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I judged Category 23 (Specialty Beer) this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as much of a train-wreck as I expected. I learned some valuable insights:
* If you're going to describe the beer as a base style you should make sure it's got the right character for the style. Had someone enter a "German Pilsner dry hopped w/ new American hop varieties" that was an awesome IPL, but had no German Pils character. I hated to do it, but we judged it in the low 30's because it had none of the bready Pils malt character you'd expect from a German Pils. It's Cat 23 call it whatever you want!
* You should also be more specific which base style you are entering. We had a "Chocolate and Coconut Stout" that was like a liquid Samoa Girl Scout Cookie that I almost came to blows with the other judge over because he thought it was too sweet and I thought it was very appropriate for a sweet stout. His POV was dry stout my mine was sweet stout, but since the guy didn't specify we couldn't say for sure. He ended up bring his score up a little and I brought mine down a little (from 40's to high 30's) because we were so far apart.
* Try to enter a beer we have some context for. A guy entered a "Dortmunder Patersbier" that we had to Google so we knew how to judge it. It was a decent enough beer, but we didn't know if that was classic to the style, or what.
* Finally, make sure you grab the correct bottles when you enter. Someone entered "Amber Honey Ale" that was clearly an IPA. I'm talking SRM 3, super hop-forward, and zero honey character. We even called the head steward to check the 2nd bottle to make sure there wasn't a mixup, but the 2nd bottle was the same :-/
Posted 34 days ago.
So if you were given a chance to choose this time, would you choose to take Category 23?
Posted 34 days ago.
It sounds like you had a good (or at least interesting) experience!
Posted 34 days ago.
Since I'm such a newbie judge I'd probably prefer to judge a classic style so I can hone my baseline judging skills. It was a fun experience though!
Posted 34 days ago.
I admire your bravery. Cat 23 can be full of "interesting" beers.
Posted 34 days ago.
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