Wee Heavy fermentation time

Grains, malts, hops, yeast, water and other ingredients used to brew. Recipe reviews and suggestions.

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Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2001 11:16 pm
Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Congratulations!

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

Congrats on your placing at the KY State Fair! It must have been quite a good beer.

Strong Ale is an English and American style category though. You mentioned the intended style was a Scottish Wee Heavy, which under BJCP classifications is a 9E - Strong Scotch Ale. The competition you entered was judged using BJCP style standards.

The BJCP classification for Strong Ales is 19: 19A - Old Ale, 19B - English Barley Wine and 19C-American Barley Wine. So from a stylistic standpoint, unless you entered it as a 9E, it was judged as more appropriately approximating one of the beers in the 19 category, not as the beer style you intended. If you read the guidelines, there are specific differences that constitute each of the categories and sub categories.

If you are interested in reading what attributes are expected of a particular style using objective guidlines designed for competiton, go to the following site and read:

http://www.bjcp.org/2004_BJCP_Guidelines.pdf

To be truly successful in competiton, you have to know the proper category to enter based upon these descriptors and know how to brew the beer to meet them. You could potentially have the best beer of any given competiton, but if it is entered in the wrong category, it may fail miserably.

BUT... this stuff is only important when competing! Otherwise, brew what the hell you like!!!!

Keep knockin' em dead with your award winning brews!
Make your next beer (or spirit) a local one!!!!

Eric Watson
Head Distiller & Brewer

Seven Fathoms Rum
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands
Sapper
Light Lager
Light Lager
Posts: 40
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2003 8:10 am
Location: Louisville, KY

AHA categorites

Post by Sapper »

Mesa

Thanks

The competition used the AHA category/subcategory to seperate the entries.
My Strong Scotch Ale was judged against Belgian, English, Scotch and other strong beers.
Category 11 - Strong Beer
Subcategory 11b - Strong Scotch Ale

Consequently the best in show was a Belgian Strong Ale.

Check out:
http://www.kystatefair.org/competitions ... 23beer.pdf

However, the best compliment I got was that when I went to retrieve my stuff after the fair, out of 12 bottles entered (4 bottles in 3 categories) the only leftovers I had were 3 bottles of the light ale I entered that was undercarbonated.
I guess everyone liked my pale ale and scotch ale enough to drink it all!

This was my first contest and what I liked most was receiving the judges score/comment sheets. I have never had very "beer educated" people taste and criticize my beer, and I think I will be a better brewer after reading the scoresheets.

BeerTools should have a contest. We could mail our beers in to be judged.
User avatar
Mesa Maltworks
Strong Ale
Strong Ale
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2001 11:16 pm
Location: Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island

Sorry...I was misnformed!

Post by Mesa Maltworks »

I had spoken with one of the LAGER members (I forgot his name) who had told me it was a BJCP event, not AHA. Maybe he meant he was BJCP? I'm not sure. I used to brew and live in their territory while at Main Street Brewing in Evansville, IN. I used to see a number of thier members who sorta "cross pollinated" with FOSSILS in Louisville/New Albany, IN.

You are right... if you got this level of response to your beer while being judged in the right category, it was dead on. I'm glad you figured out the real benefit of competiton, to get comments on how to improve your brewing. Too often, judges use their position to derive ego satisfaction therefore forgetting that their job is to help brewers be more proficient. I have been a BJCP certified judge since 1990 and have seen many instances of this. I am glad they gave you the proper assessment.

See if you can brew it again with the same results sans bizzare fermentation lags. The hallmark of a good brewer is repeatability.

Send me some... I'll be happy to reduce your stock!!!! :lol:
Make your next beer (or spirit) a local one!!!!

Eric Watson
Head Distiller & Brewer

Seven Fathoms Rum
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands
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