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Won My First Medal


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#1 Area Man

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Posted 28 March 2017 - 07:50 PM

  I've been back to brewing since January of last year after a multi-year layoff. I was never into competitions, but I've gotten heavily involved with the club here and they've been pushing me to start entering some beers. Finally got around to entering a few, so I entered 5 in this year's Bluebonnet Brewoff. I took second in the smoked beer category with a smoked chili ESB that I brewed damn near a year ago. :D

 

 While I've never put a lot of stock into competitions, it does feel pretty good to win something for a recipe I designed and brewed myself. I entered a Trappist single (my house beer) that actually scored higher, but the category was tougher. For one, it's hard to get attention with a small beer in that category. The biggest problem is that it was undercarbed. Not sure why, but I chalk it up to being my first time using my Beer Gun. 

 

 Our club is relatively small, but we had a blast. And I got some damn good feedback on the stuff I entered. I can kinda see why people get into the competitions!



#2 realbeerguy

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Posted 28 March 2017 - 08:48 PM

:frank: Congrats!



#3 neddles

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Posted 28 March 2017 - 09:05 PM

Very cool and congrats.

#4 Big Nake

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 05:33 AM

Nice work... always good to get some positive feedback. Oh, and welcome back to brewing after the break. There's a little bit of that going around which is good to see.

#5 Hines

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 07:12 AM

Congrats!  Good feedback and a pat on the shoulder are nice things to receive!



#6 Poptop

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 09:05 AM

Well done. The recipe sounds interesting.

#7 brewman

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 09:09 AM

Great job



#8 djinkc

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 03:52 PM

As I recall that's a really big comp.  Congrats!



#9 Area Man

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Posted 29 March 2017 - 08:12 PM

Thanks all! Besides the patersbier I had high hopes for, my others entries were lackluster and I knew it going in. All drinkable beers with no technical flaws that I could detect.

 

I did an oatmeal stout--on brew day I discovered I was way short on crystal malts, so it got a good bit of dark wheat and kiln amber. I realized after-the-fact that I should have entered it as a porter, and my feedback reflected that. My regular ESB was much the same; hop substitutions on brewday threw it off-style. 

 

Think I'll make some adjustments and try it again next year.



#10 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 11 April 2017 - 09:13 PM

Congrats!



#11 Thirsty

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Posted 13 April 2017 - 02:51 PM

For one, it's hard to get attention with a small beer in that category.




Sometimes may seem that way, but may not be so. There are usually many big beer entries, and I have noticed while judging smaller beers, fellow judges weigh more respect to the effort. Smaller beers are harder to mask any flaws, and judges seem to have a soft spot in their heart for that.

It is more noticeable when watching (I have never judged one) a BOS round. When the judges are narrowing down and selecting their favorites, there always seems to be a battled discussion when a small beer is going to kicked out.

Not saying that any of this is guaranteed, however my observations are that more times than not, an experienced judge would rather advance a small beer. All IMHO

And Congrats!!!

Edited by Thirsty, 13 April 2017 - 02:51 PM.



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