low hop aroma" vs "significant hop aroma" - in the same beer.

"no american hops detected" (same beer as previous) - amarillo detected instantly by everyone else that has tried it.

"dominated by american citrus hops", "prominant cascade hop aroma", "amarillo hops", "U.S. varieties", "U.S. hop character", "american citrus hop flavour", "very pronounced american hop bouquet", "big cascade" - all in a beer hopped only with Saaz and Sauvin.

(I particularly liked this one)
"use more crystal, and less roast/choc grain" - in a beer with over 13% crystal and less than 1% roast.




I hate to nit-pick - it's a great to have events like these, and there was quite a few judges that gave really great feedback, but some of them were really just.... bewildering. I guess to be productive, it would be nice to have more reputable/consistant judges.


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## goatherder (8/3/07)

I was very pleased with the quality of the feedback. There were one or two sheets with almost no comments but the others were consistent and helpful. I certainly got the feedback I was looking for from my entries.


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## fixa (8/3/07)

I'm a bit dissapointed with my feedback. out of the three sheets, 2 had no comments at all..... the third had something along the lines of "good example of this style"..?????? dunno what i was looking for in the judging sheets, but felt very underwhelmed by the comments.
maybe becasue i entered the california common and there isn't a lot of it available commercially?


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## Malnourished (8/3/07)

brendanos said:


> I hate to nit-pick...


I can see where you're coming from, but I hardly think it's fair to criticise what people taste in beer. Taste is entirely subjective; they taste what they taste and they smell what they smell. Obviously the judging environment isn't the absolute optimum way to evaluate an individual beer, but it is done blind so there is none of the power of suggestion you get when you tell your mates your beer is an APA, for instance.

And having three judging sheets which all say the exact same thing isn't any more helpful than just having one, so complete consistency shouldn't really be the aim, IMO.

I do agree that specifying hop varieties is a slippery slope for judges. Saying "American hop aroma" makes a lot more sense to me than "Cascade" or "Amarillo," but Nelson Sauvin seems rather "American" to me so I can see where they're coming from.

Anyway, overall my experience was pretty similar to goatherder - a couple had barely any comments, but most others were quite descriptive (depending on the category.) One in particularly was very, very good.


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## Stuster (8/3/07)

I think Malnourished is right that taste is subjective and so there will be differences in the tasting notes. I had excellent feedback on all three sheets for two beers, but all the sheets for the third beer were rather lacking, with few notes. It seems like there may have been a few inexperienced judges there, which is hardly surprising considering the size of the comp. All experienced judges were inexperienced once after all. Overall, I'm certainly happy with the feedback.


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## Jye (8/3/07)

I agree with Malnourished that taste is purely subjective but how hard is it to fill out a score sheet correctly????

Giving an over all score for flavour and not marking down the individual points for hop, malt etc with a descriptive word or 2 circled isnt that hard <_< And for someone who is looking for all the feedback they can get to improve their brewing this is useless :angry: 

One of the judging sheets for my IPA had 'earthy' for the hop aroma and then 'good example of style' for the overall impression with only one descriptive word circled. I dont think being an inexperienced judge is a valid excuses for a poor score sheet... take a few hours the night before to refresh on the style and write down a list of descriptive terms for the style.

It would be worth while if the organisers pointing out what is a bad and good score sheet so that the judges know what is acceptable.

That being said I did get some good comments on my Stone Porter but the score sheet was still incomplete on 2 out of 3.

To summarise, any comments are great but a incomplete score card is unacceptable.

Edit - The glass looks great and I swapped over my Beersmith registration code so I can get some use out of my prize


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## bigfridge (8/3/07)

Jye said:


> I agree with Malnourished that taste is purely subjective but how hard is it to fill out a score sheet correctly????
> 
> Giving an over all score for flavour and not marking down the individual points for hop, malt etc with a descriptive word or 2 circled isnt that hard <_< And for someone who is looking for all the feedback they can get to improve their brewing this is useless :angry:
> 
> ...



You should take any concerns up directly with the comp organisers.

As a sanctioned BJCP competition they have an obligation to uphold the standard.


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## Jye (8/3/07)

bigfridge said:


> You should take any concerns up directly with the comp organisers.
> 
> As a sanctioned BJCP competition they have an obligation to uphold the standard.



Hopefully Fish will respond and take up some of these issues, if not I will email my rant directly to beerfest and also point them back to this thread.


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## chris.taylor.98 (8/3/07)

As a first time judge at Beerfest, I just want to give you my perspective on the event and how the judging process was handled.

To start off with there are not enough people stepping up to help out with judging period. If there where more judges we could more comprehensively cover all the styles and categories, and the quality of the judging would be better over all.

For those that have not considered judging before because:
- I might not get it right
- I'm not experienced enough
- My sense of smell is not good enough
- The person who's beer I judge might track me down and do something unspeakable to me
- etc etc
All I can say is ... bullshit. Your not going to be any good at it first off ( hence some score sheets with very few/no comments ) but you have to start somewhere. And you will be placed with experienced judges to guide you through the process.

If you know your beer, and you know how to pick good beer, then you have enough experience to try judging ( generally it helps if you know something about brewing as well  ).

I did learn a lot during the judging process. In fact I would have to say that I learnt a lot more from the "problem" beers than the great beers ( and yes there where some really fantastic ones there too ).

In terms of subjectivity, all three judges are supposed to concur on the results for a particular beer. In fact you will find that individuals are more sensitive to different types of aromas and flavours ( especially the off ones ). And you do get some variation, but there should be some consencus overall.

Anyway all said and done I was very impressed with the organisation of beerfest ( even if my own results where not so good  )


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## Ross (8/3/07)

Chris Taylor said:


> In terms of subjectivity, all three judges are supposed to concur on the results for a particular beer. In fact you will find that individuals are more sensitive to different types of aromas and flavours ( especially the off ones ). And you do get some variation, but there should be some consencus overall.



Interesting... I got this feedback the previous year from Beerfest on my Vanilla Mocha porter, Had a few judges sit at my bar & taste it, who ALL commented on the lovely coffee & vanilla.

Judge 1: Vanilla yes, Coffee no. Roast malt & *vanilla dominates* - no coffee apparent.
Jude2: Can't detect any vanilla. coffee flavour no more than expected in a porter, reasonable robust porter.
Judge3. No vanilla or coffee, some roast is evident, but too much for a porter.

Hardly an overall concencus, & to be honest it put me off entering this year. Maybe the judges had never drank real Brazillian coffee & confused it as there was no roast barley in the recipe at all, but for one to find the vanilla overpowering & the other 2 saying it was undetectable, you gotta wonder...

Cheers Ross


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## Fish (8/3/07)

Thanks to all for the feedback - we will certainly take this on board.

I must say I'm slightly bewildered by the negativity of some of them. As per a previous post the judging is being left to too few. We are acutely aware of this and very keen to fix it. If some more people put their hands up to judge or steward or whatever I'm sure we would have more time, more fresh judges, etc... to complete each and every judging sheet.

Any thoughts on how we may be able to increase resources for future events would be great.

Cheers again.
Fish


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## /// (8/3/07)

Fish said:


> I must say I'm slightly bewildered by the negativity of some of them. As per a previous post the judging is being left to too few. We are acutely aware of this and very keen to fix it. If some more people put their hands up to judge or steward or whatever I'm sure we would have more time, more fresh judges, etc... to complete each and every judging sheet.
> 
> Any thoughts on how we may be able to increase resources for future events would be great.



Since the NSW region took seriously the BJCP program and style categories we have never had any issue with finding folks to help.

The scary thing was that at the previous 2 NSW Comp's we had an excess of trained BJCP Judges; a number of BJCP trained judges had to do other duties as their judging skills were in surplus. 

This year our NSW BJCP judge numbers will grow 2 fold - I cant understand why there is a problem in Victoria then?!

Scotty


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## warrenlw63 (9/3/07)

Probably the venue Scotty

Mirboo North is a 2 hour drive from Melbourne. Overnight accommodation is almost a pre-requisite.  

Warren -


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## bigfridge (9/3/07)

/// said:


> Since the NSW region took seriously the BJCP program and style categories we have never had any issue with finding folks to help.
> 
> The scary thing was that at the previous 2 NSW Comp's we had an excess of trained BJCP Judges; a number of BJCP trained judges had to do other duties as their judging skills were in surplus.
> 
> Scotty



So true Scotty.

For the last state championships we had 32 judges plus stewards and other helpers, with 20 of them being BJCP trained.

This allowed us to have experienced judges on each table with the head judge being responsible for the quality and completeness of the score sheets. We also had experience judges organising the stewards and running the cellar to ensure that everything went smoothly.

Warren, accomodation is certainly the key as well. We were 2 hrs from Sydney and an hour from Newcastle so we arranged cheap accomodation and a free awards evening to reward the helpers for their hard work.

David


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## /// (9/3/07)

A 3.5 hr trip for me and the other Gong boys a 6 hour one for the ACT fella's that came.

Scotty


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