Competition Beers - Where is the line?

[JayDubWill]

My LHBS is having a Light Hybrid (cat 6) competition in a couple months and I was thinking about entering SD-Slims Lemon-Lime Hefeweizen which I am fermenting with Wyeast 1010 American Wheat yeast. The recipe calls for lime zest in the boil and a 1.75l bottle of Limeade added after vigorous fermentation has ended. I didn't add the zest and haven't added the Limeade yet. If I do add the limeade will the beer then fall outside of cat 6 and should I consider it a fruit beer (cat 20)? What's the line when adding flavor extracts pushing the beer out of the base category and into the specialty/fruit/spice beer category? My gut is telling me that adding the limeade which will be just over 9% of the total volume of finished beer will push it into fruit category. What are your thoughts?

 

[biereblanche]

General rule: rely on perceptions of the final beer (your own or an experienced friend) to determine how to enter. If it "seems" fruity/ spiced/ barreled/ smoked, like you can ID a fruit or notice a fruity influence that's uncharacteristic of the base style, then it's not a good fit for the base style. If it's just "a bit" fruity, with more of a fruit "influence" than distinct fruit that your friends could pick out blind ("There's totally lemon in that, right?"), then the entry will not do well in cat. 20.

For a LHBS single-category competition, I would make the beer how you want and be satisfied that you're supporting your store with an entry.

 

[billl]

I haven't tried to use limeade in a beer, but anything more than a really subtle note is probably going to get you dinged as an american wheat.

 

[JayDubWill]

That's a good point biereblanche. I'm leaning towards leaving it out at this point and maybe brewing it again later with the original recipe.

 

[JayDubWill]

For the record I didn't enter this beer in the comp, the limeade was really overpowering. I did share it with my LHBS owner and he said it would fall in the specialty category based on the flavor. That being said both the owner and a few of the customers in the store at the time really enjoyed the beer. If I do it again I will use half the amount of limeade.

 

[mrdail87]

General rule: rely on perceptions of the final beer (your own or an experienced friend) to determine how to enter. If it "seems" fruity/ spiced/ barreled/ smoked, like you can ID a fruit or notice a fruity influence that's uncharacteristic of the base style, then it's not a good fit for the base style. If it's just "a bit" fruity, with more of a fruit "influence" than distinct fruit that your friends could pick out blind ("There's totally lemon in that, right?"), then the entry will not do well in cat. 20.

For a LHBS single-category competition, I would make the beer how you want and be satisfied that you're supporting your store with an entry.

^^^ This. Beer styles aren't set in stone as one might think. There's a very fine line between a porter and a stout, a hoppy pale ale and an IPA, the list goes on.

Think of it like cooking. Onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and chicken are both completely at home in an Italian dish and a Mexican dish. But how you classify it comes down to the finished product and how the flavors are perceived.