Post #798530

Got assigned to some difficult judging categories this weekend...21 (Specialty IPAs) yesterday, and 33 (American Wild Ales) today. Got paired with two seasoned veterans that were quite nice as I got a feel for the pacing and what the computer system demands. Landed within consensus range (5 points on a 50 point scale) on 11 out of 14 brews tasted. Not bad. There was definitely a share of seriously flawed beers (20-point range), but no stomach-turning abject garbage (10-point range), which was nice...despite one being awful close. Some drinkable beers, especially in these categories, will be conceptually stupid though. A session-strength IPA with FIVE different hops and massively dry hopped, or a mixed fermentation with four different strains...ffs get *over* yourself. I can hear Brudi screaming in the background and I concur...what a cacophony. Just like my time in academia, the best part is all about the high-scoring ones. Truly unique experiences. There was a Brut IPA on Saturday that was brilliant, bone dry, effervescent, with a lasting West Coast feel resin and pine bitterness that I could drink all day. Today brought a British Brown Ale that smelled of top-quality chocolate and cherry cordial with a secondary Brett fermentation. Positively *inspired* concept, even though the execution wasn't truly perfect. Tasted like chocolate liqueur, slightly sour, with a welcoming woodsy and earthy mild funk. Delicious. One major conflict per day. Yesterday was about a harsh off-flavor (cholorophenol) that completely overwhelmed me, but my partner couldn't sense it. He brought his score way down once I was able to convince him...shows you how different sensory limits can be even among highly experienced tasters. Today's was more dramatic. There was a fundamentally tight Straight Sour competing with that luscious Brett British Brown from above jockeying for the #1 and 2 spots in the mini-BOS. Partner (whom was a Grand Master II by the way, only handfuls of those around) stumped hard for the Straight Sour. Clean single-note apple sourness that was almost flawless save for maybe of a bit of acetaldehyde that only I could sense. BBA was under-carbonated, but he (technically correctly) was making a big fuss it was inappropriate for the style, even though the experience was sublime. ...we overruled him without hesitation. I would've for the Straight Sour if it brought just *one) more note to the table, even if I didn't like it so much, but when it's so close (original scores were 41 and 42 respectively), I'm going to go for what's inspired, different, and memorable. The reason I was meh about the BJCP as an organization is that they try to ruthlessly enforce style rigidity over brews that dare to bend one descriptor to be unique. Now that I know people that will say "fuck that" exist, I'm now more likely to judge more and be that rebel when I need to be. Otherwise, I learned an awful lot, and it felt good to be with my kind of (normie) people with the knowledge to refine my assessment skill. <3 #beer #alcohol #homebrew