National Homebrew Competition - The Result

I detailed the beers I had entered in this post. Beers were judged in accordance with BJCP guidelines and this is some of the feedback from the scoresheets. There were two for each beer;


1. Old Ale -  Aroma and appearance did well. 7/12 from one judge on aroma (although the other detected some oxidisation) and appearance 3/3. I lost points on the flavour - 'hops too dominant' was one comment. Overall impression from one was that it needed more malt complexity/richness.The other thought the alcohol was a little sharp. I was surprised with the comment to age it well, as it's already two years old.

Overall score was 30 (out of 50) - this puts it in the 'Very Good' category. 'Beers in this range may have minor flaws, or may be lacking in balance or complexity.' So, a good beer but not quite to style.


2. Pale Ale - Both judges gave this 3/3 for appearance and one a hefty 9/12 for aroma. Mouthfeel was a brilliant 5/5 with flavour 17/20 from one, 16/20 from the other. Both gave 8/10 for overall impression. 'A good beer, great balance'.

Overall score was 41 - 'Excellent' I was completely blown away by this result. I was awarded 3rd place in this category.


3. Best Bitter - Again, this beer looked the part with both judges giving 3/3 for appearance. 'Golden colour, great head and retention, strong beading.' Sadly, from here it went downhill. It was evident the bottles I sent were oxidised. 'Off flavours dominate a beer with great appearance' was the overall impression.

Overall score was 25 - 'Good'. A real shame this beer wasn't quite right. The bottles I had at home were fine, but I guess splashing during bottling had affected a few.

In summary, a good display for my first ever foray into the world of homebrew competitions.