1st Round Results

[Field]

I just got my scores today. I only sent in one beer, a Maibock. It was my first lager with precision temp control. I got a 27.5 which I felt was pretty good. Mostly got knocked for being not hoppy enough, too sweet, and undercarbonated, which I can't figure out since I set the regulator to 20 psi. I did use the cap on foam out of the picnic tap method though.

I am happy with that score for my first competition, and my first lager too!

hey you scored in the Good category, and it was your first lager - thats a win

[jamilz]

I'm glad I sent it to more than one comp - I heard you say to do that on the show before.

JZ - you've said that before judging you read the style guidlines out loud to the table right? Is that standard? It seems really weird to get knocked on score because the judge doesn't know the style.

Right. Don't stress over one set of score sheets. Once you have a half dozen, you can start to think about changing things. If you end up with a dozen telling you something is wrong, then you can believe it. But if you get half saying one thing and half saying another, you still need more data.

It is pretty rare to read the style guide aloud around here, but I have seen it done in some competitions.

[yabodie]

My dry wildflower mead (38.) placed 1st and my spiced mead placed 3rd (37) in the respective categories. Messed up on a cherry one that should have gone in the open category but I put it in the melomel category. CRAP!!

Anyway they first two are heading on to the second round, I think...

[rhino777]

what kind of spices in the mead?

[yabodie]

what kind of spices in the mead?

Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and orange rind.

[yellowcolumbia]

Since it looks like we're posting results, I scored a 37 for my American Pale. Super stoked on that one.
My other entry was a Cream Ale, the recipe from Brewing Classic Styles, and it was dinged to a 23 for being out of style. The main comment from each judge was that there far too much caramel for a cream ale. Since I know that the recipe isn't at fault, what did I do? It was the last batch before I moved to full boil and an immersion chiller, so that may have had something to do with it. It was done using the "extract-late" method.

Either way, I'm certainly happy for my first comp.

[jamilz]

Hard to say without tasting it, but three possibilities come to mind. One could be scorching of the extract, another oxidation (which some judges think of as caramel believe it or not), or maybe under attenuation. Some judges think anything sweet tastes like caramel, which isn't accurate.

Do you have more bottles of that beer? Taste it. Do you taste any of the above in there?

Also, send it out to another competition (hopefully with different judges) and see what comments you get back.

[yellowcolumbia]

Hard to say without tasting it, but three possibilities come to mind. One could be scorching of the extract, another oxidation (which some judges think of as caramel believe it or not), or maybe under attenuation. Some judges think anything sweet tastes like caramel, which isn't accurate.

Do you have more bottles of that beer? Taste it. Do you taste any of the above in there?

Also, send it out to another competition (hopefully with different judges) and see what comments you get back.

Gotta love it when the pope takes the time to talk to a lowly alter boy.

Unfortunetly, I bottled up the last of the keg to send out to the competition, so I won't be able to taste that particuar batch again. I guess any of the three is possible. I didn't purge the bottle prior to filling via the tasty McD method, so there's some oxygen right there. I'll check my notes and see what the gravity readings were when I get home.
Thanks JZ.