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Anyone Else Enter The National Home Brew Competition?

Ck27

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I was just wondering if anyone else entered any beers into the national home brew competition. I entered 2 a Vienna Lager and a English IPA. I'm at the Sacramento center and have been awaiting results for a long time. Hopefully it won't be more than 3 more days untill I know.

 
I submitted an American Light Lager.  It is critical to know ASAP if I have to re-brew for the next round.
 
jomebrew said:
I submitted an American Light Lager.  It is critical to know ASAP if I have to re-brew for the next round.

Let me know what your final score ends up being. I'm really crossing my fingers that my Vienna comes out well.
 
Good luck to both of you.  I considered it for this year, but really did not have anything ready that I wanted to submit.  I've also been very nervous about shipping beers for competitions.  Having said that, I just mailed off two beers for the MCAB which I qualified for last fall: Scotch Ale (3+ years old) and Doppelbock (2+ years old).  We will see how they fare and since they had both placed first with scores of 39.5 and 41 respectively, I can see if and how the shipping affected them.
 
Oginme said:
Good luck to both of you.  I considered it for this year, but really did not have anything ready that I wanted to submit.  I've also been very nervous about shipping beers for competitions.  Having said that, I just mailed off two beers for the MCAB which I qualified for last fall: Scotch Ale (3+ years old) and Doppelbock (2+ years old).  We will see how they fare and since they had both placed first with scores of 39.5 and 41 respectively, I can see if and how the shipping affected them.

I shipped my beers via fedex and they arrived 1 day later, so it wasn't really that much of a stressor, I wrapped the hell out of them with bubble wrap. lol.

Needless to say I'm eagerly awaiting the final results. I'm speculating my Vienna will be in the top 3 of the category its in because it has been in 3 competitions before, A friend of mine who helped create the recipe entered it and put me as a co brewer. But this time I brewed it completely myself so if it keeps with its track record should be a great beer.

Basically spot on for alcohol and color and matches style to the T.
 
Results are up for most centers, damn I don't see my name on anything in sacramento I'm actually surprised as my recipe won 1,2,3,4 in other competitions for my Vienna.

I have got to see the score they actually gave it.
 
I didn't win either.  Anxious to see my scoresheets.  Not sure when those should posted.
 
Got mine :)

Here they are so you can see :).
 

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Mine were utter crap.  Not sure which beer they were judging but it was not mine. 
 
jomebrew said:
Mine were utter crap.  Not sure which beer they were judging but it was not mine.

That's unfortunate, my Vienna did really well all things considered I'm just amazed it didn't win a higher score really. I didn't taste anything the 2nd judge marked me down for.

truth be told my store was out of saaz which is normally the hop I use so I threw in East Kent and Fuggles and it still ended up tasting like it should have lol.

My ipa did not taste anything like they said, it sat for 2 weeks on their end so they might have stored it wrong, that's what I'm guessing because it doesn't taste like that and I have half a case of it left.

I was really upset about that.
 
Maybe mine was abused sitting in the brewery but that is a huge flaw in their process.  I canceled my homebrewcon ticket.
 
jomebrew said:
Maybe mine was abused sitting in the brewery but that is a huge flaw in their process.  I canceled my homebrewcon ticket.

Yep, I had hoped I was going to win but it is what it is.
 
I know from entering the Sam Adams Longshot competition (when it was still about making beer) that the scores I received back were 4 to 6 points lower than any I received from any other competition.  Talking with one of the judges who used to judge that competition, they did grade harder than in other local comps.  That may be part of what you are experiencing, since they do have to make strong distinctions between good and great beers.  Given the number of entries and the prestige of this particular competition (HBC), it would not surprise me that they tend to score tougher.
 
Oginme said:
I know from entering the Sam Adams Longshot competition (when it was still about making beer) that the scores I received back were 4 to 6 points lower than any I received from any other competition.  Talking with one of the judges who used to judge that competition, they did grade harder than in other local comps.  That may be part of what you are experiencing, since they do have to make strong distinctions between good and great beers.  Given the number of entries and the prestige of this particular competition (HBC), it would not surprise me that they tend to score tougher.

I really feel my Vienna should have been first I strongly disagree with the second judge saying not to style, it was by the books to style.

So annoying, and as to the IPA I know they stored it wrong because the 8 bottles I have right now aren't like that, ive tried 3 of the 12 I had and experienced no off flavors. So I'm thinking they placed it in a warm room or something.

 
If you're not ready to take the critique that comes with entering competitions, don't enter them. This competition has a vast number of entries in popular categories. You have to have beers that are exceptional to place well. My advice is to take any criticism as being constructive and work to overcome the flaws. If you choose to do otherwise, expect some disappointments.
Also, you might consider studying for and taking the BJCP exam. At very least this would tell you if you are qualified to the level the sitting judges are. I know I'm not.
 
I'm fine with accurate criticism but these guys were flat out wrong.  They failed to identify the real style issues with my beer.  I know what they are and hoped the strengths would be good enough to survive a few style points.  I worked dozens of comps including NHC 2nd round.  I do know how the system works and some of the flaws in the system.  I always hope my entries are not the ones that stuff happens to but this time, it was me.
 
BOB357 said:
If you're not ready to take the critique that comes with entering competitions, don't enter them. This competition has a vast number of entries in popular categories. You have to have beers that are exceptional to place well. My advice is to take any criticism as being constructive and work to overcome the flaws. If you choose to do otherwise, expect some disappointments.
Also, you might consider studying for and taking the BJCP exam. At very least this would tell you if you are qualified to the level the sitting judges are. I know I'm not.

I actually probably would be better at judging than the judges .

But yeah I don't care, I will enter into the next competition.

 
Ck27 said:
That's unfortunate, my Vienna did really well all things considered I'm just amazed it didn't win a higher score really. I didn't taste anything the 2nd judge marked me down for.

...

My ipa did not taste anything like they said, it sat for 2 weeks on their end so they might have stored it wrong, that's what I'm guessing because it doesn't taste like that and I have half a case of it left.

I was really upset about that.

Think of it as a challenge! It's a situation where you have more control than you may think.

The Sacramento comps are very well run. The beers are kept cold from the moment their received. I'd put my thoughts into shipping.

You should try an experiment where you ship your beer to a buddy, then the buddy ships it back to you. Nothing extravagant, just across town will do. I'll bet that you'll see a big difference in the beer after it's been shipped. Numerous pro breweries have done studies on their beer once shipped and the results show that overland (ground) shipping is the biggest accelerator for oxidation.

I know that more than a few entrants hand deliver their beer on the last day (even the final hours) that they are due. It can really make a difference.

Like it or not, the sheets reflect what was tasted on that day. If oxidation was an issue, then it doesn't matter how it got accelerated because the air was introduced on your end. Find that cause and you'll see an increase in scores.

Perhaps purge your competition bottles with CO2. Perhaps transfer from the carboy into a sealed, purged corny keg (using the dip tube), then bottle from there. Competition is fierce on the national level and the medal winners do everything they can to present pristine beer.

You should consider taking the judging exam. Knowing the judging process and training will make you a better brewer.
 
brewfun said:
Ck27 said:
That's unfortunate, my Vienna did really well all things considered I'm just amazed it didn't win a higher score really. I didn't taste anything the 2nd judge marked me down for.

...

My ipa did not taste anything like they said, it sat for 2 weeks on their end so they might have stored it wrong, that's what I'm guessing because it doesn't taste like that and I have half a case of it left.

I was really upset about that.

Think of it as a challenge! It's a situation where you have more control than you may think.

The Sacramento comps are very well run. The beers are kept cold from the moment their received. I'd put my thoughts into shipping.

You should try an experiment where you ship your beer to a buddy, then the buddy ships it back to you. Nothing extravagant, just across town will do. I'll bet that you'll see a big difference in the beer after it's been shipped. Numerous pro breweries have done studies on their beer once shipped and the results show that overland (ground) shipping is the biggest accelerator for oxidation.

I know that more than a few entrants hand deliver their beer on the last day (even the final hours) that they are due. It can really make a difference.

Like it or not, the sheets reflect what was tasted on that day. If oxidation was an issue, then it doesn't matter how it got accelerated because the air was introduced on your end. Find that cause and you'll see an increase in scores.

Perhaps purge your competition bottles with CO2. Perhaps transfer from the carboy into a sealed, purged corny keg (using the dip tube), then bottle from there. Competition is fierce on the national level and the medal winners do everything they can to present pristine beer.

You should consider taking the judging exam. Knowing the judging process and training will make you a better brewer.

I do know the judging process and have studied it well.
But even oxidized it was better than some other beers lol.

So I'm just glad to know even that didn't put me in last.
 
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