BABBs comp classes are not the full set of AABC classes used in the State and National competitions. Understandably this keeps things under control and is especially helpful for the mini comps to stop them getting out of hand / incomprehensible to newcomers etc.
Recently the guide used by BABBs for mincomps and the Annual Comp were expanded a bit to include other styles - congrats to the committee on this great move. :icon_cheers:
Now, apart from the excellent prizes that have been offered in the annual BABBs comp (trip to Ourouzgan Province, night out with Justin Bieber - second prize two nights out with Justin Bieber etc) you'd have to agree that most brewers welcome the annual comp as valuable feedback for the next round of comps.
However I've been talking to a couple of lager brewers and herein lies a growing problem/bottleneck. With increasing skill levels in the club, which probably also reflects advances in the wider HB community, more brewers are getting into true lagers, and anyone serious about the State and Nats will have (or bloody well should have) their entries already in bright tank or bottle and just about polished up.
Currently AABC offers Pale Lagers, Pils, and Amber/Dark Lagers and a special case for a lite Aus Lager in the Low Alcohol. So for those keen lagerists they could enter up to 7 beers.
With BABBs there's just LAGERS with the special case of Dunkel in Dark Beers, so max of 3 beers, but for non dunkel brewers we are limited to just 2.
In my case this has meant that a particular beer has had to skip BABBs as my quota is already full and a couple of other guys are in the same boat.
Another guy is almost exclusively a lager brewer and I tell you what, look out State and Nats :unsure:
We all agree it's a bit like putting up a class ALES, take it or leave it
Seeing as Lagers represent probably 95 percent of the planet's output maybe the classes could be tweaked next year and at least split into Lagers and Pilsners so your typical lagerists can have a crack at BoPils and German Pils etc. as well as their CarlsbergerStellaGrolsch and an Aussie, or a Vienna - as examples.
I'm just throwing it open for discussion as I intend to raise it in AOB at the meeting, also I stress that I'm not sniping from the sidelines - I do participate in judging and stewarding to the best of my ability and commitments.
Cheers
Recently the guide used by BABBs for mincomps and the Annual Comp were expanded a bit to include other styles - congrats to the committee on this great move. :icon_cheers:
Now, apart from the excellent prizes that have been offered in the annual BABBs comp (trip to Ourouzgan Province, night out with Justin Bieber - second prize two nights out with Justin Bieber etc) you'd have to agree that most brewers welcome the annual comp as valuable feedback for the next round of comps.
However I've been talking to a couple of lager brewers and herein lies a growing problem/bottleneck. With increasing skill levels in the club, which probably also reflects advances in the wider HB community, more brewers are getting into true lagers, and anyone serious about the State and Nats will have (or bloody well should have) their entries already in bright tank or bottle and just about polished up.
Currently AABC offers Pale Lagers, Pils, and Amber/Dark Lagers and a special case for a lite Aus Lager in the Low Alcohol. So for those keen lagerists they could enter up to 7 beers.
With BABBs there's just LAGERS with the special case of Dunkel in Dark Beers, so max of 3 beers, but for non dunkel brewers we are limited to just 2.
In my case this has meant that a particular beer has had to skip BABBs as my quota is already full and a couple of other guys are in the same boat.
Another guy is almost exclusively a lager brewer and I tell you what, look out State and Nats :unsure:
We all agree it's a bit like putting up a class ALES, take it or leave it
Seeing as Lagers represent probably 95 percent of the planet's output maybe the classes could be tweaked next year and at least split into Lagers and Pilsners so your typical lagerists can have a crack at BoPils and German Pils etc. as well as their CarlsbergerStellaGrolsch and an Aussie, or a Vienna - as examples.
I'm just throwing it open for discussion as I intend to raise it in AOB at the meeting, also I stress that I'm not sniping from the sidelines - I do participate in judging and stewarding to the best of my ability and commitments.
Cheers