Here are the Guidelines for this category: An IPA with the fruitiness and spiciness derived from the use of Belgian yeast. The examples from Belgium tend to be lighter in color and more attenuated, similar to a tripel that has been brewed with more hops. This beer has a more complex flavor profile and may be higher in alcohol than a typical IPA.
This would be my first competition entry. Is their anything about this recipe that wouldn’t fit the category? I have this going in the fermenter currently and I don’t think I will have the time/space to make another IPA category before drop-offs are due.
It might not score as well as you hope due to the light color and low ABV, but it does come pretty close to an IPA. Go ahead and enter it, they might love it. Always a crapshoot. I have done well with crazier entries, it happens.
Sit down and drink a glass while you read through the guidelines. Pretend you know nothing about the beer, like the judges. Then see how closely it matches the guidelines.
Just to add to this thread. I dry hop all of my saisons but not heavily (maybe an ounce in a 10 gallon batch). I have entered them as saisons and have medaled with them in that category. But Denny has a good point. Taste the beer and read the style guidelines at the same time to see if it meets the criteria for the style in which you want to enter the beer.
