Beer Judging, It’s a tough job but someone has to do it

                                                                  The Bracket                                 Photo by Dan Stillwell

Some weekends are just bigger than others. This past weekend was my Homebrew Clubs IPA Bracket Challenge. It’s our yearly IPA comp where this year we had over 160 entries in 4 different IPA styles from across the northwest and the country. It was also my first time as a judge in a competition. The comp was set up just like a final four playoff. In the morning we judged the entries and the top 16 from each category is seeded and then go head to head in a taste-off until you reach the final 4 and the Elite 8 go to the best of show round. It’s a very fun comp to be a part of and to watch.

Being part of the judging for the first time was eye-opening. I had done mini unofficial judging at club meetings before but doing the real thing was a real learning experience. Taking another Homebrewers beer and giving some real honest feedback is a big responsibility. It’s one thing to taste a beer and internally think how good or bad it is. Putting those thoughts into coherent sentences and using descriptive words to illustrate a smell, taste or overall concept is a real art that I have a long way to go to master. I was very fortunate to be paired with an experienced judge. She did a great job pulling me through the process and helping me judge some great IPAs. It’s now my goal to take the BJCP test this year and become a certified judge.

                                             Very serious Judging going on.                 Photo by Dan Stillwell

                                                        Best Of Show Table                             Photo by Dan Stillwell

Oh and how did my beers do in the comp? Well I’ll talk about that in my next post so stay tuned. Let’s just say one of my beers is on the bracket somewhere…