I love IPAs and iipas and RISs - but a beer should be judged on its own merits not against a different style. I don’t want to drink a RIS on an 90 degree day. A lighter beer around 5-6% abv would be perfect. But because it is not a 12% hop bb it’s not a “great beer” worthy OG high praise no matter if it is as finely drafted as any beer in the country… Perhaps it is a perfect Kolsch or pilsner and ithas 0 flaws but it gets rated an 85 or 90 or whatever.
My wife thinks that IPAs and stouts are beginner beers because all the guys who go gaga over them are usually fairly new to the craft beer scene. They think an alt is a poorly brewed IPA. And how many times have new brewers come on the forum and said “I hate lagers”
Hard to guess what would win people’s choice. Lighter beers like CAP can be crowd pleasers, but get passed over as too average for a competition win. In the end, I’d go with whatever I felt most confident at making really well.
I like hops as much as anybody I know, but I’m not always in the mood for an IPA. When I find a great dopplebock, Dortmunder, Belgian or whatever, it’s no less a great beer than the great IPA I just had. A great beer is a great beer to me. And ironically, with the hop bomb craze, APA has kind of gotten too tame which is a shame . I’ve always thought a really well made APA is one of the most drinkable beers around.
I use BA for the same thing - if I want to find out some basic info on a beer. I have a pretty good BS meter with those types of sites, so I take the reviews with a grain of salt and ignore the numbers.
Sometimes you’re in a bottle shop and have no way to tell by a bottle’s label what style of beer it is. I’m not generally looking for all the 95+ rated beers when I’m in a shop. It’s more like I’m in the mood for dark Belgians, or English bitters, or saison, etc. There’s often no way to tell what style a beer is by looking at an avant garde bottle label with bizarre artwork and a random mythological name. I can never remember if “By Odin’s Goat” is a Wit, a Porter, or the new Amon Amarth album…
I’m in the same boat, registered for the same competition, I"m sure. I waffle between a style that’s not represented much in the VT craft scene and which of my beers will likely score well in BJCP-style. The bud/miller/coors crowd won’t be the target audience for these beers that’s for sure. I don’t expect that the judging will be done by many BJCP judges either so score itself might not matter a heck of a lot. Just brewed a potential entry from a newly formulated recipe that I’m not sure is going to make my cut. Good luck!
I’ve sat on a bunch of BOS panels. Honestly, there are a lot of lighter beers that win BOS, at least up here in WA. Sure, there are plenty of RISs, IIPAs, and big Belgians, but I’ve also seen Pilsners, Milds, Kolschs, Dortmunders, ESBs, and Cal Commons win, too. I could easily see a really good CAP walking away with BOS.
I think it’s a regional thing. When back on the East Coast, I see Boston Lager on most tap selections. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on tap in Washington State. But Alaska Amber sure is.
Each time I’ve judged over the past year it seems like it’s become sort of a thing to try to pick a BOS beer that isn’t an over the top beer. I’m not sure that’s swinging the pendulum too hard the other direction but it’s nice to see some recognition for a beer that isn’t a barrel aged RIS or an IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPA.