Which Category?

[John Sand]

As mentioned elsewhere, I made an APA that came out a bit strong, 7% abv. If I were to enter it in competition, which category would be appropriate? It's just barely an IPA, but lacks the hop presence to be scored as one. It tastes like a pale, but has too much alcohol. Specialty beer as a big pale? What do you think?

[BlackDuck]

Do you have to declare the ABV? I would be surprised if you did. If not, they won't know it's 7%. If it lacks the hop presence for an IPA, they will most likely pick that out. If it were me, I would enter in the APA category, especially if it tastes like a pale ale.

[Inkleg]

Yep, alcohol be dammed, enter it per BJCP taste guidelines.

[gwcr]

Agreed. Put it in the APA category. The only thing they may do is ding you a point or two if they detect a little "heat" from the higher alcohol content. I wouldn't sweat it though. Let us know when you get the results!!

[Foothiller]

Given your description, I agree with APA. Some judges will expect a huge hop presence in an IPA, but a bit of excess ABV should not be a problem. In fact, I have seen advice to target the upper end of a style's range. Once I had brewed two Weizenbocks but could only enter one in that category, so I entered the second as a Dunkelweizen. It got a good score, and none of the judges said it was out of style. My mead last year had 10% ABV, but it was so smooth that judges in my homebrew club would have estimated lower.

[John Sand]

Thanks! I'm not sure if I'll submit this brew. I have a couple of others going into Homebrew Alley.