2015 Lethbridge Werthogs WertContest Due Feb 27

[GuingesRock]

LiverDance said it best ... "these competitions are a total crap shoot."

You can't really pick and choose which feedback is right/wrong, .

Yes you can Jimmy part of it is knowing yourself what's good stuff and developing a thick skin. The better your beer, the more chance it has of being randomly spat out of the system with a medal. The feedback isn't awfully useful as you say, you need to have your own built in feedback, but competing will improve your brewing because it makes you strive towards better brewing.

....some feedback is good though. If you pick your judge.

It's just the same as reading a brewing book. Mostly a lot of crap, and sometimes you learn something.

The competition system and Its brewing to style, is also an important part of the craft beer movement. It encourages the authentic brewing of modern and historic styles.

[Jimmy]

LiverDance said it best ... "these competitions are a total crap shoot."

You can't really pick and choose which feedback is right/wrong, .

Yes you can Jimmy part of it is knowing yourself what's good stuff and developing a thick skin. The better your beer, the more chance it has of being randomly spat out of the system with a medal. The feedback isn't awfully useful as you say, you need to have your own built in feedback, but competing will improve your brewing because it makes you strive towards better brewing.

How though? If you're only picking the things you already "know" about your beer, then you're only reinforcing your own thoughts and ignoring the rest.

I strive to make my beer better without entering competitions. Yes I look for feedback, but it's feedback in person, and takes process/ingredients into consideration. I can also filter through feedback based on who provided it..someone who's palate I trust vs some random Joe Blow who happens to be invited to judge a competition.

[mcgster]

I agree with Mark but there are limits and requirements to this for sure.

You need to understand how the beer are judged and be able to apply that to the judges comments. I certainly have learned a lot from my score sheets but some of it, as Mark said, is BS. Generally my scores are quite consistent but when i see an anomaly, like we clearly see here for 8A, my score sheets should be able to pinpoint why. Its possible i mislabeled the bottles (i will be really pissed at myself if this is the case) or that it was a bad bottle (possible but i try to eliminate this by storing it in the fridge). I'll be perplexed if none of these are the case when i look at the sheets..

[chalmers]

I think all of us judges would agree that we are fallible, and while we strive to provide accurate and helpful scoring and feedback, that isn't always the case. There are lots of factors that can lead to a bad judging day, even by the best judges, and it's our job to do the best we can to minimize this possibility.
Frankly, I'm disappointed when I see these scoresheets "filled out" with two words in each category , as both a homebrewer and a judge. But I'm not sure how to fix that, because judges are volunteers, and competitions are usually desperate for more judges, and can't turn any away.
Why can't everyone be as awesome as me? Ha ha, just kidding, I know my judging needs improvement.

[Jimmy]

I think all of us judges would agree that we are fallible, and while we strive to provide accurate and helpful scoring and feedback, that isn't always the case. There are lots of factors that can lead to a bad judging day, even by the best judges, and it's our job to do the best we can to minimize this possibility.
Frankly, I'm disappointed when I see these scoresheets "filled out" with two words in each category , as both a homebrewer and a judge. But I'm not sure how to fix that, because judges are volunteers, and competitions are usually desperate for more judges, and can't turn any away.
Why can't everyone be as awesome as me? Ha ha, just kidding, I know my judging needs improvement.

My comment wasn't really directed toward judges, but more about the nature of the beast.

If you're drinking beer all day, it's a bit difficult to accurately critique a beer. Also, each judge is going to be better at judging one type of beer vs another. For example: I have a Tripel that I just kegged - knowing that both you & Boogie are Belgian fanatics, I'd give your critique much more weight than another random judge. This isn't to say that the other judges aren't as good as you guys, just that they may not (or might) know their Belgians as good as you two do.

Another example would be if I brewed an IPA. I'd give it to the hop head judges, Nash, or other brewers who's opinions on IPA's I respected.

I'd take that type of feedback over entering into a competition any day..with that being said - if that option wasn't available to me, a competition would likely be the next best option rather than critiquing your beer on your own, or getting feedback from people who know nothing about beer.