Negative experiences with BJCP sanctioned comps?

[Surgeon General]

Not to knock on the BJCP or the comps they are involved in.. They do a world of good for beer & brewing, but anyone else have similar experiences in competitions run with the BJCP stamp of approval?

The last comp I entered in (which will remain nameless), I entered a single beer, an Imperial IPA. I did well, receiving a gold & a 37 point score, but this particular win felt a little hollow. The only reasonable comment I received from three judges was "watch your fusels." And he was right, there was a tiny bit of hot alcohol in there. But other than that, I got a bunch of "Nice hops," and "Very hoppy," and "good mouthfeel" and "malty taste" comments. WTF?

It's nice to have another little medallion to throw in the brew drawer (wish I had a better place for them), but I feel like I was either deceived by the comp organizers, and therefore to a small extent, the BJCP, or the sponsoring club has *a lot* of evolving to do as a serious club. Anyone else feel the same way about some comps?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to go complain to anyone, & at the end of the day, what's $6 + 2 bottles of beer? Just kind of throwing it out there, wondering what anyone else has to say about it.

[Geistbier]

Alot of sponsored competitions seem over worked for the number of qualified judges at least that I have attended. I look forward to learning more from other judges, but because the certification is scarce I am usually the only one at the table during judging and I end up mentoring 1-2 of the others. It is a difficult process after 10+ beers to give a fair and honest evaluation that can mean something to the brewer. But considering descriptions I have seen I can understand the frustration. IMHO offer to judge a few competitions even if you don't go for BJCP it's an invaluable education.

[DannyW]

Most judging sheets these days include the email address for the judge. Why not drop them a line? They probably won't remember your specific beer, but you can sure tell them what sort of feedback you expected and did not get. Next time they will do better.

[Geistbier]

Most judging sheets these days include the email address for the judge. Why not drop them a line? They probably won't remember your specific beer, but you can sure tell them what sort of feedback you expected and did not get. Next time they will do better.

I agree

[Gucci Pilot]

Not to knock on the BJCP or the comps they are involved in.. They do a world of good for beer & brewing, but anyone else have similar experiences in competitions run with the BJCP stamp of approval?

The last comp I entered in (which will remain nameless), I entered a single beer, an Imperial IPA. I did well, receiving a gold & a 37 point score, but this particular win felt a little hollow. The only reasonable comment I received from three judges was "watch your fusels." And he was right, there was a tiny bit of hot alcohol in there. But other than that, I got a bunch of "Nice hops," and "Very hoppy," and "good mouthfeel" and "malty taste" comments. WTF?

It's nice to have another little medallion to throw in the brew drawer (wish I had a better place for them), but I feel like I was either deceived by the comp organizers, and therefore to a small extent, the BJCP, or the sponsoring club has *a lot* of evolving to do as a serious club. Anyone else feel the same way about some comps?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to go complain to anyone, & at the end of the day, what's $6 + 2 bottles of beer? Just kind of throwing it out there, wondering what anyone else has to say about it.

Look, I hear you on competition feedback. But don't condemn the BJCP on a lousy score sheet. I have received the same in a few competitions that I have entered. That's why I strive to provide detailed information when I judge. Are judges always right? Well, other than Doc and Jamil, no way.

Depending on the size of the competition (and the number of judges) feedback may be rushed and handled by folks that are not as experienced in a particular style. Not everyone, other than Doc and Jamil, are professionals during competitions. Give me a sour beer and I'll hold my nose while tasting it. But I'll do my best to give honest feedback.

Don't feel that you have no recourse in your comments. E-mail or write that club that organinized the comp. They need your inputs to improve for the next year. If that doesn't work, send a sixer to me and I'll be more than happy to give you my opinion for free (of course).

G

[BDawg]

I'm new to the BJCP too (I took the test in Oct, and haven't gotten the results back yet - fingers crossed).

One of the things they stressed to us during the class I took is to NOT give shitty, 1 sentence fragment type feedback, so rest assured that the BJCP itself is frowning on that sort of stuff, too.

If the judge put his contact info on the form, send him an email.
If he didn't, then look for his BJCP # and send an email up on http://www.bjcp.org. Finally, you can also try to find him through the contest organizer.

I have and will continue to write my email address on every judging sheet I fill out, and if anyone has any questions about my comments, I'll be happy to discuss/explain, etc. Most of the other guys I've met feel the same way, though there are always a few that spoil the lot.

HTH-

[SunkenBier]

I put my email address on my judging sheets. Even on the beers that scored under 10. I had a IPA that tasted like garlic and green onions. I let the brewer know what we were experiencing and would have welcomed his contact to find out what kind of methodology was used to create that off flavor. Sometimes contacting the judge is not just for the brewer to learn more but the judge can learn as well.

[drewbage1847]

Here's the thing that's incredibly important, if you want things to improve. Send an email to the organizer and to the BJCP registering your dissatisfaction.

That sort of feedback is the only way the group has to know that standards are being met.

Otherwise, does this sort of stuff happen? Sure does. It's a problem for the judging community, but there's a really fine line to walk here. You want people to judge, so you don't want to harangue them too much, but at the same time you want your entrants to receive a proper critique.

My other problem with the system is it puts judges into a mindset of finding flaws instead of finding characters, including flaws.