Beer Competition Questions & Info For New Brewers

[PistolPatch]

I'd Love to know how beer judging works. I'm sure that others who have never entered a competition before would also be interested in answers to the following questions.

The following are my main questions so far. I certainly don't expect anyone to answer all the below. I'm just hoping that several people can take the time to answer one of the questions or even just offer any general info on beer comps.

Here's my questions (the first one is the one that really has me fascinated)...

Q1. I tasted a beer recently that is brilliant but when I tasted it after other beers it was truly awful until the second or third glass. The same happens with wine. Many years ago I tasted a Henschke Hill of Grace Hermitage in between Grange Hermitages and we all found this brilliant wine undrinkable. How do judges not miss a great beer if they are tasting one after the other?

Q2. What are the major competitions?

Q3. Do they have websites?

Q4. Is there a 'Calendar' of competitions?

Q5. Are the beers tasted blind? i.e. Do judges know who the entrant is when they taste? What info are they given?

Q6. What is the tasting process? Is it just one or two sips for example or multiple sips over a period of time? (Relates to the first question).

Q7. What sort of feedback do you get? Can anyone post an example?

I always like to say thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer questions but this just creates constant interruptions so I'll say thanks now instead.


Pat

 

[dr K]

I'd Love to know how beer judging works. I'm sure that others who have never entered a competition before would also be interested in answers to the following questions.


Q1. I tasted a beer recently that is brilliant but when I tasted it after other beers it was truly awful until the second or third glass. The same happens with wine. Many years ago I tasted a Henschke Hill of Grace Hermitage in between Grange Hermitages and we all found this brilliant wine undrinkable. How do judges not miss a great beer if they are tasting one after the other?

If it was 1971 HOG you may have a problem if it was more than say 20 years old...trust me, at one satge I had both 1971 HOG and 1971 Grange.
Beers are judged to style, a sublime Munich Helles will score poorly as a Porter. if your beer is not somehow damaged by infection or someting it will be very close to evenly rated. There are three judges on each table and there are various conventions regarding score spread, 5 points max is a common one.

Q2. What are the major competitions?
Each State has a yearly comp and there are various National Comps, the only one that I am aware of that requires pre-qualifications is AABA. Many clubs have indvidual comps throughout the year.

Q3. Do they have websites?
Some do...
bjcp.org is a good start (yes it American but it is becoming common for quality Australian comps to register with the BJCP so check it out)

Q4. Is there a 'Calendar' of competitions?
Not a National Calendar as yet but see above

Q5. Are the beers tasted blind? i.e. Do judges know who the entrant is when they taste? What info are they given?
They are given entry number and sub-style..like beers are judged together (say Pale Ales in one flight, European Lagers in anaother). No other information is given

Q6. What is the tasting process? Is it just one or two sips for example or multiple sips over a period of time? (Relates to the first question).
Have a look at bjcp.org but generally the process is one of complete sensory evaluation against the guidlines
The beer will be sniffed many times for aroma, swirled in the mouth, swallowed, colour, mouthfeel carbonation and such are taken into account along with flavor and aroma.

Q7. What sort of feedback do you get? Can anyone post an example?
You should get your score sheets back complete with hopefully constructive comments

Kurtz
Certified BJCP

 

[Darren]

PP,

There is obviously some subjectivity when judging a beer. Having said that there are quite good style guidelines as mentioned by Dr. K. All beers are judged to the style as they are entered.

They are scored on appearance, aroma, flavour and overall impression. Very few judges sample more than a sip or two (except when all the judging is over, but by then they are usually feel a bit sick, at least i do). The small amounts of the beer that is actually consumed allows the judge to evaluate each beer critically against the guidelines it has been entered.

Most comps are blind tested except for some "rural" comps. In these cases the entrants name is USUALLY covered or removed.

The hardest thing for a judge is if the first one is a good one. You can wonder if it is as good as you have evaluated and have the dilema of what if there is a better one in the flight.

Usually there is no conferring between judges whilst the beer is being evaluated.
What I have found is if you have three good judges in a class their scores will be very close.

When entering a beer in a comp I would suggest grabbing that particular comps guidelines and evaluating your beer against the guidelines. Just because you started out trying to make a Boh Pils doesn't necessarily mean that the final product fits that class perfectly. It may be more of a German lager by the guidelines.

Best way to find out how these comps work is to go along to the next comp in you area and have a go at stewarding. They are always looking out for helpers and will welcome you with open arms. You will have a chance to taste the beers as they come back to the stewards room to do your own evaluation.

cheers

Darren

 

[chris.taylor.98]

I'd Love to know how beer judging works. I'm sure that others who have never entered a competition before would also be interested in answers to the following questions.

Pat,

I recently entered my first homebrew comp and would definitely recommed it. If for nothing else it is a very good way of getting some fairly precise feedback on your brewing quality from a lot of knowledge people who have been brewing for a long time.


Q1. I tasted a beer recently that is brilliant but when I tasted it after other beers it was truly awful until the second or third glass. The same happens with wine. Many years ago I tasted a Henschke Hill of Grace Hermitage in between Grange Hermitages and we all found this brilliant wine undrinkable. How do judges not miss a great beer if they are tasting one after the other?

If it was 1971 HOG you may have a problem if it was more than say 20 years old...trust me, at one satge I had both 1971 HOG and 1971 Grange.
Beers are judged to style, a sublime Munich Helles will score poorly as a Porter. if your beer is not somehow damaged by infection or someting it will be very close to evenly rated. There are three judges on each table and there are various conventions regarding score spread, 5 points max is a common one.

The whole point of the competition is to try and brew the best quality beer that more closely meets the choosen style. It is up to you to determine which style your beer best fits into. Reading the style guideline should pretty much give you an idea where it best fits.

Q2. What are the major competitions?
Each State has a yearly comp and there are various National Comps, the only one that I am aware of that requires pre-qualifications is AABA. Many clubs have indvidual comps throughout the year.

Best bet is to get in touch with a local homebrew club. All the competitions are keenly contested amoungst the clubs and they are always looking for new members to join in the fun.

Q3. Do they have websites?
Some do...
bjcp.org is a good start (yes it American but it is becoming common for quality Australian comps to register with the BJCP so check it out)

If you are in Victoria, the Vicbrew web site is a good starting point. Also has a style guideline that they use for judging.

http://www.vicbrew.org/


Q4. Is there a 'Calendar' of competitions?
Not a National Calendar as yet but see above

Q5. Are the beers tasted blind? i.e. Do judges know who the entrant is when they taste? What info are they given?
They are given entry number and sub-style..like beers are judged together (say Pale Ales in one flight, European Lagers in anaother). No other information is given

Q6. What is the tasting process? Is it just one or two sips for example or multiple sips over a period of time? (Relates to the first question).
Have a look at bjcp.org but generally the process is one of complete sensory evaluation against the guidlines
The beer will be sniffed many times for aroma, swirled in the mouth, swallowed, colour, mouthfeel carbonation and such are taken into account along with flavor and aroma.

Q7. What sort of feedback do you get? Can anyone post an example?
You should get your score sheets back complete with hopefully constructive comments

Well mostly the feedback is structured along the judging sheet layout. The vicbrew ones are broken down into Appearance ( 6 pnts ) , Bouqeut/Aroma ( 9 pnts ), Flavour (25 pnts) Body ( 5 pnts ) and Overall Impression ( 5 pnts ) for a total of 50 points per judge.

Each category is further broken down, but I think you get the picture.

The judges will circle certain words to highlight what they found with the beer to give you an idea where you are going right and wrong. They will also but some comments ( especially if they found faults ) to give you some idea as to why the scored it the way they did.

For example one of me entries was a Weizen Bock ( according to the recipe anyway ) but it went horribly wrong on brew day, mashing way to high, and was fermented a bit too low, ending up with a not very distinctive yeast taste, that was quite sweet. Note it was still a nice beer to drink, but it definitely didn't fit the style, and that is pretty much how it was judged. With lots of constructive comments about it being too chocolately, sweet and not enough flavours from the yeast.

Well anyway ... give it a go, you've got nothing to loose and you will probably end up learning a whole lot more. I even managed to fluke 2 second places so I was pretty happy with my first time ... now if only I can mangage to repeat it again.

Kurtz
Certified BJCP

 

[Oblomov]

Q8. How do you get your beer to the competition?

• What's the best way to package a 750ml bottle to send it by post.
• Approximate cost.
• Does the quality deteriorate in transit.

Thanks!

 

[///]

Q8. How do you get your beer to the competition?

• What's the best way to package a 750ml bottle to send it by post.
• Approximate cost.
• Does the quality deteriorate in transit.

Thanks!

Austpost.com.au should answer most of your questions.

Scotty

 

[DJR]

Q8. How do you get your beer to the competition?

• What's the best way to package a 750ml bottle to send it by post.
• Approximate cost.
• Does the quality deteriorate in transit.

Thanks!

Winepak packaging is pretty good, costs about $10 for one bottle or $15 for two.

It can deteriorate due to agitation but with most beers it's not going to affect it too much. I'd watch out for the more delicate styles that can be overdone by heat and agitation.

 

[newguy]

Q8. How do you get your beer to the competition?

• What's the best way to package a 750ml bottle to send it by post.
• Approximate cost.
• Does the quality deteriorate in transit.

Thanks!

I don't have a clue about cost, but here are some tips regarding packing.

• Wrap the bottle in glad wrap
• Put the wrapped bottle in a ziploc plastic bag
• Place the wrapped and bagged bottle in a cardboard box and stuff with newspapers, styrofoam peanuts, etc.
• If possible, place that box within another. Place inner box inside a garbage bag, and pack around it.

We've received several boxes for our competition through the years that were leaking. The couriers and/or post office take a very dim view of these since they will damage surrounding parcels. That's the reason for all the plastic bags. The glad wrap is to hold the thing together if it does break so that the glass shards won't cut the bag. If you have access to a spray foam setup, that works the best for general shock absorption. None of this matters if someone runs a forklift through the box..... <_< .....happened to one of our club members a few months ago.

Lighter styles tend not to handle shipping all that well, but it seems that if it's young it will fare better. Darker, heavier styles survive the trip best. Hoppier beers seem to survive better than malty ones.

 

[doglet]

It can deteriorate due to agitation but with most beers it's not going to affect it too much. I'd watch out for the more delicate styles that can be overdone by heat and agitation.

Send your entry in early too. It has a two fold effect:

1. Allows yeast to settle down in the bottle after agitation during shipping. Organisors do take care of entries once they are received. At SABSOSA we then refrigerate them all for about a week in the coolroom of the judging venue.

2. It aleviates the worries of the organisors because usually the closing date nears and hardly any entries have been received. They all seem to come in the last day or two!

Cheers

 

[Tseay]

Q8. How do you get your beer to the competition?

• What's the best way to package a 750ml bottle to send it by post.
• Approximate cost.
• Does the quality deteriorate in transit.

Thanks!

At the Castle Hill comp, the request that entries be "securely packaged" was broadly interpreted.

Let's assume that beer does not improve with poor handling.It may also be exposed to extremes of temperatures if shipped any distance, so I would recommend that you submit your entry in plenty of time ( say two weeks prior) to allow it time to "rest". I undertsand that this is important with wine, so I am guessing it is important with beer. Ideally I'd put it in a cardboard box with plenty of scrunched-up newspaper for packaging and the boxed taped to add rigidity. Do this even if you are dropping off your sample to a retailer for on shipment to the competition. Retailers don't have the time to repackage entries nor should they be expected to do so. Otherwise you run the risk of your samples being boxed together unprotected with other samples and merrily clinking together on their way to the comp in the back of someones truck or car. My guess is that the better you package your entry the better chance you give it.

 

[razz]

Just to add onto PP's questions (if I may) Why do beer judges swallow and wine judges spit ? :blink:
Anyone, anyone, Bueller, Bueller ?

 

[///]

Having recieved lots of entries in a variety of ways, the Wine Packs are the best way to send. Not cheap, but have never seen any damamged.

Heat is usually the killer, who knows what tin shed the freight sits in over a weekend.

Scotty

 

[bigfridge]

Just to add onto PP's questions (if I may) Why do beer judges swallow and wine judges spit ? :blink:
Anyone, anyone, Bueller, Bueller ?

So that the bitterness may be experienced in the top of the throat.