Aabc And Subordinate State Competition Rules

[bonj]

I take my involvement in the judging process as seriously as I do my brewing.

My passion for judging is due to my desire to fully understand the many beer styles and secondly to assist fellow brewers to improve the beers they produce.

I understand that most if not all home brewers start their journey into this hobby with kit brewing, either with cans or FWKs. Its these new brewers who need the most assistance from the brewing community to develop their brewing / fermenting techniques and thus brew better beer. I see amateur comps as the perfect platform to provide feedback to all brewers who enter their beer for critique against the BJCP.

I would hate to see kits removed from any comp but do see the justification to have them in either a separate category or included for feedback only. As has been said before these are brewing comps and I consider kits to be solely a fermentation procedure.

To take kits out of these comps all together or to leave them in under the current rules does very little to encourage brewers to advance their skills and motivate them to proceed to the next step of becoming a 'brewer' rather than purely a 'fermenter'.

As for the amateur V's Pro debate, I would like to see the comps remain open to all but tighten the rules to only allow home brewed beer and not BOP. If you are looking for feedback for your commercial beer then there are plenty of beer industry comps which amateurs aren't entitled to enter. What you brew at home for your own enjoyment and for the sake of fair competition should be welcomed in amateur comps.

We are all very passionate about brewing and at the end of the day I want to see our hobby prosper and a good gauge for this is the quantity and quality of entries in our comps, in both the BABB Comp and QABC this year I was very impressed with the level of competition. I strive to see our comps fair for all and people being rewarded for their efforts in which they spend making this hobby great.

Cheers,

TS

Very well said, mate. I agree with that completely. As I said in one of my initial posts above, including kits for feedback only is a viable solution. Not only does it encourage progression and better technique through feedback, but it would also encourage the progression to the full process if the competition side of things is the aim. I mean, let's face it... with the ghetto systems and single vessel systems and options available to us these days, there's really no reason anyone wanting to actually develop their brewing skills should hesitate.

I don't think I've weighed in on the amateur vs commercial debate when it comes to fully home brewed entries, and for what it's worth, I don't think professional brewers should be excluded from entering just because of their professional status. There are plenty of home brewers that have made the jump, but still love to make beer at home, and I don't think we should discourage that. After all, they may brew on commercial systems every day, but every system is different and just because they can make an AIBA award winning beer at work, doesn't mean they could do the same at home. A thorough understanding of the process and science still won't give you a thorough understanding of your individual system...

 

[dr K]

So, as has been expressed many times in this and the other threads - if you don't like the current AABC rules, discuss this with your state AABA delagates. If you still don't get the answer you want, either start or join another organisation that can support your view.

There is still plenty of scope for evolution in our competition scene.

Dave

A point that seems to have been either forgotten or brushed aside is that The Nationals are a Second Tier Competition
You simply cannot be in the Nationals if your beer has not pre-qualified through the States.
The Nationals are held once a year, the States have all year to run preliminary comps (ACT has at least three each year).
If the judges at State Level Comp are up to scratch then only the best State beers will get through to the Nationals.
...What is this sudden "if its not all grain its not beer" rubbish, I suggest a beat up.
....Why ban kits, because they "don't make good beer" or because they make better beer , if they make better beer then why so much encouragement from "brewers" to move away from kits to make better beer and why so many converts to all grain, no brainer really.
...If kits do not (and it seems to be consensus) make better beer then they will be culled at the State level comp.
...Banning kits from entry into comps means that start off brewers get no feedback.
...Qld seemed keen via the AABA to ban kits, well they could have banned kits from their own comp, thus increasing the quality of their beer and possibly giving them a better chance overall to win the Nats.(?)

As I noted earlier, keep your back to wind.

K

 

[stl]

As I said in one of my initial posts above, including kits for feedback only is a viable solution.

I'm sure this has been said before but does it have to be "feedback only"? A couple of prizes (e.g. "best kit stout", or one for each category, along with a "champion kit beer") would surely help to encourage the kit brewers to enter and get valuable feedback. (Maybe the prize can be a BIAB bag? )

This still needs a clear definition of "kit beer." I'm in favour of the one "using any pre-hopped extract" or similar.

 

[crozdog]

1st up - I must admit to only reading the 1st & last pages of this thread - so if I missed something Oh well.

IMHO as a judge I'm comparing the beer presented to me against a set of guidelines. I have no idea about who or how it was made. The appraisal is purely that beer against the style. Paraphrasing The Scientist I attempt to provide constructive criticism & provide feedback to allow the brewer to improve.

In relation to "professionals", Working in a commercial operation is very different to what is done on a home / amateur scale. I don't believe that being commercial necessarily makes the brewer any better - many are simply process workers h34r: . I know of guys who happen to work in breweries but who make their own beers at home and who do enter those beers in comps - cause they are looking for feedback on THEIR beers - not those they make at work. Should they be banned for that? I think not, but would object strongly if they pulled a couple of bottles off the line & entered them as their own.

as far as FWK's go, again I have no issue as the production of the wort is only a small part of the finished product - checkout this image for a reasonable breakdown



For a long long time I've believed that the focus on recipe formulation is wrong. Sure it's a start but not everything. many people seem to forget that!

Plus as Ross says the brewer can add more malt / hops etc to change the base wort. Yeast choice, Pitching rate, yeast health, ferment temp, ferment length, priming rate, dry hopping etc etc radically impact the finished beer.

I've witnessed this many times where I've hosted a big brew day - 10 people have taken cubes of wort home & fermented (sometimes with the same yeast). At a later time we've got together & tasted the results - radically different beers from the same base!!! Have also seen this in a comp where 1 brewer lagered in bulk & the other lagered in the bottle - difference was 2nd in category to 5th! These 2 brewers were both present on the particular brew day, worked on the recipe as well as the mash, boil etc. Whose beer was it? The Hosts? Whoever owned the mash tun or the kettle? Dunno.

Restricting comps to say only AG beer is not going to help improve the quality of home brewed beers or their brewers. Rather it will introduce / enforce a level of snobbery that isn't needed. Having an open attitude, educating brewers & judges (of all levels) as well as forging links with the micro brewery community all help - after all we're all passionate about beer & brewing. :icon_chickcheers:

Any way that's my $0.02

 

[Silo Ted]

From now on Im only entering case-swap beers with my name on the entry form.

 

[Stuster]

I totally agree with you, Croz, and those who've said things along the same lines. Fermentation is definitely important and hard to get exactly right (and I say that as the one who fermented the losing beer that Croz is talking about!)

I guess it depends on our priorities. In my opinion, beer competitions are there for the feedback, with the prizes as secondary. In that case, all can enter as all will benefit.