tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570898016673125381.post5292892078379884566..comments2023-12-08T00:49:41.769-08:00Comments on Andy's Brewing Blog: My First Homebrew Medals!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16171447306687358664noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570898016673125381.post-47873795497539774212016-03-23T20:27:22.294-07:002016-03-23T20:27:22.294-07:00Good points, all of those! I think the over-hoppag...Good points, all of those! I think the over-hoppage also applies in SoCal!<br />Interesting on the mailing results -- I suppose if it sits at 95 degrees in a truck for a week, that doesn't do it any favors. I've mailed for one competition (but it was relatively local -- I just wasn't going to make it to the site in person, given my scheduling).Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16171447306687358664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6570898016673125381.post-24818644523362911832016-03-23T11:56:21.389-07:002016-03-23T11:56:21.389-07:00Some other things that I have learned from enterin...Some other things that I have learned from entering competetions:<br />1) Placement in the sampling line up matters. There is no control over this, but if a beer is sampled earlier, i find it will generally get a better score. This is especially true with bold styles like IPA or barrel aged beers where taste buds/senses get blown out by high IBU, ABV, etc.<br />2) Know the region that you are competing in and tailor the beer to meet their general regional preferences. I have found that when competing in CO, that beer better be super hoppy!<br />3) Inexperienced judges affect your competetion results. I will occasionally get judge cards from true neophytes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because we all started from zero, but I do occasionally get comments/scores from people who obviously are brand new or are just there to get drunk. It has both worked in my favor and against me. I once had a card that only said "this must be an extract beer". <br />4) Mailing submissions is a waste of time, money and good beer. Beer just doesn't seem to survive the shipping process well. I have submitted beer from the same batch to multiple competetions many times and invariably, the shipped beers will score 10 or more points less than the hand delivered beer. Every time. <br />5) Submitting to large competetions/popular categories gives a much better representation of the overall quality of the beer. Submitting to a smaller group gives a better chance of placing, which is cool and all, but larger data sets are more meaningful. I like to see how my beer stacks up against lots of beers. More rigorous testing usually produces more meaningful results. <br />Anyway, I just thought I would add some competetion insight I have learned over the past couple of years to what you had to shared (much of which I have also observed).<br />Brew on!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01087821268785146954noreply@blogger.com