NSW State Comp 2015

[brewn00b]

Got my feedback in the mail today. Thanks!

 

[drmush]

Yes...I received my feedback in the mail this morning and I must say that,without exception, it has been comprehensive and inciteful. I even received two critiques from Barry Cranston, one for my American IPA and one for my Wheat Beer! I was really pleased to receive my blue rosette for first place for the Wheat & Rye Beer Class, a change from the usual certificate I guess...although my better half did comment, "I thought you had entered a beer competition not a horse show"! Maybe I'll have to wear it in my ear when I next call in on 'Ned' at BrewArt! Organisers and Judges thanks for a great comp. In a couple of weeks time will have to brew another batch of Wheat for the Nationals...be great to take that one out...here's hoping.

Cheers
Geoff

 

[kaiserben]

Did HUB keep copies of feedback at all? Any chance of having it emailed?

(I ask only because I have an ongoing mail theft problem in my neighbourhood. It hasn't arrived yet and if it's not there when I get home from work this evening I reckon it's been knicked).

 

[Barry]

Just received my scoresheets etc.. Lots of good critical evaluation. I had a great time judging and meeting up with old and new friends.
So a big thank you to HUB, organisers, sponsors and everybody else involved in the comp. A special thanks to Keith Grice for his warm hospitality. Also a thanks to Les for the laughs.

 

[GrantSpatchcock]

Got my feedback and very shiny awards today, cheers to all involved, gotta say the rosettes look great!

Been reading through the feedback and it's brilliant, big thanks to all the judges (and stewards) involved. Gotta say, I've entered a few comps now, and the feedback from this is by far the most comprehensive and helpful I've ever received, one enterprising judge even wrote all the way over the back of the score-sheet to offer tips on some of my lesser beers.

 

[moodgett]

Cheers and congrats to everyone interesting the feedback on my apa which got a 36 and 32 at ESB comp got a 20 and 24 at this show with notes on having phenols, astringency, band aid, medicinal qualities and hot alcohol. Is there anyway these would have been hidden till now? Ill have to go home and try one. On the other hand im happy to grab a 1st in IPA 2nd year in a row

 

[christopher.whitten]

We got 2nd in ESB comp for both IPA and ESB but got rubbished in this comp - swings and roundabouts. It's just the nature of the beast!

 

[moodgett]

Sorry i didn't mean to sound like I'm whingeing, just the off flavours were not even brought up in esb notes. Just wondering if it would be something that takes time to show up?

 

[asis]

Did HUB keep copies of feedback at all? Any chance of having it emailed?

(I ask only because I have an ongoing mail theft problem in my neighbourhood. It hasn't arrived yet and if it's not there when I get home from work this evening I reckon it's been knicked).

Sorry mate you guys got the original and only copies.

 

[MCHammo]

Sorry i didn't mean to sound like I'm whingeing, just the off flavours were not even brought up in esb notes. Just wondering if it would be something that takes time to show up?

Could have been an infection in that bottle? I've had that happen before. State comp last year, in fact.

 

[Parks]

Cheers and congrats to everyone interesting the feedback on my apa which got a 36 and 32 at ESB comp got a 20 and 24 at this show with notes on having phenols, astringency, band aid, medicinal qualities and hot alcohol. Is there anyway these would have been hidden till now? Ill have to go home and try one. On the other hand im happy to grab a 1st in IPA 2nd year in a row

2 main thoughts on this.

1. The judges who were harsh had better experience/ability/perception thresholds for those flavours
2. The nice fresh hop character was hiding these off flavours but the extra age meant the hop character dulled and the off flavours came through.

 

[mckenry]

Got my feedback in the mail today. Thanks!

Me too. I can read about half of it.... At least the scores are readable.

I went ok and got close to what I expected for most beers. An interesting side note. My APA got judged under hopped at ESB, so I put my AIPA into the states as an APA and guess what? "more hop character needed" - Has the world gone hop forward mad???

Here's a funny example of how I read some of the comments. Please laugh along, I'm not disrespecting anyone who gives their time to judge. Just I cant read the writing very well.

"Seems well made, howdy is on old ample sluty oxidised. Needs to crimp and breathe. Colour is on the dosh side for style. Needs more colourbond."

Its just a laugh. Thanks for organising and congratulations to all the winners and good luck going Aus wide!

 

[donald_trub]

Still haven't received my results in the mail... I got a 1st in the stout category, of which I entered 2 stouts. So I don't actually know which stout I won with. If the results don't come by the end of the week perhaps the HUB guys can fill me in? Not knowing which stout I won with will be a problem for the nationals.

 

[kaiserben]

Still haven't received my results in the mail...

That makes me a little less worried my mail has been stolen. I'll give it another day before I start hunting the local scumbags for sport.

 

[asis]

Where are you guys at?
All went from Toronto on Monday arvo, I'd assume Sydney yesterday and today other areas today or tomorrow.

 

[kaiserben]

I'm in Sydney (Eastlakes).

Any chance you guys can tell me which entry numbers are mine? (obviously I know 2 of them - a 1st and a HC - but the other 3 I can't tell because entry numbers aren't necessarily sequential).

 

[donald_trub]

I'm in Sydney inner west. I'll give it until the end of the week before pestering more, but I also don't know my entry numbers as mine aren't sequential either.

Perhaps for future competitions it'd be great if the entries got scanned or photocopied. Would be good to know there's a backup copy out there somewhere, even if they just get thrown away a month later.

 

[drmush]

I live in the Hunter Valley and my results were in the postbox on Tuesday morning. However I have received letters from the UK faster than ones posted in Western Sydney! So hang in there guys...I'm sure you'll get your results tomorrow.

Cheers
Geoff :unsure:

 

[Brewman_]

I'm pretty excited to see quite a few Brewman customers winning and placing in this years comp.

Look over the feedback, reflect on it, and then it's time for the Nationals. Plenty of time to make a few adjustments.. Or just go for broke with what you have!!

If it helps, I am happy to be a drop off point for National entries. I can then pack them and send them to Brisbane at no cost. You will just need to arrange to drop them off here at Brewman.

I will advise dates etc. later, but let me know if you are interested.

Cheers Steve

 

[Moad]

That's a very generous offer Steve. Unfortunately in the strong stout category I think I'm stuck with the same entry as it has already aged a year.

I was impressed that the judges picked up on a few of the features I was going for. Vanilla from some french oak, aged etc. The only negative was overcarbed which is a real shame, something easy to fix though.

I may take you up on that offer and drop in to have a look at the setup.

 

[warra48]

Perhaps for future competitions it'd be great if the entries got scanned or photocopied. Would be good to know there's a backup copy out there somewhere, even if they just get thrown away a month later.

Would be nice, so we hope you volunteer to do this in future?
With over 300 entries, and 2 judging sheets for each, it will mean scanning or photocopying over 600 pages.
Quite a logistical exercise and not one for the faint of heart.

 

[Weizguy]

Me too. I can read about half of it.... At least the scores are readable.

I went ok and got close to what I expected for most beers. An interesting side note. My APA got judged under hopped at ESB, so I put my AIPA into the states as an APA and guess what? "more hop character needed" - Has the world gone hop forward mad???

Here's a funny example of how I read some of the comments. Please laugh along, I'm not disrespecting anyone who gives their time to judge. Just I cant read the writing very well.

"Seems well made, howdy is on old ample sluty oxidised. Needs to crimp and breathe. Colour is on the dosh side for style. Needs more colourbond."

Its just a laugh. Thanks for organising and congratulations to all the winners and good luck going Aus wide!

If the unreadable comments are from me, if you email me a copy/photo/scan of the sheets, I'll willingly interpret and advise what I was saying.
My email address is on the entry form, or pm me.
I may even remember the beer.
Maybe it was on the Saturday when I left my reading specs at home.

 

[Weizguy]

Would be nice, so we hope you volunteer to do this in future?
With over 300 entries, and 2 judging sheets for each, it will mean scanning or photocopying over 600 pages.
Quite a logistical exercise and not one for the faint of heart.

If I knew this would be required, I could have taken the entries to work and scanned them through my printer/copier/scanner there, and saved as a number of pdf files.
Auto feed them through. May depend on the size of the saved files though. Could be a hefty exercise to save to a drive, if that's allowed here.

Please keep this in mind for future HUB judgings...

 

[mosto]

Got my sheets yesterday. Scored a 62 for a style I've never brewed before (Cal Common) so happy with that. Main issue was over carbed, but used carb drops instead of exact measure so very happy.

I don't brew specifically for comps and only bottle if I end up with more than what I can fit in a keg, so if a batch I happen to have bottled meets a certain style to my palate, I'll enter it in a comp.

Now I'm a bit more confident in my brewing ability, I might start to target comps with specific beers.

With a heavily pregnant wife, I couldn't justify the trip up to the Hunter this year, but I'm keen to observe and help out with the whole process, so next year I might see if I can get away for the weekend.

 

[kaiserben]

Perhaps for future competitions it'd be great if the entries got scanned or photocopied. Would be good to know there's a backup copy out there somewhere, even if they just get thrown away a month later.

Would be nice, so we hope you volunteer to do this in future?

A good idea is a good idea. I know it's a year away, but I might offer up my services next time. My German lineage means I'm a bit OCD when it comes to recording info and maintaining databases. (It's also partly what I do at work).

In fact I'd happily set up a system right now to have it ready for next year. It'll make your lives easier and be a great thing for everyone who enters the comp.

You/I/we/someone should be able to set it up so the required online entry form automatically fills a spreadsheet. Then you'd simply add corresponding Comp entry # alongside each entry. Then the only difficulty is how you add the comments to each entry (maybe simply take a photo of each score sheet with smart phone, save each as a google doc and call it it's Comp entry #, then email a link to each file to the matching individual entrants).

 

[kaiserben]

Then the only difficulty is how you add the comments to each entry (maybe simply take a photo of each score sheet with smart phone, save each as a google doc and call it it's Comp entry #, then email a link to each file to the matching individual entrants).

I just tested this part of it and it was very easy.

I went into the Google Drive app on my phone. Navigated to a folder I wanted to save a photo in. Clicked to "Use Camera" (from within the Google Drive app). Took a photo (which you can then choose to either use or re-take). I then changed the photo's file name to a dummy entry #. The rest can be done on PC/Laptop (which I find it easier) or even still on the phone if preferred. So then I opened sharing settings (made sure it allows anyone with the link to view it) and copied that link and pasted it in the database next to a dummy entry #. From there you can copy & paste the entrant's email address and link/s to the corresponding photos of their entries and email it out.

It possibly seems difficult when written out as instructions like above, but actually doing it is so easy (I'm happy to demonstrate or walk someone through it all).

 

[mckenry]

If the unreadable comments are from me, if you email me a copy/photo/scan of the sheets, I'll willingly interpret and advise what I was saying.
My email address is on the entry form, or pm me.
I may even remember the beer.
Maybe it was on the Saturday when I left my reading specs at home.

No, not you Les. Your hand writing is fine. I wont dob anyone in publicly. I got a 70 for this beer, so happy with that, just dont know wtf one of the judges wrote about it.

 

[Weizguy]

No, not you Les. Your hand writing is fine. I wont dob anyone in publicly. I got a 70 for this beer, so happy with that, just dont know wtf one of the judges wrote about it.

If they have an email address on the form, please use it to contact. That's why I provide mine... to help out (where memory serves).

 

[kaiserben]

Found my mail tonight. It had been stolen, ripped open and dumped. But it still had the score sheets and that's what I was mostly after.

 

[kaiserben]

Oh - and really happy with the results and feedback. Even the rubbish beer I entered purely for feedback came back with comments that confirmed for me where the problem was.