So I brewed a Coconut Porter, and think it is a great beer. I want to enter it into a competition, but am not sure which category it shout go into: 20A Fruit Beer or 21A Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer. I think coconut is technically a fruit, but I’m not sure. What say ye?
Thanks,
Bob
I would say fruit… Coconut is definitely a fruit
Read the styles. I think coconut is specifically mentioned in the vegetable category definition. Might be wrong though. Yes, coconut is a vegetable. So are cucumbers, and pumpkin, and barley.
from this forum a couple years ago…
good enough for me.
Nice find!
But didn’t a coconut stout win Category 20 at last year’s NHC? I think until the guidelines get updated we will keep having this question and have no clear answer.
EDIT: Yeah, “Koko’s Nut Porter” won Category 20 last year.
I judged the category and tried to point this out last year but…
we had multiple coconut beers, and a couple of 16Es too. shrug
IMO a blackberry gose with brett deserved the gold. Every judge said it was the best.
Basically we need to find these things before the Final Round. Asking people to ship 3 more bottles at their own expense and then telling them “sorry, you’re not eligible for a medal” is wrong. (again, IMO)
cheers–
–Michael
Without knowing how the beers taste, how can you do this effectively?
He’s talking about the category they were entered in.
The best beer of the category was kicked before it was opened. They judged it anyway, but had already declared it ineligible for a medal based solely on the base style being “historical” and thus should be in 23. My argument was and is that it is silly to kick out a gose because of this and not kick out coconut beers which should be in 21A. There are gruits listed among the commercial examples in 20A anyway; pretty sure they are just as “historical”
I don’t think we should have kicked out anything.
I see what you mean now. But aren’t you supposed to consult with the judge director or competition organizer if you feel like a beer was placed in the wrong category? I don’t know that this didn’t happen, but it seems a bit presumptuous to kick a beer out of contention because a judge (or judges) feel(s) it doesn’t fit the guidelines - especially if you haven’t even tried it.
And the guidelines for 20 state that the base style does NOT have to be a classic style. I’d think blackberry gose should be fine in 20.
Seems to me the onus should be on the entrant. If I enter my perfect Cadillac in the classic motorcycle class then it’s my fault it has too many wheels to score well.
Last years gold winning fruit beer at NHC was a coconut porter
Thanks for all the feedback! Sounds like I could go either way with it then.
Or neither if the judges say so…?
So, I am going to continue this age old debate. I brewed a coconut porter with coffee and cacao nibs. SHV or Specialty/23? If coconut is considered a fruit and coffee/cacao are spice than Cat. 23, no? But, if coconut is considered a spice then SHV would be the logical answer? Obviously, it could be entered in both, but can only submit into one category for this contest. So confusing with the coconut…
There is another post somewhere here with a quote from Gordon Strong that coconut should be considered a nut (yes, it’s a fruit, but the flavor is more similar to a nut) so it should go in SHV. However, he also recognized that it’s not clearly stated. I’ve seen coconut beers do fine as fruit beers. With coffee, cocoa, and coconut - I think you could go with either SHV or Specialty.
Edit: Wait - That was this post. You tricked me… Still, with all three I don’t think you’d be questioned in either 21A or 23.