Homebrew competitions are a big thing among many homebrewers. It’s a chance for bragging rights, validation, meeting personal goals, and becoming an accomplished brewer. Competing isn’t necessary to achieve any of those things, but it brings an element of fun and excitement into the hobby.
From local homebrew club competitions all the way to the National Homebrewing Competition, there are plenty of opportunities available for brewers to compete and show off their work.
As a homebrewer who started entering competitions roughly two years ago, I’ll admit that I’m hooked! I initially started because I wanted some validation for what I was doing. It was important to me to know how well I stood up against guys that had been doing this for years, just as a way to gauge my own skills.
Why Should You Do It?
Whether you’re a new brewer who is competitive and wants to jump straight into the fire or a seasoned vet who still hasn’t put their hat in the ring, it’s never to late to start! Homebrew competitions are gaining in popularity each year, with more popping up all across the nation (and the world). If there was ever a time to start, now would be it!
If you’re still on the fence and can’t decide if competing is right for you, you’re in the right place. Below, I’ve listed 5 of the best reasons why I think you should enter a homebrew competition. It’s a quick read with some good points that will either get you excited or make you realize that this is NOT for you (which is totally okay, too).
With that said, let’s just dive on in!
1) Great way to gain feedback
Before we get too far, let me give you some background on the Beer Judge Certification Program and how it works.
Most homebrew competitions are judged by BJCP judges. BJCP judges have the necessary knowledge, experience, and training to evaluate beer based on a set of style guidelines.
To become a beer judge, the first step requires you to pass a 180 question online test, which gives you the rank of a BJCP Provisional judge. From that point, you have a year to obtain BJCP Certified rank status, which requires an actual tasting exam. Not taking the tasting exam within a year of passing the online exam puts you back at step one, requiring you to start the process over again. Once you pass the tasting exam, however, the Certified rank is obtained and you’ll hold that rank forever.
Judges can continue to move up to higher ranks by earning judging points (gained from judging at BJCP sanctioned homebrew competitions) and taking a written exam. It’s not necessary, but it can help in refining one’s skills as a beer judge.
A significant majority of homebrew competitions are BJCP sanctioned events. In most cases, two judges (and sometimes three) will pair up to judge a flight of beers. At the minimum, competition coordinators strive to have at least one BJCP Certified judge per flight. A novice or provisional judge can pair with the certified judge for more consistency and quality control. It’s also a great way for novice or provisional judges to learn and train for their eventual certification (if they choose to do so).
All that said, this setup gives you an excellent opportunity to gain valuable feedback on your beer. Judges currently score your beer based on the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines (which you can download here). With this setup, you’ll be judged on the following:
- Aroma
- Appearance
- Flavor
- Mouthfeel
- Overall Impression
Each section has a maximum point allowance, along with enough space for the judge to write notes of what they are seeing, smelling, and tasting as they try your beer. These judges are evaluating your beer against the guidelines I mentioned above. The closer you are to nailing the style requirements, the better you’ll fare.
You can download an example of what type of scoresheet is used by clicking here.
While you could ask your friends, family, or a few members of your local homebrew club for feedback, it’s always good to get it from other outside sources. It’s completely unbiased, which is the type of feedback many of us need to hear.
2) Helps you improve a specific recipe and/or process
Nothing is more frustrating than brewing a recipe a few times and realize it’s nothing like you hoped it’d be. Maybe the hop flavor isn’t as high as you expected, there’s too much bitterness (or not enough), it’s too malty, or the yeast created too many esters. With so many variables at play, it can be hard to figure out exactly where the problem lies.
The feedback you get from a beer judge can help bridge this gap a bit. While they aren’t always 100% accurate (we are only human), their sensory analysis can help pinpoint these problems in a beer. In fact, they could even steer you towards a category where they think your current recipe might fare better.
As an example, let’s say you entered a beer into the American IPA category (21A). After the competition wraps up and your scoresheets are in your hands, you may notice that each judge made comments about the hop flavor and bitterness not matching up to the style guidelines. While the beer is really good, they think it tastes more like a Pale Ale than an IPA.
Since you’ve got one sitting in your fridge to compare (which I always recommend you do so you can try to get a sense for what the judges saw, tasted, and smelled), you pop the top and take a quick sip. At that moment, you realize exactly what the judges meant. It’s not a bad beer, but it’s definitely not up to IPA standards.
In this example, you quickly learned that while the beer wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t a good fit for the American IPA category. At this point, you could brew the same beer and see how it fares as an American Pale Ale (18B). If it does well at the next competition, you’ll know it wasn’t just your recipe, but it was the category you entered it into.
That feedback would not only help you know what category you’d be better off in, but it also gives you a baseline for the next time you want to make the beer “bigger” and enter it as an IPA, thus helping you build a better recipe and get closer to your goals.
3) Helps you become aware of off-flavors and other brewing mishaps
In addition to the space provided for judges to write out what they see, taste, and smell, there are checkboxes on the scoresheet that list several off-flavors. These are critical in helping judges call out any offensive flavors they might detect when evaluating your beer.
Each off-flavor listed also has a small list of descriptors (or sentence describing the off-flavor) next to it. This makes it easier for you to figure out what flavor a judge truly detected. For example, if the checkbox “Acetaldehyde” was checked, you would see words that describe what that off-flavor is (i.e. green apple-like aroma and flavor). Now that you’re aware your beer suffered from it, all it takes is a little research and looking at your notes to pinpoint how it found its way into your beer.
Another benefit of detailed feedback is discovering other mishaps that can be easy to look over. If a beer is too thin, a judge may recommend taking a look at your mash temperature. How about fusel alcohols (hot, solvent-like flavors)? They might suggest taking a peek at your fermentation temperature. This only scratches the surface, but it’s these small details that can help you evaluate what problems may exist in your process and get you thinking of ways you can correct them.
4) Gives insight into your overall consistency between batches
As homebrewers, consistency can be a tough thing to achieve when brewing at such a small scale. Fortunately, it can be done, but it takes a lot of experience and really knowing your way around your equipment. Even then, things may not always go according to plan.
Once you have a recipe you feel is proven and has pulled in a medal or two, re-brewing that same recipe many times over and entering it into a variety of competitions can really help you determine how consistent your brewing process is between batches. If you’re continuing to bring home medals with a particular recipe, it can raise your confidence in knowing your process is sound.
Does that mean you’ll always rake in the wins? Not at all. Some homebrew competitions are larger than others, with more seasoned and competitive brewers in the mix. Some categories might get more entries than others did before, which increases the amount of competition you’re up against.
It doesn’t always work out, but when you’re constantly crushing it on a regular basis, it’s safe to say you’re brewing successive batches that are consistent across the board. You also get the validation and satisfaction of knowing that you’re brewing excellent, top-quality beer!
5) It’s FUN
I’ll be honest: I’m somewhat of a competitive person myself. In my younger days, it was all about competing in sporting events or backyard games against neighborhood friends. Although I currently participate in some athletic events (such as running a 5k), I do it more for myself than actually to compete against others, especially since I’ve only started running this year.
On the other hand, homebrew competitions are the one thing I truly enjoy competing in. As crazy as it sounds, I absolutely LOVE the anxiety I get during competition day. I’ll check my phone and social media for updates on results, wondering just how good (or bad) my beers did. It’s a great feeling when results are either posted or announced live and you see/hear your name on the board. Even when I don’t make the board, I’m itching to see my final scores and what the judges thought of my beers to see if there was something I might’ve missed.
Another fun aspect of competing is that it’s allowed me to forge some friendships with other competitive brewers across the country through social media. It’s been great getting to know other brewers by following their brewing journey and cheering them on as they take home medals of their own.
Recently, I swapped bottles of my IPA that qualified for the finals of the National Homebrewing Competition with another incredible IPA brewer who I was up against, which was awesome! We got to give each other feedback and root for one another as we shipped our final beers out to Providence, RI for the big show. While none of us ended up with a medal, a connection was created. That’s what makes this hobby as great as it is!
Just Go For It
I know jumping into your first homebrew competition may seem overwhelming. It’s new territory and there’s a good chance other seasoned brewers are in the mix. Don’t ever let that discourage you, as I can tell you first-hand that even the most experienced homebrewers find themselves coming up short at times. You’ll never know how well you’ll do until you actually take the leap!
Even if you do come up short, all is not lost. Your detailed scoresheet will provide you with plenty of feedback, helping you understand why your beer scored the way it did. The feedback you can gain from experienced BJCP judges is priceless in helping you tweak, refine, and perfect your recipes and process.
Also, if you’re wondering how to prepare your best beer and get an edge on your first shot, check out this post. There, you will learn some of the best practices to increase your chances of bringing home some hardware!
Other Ramblings
If you are interested in how a homebrew competition is put on, I highly recommend finding one in your area that you can attend. Homebrew competitions all across the world are always looking for volunteers to help. You don’t even need to be a judge! In fact, being a steward at a homebrew competition can give you some great insight into the process and how it works.
What will you do? It’s pretty simple – you get to sit next to the judges and help them out by retrieving beers for the flight. Some will even let you take a taste along with them and ask for your feedback! I’ve done it a few times and the experience has always been educational and tons of fun.
To find out what competitions to enter or find those that are close to you, I recommend looking at AHA’s Event Calendar. There, you will find an assortment of all BJCP/AHA-sanctioned competitions that are on the horizon. Sign up to enter your beers and if you can, sign up to volunteer! The experience and education you take away from it will be worth it.