Better Beer Blog

To borrow from Forrest Gump, homebrew competitions are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get. Some homebrew competitions are huge, well-funded affairs featuring hundreds of beers with dozens and dozens of judges. There are mid-sized affairs, regional in scope, that feature much less beers and less judges. Then there’s the San Mateo County Fair Homebrew Competition. This was as small as I’ve ever seen or heard of a competition being.

Now, I am not here to badmouth the event or anything although I will voice my opinions of the event a little later. I signed up to judge the competition because I want to get better as a beer judge and the only way you can do that is by judging, plain and simple. Sure, I can go to any old BevMo and buy beers and mock judge them at home but the professionally produced beers you’ll find in most retail outlets are very good examples of the styles they’re brewed in. A big part of beer judging is the ability to recognize, isolate, and give constructive feedback on the numerous flaws that homebrewed beers are subject to. You’re just not going to get a lot of those flaws in commercially brewed beers, at least I would hope not.

That being said, homebrew competitions are really a place where the novice brewer can submit their beers, for a small fee usually, to get excellent feedback regarding the quality of their beers. Most homebrewers only brew as a hobby and as hobbyist, our resources are finite. We do not have stainless steel, temperature-controlled, conical fermentors in our garages. We do not have stainless steel, mash tuns, lauter tuns or aging vessels. In fact, most of us probably started with plastic buckets and 6.5 gallon glass carboys. Most of us brew in our garages, kitchens, and patios. As a result, and much to our chagrin and continuted efforts, we make mistakes and our beers do not always turn out as well as what we’d like.

So that’s where the beer judges come in. We sample the competition entries, look for flaws, rate accordingly and hopefully provide good feedback to improve. A lot of people will look at us and express a hint of envy as we get to drink beers as part of what we do. I also temper their outlooks by pointing out that this is an amateur competition. For every excellent beer we do find, there are a dozen or so that are mediocre at best and even a few more that are absolutely horrid.

The San Mateo County Fair Homebrew Competition, I believe, was in it’s first year this past Saturday. Knowing this, you have to be forgiving of the situation. Instead of dozens and dozens of beers to judge, there were only less than a dozen submissions. Instead of tens of dozens of beer judges, there were six of us. The coordinator of the event wasn’t even a beer person herself, in fact, she was handed the job of coordinating the competition a mere 1.5 days before judging was set to commence. Overall, the competition could’ve been better organized and promoted but it is what it is. The one saving grace is that there’s only one way to go with this competition and that’s up.

I took away a couple of insights with this competition. First of all, I’m more confident with my abilities as a beer judge. The night before the event, I studied up on the styles I know were submitted as well as the possible flaws I could expect to find. I surprised myself how much I was able to pick up and identify. I suppose I’ll just get more and more confident with each event. Second, instead of judging in pairs, we judged in a trinity. Having a group of 3 judges, in my opinion, makes for a more thorough evaluation of a beer. In the case of two judges having a large disparity in scores, the third judge acts as somewhat of a “tie-breaker”, validating one direction of feedback or another.

I have to add in that I participated in the Best of Show (BOS) judging at this event. Normally, I wouldn’t even get a crack at the BOS round of judging because of my lack of experience but due to the lack of judges, I was in. The BOS judging was far simpler than a standard round of judging as there are no numbers to calculate and no flaws to look for. In the end, it all comes down to which beer the judges the like the best. I personally had my favorites while the other two judges had theirs. We talked about what our likes and dislikes were and we lobbied for one beer to be ranked over another. In the end, we came to a consensus and choose our winners. Since the results haven’t been posted on the San Mateo County Fair website yet, I don’t feel that I can post up the results here. I can say that the Best of Show (BOS) winner was a style of beer not normally seen in a competition. It was complex, interesting, well made and to style.

Judging the San Mateo County Fair Homebrew Competition was an experience. I gained a little bit more confidence in my own abilities, experienced a different way of judging beers and even got to participate in a BOS panel. Despite some of the drawbacks of the event, I look forward to judging this event in the future and growing as a judge as this event grows as a competition.

It’s official. I am a BJCP beer judge. If you want to be really technical, I was a beer judge the day I completed my BJCP test. But, after months of waiting, I finally got my results back and I have achieved the rank of… “Recognized”.

Oooohhh… “Recognized”. Besides sounding important and all, what does that mean?

It basically means I took the test and I scored 60+ but less than 70. Back in school, that would’ve been a “D+”, unless teacher graded on a curve in which case I might get a “C-”. If you’re really curious, my actual score was 67 on the written and 69 on the tasting with my final score a 68.

The whole time during the BJCP prep classes I was taking, it was suggested that the first time I take the test, all I should think about is passing. Then, once I get more experience under my belt, I can retake the test to get a higher ranking. It’s not such a bad idea really. While I believe the test to be an important way to gauge the proficiency of a beer judge, I’d like to think that experience carries a lot of weight as well.

Now that I am a judge, I really would like to do the best that I can when evaluating a homebrew entry. As a homebrewer myself, I find the feedback a valuable tool to improve my own brewing abilities. I’m sure the people I am evaluating feel the same way. So, it’s back to the books for me.

The afternoon I received my scores was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, I felt really good to know my score and that I did fairly well. On the other hand, to know I was a mere 2 points away from a “Certified” ranking hurts a little. In my heart of hearts, I know I didn’t give it my all when studying for the exam. In true collegiate form, I tried to cram it all in a couple of days before. While I think it helped, I can only imagine how much better I could’ve scored had I studied. It would seem that some habits just don’t change.

In any event, I will be judging this weekend at the San Mateo County Fair Homebrew Competition and I hope to do the homebrew community right. At least that’s the goal.

Last Saturday, May 3rd, I drove up to Toronado in San Francisco to take the BJCP examination to become a beer judge. This is something I’ve been working towards for the past 3 months or so. If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you’d know I’ve been attending a BJCP study class in preparation for the exam. So it all came to head last Saturday.

I arrived at Toronado roughly by 9:30am. The last time I was at Toronado that early was for their Barleywine Festival. The place was quiet, eerily so. Usually Toronado is bustling with activity, not necessarily packed with people but busting with a healthy number of folks all enjoying good beer. The exam was held in the side room that they only open for special occasions. By the time I got in, there were already a small handful of exam hopefuls already seated. Many of them I knew from the class and a few that I’ve never seen before.

As the clock struck 10am, the test began and I would not stop writing for the next three hours.

While I can’t tell you what questions were on the BJCP exam I took, it’s easy enough to find accurate study guides on the BJCP website. The test basically breaks down into two main sections: an essay section and the tasting section. The essay portion of the exam is worth 70% of your overall score and is composed of fill-in the blank questions, T/F questions and essay questions. Of these three, the essay questions will take up the majority of your time. The tasting portion of the exam will have you tasting 4 different beers and judging them on appearance, aroma, flavor, mouthfeel and overall experience. The person giving you the exam will tell you only what style beer you are having and it’s up to you to remember the finer points of that style.
You’d think that experience would have taught me be more prepared but in the end, old habits die hard. In my collegiate years, I’d have crammed the night before. This time, I crammed for three consecutive nights. In hindsight, I should’ve been studying all along but hell, three nights is an improvement over one. If you are thinking of taking the exam, here are a few pointers that should help you out:

• Memorize the BJCP Style Guidelines to the best of your ability. The test pretty much revolves around this.
• Study the BJCP Study Guide as it is a very accurate representation of what to expect.
• Study at night before you go to bed as you will retain this information longer
• Practice answering the study guide questions. The test is 3 hours long and you will be writing for 2 hours and 55 minutes of it.

Technically, I am now a BJCP judge with the rank of “Apprentice”. It’s the first rung on the Beer Judge ladder but everyone has to start someplace. Since the BJCP is a volunteer organization, it will take some time before I get my test results back, roughly 3-4 months. I hope I did enough to pass the test and move up the latter to “Recognized” but that remains to be seen.

Feel free to shoot me an email at betterbeerblog(at)gmail(dot)com if you have any questions about the exam or the BJCP or leave a comment to let me know how you did on your test if you’ve taken it before.

AHA National Homebrew Competition at Devils Canyon click to view gallery

This coming Saturday, May 3^rd, is the day I take my test to become a recognized BJCP beer judge. I’ve been studying a little but like most folks, I wait until the end to cram. Having already taken the BJCP preparatory classes, I got a small sense of what beer judging would be but not having been at a homebrew competition, I’d never know for sure. That was until last Sunday.

The American Homebrewers Association held their National Homebrew Competition, West Regional Event at Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company in Belmont, CA. I signed up for this event partly because I’ve never been to a competition and I wanted to see what they are really like. And partly because it people who served at this event will get priority for the Samuel Adams Longshot Competition in San Francisco late May.

Not having ever been to Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company (Devil’s Canyon), I assumed that it would be like most brew pubs. Meaning, it would mainly be a restaurant with a brewery. What Sammy and I found was nothing of the sort. Devil’s Canyon is located in the middle of an industrial park and is more of a production brewery.

Since I haven’t taken my BJCP test just yet Sammy and I signed up to be stewards. The job of a steward is fairly simple: we bring beers to the beer judges and double check their scores. According to the BJCP, the steward’s job is as follows:

A program participant who assists judges, obtains entries and supplies, handles paperwork, and manages the competition logistics at a judging table.

While I was initially a little nervous, once we got into the flow of things, being a steward was actually fairly easy. There’s a lot of standing around and paying attention to the judges. As soon as they begin to engage each other in a debate, that’s when you know they’re ready for the next beer. We take away the old beer and score sheets but not before asking if the most recently judged beer should be capped for a mini-Best of Show (mini-BOS). Nothing too exciting but as someone who is passionately interested in beer, I found it very interesting to listen to the judges go back and forth with each other.

Usually, a more experienced judge (national level or higher) is paired with a less experienced judge (apprentice, recognized or certified). It’s kinda like the whole Jedi/Padawan relationship only without the lightsabers, the force, and mind tricks. Also lacking were the Jedi robes, the hair braids and spiritual philosophies. Okay, it’s nothing like the Jedi/Padawan relationship.

I joke, of course. It’s actually a very good system that fosters honest debate and open dialogue. One pair of judges (a national level and a recognized level) were often at opposite ends of the spectrum with their beers. The national level would rate a beer highly and the recognized level lower or vice-versa. If the difference between scores is greater than 7, discussion is supposed to take place between judges and, hopefully, compromise.

At the end of the day, I didn’t get any scores or winners because this was a regional event with the winners moving to the next round. By the end of the day, I got a really good sense of how a homebrew competition works. All-in-all, a very good day and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s test hoping to join the ranks of other BJCP judges.

2008 World Cup Afterparty Click to view gallery

The Bay Area Mashers held their 2008 World Cup Homebrew finals March 29, 2008 at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California. Even though I didn’t have any entries, the wife and I decided to drive up to Trumer to see how a homebrew competition is run. A few people from the BJCP class were going up so we’d know a few people, at least.

I had no idea what to expect. We arrived at Trumer and followed the signs to the after party. With the gate open, Samboun and I waltz right in and made ourselves at home. There was a fine selection of homebrew on tap along with a keg of Trumer Pilsner donated by the host company. Having never been to Trumer before, I expected them to be a brew pub but found they were a production brewery… that brewed only one style of beer, pilsner. Of the homebrews on tap that were being served, I enjoyed the witbier most, followed by the Trumer pils, then the 14% wheatwine* someone kegged later on in the day. Samboun especially enjoyed the wheatwine.

So far, Sammy and I have attended various beer festivals but this is the first time we’ve been to a homebrew competition. Usually at beer festivals, we get a chance to meet and talk to some interesting people who are primarily interested in drinking as much beer as possible. At this homebrew competition after party, we got to meet and talk to some interesting people who are primarily interested in drinking as much beer as possible… that they brewed themselves. It’s an interesting distinction in that these are people who have an intimate relationship with beer as both a consumer and producer. They are well aware of most aspects of beer making and of tasting. Sure, a lot of them ended up getting drunk nonetheless but at least they were very selective about it.

We got to the point where the organizers began to announce the winners of the 2008 World Cup Competition. What I completely didn’t expect (but should have) was the announcement of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from all 26 styles of beer. That’s a lot of writing and my little pencil and pocket notebook were not up to the task. I wish I could have a complete list of winners from each category but I don’t. Likewise, Samboun got tired of taking pictures of all the winners. She did get a couple of good shots including the winner of “Best of Show”. I must say that members of DOZE (Diablo Organization of Zymiracle Enthusiasts) where runaway winners of this competition. To say they dominated the field would be putting it lightly. I think they may have had a member place in almost each category. From what I was able to gather from the folks I spoke to, it was like this last year as well.The folks as Trumer Brauerei were kind enough to take the few of us who remained on a tour of their production facilities. I could sit here and write play-by-play coverage of the tour, but frankly, that would be boring to both you and me. Instead, click over to the event gallery gallery to view the pictures Samboun took of their facilities. Here are a few notes that I do remember:

• Surprising to maybe just me, Trumer only brews a pilsner. I would have expected a production brewery to make more than one kind of beer but they only do a pilsner. A very good one, in fact.
• The Trumer Brauerei location in Berkeley used to be a Pyramid production brewrey.
• Trumer has a production capacity of 50 barrels at a time. This is the largest capacity I’ve seen to date but I was reminded that the Anheuser-Busch breweries measure their capacities in the hundreds of barrels.
• They can fill a keg (15.5 gallon) in about a minute.
• They have a “pet” black widow that lives somewhere around the kegging machine.
• The Trumer guys are really cool and answered all of our questions.

By the end of the day, a few of the guys left were ready to head to Trappist for more beers but Samboun and I were going to call it a day. We had met some really interesting people (who I keep forgetting to email, sorry guys!) and we hope to see them around. Thanks to the Mashers for allowing us to crash their party, Trumer Brauerei for hosting the event and the cool people we talked to and/or met (Alex, John, Micah, the two Erichs, Crazy Jack and Adam).

I mentioned it some weeks ago but the Bay Area Mashers is in the midst of their World Cup Homebrew Competition. Preliminary judging started last week and the final judging will be held at Trumer Brauerei. Here are the specifics:

Preliminary Judging: March 22, 2008
Final Judging: March 29, 2008
Party: 1:00 PM, Awards at 3:30 PM

Trumer Brauerei Berkeley
1404 Fourth Street
Berkeley, California 94710

A number of my classmates from the BJCP study group will be there along with BJCP Grandmaster Judge John Watson. Hopefully we’ll be able to make it but I didn’t put it on the calendar.

This past week the class covered the Amber Hybrid and Belgian ale styles. I forget now but at the time, I remember contemplating whether or not I should go to class. I am very glad that I decided to go as the Belgian ale portion of the class was really enjoyable. Talk about complexities! There’s a lot of beer going on in the Belgian ales. You could, literally, take an entire college semesters going over just Belgian ales. While there are a few broad categories, the sheer number of variations within those categories is staggering.

We’re talking about a country where beer is as much a part of the national diet as soda is for the United States. Sure, Germany has long been known for being the “beer capital” of the world but I think the ales that Belgium produces have so much going on and are consistent. There’s the subdued malts and hop flavors, the fruity esters and spiciness, the aromas and flavors… wow. Good stuff.

I know I used to do do individual beer reviews but they took a lot of time and effort. I get… reviewed out by the end of class and by then, I just really want to crack open a cold one for the sake of enjoyment and not because I have to work on it. I’ll bring the individual reviews back after the BJCP classes are over but for now, here are my tasting notes from class.

It’s the 6th week of the BJCP study class/group session and this week we covered some some light beers, American wheat beers and the classic German wheat beers. Compared to the marathon, malt-fest that was last week’s study group, this is a welcome change. I’ve often used wheat beers on my beer and food tasting events so I was really looking forward to tasting these beer more in depth.

The only beer we didn’t try was the roggenbier (German rye beer) style as they are difficult to come by.

Class this week ran long. We started a little after 7pm and didn’t get out until about 11:30pm. It’s not like we dilly dallied around either, we just had a lot of beers to taste. Good thing it was a family of beers I like.

This week the class is covering the porter and stout family of beers. These are two lineages of beer that are very similar, so similar in fact that it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. Historically, the porter was developed first. It wasn’t so much of a style than it was a blend of different beers at the same time. The porter style was given its name based upon those who mainly consumed it, the river and street porters.

Stouts were developed as stronger porters. Initially, a strong porter was referred to as “stout”. After a while, “porter” was removed from the name and stout stuck.

You can read up more on the history of porters and stouts here.

I can’t believe a month has already passed by since I started taking this class. While I feel I have learned a lot, I don’t think that I have learned enough to pass the BJCP certification test yet. From what John told us, the next test will be on May 3rd, just a couple of weeks after our last session. There’s a lot that we’re covering while in class but I know there’s so much more I need to cover outside of class. At this point, there’s a lot on my plate to really take the time necessary to study but I’ll do what I can. Maybe I’ll take it on a lark to see how I do and to get experience on taking the test. You never know, I just might pass.

In any event, here’s are the beers we covered this week. We went a bit out of order but I’ll put things down in the same way I went through them.