Homebrew Competition Tips

Write Descriptions for Specialty Beers

There are some basic guidelines on how to write descriptions for specialty beers and we’ll walk thru them together in this post. There are several BJCP categories that require a brief description from the brewer in order to be judged correctly. The way you describe your beer can mean the difference between a gold medal…

How to Package Beer to Mail to Competition

With the National Homebrew Competition coming up, as well as a whole bunch of MCAB qualifying competitions, questions about How to package beer to mail always come up. I’ve put together a quick series of photos and descriptions on how to package your beer for shipping. Step 1 – Get a sturdy box that is large…

Learn to Pick Out Common Flaws

Even if you’re entering competitions to just get feedback on your beer, it can be difficult for judges to accurately judge a beer when there are significant defects – bacterial contamination, acetaldehyde, diacetyl, etc. Being able to pick out these flaws yourself will allow you to send only your best beers out to get real,…

Brew to Style

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if you’re going to enter competitions, make sure you brew beer that is to style. Read the guidelines, taste your beer and taste commercial examples of the style you’re trying to brew. Unless you’re going to enter a beer in to one of the specialty…

Enter Your Beer in Competitions!

This may seem like a silly tip, but just enter your beer. Like anything else, practice makes perfect. This keeps you brewing and keeps your chops up. I try to enter every competition that has less than a 2 day transit time via UPS. I also try to avoid shipping over weekends. The sooner my…

Keep in Mind That Your Beer Will Usually be Judged Against Similiar Beers

Competitions are usually judged by main style categories – category 2 – Pilsners, for example. Sometimes in smaller competitions categories are combined, but they are usually combined in logical fashion. Combining Amber Lagers with Dark Lagers is common, or Dark Lagers with Amber Hybrids for example. Your German Pilsner isn’t going to be going up…

Don’t Do Anything Drastic Until the Same Beer Gets Several Sets of Scoresheets

Judging beers is, unfortunately, a pretty subjective endeavor. Some judges have difficult times picking up certain off flavors. Some have a low threshold for bitterness, or just plain think XYZ hops are disgusting. Even what they had for breakfast can impact their judging, especially if you’re one of the first beers they judge for the…

Learn to Brew Consistently

If you can’t consistently re-brew a beer, practice until you can. Being able to brew the beer the same every time allows you to make subtle changes based on feedback. If your beer is always substantially different, you’re not going to be able to control the improvements as well. Let’s say the comment was to…

Submit Beers that Taste Like What the BJCP Guidelines Describe

Don’t focus too much on the actual numbers, but rather trust your palate. Does the description match your beer? It doesn’t have to be right down the middle, but your beer will be judged and scored based on these guidelines. If the guidelines say that your beer should have no fruity esters and your beer…

Don’t Take Criticism or Low Scores Personally

This one took me some time to get used to personally. It’s hard to not get upset if you have tons of time and money invested in something… albeit something as ultimately trivial as beer. The overall goal should be to improve the beer that you’re brewing. If you get a low score sheet, review…