Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:28 pm
(FWIW, I am a BJCP judge).
I'd put the Vanilla Sweet Stout in Cat 21A Spice/Herb/Veg, and the Oatmeal/Raisin/Bourbon in Cat 23A Specialty.
Since you said the coconut is not noticeable, and Vanilla is considered a spice, it makes sense to enter it there as the "single" ingredient. The combination of of the fruit and spices and bourbon makes that a better fit in Cat 23, since there are more things going on there.
Is that Otis' recipe from realbeer, BTW?
HTH-
•23. Specialty Beer
This is explicitly a catch-all category for any beer that does not fit into an existing style category. No beer is ever �out of style� in this category, unless it fits elsewhere.
The category is intended for any type of beer, including the following techniques or ingredients:
•Unusual techniques (e.g., steinbier, ice/eis beers)
•Unusual fermentables (e.g., maple syrup, honey, molasses, sorghum)
•Unusual adjuncts (e.g., oats, rye, buckwheat, potatoes)
•Combinations of other style categories (e.g., India Brown Ale, fruit-and-spice beers, smoked spiced beers)•Out-of-style variations of existing styles (e.g., low alcohol versions of other styles, extra-hoppy beers, �imperial� strength beers)
•Historical, traditional or indigenous beers (e.g., Louvain Peetermann, Sahti, vatted Porter with Brettanomyces, Colonial Spruce or Juniper beers, Kvass, Gr�tzer)
•American-style interpretations of European styles (e.g., hoppier, stronger, or ale versions of lagers) or other variants of traditional styles
•Clones of specific commercial beers that aren�t good representations of existing styles
•Any experimental beer that a brewer creates, including any beer that simply does not evaluate well against existing style definitions
This category can also be used as an �incubator� for any minor world beer style (other than Belgians) for which there is currently no BJCP category. If sufficient interest exists, some of these minor styles might be promoted to full styles in the future. Some styles that fall into this grouping include:
•Honey Beers (not Braggots)
•Wiess (cloudy, young K�lsch)
•Sticke Altbier
•M�nster Altbier
•Imperial Porter
•Classic American Cream Ale
•Czech Dark Lager
•English Pale Mild
•Scottish 90/-
•American Stock Ale
•English Strong Ale
•Non-alcoholic �Beer�
•Kellerbier
•Malt Liquor
•Australian Sparkling Ale
•Imperial/Double Red Ale
•Imperial/Double Brown Ale
•Rye IPA
•Dark American Wheat/Rye
Note that certain other specialty categories exist in the guidelines. Belgian Specialties or clones of specific Belgian beers should be entered in Category 16E. Christmas-type beers should be entered in Category 21B (unless they are Belgian Christmas-type beers; these should be entered in 16E). Beers with only one type of fruit, spice, herbs, vegetables, or smoke should be entered in Categories 20-22. Specialty meads or ciders should be entered in their respective categories (26C for meads, 28D for ciders).
-B'Dawg
BJCP GM3 Judge & Mead
"Lunch Meat. It's an acquired taste....." -- Mylo
