Subject: Digest for the period 4/23/2005 - 4/24/2005
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 01:04:03 -0400

Table of contents
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  1. Clarification on Christmas Beer rationale (Gordon Strong) 
  2. Steward's Points (MeadGuild`at`aol.com) 


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From: Gordon Strong  Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 08:21:00 -0400
Subject: Clarification on Christmas Beer rationale 


In the April 23 digest, Dave Houseman said:

> First the rationale for having the Christmas or Holiday Beer as a
> subcategory:  This was in recognition that in many competitions people 
> enter
> a beer with a long list of spices and other ingredients.  These were 
> brewed
> as holiday ales of some sort with an assortment of spices.  When these
> ingredients are listed individually judges tend to want to identify each
> spice separately.  This is often very difficult.  So although the overall
> beer may be very good, presenting a balance of flavors, the beer would be
> marked down since individual elements could not be identified.  Since
> Christmas or Holiday beers are very popular with homebrewers a separate
> sub-style was added for that beer.  In this way, individual special
> ingredients do not have to be listed or identified.

This is all true, although it goes beyond that.  In the old guidelines, a 
spice (herb/veg) beer could not have anything added other than spices.  And 
it had to have a classic sub-style as a base.  Christmas-type beers often 
have additional fermentables (molasses, honey, etc.) and often are not just 
a spiced version of a classic beer style.  So the recognition was made as 
part of the Christmas beer subcategory that not only were a blend of spices 
desired, but that additional ingredients unallowable in the old guidelines 
were explicitly OK.  Otherwise, Christmas-type beers were forced to be 
entered in the Specialty category.

We removed the necessity of identifying a "classic sub-style" because too 
often brewers either didn't intend the beer to be just a 
fruit/spice/whatever version of an existing style, and that judges too often 
got hung up on the "it's a great fruit beer but it's not a good <insert 
style>" cop-out.  In any of these beers, it's the resulting blend that's the 
most important thing.  By focusing on the individual elements, too often the 
forest was getting lost for the trees, so to speak.

All that said, Belgian Christmas Beers were thought of as being Belgian 
first, and Christmas-type beers second.  People judging Belgian Specialty 
need to have an appreciation of the range of commercial Belgian beers.  So 
someone entering a Belgian Christmas-type beer would likely get a more 
accurate evaluation if they enter it as a Belgian Specialty rather than a 
Christmas-type beer.  The comments in the guidelines reflect this advice.

Gordon 


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From: MeadGuild`at`aol.com  Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 18:51:00 EDT
Subject: Steward's Points 


I will be a Steward at the NHC in  Baltimore.  There are five sessions and I 
will receive a half point  regardless of the number of sessions stewarded.  
Since I will be taking the  BJCP exam, this will be the first and last time I 
steward so what I propose will  not affect me.
 
It seems to me that it would be more  motivational to grant 1/4 of a point 
for each session stewarded with a maximum  of 2 points allowed.  I'm retired so 
it means nothing to me to take off  Thursday and Friday.  But younger 
homebrewers might find the cumulative  incentive a reason to take a day or two off 
work to steward.
 
Also anyone interested in starting a  BJCP exam study group in Baltimore, 
please contact me at _MeadGuild`at`aol.com_ (mailto:MeadGuild@aol.com) .
 
Dick
--
Richard D.  Adams, CPA 

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