2012 Limbo Challenge Discussion

[Bill Lawrence]

I have a question for you guys, if I have asked this one before just tell me to shut up and I'll go away. According the the Limbo rules as enumerated elsewhere on this site, the contest is being judged using 2008 BJCP guidelines however, if the judges deem a beer to be over 1.050 OG, they can disqualify it. My queston is; if the style guidelines say a particilar beer (I'll use American Brown ale as an example here) can be as big as 1.060 OG, that means the judges can disqualify it although it is cleary within the styles guidelines, right? In my opinion, if that is the case then I don't think the contest is really being judged using the afore mentioned guidelines since you are kicking out entries that otherwise qualify style wise. Frankly, I seriously doubt that most guys could tell the difference between a 1.050 OG beer and a 1.055 beer but once you get to a 1.060 OG beer, we are talking about a 20% increase over 1.050 and that is material.

Now I am going to pontificate a bit; after a careful reading of the guidelines for both Northern English Brown ale and American Brown ale, the biggest difference seems to be that the American stuff is bigger. Yeah, if I were brewing it I would make it stink of "C" hops just to make sure the judges knew it was American but according to the guidelines, that is optional. Besides the "C" hops, if I were trying to win something in this category, I would also make the beer bigger so as to differentiate it from the Northern English Brown ales but doing so would potentially get the entry disqualified. In my mind that is a conundrum which I am not really sure how to solve. Incidentally, I think that similar problems exist with American Pale ales, American Amber ales, Dortmunder export and Saison. Just food for thought.

Ok, so from a suggestion perspective I think I would just tell entrants that the beers must conform to the published guidelines, you really don't want to start changing allowable styles at this late date as I know many, including myself, have started to brew already for this contest.

[RyanD]

Can I ask a point of clarification on the OG? I haven't ever entered a competition so I want to make sure I don't get DQ'ed from my first one. I am making a beer that has honey in the recipe, but I won't be adding to the boil, I'll be adding to fermentation after a couple days. If the estimated OG is under 1.05 in beersmith with the honey calculated in, is that ok, even though I can't completely measure the OG as I will be adding the honey after the start of fermentation.

[Bill Lawrence]

Oh yeah, that is absolutely not a problem. Most people will have a very difficult time telling the difference between a few points one way or the other. My advice to you would be to just go ahead and make your beer the best way you know how then just enter it. What I am mainly talking about is the difference between say a 1.044 OG British Brown ale and a 1.060 American brown ale, that much swing in gravity will be noticable to most people. Actually, when I make low gravity beers I am usually trying to trick the drinker into thinking that the beer is much bigger than it really is. If I do my job correctly, most judges will have no idea what the actual gravity really was within a reasonable range. Of course, if you make a beer which is supposed to have an O.G. of say 1.035 to say1.042 and you notice a warming sensation when drinking it then a reasonably experienced judge will pick up on that and your scores, at least theoretically, should suffer.

In your particular case, since honey is mostly sugar, it will completely ferment leaving the beer a bit lighter in body than a comperable all malt brew. Everything else being equal I suspect most judges given that situtation will be of the opinion that your beer is actually smaller than it really is so I wouldn't worry about it.

[donniestyle]

Please remember that guidelines are just that. They are a *guide*. Note also that the spirit of the competition is session beers. Per the competition edited guidelines, it is suggested that the judges perception will be the guide as to whether the beer is considered over the top. The beer is not disqualified. It is judged for what it is, and in this competition bigger is not better. Yes, we are allowing for beers of a subcategory to be entered, which has a higher top end original gravity. If you decide to brew your beer at the top end gravity, then maybe you should reconsider.

[RyanD]

As an FYI the entry form on the limbo page stills takes you to a page that states entries are closed check back summer 2012 for the next competition.

[Jimmy Orkin]

Entries open on July 23. Check back then.