I had a failed 1.035 english mild (FG was too high) so I racked it onto a Roeselare cake 6 months ago. Now its a lightly soured mild or a low gravity oude bruin. I really like it as its a refreshing sour beer you can drink multiple 20oz pours. My wife has hated any expensive commercial sour I have ever made her try but she loves this one "because it is fruity and sour but doesn't taste like heartburn" and a few other people have told me that it is the only sour beer they ever liked. I was thinking of entering it in a local comp but don't know what I should enter it as. Should it go in 16E. Belgian Specialty Ale or 23A. Specialty Beer as a "session sour for n00bs"?
Category 23 or 16E?
- Thread starter gbx
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wonderbread23
Well-Known Member
16E. Try to be more precise with your description so that the judges have a standard to judge it against.
Its way too small. gravity is too low hence the bret and sourness is restrained. ...and it started out an english mild - maris otter, english crystal, wy1968, EKG and it still has some of that character if you look for it. Its not worth the $6 entry fee and 2 bottles to put it in as an old brown just to get a few score sheets that say "not to style".
It's hard to say since I can't see/smell/taste it, but from the info at hand, I'd venture to guess its copper w/ low head retention & mod-low body, malty, caramel, toffee, raisens, stone fruit, lightly nutty, with light sour & brett funk notes. unless there's not enough malt character, I'd say that pretty well fits 17C as an OG of 1.035 vs 1.04 is hardly enough to remove it. It all depends who you get for a judge tho. I'm Certified BJCP and if I get something in specialty, it needs to be special. If it acts like a oud bruin, i'm gunna say it should be there. even if it is properly entered in a diff category, if its sour some judges just assume it should be in 17 (had it happen twice with a cherry imperial flanders). drink a glass of it while reading 17C, if you don't think it lines up than go with one of the specialties
1.040 being to the low end of the style isn't going to do well would it? I'd imagine every other entry is going to be big with full on bret and lacto and mine would taste like water next to them. Category 23 specifically says this: Out-of-style variations of existing styles (e.g., low alcohol versions of other styles, extra-hoppy beers, "imperial" strength beers) ..so clearly 23 is the category for my imperial scottish 60/- and my session imperial stout but does it not apply to belgian-esque beers?
dwarven_stout
Well-Known Member
I'd put it in 16E and tell the judges that it was a low gravity oud brune.
Sours can be a real crapshoot in specialty categories, but if you enter it in cat 17, judges will more than likely expect more sourness than you will be offering them.
Sours can be a real crapshoot in specialty categories, but if you enter it in cat 17, judges will more than likely expect more sourness than you will be offering them.
