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NervousDad said:
Just the winners of that group advances. Odds in the IPA category are tough. I think you only need a 30 to advance to the mini-BOS than it's decided then if it moves on to the finals.

I've had beers score 40's and did not make it. Last year I think I got a 38/39 and no luck in the IIPA/IPA category.
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Not exactly. Typically, you need to score in the top 2 or 3 of your flight to advance to mini-BOS. Then you need to place in mini-BOS to win 1, 2, or 3 in your category. However, you need to place 1, 2, or 3 in your category _and_ score at least a 30 to advance to 2nd round. In big categories, that's less an issue since, as you noted, even advancing to mini-BOS requires a pretty high scoring beer. But as in other comps, a really competitive category might have beers in the high 30s that don't even make it to mini-BOS (I've had a Kolsch score a 38.5 that didn't even advance to mini-BOS whereas I've seen beers score in mid-30s that won their categories). Once you make it to mini-BOS, score becomes irrelevant. I've seen plenty of cases where a beer that scored a 35/36 beat a beer that scored a 42 just from either variation in bottles, or simply a side-by-side showed that one better represented the style.
 
TobyG said:
Not exactly. Typically, you need to score in the top 2 or 3 of your flight to advance to mini-BOS. Then you need to place in mini-BOS to win 1, 2, or 3 in your category. However, you need to place 1, 2, or 3 in your category _and_ score at least a 30 to advance to 2nd round. In big categories, that's less an issue since, as you noted, even advancing to mini-BOS requires a pretty high scoring beer. But as in other comps, a really competitive category might have beers in the high 30s that don't even make it to mini-BOS (I've had a Kolsch score a 38.5 that didn't even advance to mini-BOS whereas I've seen beers score in mid-30s that won their categories). Once you make it to mini-BOS, score becomes irrelevant. I've seen plenty of cases where a beer that scored a 35/36 beat a beer that scored a 42 just from either variation in bottles, or simply a side-by-side showed that one better represented the style.
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How many beers are in a typical flight?
How does the scoring system work?
What is the mini-BOS and how does that work?
Each site has own mini BOS for each category I assume?
Does only the first place from each category go on to the next round? How many rounds are there until finals?
How many judges taste your beer for one particular category before being given a score? Is it a composite score?

Sorry for the NooB questions. Just never did a competition before and curious how it works.

TD
 
TrickyDick said:
How many beers are in a typical flight?
How does the scoring system work?
What is the mini-BOS and how does that work?
Each site has own mini BOS for each category I assume?
Does only the first place from each category go on to the next round? How many rounds are there until finals?
How many judges taste your beer for one particular category before being given a score? Is it a composite score?

Sorry for the NooB questions. Just never did a competition before and curious how it works.

TD
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typical beers in a flight - I hope for 8, and for huge competitions with judges often stretched thin, am happy if it is under 12.

Each category is judged by one or more teams of judges - usually 2, occasionally 3 on a team. There won't be a lot of pilsners so perhaps there will be two teams judging 17 or whatever small number of beers. There will be tons of IPAs so there may be 7+ teams judging 50+ beers.

The team opens and judges one bottle of your beer. They'll discuss scoring and make sure they are within 7 points, most often significantly closer. They'll come to a consensus score which is generally the average of their individual scores.

Since judges work at different speeds, some teams may judge 1,2,3 more beers than other teams. Everyone is done or at least on their final beer at the same time.

Each team will pick their best beers to send towards mini-BOS. In most competitions this involves the rest of the first bottle. In NHC it involves the 2nd bottle you sent. Note that different judges may score beers differently so there is no use just awarding the highest scoring beers at this point. It is customary to push your best three beers to mini-BOS and some insist on this. If I don't have 3x 30+ beers I won't push 3.

mini-BOS (the most senior 2-3 judges, occasionally more but I believe 2-3 is much preferable) evaluates each beer without regard to how the first bottle was scored. Often the first few are eliminated very quickly - perhaps the first bottle judges weren't sensitive to the diacetyl which is now stinking up the table. It gets a little tougher as the number of beers dwindles. Top 3 move on to the Final Round. For most competitions people are focused on correctly awarding that Gold Medal. However for this competition, the First Round is really about Access, whereas the Final Round is about Accolades. Thus, the 3rd/4th decision is critical and I've seen some pretty heated arguments.

Note for very small categories (say Traditional Mead or Cider or Amber Lager, etc in some regions) the number of entries may be so small that a single team can judge them all - in this case no mini-BOS is needed and the top 3 scoring entries can just move on. I still recommend people re-taste any close calls in that 3rd/4th spot, at least.

In the Finals the process is repeated, with the Mini-BOS being replaced by the Medal Round. 3rd bottle is reserved for actual BOS, which is the three Homebrewer/Meadmaker/Cidermaker Of The Year.

good luck...
--Michael (Master/Mead judge)
 
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TrickyDick said:
How many beers are in a typical flight?
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Depends on the size of the competition. Most judging pairs will do 8 - 10 entries max.

How does the scoring system work?
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0 - 50. However, that's not really true. In reality it's more like 13 - 48.

What is the mini-BOS and how does that work?
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Mini-BOS is for categories that have a large number of entries and require more than one judging pair to complete. Let's say there are 20 entries total in the IPA category. There are 4 judges for two judging pairs total giving each pair 10 total entries to evaluate (a bit on the high side).

1st pair scores: 18, 22, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41

2nd pair scores: 14, 15, 21, 23, 27, 29, 32, 35, 36, 39

Mini-BOS would work like this:

- Scores 40, 41, 39, and maybe 38 are pulled. The highest ranked of each judging pair sits down for a sample of each these beers, and assigns them a ranking 1 - 4 in this example. The two judges then discuss each beer and determine where they'll rank. Generally it's very easy to rank the top and bottom beers and 2nd / 3rd are more difficult to figure out.

Each site has own mini BOS for each category I assume?
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Depends on the numbers of entries in each category. Some categories like sours or IPAs are a given. Less popular styles like lite lagers may not need a mini-BOS.

Does only the first place from each category go on to the next round? How many rounds are there until finals?
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I believe the top 3 of each category will move on to the 2nd round of NHC, however you'll need a minimum score as well. I think it's a 30 - pretty doable.

How many judges taste your beer for one particular category before being given a score? Is it a composite score?
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Most competitions have a judging pair. Your score is an average of their two scores. The competition director before the start of the competition will emphasis what range he or she wants the scores to fall within each other. For example you do not want one judge to assign a 40 and another to assign a 28. There's something really wrong there. Usually they want to fall within 3 - 5 points of each other. I would say that most judges can determine where a beer will fall (teens, 20's, 30's, or 40's) within 5 - 10 seconds of evaluating the entry.

Sorry for the NooB questions. Just never did a competition before and curious how it works.
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I'd highly recommend entering one or two other competitions while you're waiting on the NHC. I'll be honest, the NHC isn't really the best competition out there in regards to feedback. Check out this BJCP's upcoming comp page and enter a few others:

http://www.bjcp.org/apps/comp_schedule/competition_schedule.php

If you can attend a local competition and help to steward even if it's only for a few hours it would be highly valuable. I always ask the stewards if they want to try the beers with us. You'll get to taste a lot of bad beer which will help to identify off-flavors and some good beer which I think is great as it lets you know where you're at.
 
Thanks for the specific and detailed information.
I live in an area where there just aren't many competitions. Certainly not in my town. Occasionally I get wind of a nearby competition. It's tough with a family, kids in sports, etc to carve out time to go by myself knowing nobody that will be at some competition 60-100 miles away. In the last year however, I've noticed that there are increasing smaller homebrew club sponsored competitions. Last couple I found out about ten too late to enter though. Facebook helps, and I've joined a few groups that are involved in some of these competitions.
TD
 
TrickyDick said:
Thanks for the specific and detailed information.
I live in an area where there just aren't many competitions. Certainly not in my town. Occasionally I get wind of a nearby competition. It's tough with a family, kids in sports, etc to carve out time to go by myself knowing nobody that will be at some competition 60-100 miles away. In the last year however, I've noticed that there are increasing smaller homebrew club sponsored competitions. Last couple I found out about ten too late to enter though. Facebook helps, and I've joined a few groups that are involved in some of these competitions.
TD
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You don't need to attend a competition to enter one. I don't live anywhere close to any competitions either. I have entered 50 competitions probably. None were within 150 miles. I have never attended one. UPS or Fed Ex your entries.
 
And always check the drop off locations as well, they might be closer than you think. I've dropped off before like at least an hour away from where the actual competition was held.
 
Darwin18 said:
1st pair scores: 18, 22, 24, 26, 28, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41

2nd pair scores: 14, 15, 21, 23, 27, 29, 32, 35, 36, 39

Mini-BOS would work like this:

- Scores 40, 41, 39, and maybe 38 are pulled. The highest ranked of each judging pair sits down for a sample of each these beers, and assigns them a ranking 1 - 4 in this example. The two judges then discuss each beer and determine where they'll rank. Generally it's very easy to rank the top and bottom beers and 2nd / 3rd are more difficult to figure out.
Click to expand...

In this case the 38, 40, 41, 35, second pair 36, and the 39 beers would all be pulled. You do not leave out the 35/2nd 36 (or the 38).

and if, say, the 1st pair judged the 36 first, and significantly later the 38, I'd hope they tasted them again to be sure - scores for a tasty first beer in the flight can be notoriously low as judges mentally "leave room for a better beer"
 
Question about style category, another one!

Brewed an imperial stout with coffee, chocolate, and oatmeal.

Fermented half with a souring blend. Added some whisky soaked oak pieces (stave segments not chips or cubes). Has a hint of brewers licorice in it as well.

It doesn't clearly fit into the classic sour styles. We really need a catch-all American sour category guys! And maybe two for a sub category of American sour with fruit.

So which category? 23? 21A (really not much of the licorice comes through and isn't the predominate flavor.) 22C (ditto on the oak flavor). Ditto on the regular yeast version of this beer? 23, 21a, 22c, or 13e/f

Also to clarify, I cannot enter two beers to the 23 category?

TD

Edit- what's the deal with labels? I can't find where are we supposed to print these at? Is there a link or something after you register and pay that you can follow to print out your labels are do you make your own?
 
I have 3 NHC entries that I am probably going to forfeit. Miserable winter / snow / cold kept me from brewing, I only have 1 of my 3 planned entries ready.
If anyone who missed out is interested in taking them from me send a PM. Philly region, $42, shipping deadline 3/11. I think I can just change the email on account, brewer info, etc and you pay fees.
 
Mailed out my three entries to Austin this morning:

1) Lite American Lager - It's Annie Johnson's 2013 winning recipe. If you haven't brewed it before it's a great beer and cheap! I've brewed this one a couple of times and entered into a few competitions. It routinely scores in the mid - high 30's so I think I have a good chance with it. I unfortunately only had one bottle left, but it's a small category so I'm hoping they can avoid a mini-BOS; if not, they'll have to go light on it and I'll take my chances.

2) Dark American Lager - Not my favorite but scored a 34 in my last comp. There aren't usually a lot of entries in this category so we'll have to see.

3) Spice/Herb/Veg (Spruce Pale Ale) - I've never entered this into a competition before but I really enjoy this beer and it's tasty. This is a tough category with lots of competition so I'm tempering my expectations.

All three beers are being judged this weekend at a local comp in Raleigh so I'm hoping it will give me an idea of where they could end up in Austin.
 
I sent mine to Austin Monday, so they should be arriving today.

1) Strong Scotch Ale - I'm likely to retire this one from competitions after this year, but figured I'd send a few out. I've won 5 or 6 medals with it and placed in BOS twice, and it's my MCAB entry in April as well.
2) Same beer aged on Scotch soaked oak chips - only entered this one once before and it advanced to mini-BOS at the Dixie Cup, but didn't place.
3) American Amber - I'm very curious about this one. It's a complete experiment I did for club brew day a couple months back. I also either torpedoed myself or gave myself a chance by dry hopping in the bottle for the two I sent (I literally bottled them Sunday). I figured I'd try it after some feedback in a different comp a couple weeks ago. Since it's a single hop (Amarillo), though I think the judges confused the hop aroma with yeast 'fruitiness'. We shall see.
 
My first contest.
I sent to Nashville
Double Bock with decoction mash. Was very malty and think was good but then I bottled it from keg and most of bottles developed a pellicle except for five! No clue if they're afflicted or not. The infected ones are actually tasty and have an old ale character. I sent in ones without a pellicle and reserved the others.
British pale ale. Nothing special here, but realized I couldn't enter more than one beer into the specialty category, and I'd already paid for four entries. Nice drinkable, no flaws that I can tell. Will see how it does.
Specialty ale I entered is a sour whisky-soaked oak aged imperial stout with coffee and chocolate and oatmeal. One of the most complex beers I've ever made. Quite sour. They need a catch all sour category besides the classic belgian lambic and geuze Flanders and oud bruin and not specialty. I'm not sure how they judge this catch all specialty category.
Saison with step mash pils and malted wheat and a bit of flaked rye. Nelson Sauvin with a heavy hand and Brett secondary fermentation. Finished lower than I expected so it's fairly potent 7.5%, but has enough mouth feel to be easy drinking.
 
Mine should be getting delivered to St. Louis sometime today.

Mild, Dortmunder, Helles, Scottish 70 and Dusseldorf Alt.

Hopefully they travel well and are at their best in 3 weeks.
 
Just shipped my entry to Sacramento yesterday, but like a total noob, I forgot to remove the small avery label containing the beer name, bottling date and abv from when I originally bottled... I rubber banded the NHC label over it. Reading over the rules and regs, it looks like I'll be disqualified for this.

Can any judges confirm or better yet let me know if this is sometimes overlooked/disregarded?
 
Braufessor said:
Mine should be getting delivered to St. Louis sometime today.

Mild, Dortmunder, Helles, Scottish 70 and Dusseldorf Alt.

Hopefully they travel well and are at their best in 3 weeks.
Click to expand...

I was kind of the in the same though chain, sending in a bopils and a ger pils, I figure another month of cold storage will do well for them.
 
jeff62217 said:
Just shipped my entry to Sacramento yesterday, but like a total noob, I forgot to remove the small avery label containing the beer name, bottling date and abv from when I originally bottled... I rubber banded the NHC label over it. Reading over the rules and regs, it looks like I'll be disqualified for this.

Can any judges confirm or better yet let me know if this is sometimes overlooked/disregarded?
Click to expand...

It probably depends on how easily it's removed and how lenient the organizer is. If it's stuck on there well and takes more than a few seconds to remove cleanly, they would be more likely to disqualify it. If it peels right off, they'll probably remove it when they sort the entries. It would probably be in your best interest to email the organizer and check with him/her.
 
I had originally planned to send a dortmunder and Bo-pils..... but, I was not happy with the pils, and I brewed a Helles that came out pretty well..... So, figured I was better off sending two good beers in cat. 1, than sending a bo-pils that was in the 30-32 range at best.
 
TobyG said:
It probably depends on how easily it's removed and how lenient the organizer is. If it's stuck on there well and takes more than a few seconds to remove cleanly, they would be more likely to disqualify it. If it peels right off, they'll probably remove it when they sort the entries. It would probably be in your best interest to email the organizer and check with him/her.
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Thanks Toby, I'll do that.
 
Judging dates are listed here:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.o...homebrew-competition/competition-information/

As for results from 1st round judging - that depends on the individual judging center. Some centers mail out scoresheets within a few days of the competition while others sit on them for several weeks until the AHA "officially" releases the results. Some centers read off the winners at the conclusion of judging while others have posted them online afterwards immediately. There's no real consistency. The lack of consistency is frustrating but completely out of your control.
 
TrickyDick said:
So now that my entry has been sent, what's next?
When is the first round of judging and when can we expect results?
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Depends on which location you sent your entries to. Some are as soon as next weekend. Some others aren't until April. Results get posted anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after judging. It's really dependent on how organized the location is. Official results will have their status here:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.o...on/national-homebrew-competition-faq/#results
 
Just got email confirmation that my entries were delivered to Austin. Man, for a while there I was getting concerned that they wouldn't make it. UPS' last status update was "Delayed due to weather" on Thursday until this morning when it went out for delivery.

My three entries were judged this past weekend. Two of the three didn't place but my spruce beer took 2nd out of 32 other beers in it's category. That gives me a bit of hop going into this weekend.
 
Darwin18 said:
Just got email confirmation that my entries were delivered to Austin. Man, for a while there I was getting concerned that they wouldn't make it. UPS' last status update was "Delayed due to weather" on Thursday until this morning when it went out for delivery.
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So wait, we're supposed to get a confirmation when our entries arrive? My UPS tracking says they were delivered on Friday, but I never got any confirmation from the judging site.

EDIT: Or did you get an email from UPS?
 
eulipion2 said:
So wait, we're supposed to get a confirmation when our entries arrive? My UPS tracking says they were delivered on Friday, but I never got any confirmation from the judging site.

EDIT: Or did you get an email from UPS?
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Ditto for me, ups delivery confirmation but no email from beer judges. I bet that depends on the center maybe? Dunno.
 
Sorry to clarify:

1) UPS sent me an automated email that my entries were received at AHS.
2) My beers were judged at a local competition in Raleigh. The judging for NHC in Austin is this coming weekend.
 
Austin judging starts today and ends Sunday (3/15). Anyone planning on judging or attending? It would be awesome if they'd release the winners afterwards but usually we have to wait it out.
 
Best of luck to everyone who has entries in Austin this weekend. Sadly I've got to wait another 2 weeks for judging since my entries were sent to St. Louis.
 
Darwin18 said:
Austin judging starts today and ends Sunday (3/15). Anyone planning on judging or attending? It would be awesome if they'd release the winners afterwards but usually we have to wait it out.
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I was going to be judging, but just like last year had a conflict (last year they judged the weekend we were on a cruise and this year I'm at Huna Day). The organizer is a friend and I took my original tasting exam there. I'll see if I can find something out Sunday.
 
Q: When will results be posted?

A: After a First Round judging center has evaluated all entries in their competition, the results must be verified prior to posting on HomebrewersAssociation.org. Results from individual judging centers will be posted as results are verified.
 
Thanks. I guess I will keep my fingers crossed and wait patiently for results. Seems I was wrong, thought Nashville where my entries went had already judged.

As far as the BJCP categories, and the specialty beer category, I was curious who is in charge of those categories and of adding additional categories as brewers brew up non-conforming beer? I bet that the catch all specialty beer category is likely difficult to judge because the types of entries can be all over the place and a great beer might not shine because there isn't an appropriate category for it to fairly compete in.

TD
 
bwarbiany said:
I don't do Facebook... What's at the link?
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"The National Homebrew Competition 1st Round Judging, Austin Region is officially finished! What an incredible year! Awesome staff, incredible Judge turn out, great hosting facility and shipping/drop off homebrew shops."
 

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