HOW NOT TO WIN BEER CONTESTS

AMEN, brother! Entering contests helped me initially because I wasn't involved in the clubs and didn't know any other homebrewers, so that gave me some impartial feedback. Joining the club and talking to other brewers is big. I think you have to have a bit of a thick skin, so when someone says beer X had flaw Y, you don't just want to say, "Screw you, Al!", but listen to the feedback and then apply that to your brewing process. By the way, which Steve? The good one, or the evil lambic brewing one? ;-) ----- Original Message ----- From: allan.boyce(a)usbank.com To: mba(a)thebarn.com ; mnbrewers(a)yahoogroups.com ; sphbc(a)sphbc.org Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 10:44 AM Subject: [SPHBC] HOW TO WIN BEER CONTESTS A fellow MhBA member just asked me a GREAT question which has probably passed through everyone's mind who is reading this email. I'm going to reprint it here, along with my answer to it. (Warning: This is also a plug to join the next BJCP class, starting Tuesday, Aug 30. If you're interested in attending, contact class facilitator Gera Exire LaTour at gera_latour(a)hotmail.com ) ... Q. I guess my main question is how does one brew a beer, enter contests and be able to compete with the likes of Curt or Steve? Without showing up for the tastings, it is hard to know the feedback others are giving your beer and how to become a better brewer. A. This was exactly my question, when I was entering one beer, once a year, in one contest. The answer: * SHOW UP for the tastings, * Try to taste each beer you drink critically - ESPECIALLY yours, * Brew more beers, * Taste more "classic" beers, * Taste other people's homebrewed beers, * Enter more contests, * Volunteer in more contests, * Read more brewing books, * Hang out with more brewers, * Ask more brewing questions - then * LISTEN to the answers and try them in your process. One specific thing that I can point to as having helped make me a better brewer was the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program). The BJCP maintains the guidelines by which our beers are judged, and the BJCP has created a class for training and evaluating beer judges. The funny thing about that class - it fulfills ALL of the advice I gave you in the previous paragraph in one fell swoop! * You will taste beers with all of the classic aroma and flavor flaws and characteristics, and learn how to avoid or control them * In the course of the 14 week class, you will taste nearly ALL classic beer styles. * You will be asked to bring your homebrewed styles on the appropriate weeks, and taste them against the same commercial styles and other homebrewed versions * There are at least 3 semi-local contests during the class. If you would pack up some beers and enter them, then bring your scoresheets to class, you can evaluate those scoresheets with new eyes. * The class will recommend several books to read before taking the exam. * You will be hanging out with 10-15 other brewers weekly (your classmates), as well as visiting the breweries of other "senior" brewers in the local beer community each week, touring their breweries, and having the opportunity to pick their brains. * The class will touch on ALL brewing technical topics, and you'll be able to ask questions about all of them, as well as offer answers to your fellow classmates to THEIR questions. Do you think after learning about all thing beer in order to become a certified Beer Judge that you will become a better brewer? YOU BETCHA! That's why guys like me, Steve Piatz, and Kris England try to take the class every time it comes around You STILL learn something new every time! I know that everyone has a good excuse why they can't take the class THIS time. Find a way. The first time I took the class my fellow classmate was Eric Nelson - he drove down from St. Cloud for every class! The next BJCP class starts Aug 30, and continues for 14 Tuesdays. It's not the ONLY way to become a better brewer and compete with the likes of Curt or Steve, but it's a BIG one. Look around at all the brewers who are winning - they are all also BJCP judges.

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