BeerBorg

Right now, I only enter Homebrew Alley, which is held in early February. This gives me a chance to think about what I want to enter, and maybe work on the recipe a little before final submissions are due.

For the next one, I'm thinking I might enter the Copperbottom Lager, which I just started cold lagering this weekend. If I really like it, I'll set a couple of bottles aside and enter it in the Dark Lager category.

I'm also thinking I might enter my South Ferry Steam Beer in the Dark Hybrid category. I'm brewing a batch of it in mid-October, and I might tweak the recipe a little, and brew another batch in November or early December.

Of course, this all depends on how well I think the beer turns out.

FedoraDave wrote:Of course, this all depends on how well I think the beer turns out.

True, but it's always good to get an honest second opinion from someone who doesn't have a dog in the hunt. I have found that either some of my friends are TO nice or don't have a good palate. I'll give them beers I know are off and they are like "Oh this is GREAT". Dammit man, I just want the truth. I can work on fixing it from there. That's the reason to enter competitions.

Yeah, I thought my Pearly Pils was all that, but I was disappointed when it scored in the 20s. But it's good to know what an independent and experienced taster thinks of it.

I also plan ahead with what I brew, in my case for the CA State Fair where I had 6 entries this year. Not only what I think has been good, but looking for categories that get fewer entries. I have entered 4 competitions this year, and can say first-hand that it's worth getting feedback from multiple contests. My fruit melomel (fruit mead) took 1st in a combined fruit beer / spiced beer / cider / mead category with a score of 40, and scored 36 in another. One judge sampled it at one competition and said it is excellent, then was its judge at the State fair and scored it 21. Actually, the guy has a local reputation for being erratic. If I only had the State Fair scores I would be discouraged, but given all of them I'm psyched about making more meads.

I try not to formulate recipes with an eye toward competition. I tend to research a style I'm interested in, and then build a recipe around the BJCP guidelines. And if I like what I made, then I consider entering it.

That being said, my first competition, in which I won 3rd, was the Amber's Amber Lager, which I concocted out of thin air, and my brother raved about it and told me I should enter it. The Pils and the Ordinary Bitter I entered in last year's comp were recipes I'd done before, and were made with the intent of submitting them.

I'm not real keen on entering more than a couple of recipes at a time. First, it's kind of a hassle, and I don't mind it with one or two beers, but more than that would seem excessive for me. Second, I'm just kind of doing Homebrew Alley as a lark each year. I like the feedback, and it's kind of fun and informative to get the score sheets. But that's not why I brew. I brew because I like to drink beer, and I like the creative outlet.

Good luck going forward, and feedback from professional taste buds is never bad, whether good or bad. Good, pat yorself on the back and know you made a good beer, bad figure out how to make a better beer from the comments!

That's exactly how I look at it, Dawg.

The gist I got from the comments on my pils and my ordinary bitter were that the recipes were pretty much sound, and the beer was good but not great. Minor tweaking could make them better, but I was off to a good start. I was always very pleased with both of these beers, and don't really have plans to change them, but it's good to get the feedback.