New 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines have been released

From the BJCP Web Site: http://www.bjcp.org

Steve

I have an early June Tasting Exam, so I will hold off reviewing the 2015 Style Guidelines until after that…then dig in for the comps that start using them this year and next.

;D

It will be interesting to see who will be the first major competition to use the new guidelines and how smooth it goes.  I’m guessing that NHC2016 will be using the new guidelines then?

yeah we’ve talked about how the increase in number of categories could be problematic for NHC - assuming your max size is set by the max size of the Final Round, that trickles down to only 8-ish First Round regions if you have 40 categories.

I would hope they use a modified alternate categorization, similar to #2, from page 72, with at least two exceptions:  Make Specialty IPA and American Wild Ale their own categories.  Going from 23 to 25 beer categories wouldn’t be nearly so painful, and those 2 categories will be extremely popular.

(My name is on the front page!  “Things are going to start happening to me now!”)  ;D

They contributed one of my (half dozen or so) comments!  I’m an uncredited contributor!  Woo-hoo!  ;D

Final Review no less.  So when people start complaining, the Review and Commentary guys are going to blame you :slight_smile:

Does anyone believe that we will eventually reach a point where there will be specialized certification within the beer categories?

I really hope that I passed the BJCP exam in February otherwise I’m going to have to study a lot more.

“The BJCP expects that by the end of 2015, all competitions will use the 2015 guidelines.”

I think for some categories we will have to and specifically for brett/sour. They have to be judged differently (e.g. what is a flaw in many styles is desired in these beers) and many judges are either inexperienced or recalcitrant to judge them. Having another certification available for the group of styles would encourage the development of a curriculum and adequate training. As it is now there is no chance I waste bottles of two year old brett beer to get back judging sheets marking down the beer for lacking acidity or being too phenolic.

I could see merit in developing specialized certifications in other groupings, like regional/national style groupings, but I don’t think that as critical to the goal of objective judging.

I think it would be a good idea.  We’d have more judges because it would be far easier to be excellent at 1-3 styles.  The hard part would be at the level of managing judges & competitions - but that’s what we have computers for right?

I vote yes.

Hey everyone, the new guidelines are out!

Oh, dang. I’m late. I feel like I waited all year to see the ball drop, then slept through it.

I’m stoked about the way the American Wild Ale came out. Now my tasty beer wont be gouged for not being flat and not tasting like blue cheese and sweat socks. The only slight bummer will be entering a fruited one and a non fruited and end up competing against yourself. But thats a good problem to have.

I like a lot of the other changes too. Good job BJCP!

I like the idea. But im also not organizing education or exams, so its easy to like ideas since there’s no effort involved. My take on it is that why competitions give judges an opportunity to select what styles they prefer to judge, and which styles they don’t want to judge. Those check boxes aren’t meant to get judges on the beers they like to chug, and away from the styles they dislike. It should be about your knowledge on those styles. In other words, if all one knows about a certain style is what the guidelines say, for example you’ve never tasted one… you ought to check the box that you can’t judge those. Check the prefered box on the styles you really know.

Its an interesting “perfect world” idea, but I can’t imagine the organization nightmare that would go into it.

I’m stoked about the changes, I think it’ll make things better for entrants and judges. Plus, I just love change!

That’s pretty much how I do it.  It’s part of the reason I’m retiring my Scotch ale from comps after this year.  I love the style and have pretty much already proven I can brew a great one, so I hate excluding myself from judging them (although I’m probably the worst nightmare of people who can’t brew a good one lol).

Also pleased to hear about the Wild Ale category.  I too have been getting a little upset with judges dinging my 100% brett beers for not being sour or funky enough.

Actually enjoying one of my Scottish Exports right now while reading the new guideline on them. There’s nothing its missing.  Finally! (Edit, meaning it doesn’t have BBQd bog)

Interesting to see that Bellhaven is #1 now and Pelican is nipping at Orkneys heals.

I like the note at the top that says roughly: other formats are currently being created. The quick link to the available guidelines are a nightmare to try to read on a laptop, at least as compared to the 2008 guidelines. I like the expanded format, and extra categories, but I dont plan on ever printing out 93 pages, or however many a better formatted lineup is. i love the opening sections talking about their goals, and the hows and whys of the new guidelines though. Having never entered a contest, and only using the 2008 guidelines as a baseline for what I want to create, this is a huge change. i hope to judge someday, and the way this is set out should make it easier to judge as long as one knows what they are judging: it should be easier for a judge to evaluate a category they are not familiar with due to the focus on perceptions rather than ingredients or processes. Just $0.02 from a non competitor/non judge, so take it for what its worth. I like it, but its a lot to digest and format is a challenge right now

I feel like I should expand a little on what I said before regarding opting out of judging some styles. The exam, I think, is mainly to determine the judges level of ability to perceive and properly document those perceptions. Also to determine knowledge of brewing to some degree, and ability to articulate suggested tips on how to improve. Also to determine a judges ability to properly assign a score to a beer. The higher ranked a judge is, the more skill and knowledge they probably have. If a decent judge had the guidelines in hand, though he or she had never tasted a classic example, he or she will be able to do a fairly good job at filling out a score sheet. I’d rather get feedback from that guy than my BMC drinking, non brewing, buddy. But, if the judge’s experience in that style is limited or nonexistent, I just don’t see how they could decide who the winner is. They may be able to weed out faulty entries, maybe even forward the two or three most drinkable entries. But I for one would not feel comfortable at all if I had to assign gold silver bronze to a style I had never tasted before.

I’ve never tasted mead before. I think I could detect foul off flavors. I think I could tell you which one of a group tasted best to me. But there’s no way I could give advice or win-place-show them. I am certain that no respectable mead maker would want my feedback or to find out that I would be deciding if his mead was a winner or a loser. If all judges would excuse themselves from styles they don’t really know, there would be… world peace.