What's my style? Need help ID'ing my beer

[philistine]

So i live a few minutes walk away from the royal george hotel in kyneton - the place where the melbourne brewers brew comp is being held this year.
I've also got this delicious beer that i brewed recently and i thought i might enter it into the comp.

Ive never been involved in a brew comp before and im finding the bjcp style guide a bit confusing and im not really into it (the guide in general) to be honest - however i need to define my brew's style to be able to enter it.

Can anyone help me out?
Recipe was as follows:

21litre batch, no chill
1.052 OG 1.013 FG
ABV 5.6%
IBU 18.8

80% gladfield ale malt (NZ)
20% viking wheat malt (FINLAND)

25gm Fuggles @40min
30gm Hallertau @flame out
42 gm Hersbrucker -dry hopped in fermentor for 5 days

Yeast - conan strain (heady topper)

Its a slightly cloudy brew, a touch on the amber side of colour.
Very easy drinking, bottled conditioned and carbed to 2.5.
Mild spice aroma, lingering but not at alll cloying noble hops spice flavour.
Excellent malt/hops balance IMO.
Not at all fruity or sweet. Ive been calling it a complex "adult" session ale [emoji41]

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance dudes.

Can share the recipe direct from brewersfriend anyones keen, but the malts arent correct (coz they dont have any NZ malts in the list)

PS. I know its a probably not a very good discription.... Im not good at the whole "waffling about flavours" thing.

 

[Reman]

British Golden Ale - http://grizzlybearloveskolsch.com/bjcpstyleguidelines/bjcp-style-12a-british-golden-ale/

Would be about the closest I reckon

 

[Blind Dog]

If you brewed a beer without any reference to bjcp style guidelines, it's not a big surprise that it doesn't fit easily into any one of them. The guidelines are there to help brewers and judges not to define what makes a good beer. Your best bet is to trawl through the guidelines noting beers that are similar in colour, IBU and ABV. Then read the style descriptions for those beers to see which category your beer best fits into.

One word of caution though, a decent judge will probably know when the hops, ABV, carbonation etc are out of style and mark your beer down, no matter how good it otherwise is. And as the feedback will be based on the style entered, it might be less helpful than if you were trying to produce a beer in that style in the first place.

Finally, if you think a 5.6% ABV beer is a session beer, you either have no idea what a session entails (less than 10 pints is NOT a session) or have a liver the size of a house.

Good luck with the entry.

 

[Mardoo]

I'd probably go pale ale if I were entering, but then, I've never even placed so I might not be the best source. IBU's are low by calculation, but if the hops/malt balance is there then I'd go pale ale.

 

[Yob]

first real issue is that its AABC where applicable as is the case here

6.6 English Pale Ale
Aroma: Distinctive nutty, biscuity or toasty malt aroma from English pale malt. Prominent but refined hop aroma,
which should be floral or fruity from UK varieties. Aggressive citrus hop aroma from modern US varieties out of
style. Medium to high fruitiness, often pear. No diacetyl. No DMS.
Appearance: Deep gold to pale coppery orange. Bright clarity from extended bottle maturation. Medium to high
carbonation should support a fluffy white head, with very good to excellent head retention.
Flavour: Signature English pale malt flavour, often described as nutty, biscuity, or light toffee. Caramel/crystal
malt flavours absent. Medium to high fruitiness. Medium to high hop flavour from UK varieties should be very
clean and refined - any harshness from excessive late or dry hopping should be penalized. Medium-high to high
bitterness. May have a dry finish from sulphate water, but not essential. Bitterness may linger, but malt flavour
should also persist in the aftertaste. No diacetyl.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium to medium body, from moderately high attenuation.
Overall Impression: A very refreshing, full-flavoured pale beer of average strength - hoppy and fruity, featuring
English pale malt character. Represents the full evolution of the Burton IPA style as a lower gravity, more refined
beer, with reduced bitterness and dryness, in line with modern tastes.
Comments: Unlike draught Bitter, EPA is a bottled product with the benefit of a period of conditioning.
History: Directly descended from Burton IPA, and was originally the same beer, sold in England. Continued to be
brewed, at progressively lower gravity and bitterness, after the extinction of IPA at the turn of the 20th century.
Burton IPA was conceived in 1822 specifically for the export trade, but tremendous domestic demand was
reportedly sparked in 1827, when a cargo of Bass IPA bound for India was shipwrecked in the Irish Sea, salvaged,
and auctioned off in Liverpool. The immediate popularity of this novel pale beer generated a Pale Ale revolution in
England. Burton Pale Ale became the world’s first mass produced pale beer, and Burton brewers soon outgrew
even the great Porter brewers of London. Pale Ale was a premium quality bottled beer, favoured by the more
affluent and rapidly growing middle class, spawned by the Industrial Revolution in England. Its mass appeal was
further enhanced by the increasingly widespread use of glass drinking vessels, thanks to the removal of a heavy tax
on glass in 1840. Domestic consumption vastly outstripped exports, and as the India trade fell into decline in the
late 19th century, the word “India” was dropped for the home market. During the 20th century, advances in brewing
science and technology, including water chemistry, isolation of yeast strains, refrigeration, and a shift from dryhopping
to late kettle additions, all led to increasing refinement of the style, and more widespread brewing of Pale
Ale throughout England. During this period, Bitter emerged as a darker, draught version of Pale Ale, featuring
crystal malt. Today the term “Pale Ale” has lost much of its former cachet - examples of the style are commonly
labeled IPA or various proprietary names.
Ingredients: Well-modified English floor-malted pale ale malt (eg. Maris Otter, Halcyon, Golden Promise),
suitable for single temperature infusion mashing. Classic or modern UK hop varieties. Fruity English yeast strains.
Sulphate or chloride water, free of carbonate.
Vital Statistics:
OG FG IBUs SRM ABV
1040-1055 1008-1013 30-45 10-15 4.0-5.5%
Commercial Examples: St. Austell Tribute (4.2% ABV), Timothy Taylor Landlord (4.1% ABV), Caledonian
Deuchars IPA (4.4% ABV), Greene King Export Strength IPA (5.0% ABV), Hall and Woodhouse Tanglefoot
(5.0% ABV), Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA (5.3% ABV), Hall and Woodhouse Fursty Ferret (4.4% ABV),
Wychwood Wychcraft (4.5% ABV)

its not going to fit in an American Pale ale due to the hops you've used. English is the closest but youll probably get a hit on the malts.

you could maybe go in specialty and have a look through the guidelines in amber to see if it would fit as something there?

 

[philistine]

Thanks guys - a lot to digest!

Re: "session" beer - i guess my use of the term is subjective and, by the sounds, incorrect. I use it to describe any beer that i can happily drink more than one or two of without getting sick of it. [emoji41]
To me, any beer that can be consumed in qtys exceeding 10pints would be a light beer - but to be honest, im a piss weak drinker[emoji13]

As for the style guidelines, sounds all a bit too complicated, but i understand why they're used in comps because obviously you cant compare a stout with a pale ale in a competitive sense.

Think i might just sit this one out - unless i can find a category called "yumbo"

 

[Yob]

Speciality fits you mate, Euro amber?

 

[philistine]

Haha, thanks. Specialty euro amber sounds good!
Although I was just reading the style summary tables at the end of the guide and realised my terminology is wrong again ...(think i need to do some learning in that department)
Anyway, apparently the colour of my beer is actually a gold/deep gold.[emoji41]

Special euro gold.... Cloudy non -session subtle hop spice ale

 

[mosto]

Since your using brewersfriend, when you have the recipe in edit mode, click the 'More' button next to the line of statistics. In this expanded view, down the bottom, it will say 'Matches styles based on stats only'. This will give you a list of styles the recipe matches based on OG, FG, ABV, colour, and IBU. That will give you a short list of styles to research to see if it matches any of the descriptions.

 

[Coodgee]

dry hop it with some galaxy or C hop and call it an american wheat.

edit: just realised it's already in the bottle.

 

[philistine]

Yeah the 'more' button in brewersfriend just highlighted the fact that the beer doest fit into any style, although it doesnt have any gladfield malts in the presets yet so i dunno if that would change anything.... I spose i could manually enter the stats of said malt, but dont think it would alter the colour and gravity enough to make the brew "fit" into a style.

Anyway, thanks again for all the input guys

 

[mxd]

take a bottle down to the royal grange, find Chris (publican, good home brewer and BJCP judge (I think) ) and get him to try it and suggest where it might fit.

IMHO specialty like yob suggested for beer fest as I don't think blond is a category


6B. Blonde Ale
Aroma: Light to moderate sweet malty aroma. Low to moderate fruitiness is optional, but acceptable. May have a low to medium hop aroma, and can reflect almost any hop variety. No diacetyl.
Appearance: Light yellow to deep gold in color. Clear to brilliant. Low to medium white head with fair to good retention.
Flavor: Initial soft malty sweetness, but optionally some light character malt flavor (e.g., bread, toast, biscuit, wheat) can also be present. Caramel flavors typically absent. Low to medium esters optional, but are commonly found in many examples. Light to moderate hop flavor (any variety), but shouldn’t be overly aggressive. Low to medium bitterness, but the balance is normally towards the malt. Finishes medium-dry to somewhat sweet. No diacetyl.
Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body. Medium to high carbonation. Smooth without harsh bitterness or astringency.
Overall Impression: Easy-drinking, approachable, malt-oriented American craft beer.
Comments: In addition to the more common American Blonde Ale, this category can also include modern English Summer Ales, American Kölsch-style beers, and less assertive American and English pale ales.
History: Currently produced by many (American) microbreweries and brewpubs. Regional variations exist (many West Coast brewpub examples are more assertive, like pale ales) but in most areas this beer is designed as the entry-level craft beer.
Ingredients: Generally all malt, but can include up to 25% wheat malt and some sugar adjuncts. Any hop variety can be used. Clean American, lightly fruity English, or Kölsch yeast. May also be made with lager yeast, or cold-conditioned. Some versions may have honey, spices and/or fruit added, although if any of these ingredients are stronger than a background flavor they should be entered in specialty, spiced or fruit beer categories instead. Extract versions should only use the lightest malt extracts and avoid kettle caramelization.

Vital Statistics:

OG: 1.038 – 1.054

IBUs: 15 – 28

FG: 1.008 – 1.013

SRM: 3 – 6

ABV: 3.8 – 5.5%
Commercial Examples: Pelican Kiwanda Cream Ale, Russian River Aud Blonde, Rogue Oregon Golden Ale, Widmer Blonde Ale, Fuller’s Summer Ale, Hollywood Blonde, Redhook Blonde

 

[philistine]

Thanks mxd - i know chris and thats actually exactly what i was gonna do!