Re: [mba] Beer category for competition

Hi, Paul, My experience judging homebrew says to just enter it in 6B, and NOT mention anything, unless the hops are too much for the style guidelines. As a general rule of thumb, once a contestant has mentioned an ingredient, it's the judges' responsibility to look for and comment on that ingredient. So when you mention Citra hops, the judges now need to judge your beer not only on the 6B parameters, but also on whether or not the citra hops are noticeable, and then whether or not they add to the underlying style, or whether they marry well to the underlying style. If the judges cannot really discern Citra hops, then you'll likely be docked points for NOT having the mentioned characteristic. If it's too Citra-y for 6B, then go with the specialty category, wherein you must mention the Citra hops, and again, you'll need the beer to exhibit Citra in a pleasing way. That's my $0.02,John Personal. Professional. LONGBALLA INSURANCE John Longballa--Agent A second generation of insurance answers, insurance solutions 651. 756. 8080 fax: 651. 528. 6705http://longballa.com/ ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Paul Jackson <paul.w.jackson(a)gmail.com> To: mba(a)thebarn.com Subject: [mba] Beer category for competition Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 17:37:53 -0500 Hey everyone. I've got a blonde-ale which I added about an ounce of citra hops at the end of the boil. Im looking to get some honest feedback so I'm going to enter it into the Nordeast Big River Homebrew competition. My question is do I enter it under 6B Blonde Ale and specify the citra hops used at the end (the IBUs should still be within Blonde Ale specs) or under a different category like 23A Specialty Beer since it has some definite lemony flavor/aromas? Thanks! Paul