Coconut Cup Results
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 1:07 pm
Hello Borg! Been busy here in Miami. Finally getting a chance to get on a computer to catch up on here and to share my experience in my first competition.
I wasn't expecting much for Bubs' Pale Ale, and the score actually seemed better than I thought it would be. One judge gave it an overall 31, and the other gave it a 28 overall, for combined 29.5 score. Both judges gave great scores on appearance and mouthfeel, so the mash process and carbonation is not a problem. Also, both judges mentioned good balance of hops and malt. However, both judges emphasized green apple flavor (acetaldehyde) in the finish, especially as it warmed up. A comment was made about possible infection or incomplete fermentation as the culprit for the acetaldehyde. I'm pretty sure there is no issue with infection, as I have brewed this beer twice and tastes the same to me. Perhaps I need to let it sit longer in the fermenter before bottling.
As for Chocolate Brown Ale, I was down that I did not place in the English Ale category, particularly because a Northern English Brown ale won it. Before hearing the results that Saturday, the judges brought out boxes full of competition entries that were not consumed during the judging process. One of the ones that a guy opened tasted an awful lot like mine, but another guy said it tasted just like his, and that actually turned out to be the winner. This beer actually went to the 2nd round (out of 2, before picking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd). It scored a 36 and a 33, for a combined 34.5, which I'm thrilled about! Flavor and mouthfeel were a hit with the judges, but both commented that it was a bit overcarbed for the style. Actually, one of them noted the bottle they opened was a gusher. I didn't think I had primed it too high, but maybe I'll try scaling it back a bit to the lower end (1.8ish volumes). One sheet stated the beer was pretty dry and malt presence was almost undetectable, and thus lacked complexity. All of that said, neither judge detected any off flavors or detectable brewing errors. I'm thinking I might change the yeast that I use with it to one that attenuates less, and make some slight changes to the quantities of each grain in the bill, but otherwise I'm really happy with this.
I wasn't expecting much for Bubs' Pale Ale, and the score actually seemed better than I thought it would be. One judge gave it an overall 31, and the other gave it a 28 overall, for combined 29.5 score. Both judges gave great scores on appearance and mouthfeel, so the mash process and carbonation is not a problem. Also, both judges mentioned good balance of hops and malt. However, both judges emphasized green apple flavor (acetaldehyde) in the finish, especially as it warmed up. A comment was made about possible infection or incomplete fermentation as the culprit for the acetaldehyde. I'm pretty sure there is no issue with infection, as I have brewed this beer twice and tastes the same to me. Perhaps I need to let it sit longer in the fermenter before bottling.
As for Chocolate Brown Ale, I was down that I did not place in the English Ale category, particularly because a Northern English Brown ale won it. Before hearing the results that Saturday, the judges brought out boxes full of competition entries that were not consumed during the judging process. One of the ones that a guy opened tasted an awful lot like mine, but another guy said it tasted just like his, and that actually turned out to be the winner. This beer actually went to the 2nd round (out of 2, before picking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd). It scored a 36 and a 33, for a combined 34.5, which I'm thrilled about! Flavor and mouthfeel were a hit with the judges, but both commented that it was a bit overcarbed for the style. Actually, one of them noted the bottle they opened was a gusher. I didn't think I had primed it too high, but maybe I'll try scaling it back a bit to the lower end (1.8ish volumes). One sheet stated the beer was pretty dry and malt presence was almost undetectable, and thus lacked complexity. All of that said, neither judge detected any off flavors or detectable brewing errors. I'm thinking I might change the yeast that I use with it to one that attenuates less, and make some slight changes to the quantities of each grain in the bill, but otherwise I'm really happy with this.