Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Envelope Please....







So, apparently there are some differing standards when it comes to judging homebrew competitions. I can understand that perhaps my cleaning and sanitation on one of the bottles I submitted wasn't perfect, but when I have to send three bottles and there is an obvious defect in the one you open (as was pointed out by the judges in the Florida competition) it would only seem right that since I'm submitting these to judging that I'd appreciate some feedback. Since the first had obvious flaws, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that my beer isn't going to the Best Of Show judging, so why not do me the courtesy of taking another stab at it? What's it going to take, another minute of your valuable time? True, I'm certain there were many other beers, but isn't this the whole point to entering these competitions? To get some educated and valuable feedback? After all, I did part with SIX valuable bottles of my own creation, and I did have to pay SEVEN dollars to have them judged. At least give me a fair shake.

I've asked around to other judges and have been told that what I got from the Florida judges was "a courtesy 13", which is given when there are obvious detectable flaws in the beer, such as a contamination. Well, if it's that obvious, try the others.

What I've also been told by other judges is that often a score in the 30s will win that style. Hmmm, 13 from Florida, 28 and 31 from California. You be the judge.

No comments: