Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 10:50:01 -0500
Message-Id: <199703201550.KAA01818 at synchro.com>
From: owner-judge-digest at synchro.com
To: judge-digest at synchro.com
Subject:   judge-digest V1 #1409
Reply-To: judge at synchro.com
Errors-To: owner-judge-digest at synchro.com
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judge-digest              Thursday, 20 March 1997      Volume 01 : Number 1409

 ============================================================================
       J u d g e N e t   -   t h e   b e e r   j u d g e   d i g e s t
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 Moderator:        Chuck Cox          <chuck at synchro.com>
 Archivist:        Spencer Thomas     <spencer at umich.edu>
 Publisher:        SynchroSystems     <info at synchro.com>

 Submissions:      judge at synchro.com
 Subscriptions:    judge-request at synchro.com
 Archive:          http://realbeer.com/spencer/judge
 BJCP info:        geninfo at bjcp.synchro.com

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 contents:

 Call for Style Guideline Volunteers ...
 too few judges and too many entries
 New mead guidelines

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From: Tom Fitzpatrick <fitz at FNAL.GOV>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 12:49:00 -0600
Subject: Call for Style Guideline Volunteers ...

Beer and Mead Enthusiasts,

	The 1997 BJCP Style Guidelines are complete
and can be viewed at:
 http://www.execpc.com/~ddavison/bjcp.html
using the Adobe Acrobat 3.0 reader. Note that the last
revision date is 3/18/97.

Recent revisions to the mead guidelines have been
implemented. Note that there is an expanded set of mead
style guidelines available as a separate document. These
expanded mead guidelines may be used for competitions
with larger numbers of mead entries or they may be
useful as a reference to the most commonly made meads.
Special thanks to Michael Hall for providing the information
on which these guidelines are largely based. Thank Yous 
are also in order for Ken Schramm, Steve Dempsey, and
Dan McConnell. 

The beer categories have remained stable
since early February. In the future the guidelines will be
updated only once at the end of the year. 

	Since beer styles are always changing and 
evolving, the BJCP has decided to form a subcommittee 
of the Competition Committee to evaluate, research, and 
update our guidelines.

	We are looking for a variety of individuals to fill 
various roles in the committee. The level of commitment 
may vary greatly. One can volunteer as an outside 
consultant for a particular style or become a long term 
member of the committee. Qualifications may include but
are not limited to:

 -access to historical materials.
 -access to research materials.
 -in depth knowledge of all styles.
 -expertise in a particular style.
 -acquainted with known expert(s) on a style.
 -able to perform research/interviews with experts in
a style's country of origin.
 -experience and knowledge chairing committees, keeping
focus and bringing issues to closure.
 -commercial industry contacts.
 -commercial brewing experience

Interested parties should e-mail Tom Fitzpatrick 
(fitz at fnal.gov) with the following information:

1. Name
2. Preferred e-mail address
3. City, State, Country
4. Paragraph outlining your desired role and 
level of time commitment.

	The BJCP welcomes all opinions, comments, and 
suggestions regarding style guidelines. 

Cheers!

Tom Fitzpatrick
BJCP Competition Director
BJCP Competition Committee Chairman

------------------------------

From: Craig Pepin <ckp at acpub.duke.edu>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 04:39:31 -0500 (EST)
Subject: too few judges and too many entries

To respond to Dion's question:

We first encountered this problem with our TRUB competition two years 
ago, even though we attracted a lot of D.C. judges because of our special 
Belgian tasting the night before.  That year I stayed committed to a 
single judging session, and some flights were 17-18 beers in a single 
sitting by the same judges.

Last year, I broke the judging sessions into morning and afternoon 
sessions.  A good thing too, as none of the D.C. judges came back.  This 
means a slightly longer day, but it would have been impossible to do it 
otherwise.  Judging assignments were made so that number of beers and 
relative alc. strengths were equalized among all (so nobody did Barley 
wines in the morning and strong belgians in the afternoon).  I tried to 
schedule smaller (7-10) flights for the afternoon session.  We had three 
categories that were very large, 16+, and these had the same panel judge 
them in two flights in the morning and the afternoon, breaking for lunch 
(wihtout a mini-BOS)  In this manner approx 40 judges worked through 220+ 
beers.  Palette fatigue is of course an issue, but it seemed to be the 
best solution to a difficult situation.

Craig Pepin

------------------------------

From: Spencer W Thomas <spencer at engin.umich.edu>
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 09:22:03 -0500
Subject: New mead guidelines

I have to say that I find the "expanded mead guidelines" to be
extremely nit-picky.  There are 8 subcategories of Metheglin and 13 of
Melomel!  I mean, really.  And I'm not sure where I would enter a
strawberry-banana melomel (if I were so silly as to try to make one).
There's no "generic melomel" category in those 13!  I do find the
descriptions of the expected color contributed by the various fruits
to be useful, but I don't see why they have to be listed as separate
subcategories. 

Also, the comment, in the "beer spices" (including coriander,
cardamom, ...) subcategory that "The mead will probably be light in
order not to overwhelm the delicate spices." gave me a laugh.  I have
never considered cardamom to be a "delicate spice!"  I once made a
beer with 1 gram of cardamom in 3 gallons, and it reeked of cardamom
for the first year.

On a more serious note, I am extremely disappointed that the "Show"
category is not included.  A Show mead is made with water, honey, and
yeast.  The Traditional Mead category does not properly showcase these
meads, as it allows small amounts of other flavorings to be added.

It seems to me that the committee that put together these guidelines
is overly concerned with the different ways in which mead can be
adulterated, and not in promoting the recognition of the pure
essence of this ethereal beverage.

=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor, MI        (spencer at umich.edu)

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End of judge-digest V1 #1409
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