From synchro!judge-request at uu6.psi.com Sat Mar 19 06:44:33 1994 Received: from uu6.psi.com by goodman.itn.med.umich.edu with SMTP id AA18743 (5.65b/IDA-1.4.3 for spencer at hendrix.itn.med.umich.edu); Sat, 19 Mar 94 06:44:27 -0500 Received: from synchro.UUCP by uu6.psi.com (5.65b/4.0.071791-PSI/PSINet) via UUCP; id AA13524 for ; Sat, 19 Mar 94 06:31:06 -0500 Received: by synchro.com (smail2.5) id AA11900; 19 Mar 94 05:12:48 EST (Sat) Reply-To: judge at synchro.com (JudgeNet) Errors-To: judge-error at synchro.com Precedence: bulk Message-Id: <9403190512.AA11900 at synchro.com> From: judge-request at synchro.com (JudgeNet Administrator) To: judge-recipients at synchro.com (JudgeNet Recipients) Subject: JudgeNet Digest #717 (Mar 19, 1994) Date: 19 Mar 94 05:12:48 EST (Sat) JudgeNet Digest #717 Sat 19 Mar 1994 THE BEER JUDGE DIGEST Chuck Cox , digest administrator Michael Hall , archive administrator digest submissions to judge at synchro.com administrative requests to judge-request at synchro.com send rank updates to the administrative address messages sent to the wrong address will be ignored FTP archive information in /pub/judge/README on cygnus.ta52.lanl.gov Sponsored by SynchroSystems and the Riverside Garage & Brewery Contents: Re: Call For Judges-1994 GCHC (Michael Ligas) Problems with low scoring (bickham) Re: JudgeNet Digest #716 (Mar 18, 1994) (Steve Russell) Offer of Service ("Patrick Rigney") Offer of Service Call for Judges, AHA NHC Denver (Steve Dempsey) Hypocrite Judge Eats Crow ("Stephen L. Black") ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 07:52:12 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Ligas Subject: Re: Call For Judges-1994 GCHC Questions concerning judging at the GCHC can also be directed to me via e-mail: ligas at mcmail.cis.mcmaster.ca If you want to be put on our judge mailing list for the signup/reservation forms, soon to be mailed, send me your name, snail-mail address and phone #. Michael Ligas CABA Judge & Competitions Committee ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 09:04:03 -0500 (EST) From: bickham at msc.cornell.edu Subject: Problems with low scoring I recently organized an AHA sanctioned competition in Ithaca, New York, and while things appeared to go well on the surface, there were some judging problems. 1. Porters: the AHA Club Only "Poignant Porter" won, but with a score of only 34. A beer sent in by George Fix scored a 27 because one of the judges thought there was a big diacetyl problem. I tasted this beer last night and found only a trace of diacetyl, and gave it a score in the ballpark of 37. A lab test showed only a 0.8 mg/l concentration, which is below it's threshold. 2. Wheat beers: A weizen that scored in the 39/40 range at a national competition only managed a 31 here, because it "didn't have enough wheat character." 3. Specialty and Herb beers: No scores above 29 were given out, but tastings of three of the entries lead me to believe that while the rankings may be correct, the scores are consistently too low. Although each panel was led by a BJCP Certified or Recognized judge, it seems that part of the problem may be that most of the judges don't get out enough to other competitions and don't do enough tastings to get a grasp of the styles. Scores that are on the order of 10 points lower that more experienced judges are a problem to both the entrant and the organizer. It leaves me with the problem of explaining the unually low scoring in these categories. Should a letter be enclosed with the judges forms, or should I let the brewers contact the judges with any complaints? Thanks, Scott - -- ======================================================================== Scott Bickham bickham at msc.cornell.edu ========================================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 08:16:17 -0700 (MST) From: Steve Russell Subject: Re: JudgeNet Digest #716 (Mar 18, 1994) Stephen W. Russell aaswr at asuvm.inre.asu.edu Department of Chem, Bio and Materials Engineering 602-965-5021 work Arizona State University 602-902-0628 home "I YEARN FOR YOU TRAGICALLY." 602-965-0037 FAX -- A.T. TAPPMANN, CHAPLAIN, U.S. ARMY ------------------------------ Date: 18 Mar 1994 08:41:45 -0800 From: "Patrick Rigney" Subject: Offer of Service Subject: Offer of Service (Please post as you deem appropriate.) Greetings! I am an active home brewer of almost nine years, and I have recently taken interest in becoming a judge. It seems that the right approach (for me) at this time is to be a steward and learn as much from the active judges as I can. So, I would like to offer my services as a steward (is there a registry for this kind of thing?). I live in the San Francisco area, and would be willing to work any time, anywhere within a reasonable distance (say 4 hours driving). Please give me a call!!! Patrick Rigney Tel.: 415-389-0806, Fax: 415-380-8602 Internet: patrick_rigney at blyth.com CIS: 70761, 2034 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 12:09:32 -0700 From: Steve Dempsey Subject: Call for Judges, AHA NHC Denver Judging for the western region of the 1994 AHA National Homebrew Competition will be held in Denver on Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1. The location will be the Wynkoop Brewing Co. downtown, same as last year. Judges and stewards are needed for two sessions on each day. The morning session will run 8:30-noon; afternoon 1:30-5pm. Lunch will be provided for all stewards and judges working two or more sessions. A letter with complete details and registration information is scheduled to be mailed on March 21 to: - everyone who participated last year - active BJCP judges - homebrew clubs If you are interested in participating and don't think you will get this information from one of the above, please contact me by email to , or by phone, (303) 491-0630 day, 482-1403 evenings (voice mail on both numbers). ================================ Engineering Network Services Steve Dempsey Colorado State University steved at longs.lance.colostate.edu Fort Collins, CO 80523 ================================ +1 303 491 0630 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 18:01:25 -0600 (CST) From: "Stephen L. Black" Subject: Hypocrite Judge Eats Crow Last month I replied in my typically forceful and informal way to John Calen's innocent posting regarding Bad vs. Better judging comments. Among other comments, I advised John to consider "reality" (several times) and lectured him on the danger of trying to offer speculative and presumptive suggestions. I even used the F word, much to the chagrin of one JudgeNet subscriber, who felt I should strive for a "professional" tone because the AHA listens to JudgeNet. Fuck that, what I should have been taken to task for was being an opinionated hypocrite. Here, John, is a classic example of bad judging comments from one who should (and often claims to) know better. Recently I received a terse memo from Pat Baker (BJCP Co- Director) to which was attached a copy a letter from an aggrieved brewer concerning my Dixie Cup score sheet (which was also attached) on his rauch beer. The brewer felt and Pat agreed that my comments were "way off base" and that I had done a "very poor job". At last fall's Dixie Cup I judged two first round flights (one Friday and one Saturday). On Saturday I agreed to judge Specialty beers only too aware of the stylistic difficulties. We lined them up in what we percieved to be a logical order: wit beers, a few odds and ends, fruit stouts, followed by a single rauch beer. Before we got to the rauch beer we found a nice wit and a couple of well-made berry stouts. Though I knew the rauch beer would be a shock, I found the bar-b-que pit character immensely overwhelming. It was easy, too easy as it turned out, to dismiss the beer and finish the round and heed the Siren's call: "the pub crawl buses are filling fast." So I tossed down some single digit numbers, wrote "excessive liquid smoke" under Boquet, "unbalanced" under Flavor, "?" under Body, and "not how to make a good beer -- dump liquid smoke into some mediocre beer. Shame on you -- I've tried it myself, *once*" under Overall Impression. Yes, my comments were *way* off base. Its not that the beer should have been scored any higher -- it was so heavily laden with excess phenols and the pungent odor and harsh of charred wood resin that the style or even general character of the underlying beer could not be discerned. But I should have at least mentioned the color of the beer, noted the thin head and then said simply that the beer was excessively smokey. I might have hazzarded a clearly worded *guess* that the source of the smoke character might have been Liquid Smoke, but I had no need to chide the brewer. Had I delivered the "shame on you" verbally, the brewer would have recognized it for a playful scolding, but on the score sheet there was no voice tone, only black and white letters. My real mistake was that I forgot that the purpose of judging is two fold: find and reward the better beers, but also, provide even handed feedback on the beers that need help. I forgot the fact that behind every beer is a fellow homebrewer, who for better or worse, is trying to make a decent beer. No one sets out to brew a bad beer. In my contrite letter to Pat I said that what I regretted most was not that he had officially reprimanded me, but that I had hurt the feelings of a fellow brewer. For me it was a realization that I hope I won't forget each and every time a bad beer comes my way at future judging tables. No matter how many times winning brewers say "thanks for the great comments", it only takes one thoughtless score sheet to tip the balance and change your diet. Crow never seems to taste any better no matter how it is served. Yours in the homebrew judging cause, Steve "Ma" Black ------------------------------ End of JudgeNet Digest ************************