Take THAT, BJCP style guidelines

[Otto Von Blotto]

I take brulosophy with a grain of salt but at the same time it doesn't really surprise me that much. Just because someone isn't an accredited judge doesn't mean they haven't tasted a lot of beer, and beer faults. And then you have the different thresholds between people, e.g. one person might taste diacetyl in a beer at 2ppm but another might not be able to taste it until it's at 3ppm. It's entirely possible for non judges to be as good at picking up things in beers as judges are.

[joolbag]

Results are in chaps.  For those who have ever considered entering a beer for fun or just curious, I say do it. The feedback you get will be invaluable and you might just get lucky!

 

Results are:

Riwaka Pilsner - Czech Premium Pale Lager

Well these judges really know their stuff. The judging notes say the hop aroma is too high, hop flavour too high, malt is lost amongst the hops. Bitterness low for the style ad suggested a deconcoction mash / melanoidin malt addition to increase the Martinez. Couldn't agree more and no surprises I didn't score well for this beer.

 

Brewdog Dead Pony Club - American Pale Ale

Suggested more bitterness and it is too dark and too much specialty malts for style. More like an American Amber. Totally agree, it has a huge crystal and dark crystal malt addition as per the DIY Dog recipe. And it has barely any hops added during boil and steep. 13.5g at 60min, 13.5g flame out and the dry hop is big, 200+ grams.

 

My American Wheat did really well, taking out 3rd place in the group.

 

The big surprise for me was my hazy, oaty XPA. I was umming and ahhing about entering it and the best fit I could find was session NEIPA. I thought it was too bitter and colour was a tad orange rather than the hazy yellow I've come to expect. Well the judges (2) liked it and I'm still pinching  myself, but I took out 1st in that group!

 

So for those considering entering a beer into a LHBS comp, or the state comp, just do it.  The feedback is great alone and the chance of a prize is there if the judges like your beer and it scores well against others in the style/category/group.

 

Reading the results and seeing my name twice on the winners podium made my day. Temporarily distracted me from my sore legs following a 43km cycling individual time trial!

[Popo the Reprobate]

Wow! Congratulations mate. That's a great result.

[Beer Baron]

Nice job @joolbag

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yup, those comments on the pilsner would be useful if you brewed a Czech lager. If you're happy with the beer yourself, obviously not intended to be a Czech lager, then it's probably not worth changing it. I use Melanoidin in mine when I brew it, it does bring out that malty influence more.

In any case, well done on your results in the other beers you placed in mate! There's a comp coming up here but I'm not prepared this time around, maybe next year when we're settled in our house though.

[headmaster]

MASSIVE Congratulations Jools!

That was very well done. The guys you share that winners table with are all very well known placegetters in all the comps, state and national. 

That NEIPA must have really been a cracker. I have done a similar thing as you did with the APA, brewed a clone that didn't match the classic style and submitted, and they picked up on the nuances of the clone, not matching the classic style. So if the comp was to brew the clone, you may have been right on the money. 

I had an APA and Premium Czech Pils ready to submit to that ESB comp and was encouraged to sign up to judge as an apprentice judge for that one to get some experience before the judging exam, but have been so busy, kids, school holidays etc  and couldn't make it down south to Peakhurst to drop the beer off.  Anyway the pils is lagering in the bottle and will go into the state comp, and the APA was too old anyway. We judged this APA in one of the study group sessions for the BJCP course, most people in the group gave it low 30's due to almost no hop aroma. This was because it was 90 days old, but also brewed to the classic but quite old now APA recipe by Jamil from his book 'Brewing Classic Styles' which has no dry hops. 

I have just re-brewed this one for the State comp but tweaking the hop schedule and hop varieties. 

 

 

 

[Titan]

Great result Jools, have always wondered about entering a beer but never been confident enough. This might change with the current brew, I'm expecting my Baltic Porter to be right on the money and depending on feedback I get from from my LHBS owner I might be tempted to enter it. 

[joolbag]

Interestingly @headmaster, my winning NEIPA was bottled on 7 May 2018.  Three months in the bottle at day of judging on 4 August and it still received good points and comments re: incredible hop aroma.  AND the last two beers that I had under my house were on Grolsch bottles, so entered these.  So the seals on Groslch bottles must be quite OK.

 

Any other brewers in NSW who are interested in entering their beer, the website just recently went live: https://nsw-brewing-championships.org/

[Titan]

Question, what do you need to enter a Brew? 1, 2 , 3 bottles of each(stubbies) or is a single longneck acceptable? 

[Beer Baron]

24 minutes ago, Titan said:

Question, what do you need to enter a Brew? 1, 2 , 3 bottles of each(stubbies) or is a single longneck acceptable? 

Each entry is to be a minimum of 2 x 330 ml bottles (or equivalent eg 1 x 750ml bottle) to provide sufficient samples for two rounds of judging. Any size bottles or kegs will be accepted provided that the minimum quantity of beer is supplied. One sample shall be used to provide feedback to the brewer on how well the beer conforms to the entered style and to determine the Category placings.

[headmaster]

11 hours ago, joolbag said:

Interestingly @headmaster, my winning NEIPA was bottled on 7 May 2018.  Three months in the bottle at day of judging on 4 August and it still received good points and comments re: incredible hop aroma.  AND the last two beers that I had under my house were on Grolsch bottles, so entered these.  So the seals on Groslch bottles must be quite OK.

 

Any other brewers in NSW who are interested in entering their beer, the website just recently went live: https://nsw-brewing-championships.org/

That's quite amazing, you must have done a pretty good job of hopping this beer. It is also a good indication that grolsch bottles are good for storage of hoppy beers possible, I guess if kept in the dark as they are green. So I figure under your house has been about an average of 10C through winter? 

I have read some research that the plastic compound used for the crown seal underside can steal hop aroma in glass bottled beer, and is why some new craft breweries are choosing canning lines instead, (added plus of avoiding lightstrike)

Maybe the rubber or silicone seal of the grolsch is less likely to do this, maybe swing top bottles are the go for submitting to comps for hoppy beers!

I haven't been cruising these forums much recently so I don't know if you posted details of this NEIPA, but I would be interested to see how you made it, water chemistry if applicable, hopping schedule etc. 

 

[headmaster]

Actually I think I might have found it myself, looks great!

 

Joolbag Posted July 10

Hey Popo I'm drinking a Simcarillo American wheat ale right now! It's all late Hopped and really delicious. Amped up stone n wood pacific ale with Simcoe and Amarillo instead of Galaxy.

 

I cube Hopped. Generously too. I flooded my cube in a bath office water to chill it down sub 80C quickly.

 

Amount	Name	Type	#
6.00 g	Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60 min)	Misc	1
0.50	Campden Tablet (Potassium Metabisulfate) (Mash 0 min)	Misc	2
2.97 kg	Gladfield American Ale Malt (5.0 EBC)	Grain	3
1.65 kg	BEST Wheat Malt (BESTMALZ) (4.8 EBC)	Grain	4
440.0 g	Uncle Toby's Rolled Oats (2.8 EBC)	Grain	5
0.50	Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10 min)	Misc	6
28.0 g	Simcoe [12.3%] - Boil 10 min	Hops	7
24.2 g	Amarillo [9.4%] - Boil 5 min	Hops	8
55.0 g	Amarillo [8.2%] - Steep 0 min	Hops	9
55.0 g	Simcoe [12.3%] - Steep 0 min	Hops	10
28.0 g	Simcoe [12.3%] - Steep 15 min	Hops	11
27.5 g	Amarillo [8.2%] - Dry Hop 0 days	Hops	12

 

The 55g of Amarillo and 55g Simcoe was cube Hopped. Really hard to edit from an iPad

Actually I think I might have found it:

\

 

[joolbag]

That's the one that came third. The one that came first is my Oatmeal XPA. Can't remember if I posted here but can grab from Beersmith online at lunchtime. Cube hopped too, big difference for me!

[headmaster]

That would be interesting to see the recipe

I've never cube hopped, sounds like I should try that!

Do you filter out the hops when pouring into the FV? 

 

 

[joolbag]

Here is my recipe for the Oatmeal XPA that I entered as a Session NEIPA.  Full disclosure, this is not my recipe but I got it from a book (James Morton's BREW) and tweaked it for my system.

 

I do strain the cube hops as I transfer from cube to FV.  In the original recipe, Jame's had the cube hops as 78C kettle steep for 15mins, then continue chilling then transfer to FV.  I just cube hopped.  I also quick chill my cube by immersing it in a tub of cold water/ice water to try and limit the bitterness that is extracted by the cube hops. 

 

Brewer: Jools
Batch Size: 22.00 l	Style: American Pale Ale (18B)
Boil Size: 29.10 l	Style Guide: BJCP 2015
Color: 12.8 EBC	Equipment: Pot (13 Gal/33 L) - BIAB
Bitterness: 49.6 IBUs	Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.054 (13.4° P)	Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out
Est FG: 1.010 SG (2.5° P)	Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
ABV: 5.9%	Taste Rating: 30.0

 

Ingredients

Amount	Name	Type	#
6.60 g	Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60 min)	Misc	1
0.55	Campden Tablet (Potassium Metabisulfate) (Mash 0 min)	Misc	2
4.40 kg	Gladfield American Ale Malt (5.0 EBC)	Grain	3
440.3 g	BEST Wheat Malt (BESTMALZ) (4.8 EBC)	Grain	4
440.3 g	Uncle Toby's Rolled Oats (2.8 EBC)	Grain	5
216.0 g	Gladfield Supernova Malt (115.0 EBC)	Grain	6
22.4 g	Citra [13.8%] - Boil 14 min	Hops	7
0.55	Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10 min)	Misc	8
33.3 g	Amarillo [7.0%] - Boil 9 min	Hops	9
22.4 g	Citra [13.8%] - Boil 4 min	Hops	10
33.3 g	Amarillo [7.0%] - Boil 1 min	Hops	11
67.1 g	Amarillo [7.0%] - Cube hop	Hops	12
45.1 g	Citra [13.8%] - Cube hop	Hops	13
1 pkgs	New World Strong Ale (Mangrove Jack's #M42)	Yeast	14
45.1 g	Citra [13.8%] - Dry Hop 0 days	Hops	15

[Otto Von Blotto]

Cube hopping kicks arse. I don't use it every batch but it's been great in my pale ales. I should increase the amount really. Also strained out when transferring to the FV.

[BlackSands]

Congrats!

[headmaster]

Thanks Jools and Kelsey,

Must give this cube hopping caper a try. 

Jools this recipe looks great, thanks for posting. Did you ever make it into an ISB meeting? I'm sure you would enjoy that. Last one I was tasting a sour made by a guy who had a sample of the Wildflower house yeast, it was mind blowingly tasty.. 

 

[Hairy]

I have noticed there is a new brew club in Sydney - Inner West Brewers based in Marrickville.

We might see a turf war break out soon. I’m picturing the big fight scene in Anchorman.

[James Lao]

Have been thinking about putting one of my beers into a competition for a while now.

Will have to do a bit of research for the ones in Perth.

Do they usually accept kegged Beer in Coopers PET bottles, or does it have to be glass bottle conditioned Beer?

Cheers

James

[headmaster]

Coopers PET is quite common, usually heaps of them submitted. Easy to close after pouring some out and keep gas in, less risk of injury, liability, lighter etc. 

 

[joolbag]

headmaster I have not yet been to ISB meeting. Really must make the effort as from Facebook I see some great brewers and some great beers being shared. Plus the guest speakers have so much knowledge to impart.

 

hairy I am also in the inner west brewers FB group and I think a lot of those members are also ISB. So your dream of a turf war may not eventuate. I’ll be at the Hop & Grain on Fri 17th and bringing some of my beer to share for feedback. Either of u able to make it?

[headmaster]

I won't be able to get there unfortunately, but hope you have a good one there. I may be cramming for that BJCP judging exam which is happening on sunday.. You have to judge 6 beers in 90 mins, 15 mins per beer, could be any one of some 92 styles, no Style Guide allowed, closed book. 

[joolbag]

Holy crap that sounds tough! Clearly beers that are prime examples of that style. Commercial beers?

[Hairy]

28 minutes ago, headmaster said:

I won't be able to get there unfortunately, but hope you have a good one there. I may be cramming for that BJCP judging exam which is happening on sunday.. You have to judge 6 beers in 90 mins, 15 mins per beer, could be any one of some 92 styles, no Style Guide allowed, closed book. 

Good luck mate. I could easily do the tasting part but judging without guidance is tough. Some beer styles can be fairly similar.