Is anyone planning to judge at NHC? Are the flights at NHC usually huge?
flights at NHC finals are fairly unique in being fairly evenly sized. We’re talking 12 regions, top 3, minus perhaps someone who didn’t ship, some 3rd place 1st round entrant who didn’t manage 30, and adding a couple of administrative advance entries.
previously we’ve had 3 teams for the last few NHC finals. makes for just over 10 beers each.
Months ago it was discussed that we needed 4 teams if we were going to grow the Finals. I hope this happened; 38/4 is going to be fun. 38/3 makes for a long morning, especially for whomever is judging with Beertracker.
(haha, take it easy Jeff! I’ve got nothing but love for ya!)
cheers–
–Michael
I’ll be there. I last judged the Final round in 2012 in Seattle. I think I had a flight of 10 beers for the first round and 11-12 for the second round.
How are beers grouped in the finals?
Beers are judged by category using queued judging, which means each set of judges in a category takes whatever is next on the list when they are done with an entry.
http://www.bjcp.org/docs/Queued_Judging_quickref.pdf
I’ll be there judging.
Even in the finals? I figured that many categories would be grouped into a flight.
I volunteered to judge. However, I am still in “rank pending” purgatory. I heard from a senior judge at the last contest I judged that there is a sizable backlog of exams that needed to be graded. At the rate that I have been accumulating judging points, I will have close to enough experience points to obtain the rank of certified by the time that I receive my results, that is, if I manage to score high enough to obtain that rank. I will be happy if I do not go from being in “rank pending” purgatory to being in “apprentice” hell.
Yes. The finals (and most large competitions) use queued judging.
This ‘backlog of exams’ is nothing new. When I took my exam in 2011, I just barely received my score back by Nationals the following year. I was also Certified by then (Recognized and Certified name tags came in the same envelope), so they let me judge. If anything, the turn around time is shorter now than it was a few years ago.
The last time I judged you had to be National or above. Has that changed?
I’ve judged alongside certified at the final round.
They use the queued judging format so each table will do all of one style. In the past that’s usually 9 - 12 beers per team of judges, depending on their speed.
I didn’t sign up to judge this year because I’ve been having sinus issues. I feel a little guilty, but it’s better for the entrants.
I believe last year it was 3 judges per group and at least 1 (if not more) were national. The other two guys I judged with were certified.
I’m planning on judging but only the morning session.
Are you talking about Best of Show? That is done Best of Show style - all beers in front of each judge at the same time.
I judged last year as Rank Pending Judge. I had taken the exam the day before. That was a last minute decision on their part though, I was originally on the stewarding list.
I have judged 2nd round 4 out of the last 5 years. It has always been queued judging. We also used queued judging in Seattle for the first round the last few years too. It definitely helps speed things up. You essentially have a steward for the entire table. He pulls the first beer (normally in lightest->heaviest order) and hands it to the first pair, then as a pair finishes their beer, they get the next one from the steward. Faster pairs end up doing more beers. Slower pairs do fewer beers. The whole table finishes at about the same time, so it’s right on to Mini-BOS.
Chatter I’ve been hearing is that they have more ranked judges this year than slots, so they will give priority to higher ranked judges first. In all honesty, if you are provisional or rank pending, chances are you will not get a slot, as they will fill with highest ranks first. The place is swimming with BJCP judges, and I suspect there will even be some Recognized judges who won’t get to judge.
That said, you can volunteer to steward. It’s a valuable learning experience, and frankly you get to sample more beers, and listen to what all those experienced judges are saying about the beers (without having to taste the less than stellar ones – yes, I’ve seen teens and low 20’s in the second round - things happen). It’s not often you get as many National, Master, and Grand Master judges in the same place, so listening to what they say (and tasting the leftover beers as you take the bottles away) is in some ways more fertile ground for learning. Remember, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. The old adage about “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade” holds true here. Folks can either bitch because they don’t get to judge, or they can turn it into something valuable. You might even get to steward for someone like Gordon Strong, Phil Farrell, Al Boyce, or Ted Hausotter. I guarantee you’ll pick up some nugget of info from them.
I really wish I could go this year, but my daughter’s graduation is a bit higher priority for me this year. See you in San Diego in 2015, though-
Steve
The way to ensure you have a judging seat at the table for the final round of the NHC is to be National or higher. I think this will be my seventh time judging in the final round in 9 years. I think anybody could get a seat at the judging table in Orlando, contrast that to this year where I have heard every seat will be filled with a high ranking judge.
I believe Seattle was strapped for judges due to some people not being able to get tickets to NHC. I also had my tutor, GM2 and BJCP West Rep, send a recommendation to the judge coordinator.
This year I’ll be checking in as National, unless my graders are super awesome at getting our exams back and I get a 90+…
If I am going to work another contest this year, I want to gain additional judging experience and receive judging points. I have already worked three contests since March, one which I worked as a steward. I had not planned to work at NHC. I only volunteered to judge because Janis sent out a request for volunteers.
Sensory evaluation is the not the difficult part of judging for me. The difficult part for me is writing what I sense succinctly enough to fit into the space given on the score sheet without getting too technical or taking too much time. Only practice under the pressure of judging at a competition will improve that skill. Scoring a beer at competition is a completely different experience than scoring a beer at home or in a pub.
There is a lot to be learned from stewarding a table comprised of three or more high ranking judges. You can sit at the table at home and fill out a score sheet by yourself, or you can watch three people do it who have been doing it for quite some time and might find something to help you along. Most likely the stewards for the NHC final round will be BJCP judges with an interest in potentially discovering something new.
My thoughts exactly, Mike. If you haven’t volunteered on the National level, do it. You won’t be disappointed. I mean, unless you pull the likes of Susan Ruud & Al Boyce for your local comps, you’ll likely be blown away by the amount of knowledge some of these judges have.
For example, I was at the Smoke/Wood table in 2012 with Randy Scorby (2011 Homebrewer of the Year for a Rauchbier). I picked his brain about all things rauchbier and when I got home I used his advice to brew the best rauchbier I’ve ever had. BOOM!
I signed up for my first time in the second round. I’m just Certified, and will see if I get pulled for judging.
I remember my last sheets from the second round had a Certified, a National, and a Master on the panel.
Completions would not work well without stewards. One can learn about the process, and also get to meet and talk to some darned good judges.
It sounds like they’re trying to do all of the beers in the morning - like they did last year. That means they’ll need close to 300 judges. If that’s the case and they want 3 judges per flight I bet there’s a good chance. Last year I judged with a National and Master judge, so even though I was pending there were still two national or higher judges on the flight.