Bathurst Mash/kit Awards

[scott70]

I've just had a look at the Bathurst beer show results and I found that although the mash entries had better results overall. 8 firsts,8 seconds, 6 thirds. The kit entries had 5 firsts,5 seconds and 7 thirds.
Are the beers judged differently depending upon whether they are mashed or is it a blind tasting on all the entries?
I was just suprised that hearing so much about the benefits of Ag brewing and that you can taste a kit beer straight away, that the kit brewers can win so many sections ( that's if they are judged the same).

 

[Gulf Brewery]

Hi Scott70

I judged at Bathurst and I can tell you it was definitely blind judging with the kits / mini-mash / AG beers coming out in any order in the classes. To prove that the judging is definitely blind judging, due to a shortage of judges for the last category, I had to judge a class with my beer in it, and I really canned it .

What you do notice is that in some classes/categories, most of the beers were mini-mash or AG only because it is hard to achieve that style with a kit. In other classes a kit is no different to an AG brew and as shown, do well in comps.

Cheers
Pedro

 

[Wreck]

Don't know about the Bathurst comp, but for NSW, on your entry you either stated allgrain or kit. Mine was a partial mash, but I still said it was a kit based beer.

Were the kit entries K&K or kit plus some specialty grains?

 

[Armstrong]

The term K&K is thrown around as if all kit brewer put no effort into what they make ... but there are as many variable to enhance a kit beer as there is any method of brewing.

Sure, there are those that are happy just knocking up simple brews but I very much doubt that these are the brewers that would bother entering comps.

The kit is a base, and it is what is put with it or how it us brewed that makes the difference. Kit brewers widely use extra malts, grain, hops, liquid yeasts ... they adjust water, brewing temps ... they may rack, cold condition, keg ... and the results are as good as other method, but like everything comes down to your preference.

Some may say that all the above doesn't describe kit brewing, but of the kit brewers I know that enter comps, this is more common than not. Maybe they should be called "Craft Kit Brewers" ...

Either way, beer is good, brewing is good, and whether you brew kits, all grain or what ever, you are all aces in my book.

Feel free to keep slagging off at VB drinkers thou