commercial brewery hangout, homebrew contest

through my friend JR, i met the head brewer of joseph James brewing in henderson, nv. JR and i were invited to swing by the brewery and hang out while jon christiansen, head brewer, brewed. we got to sample some fresh beer from the bright tanks and talk about the ins and outs of brewing, both commercially and at home. it was a good day. and to think all this time, right under my nose, there was a brewery. i go to school across the street from the place and never even realized it was there. it was pretty cool to hang out with Jon and really see the brewing process from start to finish. really, its just home brewing on steroids.

i entered my first homebrew contest sponsored by the local club here in vegas, april 10th. there were over a hundred entries. i entered four beers. in order from oldest to newest they were:

• american amber ale, category 10B, brewed 12/19, bottled 1/11
• american india pale ale, category 14B, brewed 1/10, bottled 1/30
• american pale ale, category 10A, brewed 2/7, bottled 2/27
• american wheat ale, category 6D, brewed 3/1, bottled 3/22

the american wheat ale scored a 29/50, with the most prevalent critiques being the use of too much hops and a plastic flavor being present.

the pale ale got massacred. 18/50, presence of DMS (dimethyl sulfide) being noted by both judges. they really didn't like the way it smelled and one judge thought it necessary to note: nothing about this beer stands out and it will be easily forgotten. ouch. thanks for the non-constructive criticism. non distinctive at best, too ordinary at worst? christ almighty, thats a humdinger!

my american ipa did better with a score of 25.5/50. no flaws, but over all too balanced. the judges were definitely looking for a more robust hop presence. i would agree. the beer drank quite nicely, was smooth and very agreeable. it just lacked that punch of the typical american IPA, both in flavor and aroma.

the american amber ale did the best out of all my entries. it scored a 34.5/50. that's "very good!" a vanilla aroma which i never detected was noted by both judges. however i hadn't drank one in a month or two as i had run out. the good ones always seem to go the quickest. i was happy to note that both judges were not able to find any flaws in the beer. i believe that this american amber did the best because our water is most well suited to the style.

my first sojourn into the world of beer competition was very eye opening. even as a i prepared my beers for entry i realized that even though i had an idea of what style they were "supposed" to be, i really had no idea if they would perform as such. just entering one contest alone has really broadened my perspective and approach to brewing. you could get a PhD in this stuff.

i have since printed a copy of the BJCP style guidelines and have been using them to better inform my recipe preparation. brewing beer is definitely a lifelong hobby that i view mastering as being closely akin to reaching enlightenment. its all about the journey. there will never be a shortage of things to learn or marvels to contemplate.