Entering a BJCP comp. how would you class my beer?

[EcuPirate07]

So I brewed an blood orange American wheat. I juiced some blood oranges, there is only 1.25 cups of blood orange juice that went into the late boil and then 1.25 cups of juice that went into the primary after 2 weeks of fermintation. This will be my first competition, So would you list it as an American Wheat or a fruit beer. I registered it as an American wheat but started thinking about it and might have to switch it to a fruit beer. But when I think fruit beer I'm thinking pounds of fruit, so what say you?

 

[CA_Mouse]

It is a Fruit Beer with a base style of American Wheat Beer.

 

[EcuPirate07]

It is a Fruit Beer with a base style of American Wheat Beer.

Thanks, after I signed up I thought, well crap I think I did that wrong.

 

[Qhrumphf]

That depends on how prominent the fruit is. Does it taste/smell like there's fruit added? Then yes, it belongs as a fruit beer, simply entering as "American Wheat with Blood Oranges" will do. Now, if the fruit is NOT noticeable, you may do fine in American Wheat. If the judges can't taste/smell the fruit, doesn't matter if you added it or not.

That's the point that a lot of folks miss when it comes to competition. It's not the beer you intended to brew that determines where it should be entered, nor is the the numbers. It's how the actually brewed beer is perceived. If a style allows 30-40 IBUs and your beer is 43 IBUs, the judges likely won't be able to tell the difference (and depending on the balance, even IBUs in range can seem wrong).

 

[ram5ey]

Most of the time you can change your registration up until you turn it in.

 

[EcuPirate07]

That depends on how prominent the fruit is. Does it taste/smell like there's fruit added? Then yes, it belongs as a fruit beer, simply entering as "American Wheat with Blood Oranges" will do. Now, if the fruit is NOT noticeable, you may do fine in American Wheat. If the judges can't taste/smell the fruit, doesn't matter if you added it or not.

That's the point that a lot of folks miss when it comes to competition. It's not the beer you intended to brew that determines where it should be entered, nor is the the numbers. It's how the actually brewed beer is perceived. If a style allows 30-40 IBUs and your beer is 43 IBUs, the judges likely won't be able to tell the difference (and depending on the balance, even IBUs in range can seem wrong).

From my tasting it's like hey a hint of something is there, but it's not like oh wow I taste xx fruit. So that's why I'm torn, I don't know which class it might do better.

Like I said a total of 3 cups of juice is in there 1/2 probably fermented out. I didn't rack it onto a pound of fruit.

 

[CA_Mouse]

From my tasting it's like hey a hint of something is there, but it's not like oh wow I taste xx fruit. So that's why I'm torn, I don't know which class it might do better.

Like I said a total of 3 cups of juice is in there 1/2 probably fermented out. I didn't rack it onto a pound of fruit.

You can always hedge your bets and enter it in both categories.

 

[Qhrumphf]

From my tasting it's like hey a hint of something is there, but it's not like oh wow I taste xx fruit. So that's why I'm torn, I don't know which class it might do better.

Like I said a total of 3 cups of juice is in there 1/2 probably fermented out. I didn't rack it onto a pound of fruit.

Could it be mistaken for hop flavor/aroma? Because citrusy American hops are perfectly allowable in the style, and if that's the case, you could well be just fine in American Wheat. If it's that hard to pick up, you may not do well in fruit beer.

 

[EcuPirate07]

Could it be mistaken for hop flavor/aroma? Because citrusy American hops are perfectly allowable in the style, and if that's the case, you could well be just fine in American Wheat. If it's that hard to pick up, you may not do well in fruit beer.

So if Im filling out the entry form as American Wheat do I still list the blood orange and zest somewhere?

 

[Qhrumphf]

Nope.

 

[ram5ey]

I actually wrote on an alternative fermentable scoresheet a few weeks ago that they would have scored higher if entered straight up since the orange blossom honey in the trippel was not noticeable.