Hag - Hunter Competition

[Weizguy]

I posted a mild recipe some time ago. It took BOS at our club's comp a few years ago.

Sorry to be such a didact, but the recipe you gave falls outside the gravity guidelines, here.

Maybe it could be diluted or brewed at a reduced gravity. Hmmmm (wonders to self if others will use this recipe...).

Les

 

[newguy]

You're right, it's a bit on the strong side. However, being a little stronger than the other beers in a flight usually works to your advantage.

 

[shmick]

Are the guidelines a little confusing on this issue or is Beersmith is getting the calcs way wrong?

Anybody with a bit more style guideline savvy care to comment

Mild:
OG 1.030 - 1.038
FG 1.008 - 1.013
ABV 2.8 - 4.5%

1.038(maxOG) / 1.008(minFG) = 3.9% ABV (0.6% less than allowed)

Would a 1.042 OG / 1.008 FG still qualify (4.4% ABV)?

Maybe I've just missed something in the BJCP FAQ section

 

[Stuster]

I think that the guidelines say that amount of alcohol so as to include some beers which are just outside the guidelines but which could still be called a mild. There are some commercial examples which exceed the guidelines for a start. I doubt I could pick up if the beer was just that much over the guidelines. Personally, I'd try to keep it within the guidelines, just so I knew I'd won fair and square, but if a beer that I'd made just outside the guidelines fitted that style, I'd probably enter it.

 

[Weizguy]

I agree that there are commercial examples that fall outside the guidelines (Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild , IIRC), but if you enter, you must abide by the guidelines.

There was talk of bringing along a commercial refractometer and a hydrometer to the comp, as well as a spectrophotometer (IIRC), to ensure that the entries are inside the guidelines.

Les

 

[Stuster]

There was talk of bringing along a commercial refractometer and a hydrometer to the comp, as well as a spectrophotometer (IIRC), to ensure that the entries are inside the guidelines.

I hope that you've got your technique down pat for measuring the IBUs with that spectrophotometer.

 

[MHB]

Next year we might be able to offer feedback on Colour and OG/FG, the spectrophotometer arrived this morning.

To do bitterness you need a UV/Vis thats $2-3000 (second-hand) more than I have to spare, you also need a shaker and centrifuge as well as some very interesting solvents and a fair amount of familiarity with the procedure. (Or an HPLC but lets not go there)

I dont think we will be doing IBU's tests any time soon.

But if I have one criticism if the BJCP it is that it encourages brewing out of style, to me its a bit like bending the arm when bowling, I wouldnt have a problem with it if it wasnt against the rules.

What do you call people who deliberately enter out of style beers?

I suppose it depends wether you think wining comps or brewing better beer is the most important.

MHB

 

[Stuster]

I agree, MHB. I certainly would not think of making beers deliberately that are out of style. I was thinking more of beers that you don't brew particularly to fit a style, then have to shoehorn into one if they don't exactly fit anything. I made a beer a couple of years ago, an ale, that was too light in colour for an APA, but marginally too hoppy for a blonde (fine for gravity in both). I ended up entering it as a blonde, though it probably would have done better as an APA. I was really after feedback on the beer which I got and that was fine.

I do see your point though and agree that the categories can easily be bent to the brewer's advantage (in the competition!). It'd be great to get the sort of feedback you are talking about on alcohol and colour from a comp. Hopefully, you'll be able to broaden your comp to include Sydney next year.

 

[newguy]

Pretty much every brew a person makes isn't 100% adherent to any style. There are glaring deviations from the guidelines and relatively minor ones. I think that minor colour deviations are probably the most common issues, with major colour deviations being quite common as well. Next comes hop character/bitterness/hop variety, then gravity.

When you sit down and fill out the competition's entry form you generally have to balance what you tried to make with what you actually ended up with. So if your aim was to make a 1.038 mild but your efficiency jumped for some reason and you ended up with 1.043.....whoops. Do those 5 points make a huge difference? Not really. Is it still a mild? Probably. Is it fair to enter it as a mild? Sure. Why not?

We all take our chances when we enter beers in a competition. Will the judges pick up on the fact that your gravity was 5 points too high? Probably not. If it was 15 or 20 points too high they probably would. But every other entrant probably did something similar with one of their entries. "It's not quite an x, but yet it isn't really a y....What should I enter it as?"

My club's most prolific (medal-wise) brewer has a saying: "A successful brewer can't be proud." In other words, feel free to change the category if the beer turned out different from what you were planning. If you were aiming for a Dortmunder Export and the beer turned out too malty sweet, enter it as a Munich Helles instead. If it had instead turned out too bitter, enter it as a German Pilsner. Just keep in mind that brewing isn't an exact science; for confirmation of this just get 10 people to brew the same beer using identical ingredients - 10 totally different beers will result. Hell, I can't turn out exactly the same beer twice in a row. And the BJCP style guidelines aren't set in stone, either. They change along with changing tastes. They're just that, guidelines, not hard and fast rules. And they're subject to the most fallible instrument in the world: human perception.

I guess I should keep quiet about the wit I entered as a stout last year just so that I wouldn't have to judge that category. You'll be relieved to know that it didn't win any medals. B)

 

[Tony]

Tony wispers in his mind...................

while they fight about rules i will concentrate on brewing a great Mild, somehting special, something within the specs and fair to my fellow competetors, something that will make the judges go..........MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm and smile!

I will brew, not argue

hehe

cheers

 

[Tony]

Kettle is comming to the boil right now........ smells great! Hope it works out.

Here is my recipe............. oops that was close :lol:

cheers

 

[goatherder]

Careful you don't get an infection there Tony...

 

[Keith the Beer Guy]

Hey being a mild (a style I quite like) I'd take it up but I don't consider myself good enough to be in the same class as you guys!

:lol: You big fibber you!. It's not like a bunch of people out there didn't try my last couple of case swap beers and go, "Hmmmm, that's pretty crap - now how do I say that a little more nicely?"

I haven't laid down a homebrew since those case swap beers in november, I am very much looking forward to a brew day in sunny Medowie. I just want to leave it to a bit closer to the competition, you know give myself four or five days or so. You can't rush these things.

If you don't want to brew yourself one for a comp Mitch, how about just brewing a batch of private selection and sharing it with your close buddies? I seem to recall a crackin' good mild you made, that got mighty fine reviews, for a case swap not so long ago.

Happy Brewing,

Keith

 

[Keith the Beer Guy]

Kettle is comming to the boil right now........ smells great! Hope it works out.

Here is my recipe............. oops that was close :lol:

cheers

Whats the go Tony, brewing today? Are you makin' trial batches or something?

Good Luck,

K.

 

[MHB]

Newguy

Just 2 points

This is a "Club Sub Forum" probably not the best place to undertake a review of what we think of the BJCP or style guides and our attitude to them.

Secondly; if and I repeat IF we decide to offer feed back based on measurement of beers entered all entrants will be fully informed of this and of what will be done with the results of said measurements before they enter.
It won't be happening this year - just something mooted for next year's comp.

I think being able to get good quality information on the beers we brew can only help us fine tune our brewing processes.

Seriously if you can't hit a gravity with in 5 points (SG) of target you got bigger problems than "style guides".
In the case of the much talked about milds that we will be seeing - you would have to be taking pre-boil gravity; from there its not going to be too hard to adjust to be on target.

If you want to discuss this further please open a new thread in an appropriate forum.

MHB

 

[Tony]

Whats the go Tony, brewing today? Are you makin' trial batches or something?

Good Luck,

K.

Trial batch.......... whats that?

Its called Oportunistic brewing. I knocked off early, the wife is at work, the kids are in bed, i can brouse the net for............ummm...... brew a Mild for something to do.

I really dont think im good enough to have a beer ready and bottle conditioned in 5 days from brewing!

unless i brewed, filtered, kegged and force carbed it, but it just wouldnt be an old style english ale would it?

who knows, good luck to you to mate, youve got me nervous

I think being able to get good quality information on the beers we brew can only help us fine tune our brewing processes.

:beerbang: :beerbang: :super:

 

[n00ch]

If you don't want to brew yourself one for a comp Mitch, how about just brewing a batch of private selection and sharing it with your close buddies?

Well I knocked off at 12 today and thought that I may as well brew something (first free time to brew in 6 weeks....), so dropped into Marks and picked up some ingredients for a mild. A bit of a revised/different recipe so see how it goes.

Ran into schooey getting the gear to brew the same thing so looks like it should be a pretty big category which is good.

I thought after egging Tony on I may as well come good also.

Cheers

 

[Tony]

good on ya mate.

Mine will end up being a flop and you will kick keiths arse........... just wait and see

cheers

 

[schooey]

I got home and had to work.... Bah! But the boil just started so I have 120 mins to keg and bottle the Kolsch thats in my fermenter fridge so i have some room to put this one in :blink:

What did you end up doing for yeast, Nooch?

 

[n00ch]

So you did end up going the 120 mash 120 boil then? I did and it has just been put into one of the fermenting fridges.

I ended up having to down a few smoked porters I brew a bit ago to use the 1028 in the bottom. So fingers crossed the starter kicks in and it should work out nicely.