Saison with basil, thyme or rosemary. Cat 16E - Belgian Specialty or Cat 21A - Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer?
Either would be fine. I’d go with Belgian specialty.
I’d go SHV.
Yes. Belgian Specialty. Example the Belgian Specialty style guidelines specifically mention a Belgian Christmas Spiced beer would go in that category (vs what you might think as just the Christmas Beer Category)
if the herbs are a major part of the beer and individually noticeable, I’d go with 21A. I think of 16E as the Belgian version of 23 - where it doesn’t fit into just one other category. Like combining chocolate/fruit/oak aging on a stout, having all of the above noticeable, and moving it to 23. Note that many people disagree with me here and point to the guidelines. “Note that many spice-based Belgian specialties may be entered in Category 16E.” - to me the key words are Belgian Specialties. If the beer was 16E without the herbs it is still 16E. But if it is a classic style base with herbs I put it in 21A, just like if it was a robust porter with herbs or a American pale ale with herbs.
of course, if the herbs just added a little to the overall spicy nature of the beer and blend in well, I might enter as a straight saison, 16C.
tl;dr: you’ll get a lot of different opinions on possible 16E placement. ;D
good luck–
–Michael
That’s basically what I was going to say until I actually looked that 16E and it listed “Belgian Spiced Christmas Beers”. Before I read that I would have made the same statement about a saison with christmas spices going in 21-B but the style guideline for 16E indicates that’s where it should be… So following that logic a belgian base SHV should also be in 16E… Though I wouldn’t ding an entrant for entering the beer in either category… It’s too close to call lol.
I think 16E would have the fewest number of entires, and less chance of a pallet wrecker in the mix. Even if combined with all the other Cat 16 styles, I think it would stand out. The base is beer is solid and I think a medal winner on it’s own. Dry, slightly tart, and spicy.
But, if I enter into 23A, I can also enter the base in 16C… :-\
I dunno man…I haven’t seen a competition in ages that does not have Category 16 as one of the biggest, mostly due to 16E entries, followed by 16C.
side note: at the current growth rate Category 16 could catch American Ale/Stout/IPA for most NHC entries very soon. All 4 were between 560 and 600 last year.