Return-Path: listadm at synchro.com Received: from srvr8.engin.umich.edu (root at srvr8.engin.umich.edu [141.212.2.81]) by srvr5.engin.umich.edu (8.7.4/8.7.3) with ESMTP id NAA27838 for ; Tue, 12 Mar 1996 13:58:16 -0500 (EST) Received: from redheat.rs.itd.umich.edu (redheat.rs.itd.umich.edu [141.211.83.36]) by srvr8.engin.umich.edu (8.7.4/8.7.3) with ESMTP id NAA23888 for ; Tue, 12 Mar 1996 13:57:28 -0500 (EST) Received: by redheat.rs.itd.umich.edu (8.7.4/2.2) with X.500 id NAA07509; Tue, 12 Mar 1996 13:57:26 -0500 (EST) Received: from uu6.psi.com by redheat.rs.itd.umich.edu (8.7.4/2.2) with SMTP id NAA07461; Tue, 12 Mar 1996 13:57:12 -0500 (EST) Received: by uu6.psi.com (5.65b/4.0.071791-PSI/PSINet) via UUCP; id AA06419 for ; Tue, 12 Mar 96 11:52:12 -0500 Received: (from listadm at localhost) by synchro.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id BAA06779 for judge-recipients at synchro.com; Tue, 12 Mar 1996 01:10:02 -0500 Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 01:10:02 -0500 Message-Id: <199603120610.BAA06779 at synchro.com> To: judge-recipients at synchro.com (JudgeNet Recipients) From: judge-owner at synchro.com (JudgeNet Administrator) Reply-To: judge at synchro.com (JudgeNet) Errors-To: judge-error at synchro.com Precedence: bulk Subject: JudgeNet Digest #1233 (Mar 11, 1996) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JudgeNet Digest #1233 Mon 11 Mar 1996 JudgeNet The Beer Judge Digest digest submissions: judge at synchro.com administrative requests: judge-request at synchro.com send cancellations & rank updates to the administrative address messages sent to the wrong address will be ignored WWW Archives: http://www.umich.edu/~spencer/beer/judge Editor: Chuck Cox Archivist: Spencer Thomas Publishers: SynchroSystems and the Riverside Garage & Brewery Anti-Prohibitionists may also be interested in LiBeerty: The Libertarian Beer Digest Subscription info: libeerty-request at synchro.com For BJCP General Information contact: geninfo at bjcp.synchro.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents: Re: FWIW (Scott Bickham) Contest Announcement (Btalk) Pay AHA for competition? (hollen) Old Ales. (Jim Cave) Old/strong ales (con't) (Jim Cave) Spirit of Free Beer Competition (Delano Dugarm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 09:48:11 -0500 (EST) From: Scott Bickham Subject: Re: FWIW Mark Johnston wrote: > As such, I am of the opinion that the tasting of beer, and the > subsequent commenting on those tastes, must be a larger factor in BJCP > qualification, testing, and advancement. Under the present system, a person > can score (e.g.) a 90 on the written test and a 60 on tasting, and still be > eligible for National ranking after tasting a few hundred beers. If, as is > often the case unfortunately, the majority of these beers are faulted, or > untrue to style, how has "experience" qualified him? This would be possible in an ideal setting, but the fact is that the graders have very limited information when scoring the tasting part of the exam. The scoring, descriptions and feedback of each examinee are compared to those of two proctors. Even when the exam administrators are very experienced judges, palate variations make it difficult to determine to what extent a flaw was actually present. On the other hand, it is fairly easy to determine if the answer to an essay questions is right or wrong, and where the score should fall relative to the different levels. This is why more weight is given to the essay portion - without tasting the test beers, there can be too much variability in the results of the tasting portion. Of course if we increased the exam fees by a factor of four or five, we could pay someone to quit his day job and travel around the country administering exams, in which case there would be less variability, but I don't think this would go over very well. Cheers, Scott - -- ==================================================================== E-Mail: bickham at dave.nrl.navy.mil FAX:(202) 404-7546 Office: Naval Research Laboratories Home and BJCP: Code 6691, Complex Systems 7507 Swan Point Way Washington, D.C 20375 Columbia, MD 21045 (202) 404-8632 (410) 290-7721 ==================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 10:04:41 -0500 From: Btalk at aol.com Subject: Contest Announcement The Parlor City Brewers Coalition, comprised of the Borderline Yeast Infectors and the Broome County Fermenters present The Parlor City Brew Off homebrew competition April 13 in Binghamton, NY, at the Parlor City Brewery. This BJCP sanctioned event is open to the usual styles of home made beer, mead and cider. Entry fee is $5 for the first and second entries, $4 for each additional. Any type bottles will be accepted, as long as there are 20 oz total. Carbonaters will be returned. Cool ribbons and prizes will be awarded in all categories for first, second and third places. Mead and Cider will have own Best of Show judging and prize. Best of Show for beer is a kegging system. Top BOS will also get plaques. This is your last chance to score points for this years NY Brewer and Club awards!! Entry deadline is March 30. Dropoff points have been set up in the Syracuse, Albany and Binghamton, NY areas. For additional info or entry packet, contact Roger Haggett, contest organizer . Judges and stewards contact me. Regards, Bob Talkiewicz, BInghamton, NY ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 96 07:31:23 PST From: hollen at vigra.com Subject: Pay AHA for competition? I surely don't want to start a flame war about BJCP vs. AHA again, but this would seem to be the best forum to get a straight answer. Since the split, our fees for running a competition have just about doubled due to having to pay two organizations. While I would like it for the BJCP to provide pre-competition materials as extensive as those we get from AHA so that we could just ignore the AHA altogether, that is another topic. What I am interested in are post-competition fees. These fees to both BJCP and AHA are based on the club paying the organization to record judges' points. Since the BJCP has an ongoing judge certification program, I can understand paying the BJCP. However, we could not understand why we should have to pay AHA to record judges' points in a program which does not exist. Since we knew that the only people who could get screwed because of us not paying would be the judges, we paid anyway. But we would like the story so we can decide about next year. thanks, dion - -- Dion Hollenbeck (619)597-7080x119 Email: hollen at vigra.com Senior Software Engineer Vigra, Inc. San Diego, California ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 9:31:48 -0800 (PST) From: Jim Cave Subject: Old Ales. I definately agree with Al, that British Old/strong ales are highly variable in colour and flavour generally. However, typically they are not highly fermented out. Hops are there for balance, but I don't think that hop flavour or aroma should be strongly in evidence, and certainly not assertive. Rather, I believe a vinous character should be in evidence, together with raisins and other fruit, in balance with the malty character of the beer. No phenolic or harsh character should be present. Few of these beers are "Old" in age and are highly variable in strength. I don't think Old Peculier is the best example of the style, particularly the bottled version. It is now made in Newcastle and those familiar with the original (Masham) version feel that it has lost some character. I have enjoyed other examples of the style, notably, old Hookey, Theakstons strong Masham ale (a superb pale beer) and St Austels Smugglers ale. Masham ale is available only from the wood and only in Masham. Old/strong ales are typically winter beers and few have been available during my visits to the UK. For debate, here is a suggested style description: Old/Strong Ale: The style is highly variable and few examples are truly "Old", i.e. aged. The colour is amber to dark red to dark brown. O.G. may vary from 1.045-1.080+, although some examples (Thomas Hardy) may exceed 1.100. Bitterness is subdued and is used to provide balance to the malt character, IBU's: 25-45 (perhaps higher?). Most examples have low levels of hop flavour and aroma. The fermentation characteristics are subtle and phenolic or excessive fruitiness should be minimized. Some examples show raisin-like flavours. Vinous characteritics may be present. Slight "rummy notes Jim Cave ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 10:26:18 -0800 (PST) From: Jim Cave Subject: Old/strong ales (con't) Sorry about that. The post was accidently sent prematurely. Old/strong ales style guideline continued... "Rummy notes" from use of sugars may be present. Any roast character is very subdued and used only to provide balance. The malt character is emphasised but should not dominate and the overall accent should be sweet, but not cloying. Serve at 14-15 C. Carbonation is usually flat (1.0 atmosphere) and bottled versions should not exceed much over 1.2 atmospheres which would provide a slight bead and thin head. Historical examples possibly (probably?) had Brettanomyces and other non- Sacchromyces characteristics. People routinely ask how much treacle to add. The answer is: None. The grain/sugar bill is highly variable between examples. The brewer should consult Protz's Real Ale Almanac as a guide. Beware of the Wheeler/Protz book on Brewing Real Ales at Home, as hopping levels and extract efficiencies are considerably lower than what most brewers will obtain. Jim Cave ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 20:26:46 +0000 (GMT) From: Delano Dugarm Subject: Spirit of Free Beer Competition The Washington, DC area is hosting the Fourth Annual Nation's Capital "Spirit of Free Beer" Homebrew Competition on May 18, 1996. The competition is recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program. We encourage brewers of all skill levels to enter their homebrews in this competition. The Potomac River Brewing Company has agreed to accommodate cold storage needs and judging will take place on-site in closed session to avoid mistreatment of entries. This competition is an excellent opportunity to have beers judged in comparison to beers from a wide geographic region and get quality feedback. Score sheets will be *promptly* returned following judging. Although the primary objective of the homebrew competition is to provide constructive comments on the entries, we are currently in the process of assembling a full range of prizes to be sponsored by regional microbreweries, homebrew supply shops, bars, brewpubs, restaurants, and others. More than $2000 worth of prizes ($50-$100 gift certificates for mail order homebrew supplies, sacks of British malt, a 3l bottle of Corsendonk Pale Ale, etc.) were awarded at last year's competition. (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each class, plus 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Best of Show) The Nation's Capital "Spirit of Free Beer" Homebrew Competition provides an excellent opportunity for judges participating in the Beer Judge Certification Program to earn some experience points. We have volunteers willing to provide lodging for judges staying overnight. Anyone interested in judging can contact the Judging Coordinator, Rick Garvin, at rgarvin at btg.com. Get those fermentation locks bubbling and send us your entries. If you would like to receive an information packet on the Nation's Capital "Spirit of Free Beer" Homebrew Competition (including full rules and entry forms), please send private e-mail to Lynne Ragazzini at lynne at sed.psrw.com or call the Competition Organizer, Becky Pyle, at (703) 273-2108. ------------------------------ End of JudgeNet Digest ************************ -------