Hi all - I am planning to enter a beer in the Fest of Ales Homebrew and not sure what category to place mine under in BJCP - any thoughts would be appreciated! I was at the July meeting (Barley Forge) and about 10 of you tried my Farmhouse Ale - 'Juicy'. Not sure if anyone remembers what it tastes like but below is my recipe and my personal description. I was thinking Saison but it may be too fruity and not dry enough. Another thought was Belgian Specialty, but not sure how to describe "Special" for this category. The idea was to create a Farmhouse Ale that was very Juicy and Fruity for a hot summer day - boat loads of Nelson hops, WL568 yeast, and a tad Special B.
Grain - 7x pilsner, 3x white wheat, 0.25x special B
Hops - Nelson - 1 oz bittering, 1 oz at flame out, 1 oz dry - Nelson was chosen because it is JUICY
Yeast - WL568 - Belgian style Saison - blend of saison and Belgian yeasts - very fruity
Description
appearance - dark golden sunburst to slightly amber, cloudy (bottled unfiltered), slight sediment
aroma - malt - slight grain, wheat // hops - distinctive New Zealand spiciness: black pepper, mace, and allspice are common // yeast - fruity
flavor malt - base- grainy, cracker, dough, slight honey // special b - caramel, dark fruit, burnt sugar
flavor yeast - fruity, phenolic, spicy, earthy, and clove like flavors
hops - Nelson Sauvin- earthy, fruity, spicy - gooseberry, melon, white wine with some dank
BJCP category?
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Re: BJCP category?
Hey Bret,
I remember trying your beer and liking it but it's a bit hard to place in in a category by memory. Off the top of my head I would say it would do well in the Saison category though.
If in doubt you could enter it into multiple categories as well.
Good luck in the competition!
-Curtis
I remember trying your beer and liking it but it's a bit hard to place in in a category by memory. Off the top of my head I would say it would do well in the Saison category though.
If in doubt you could enter it into multiple categories as well.
Good luck in the competition!
-Curtis
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lexuschris
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Re: BJCP category?
Hey Bret,
I remember you tasty beer, and would suggest a Category 23 entry. That way, you won't get low marks just because you bent the style rules... you should get some good feedback outside the realm of 'not to style'. It is an interesting category, and you never know what you will be up against ... but good feedback anyways!
Good luck!
--LexusChris
I remember you tasty beer, and would suggest a Category 23 entry. That way, you won't get low marks just because you bent the style rules... you should get some good feedback outside the realm of 'not to style'. It is an interesting category, and you never know what you will be up against ... but good feedback anyways!
Good luck!
--LexusChris
"A woman drove me to drink, and I hadn't even the courtesy to thank her." – W.C. Fields
Re: BJCP category?
I say 23... So it doesn't compete with my Saison 
Actually, though, I think the proper place for an out-of-the-box Saison is 16E, not 23. And from your description, I'm not sure it's all that far out of place in 16C. You can always enter it in both if you prefer, as usually the restriction is that you can't have two beers in a single SUBcategory, not two beers in a single category. So actually, whether you go 16C or 16E, or both, we'll be up against each other...
BTW mine is very simple.
100% pilsner to 1.055 OG
Magnum at 60 & 15 min to 40 IBU
4 oz (in 10 gal) Saaz as a steep/whirlpool hop
WLP566 yeast
Actually, though, I think the proper place for an out-of-the-box Saison is 16E, not 23. And from your description, I'm not sure it's all that far out of place in 16C. You can always enter it in both if you prefer, as usually the restriction is that you can't have two beers in a single SUBcategory, not two beers in a single category. So actually, whether you go 16C or 16E, or both, we'll be up against each other...
BTW mine is very simple.
100% pilsner to 1.055 OG
Magnum at 60 & 15 min to 40 IBU
4 oz (in 10 gal) Saaz as a steep/whirlpool hop
WLP566 yeast
Brad
Re: BJCP category?
I didn't try your beer, but from the description I'd probably agree with 16E. Or 16C, enter both!
I've had a saison that used a lot of Nelson and to me it didn't fit the style at all. It was really green grape-y and that overwhelmed any of the characteristic phenolic. But, I was tasting it in the Mini-BOS round so the other table obviously liked it. Also, you mentioned it not being dry enough. If I'm judging, saison needs to be bone dry or you'll be knocked heavily. That's a defining characteristic of the style. It's also rare to see in a homebrew competition in my experience, so you might do ok anyway based on the competition.
I've had a saison that used a lot of Nelson and to me it didn't fit the style at all. It was really green grape-y and that overwhelmed any of the characteristic phenolic. But, I was tasting it in the Mini-BOS round so the other table obviously liked it. Also, you mentioned it not being dry enough. If I'm judging, saison needs to be bone dry or you'll be knocked heavily. That's a defining characteristic of the style. It's also rare to see in a homebrew competition in my experience, so you might do ok anyway based on the competition.
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Bret America
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Re: BJCP category?
Thanks All for the responses. I will probably go with 16E then. Hopefully they provide feedback from this contest.
Re: BJCP category?
I would enter it in cat.16e. Make sure you include the Nelson hops in your description so we can judge it accordingly. .