How to Win Beer Trophies and Influence People Hi There Hendo here. Thanks for downloading the Rockstar Brewer ebook called How to Win Beer Trophies and Influence People. This ebook shows how the company I founded, BrewCult, won Australian Champion Gypsy Brewer in 2016 and how you can be on your way to achieving a similar glorious outcome of brewing awesome, award winning beer. As an experienced brewer, I get invited to judge lots of beer competitions. No brewing competition endorses this ebook. Brewing competitions are an important part of our industry and I respect that they operate at the highest level of integrity. Brewers like myself are often judges and when it comes to brewers being judges, each competition takes extreme lengths to ensure that judges do not evaluate their own beer or know to whom the beer being judged belongs to (this is discussed in detail below). In May 2016, BrewCult was the first gypsy brewer to be awarded the Champion Gypsy Brewer trophy as part of the Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA). Winning this accolade was the culmination of many years of hard work in understanding beer quality and putting it forward in a world-class competition for peer review. Thanks Captain Obvious IPA was the beer that won many awards during 2016 both at the Australian International Beer Awards as well as the Craft Beer Industry Awards. It s a style of beer that I love to make and drink. Almost every Australian brewer seems to be doing this style of late. To be honest, way back in 2009, while I was a brewing student of Ballarat University (now Federation University), before I became a professional brewer, I went to Melbourne to go to the AIBA awards gala dinner as well as the Beer & Brewer expo. I recall seeing Brendan Varis of Feral Brewing win Champion Beer with Hop Hog and also win Champion Australian Brewer. I was determined that if I was ever going to be a world class brewer that I would learn how to make a beer as good as Hop Hog and unapologetically, it was my inspiration for creating Thanks Captain Obvious. The recipe was one thing but as the years went by, I learnt that process and dedication to quality were equally important. Entering beer competitions is a great way for a brewery to garner feedback on your product to ensure that you are making the best beer possible. Some of the world s best brewers are judges and they are there to give you constructive, professional feedback on your product for a very modest entry fee. Should your brewery do well in competition by winning a medal or trophy, it s a great way to promote your brand and your award-winning beers. That and because you re already making great beer, all of this adds up to a better bottom line for your brewing business through increased customer loyalty and repeat sales. Many brewers and breweries choose not to enter their product or have a negative opinion of beer competitions. However, I believe that it is the best way to get constructive feedback which allows you to go back to the brewery and make process or recipe improvements in order to better your product. Enter as many competitions as possible throughout the year in order to keep the feedback loop running. It s your choice as to whether you choose not to enter beer competitions or not however ask yourself, how do I know where my product and my process is at if I don t have a professional and impartial third-party opinion on it?
So let s get on with how BrewCult won its 2016 s accolades. Creating a Winning Recipe OK so here it is the multi-award winning recipe for BrewCult Thanks Captain Obvious IPA. I worked for many years studying IPA recipes and Thanks Captain Obvious (aka TCO) is the recipe I wrote back in 2014 specifically to enter into beer competitions such as The Australian International Beer Awards (AIBAs) and the Perth Royal Beer Show. In fact, the name Thanks Captain Obvious comes from the meme as well as a tongue in cheek dig at the fact the many Australian breweries were trying to replicate and mimic the style that Hop Hog fell under since 2009. For the technical folk out there - I use Beersmith to write recipes for a specific brew house and this recipe was written on a per-brew basis which means I do a double brew per batch so brew twice and double the dry hop as below for a batch: Recipe: Thanks Captain Obvious v0.5 - BIG Hi GRAV SEBC Brewer: Hendo Asst Brewer: Style: American Pale Ale TYPE: All Grain Recipe Specifications -------------------------- Boil Size: 2987.20 l Post Boil Volume: 2787.20 l Batch Size (fermenter): 2500.00 l Estimated OG: 1.056 SG Estimated FG: 1.012 Estimated ABV: 5.8% Estimated Color: 13.0 EBC Estimated IBU: 55.7 IBUs Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 % Est Mash Efficiency: 77.2 % Boil Time: 60 Minutes Grist: ------------ Amt Name Type # % 500.00 kg Pale Malt (Barrett Burston) (3.9 EBC) Grain 1 80.0 % 100.00 kg Munich II (Weyermann) (16.7 EBC) Grain 2 16.0 % 12.50 kg Carahell (Weyermann) (25.6 EBC) Grain 3 2.0 % 12.50 kg Caramunich II (Weyermann) (124.1 EBC) Grain 4 2.0 % Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out Total Grain Weight: 625.00 kg ---------------------------- Name Description Step Temperat Step Time Mash In Add 1718.75 l of water at 72.0 C 66.0 C 60 min Boil Hops: ------------ Amt Name Type # IBU 1228.27 g Warrior [15.00 %] - First Wort 30.0 min Hop 5 12.7 IBUs 3411.87 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 6 9.0 IBUs 3411.87 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool Hop 7 9.7 IBUs 3411.87 g Citra [12.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool Hop 8 11.6 IBUs 3411.87 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool Hop 9 12.6 IBUs Yeast: ------------ Amt Name Type # %/IBU 3 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) Yeast 10 - Dry Hop: ------------ Amt Name Type # %/IBU 3521.13 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 11 0.0 IBUs 3521.13 g Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 12 0.0 IBUs 3521.13 g Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 3.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs
So that s it! You can stop reading now. Go steal this recipe, I suppose. That s all you need to be showered in luscious gold medals and take home epic trophies right? Well, there s a bit more to it than that. Read on and you ll get the ins and outs of how to win medals. Understanding the Beer Classes When you enter a beer into a competition, each beer you enter needs to be entered into a style class. Each entry in a style class is assessed under a set of style guidelines. There are around 150 different styles of beer defined where each style guide sets out the following characteristics of a beer: Appearance Aroma Flavour Body and Mouthfeel Technical Specifications such as: Original Gravity, Final Gravity, ABV, bitterness and colour. For the AIBAs, World Beer Cup and other competitions where commercial beer is entered, the Brewer s Association (BA) style guidelines are used. You can see all of the style guidelines online at https://www.brewersassociation.org/resources/brewers-association-beer-style-guidelines/. Typically the BA updates the style guideline each year. Updates may include changes to existing styles as well as the addition of new styles. You may have also heard of the Beer Judge Certification Program (also known as BJCP) style guidelines. Whilst the BJCP has its own set of style guidelines, they can and do differ from the BA style guide. For example, the style guide for American Brown Ale within the BA style guidelines calls for a malty brown ale with a subdued hop profile whereas the BJCP version calls for a more hoppy and resinous beer synonymous with an IPA. A beer style as defined in the BA style guide is a very succinct description of what is expected of the beer whereas the BJCP version is wordier in its description of each aspect of the beer s qualities. From my experience, the BJCP style guidelines are typically used in home brew competitions as opposed to commercial beer competition. Choosing a Beer Class to Enter Your Beer Now that you have your beer recipe and some understanding of the style classes, it s time to fill out the entry form and select which class you ll enter your beer. The most common mistake made by brewers and why they don t perform as well as they could is that they enter their beer into the wrong class. Often, this is as a result of letting sales and marketing departments fill out the entry form. Just because your beer says American Pale Ale or India Pale Ale on the label doesn t mean that the beer should be entered in that class. The beer should be entered into the class that is appropriate for its style based on a sensory and technical evaluation not what is written on the label. For our Thanks Captain Obvious recipe above, what style would this beer be classed as? Let s ignore what is written on the label and ask ourselves the following objective questions about the beer. 1 - Is Thanks Captain Obvious an American IPA? I mean it seems pretty obvious (pun intended) as it says India Pale Ale on the label. Let s look at the BA style guideline for American IPA from the BA 2016 Style Guidelines:
American-Style India Pale Ales are gold to copper. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures and hop haze is allowable at any temperature. Fruity-ester aroma may be low to high. Hop aroma is high, exhibiting various floral, fruity, sulfur/onion-garlic-catty, citrus-like, piney, resinous characters that are typical of though not exclusively from American-variety hops. Medium maltiness is present. Hop flavor is high, and is reflective of American-variety hop aroma characters. Hop bitterness is medium-high to very high. Fruity-ester flavors are moderate to very high. Diacetyl should be absent or very low. Body is medium. The use of water with high mineral content may result in a crisp, dry beer rather than a malt-accented version. English and citrus-like American hops are considered enough of a distinction justifying separate American-style IPA and English-Style IPA categories or subcategories. Hops of other origins may be used for bitterness or approximating traditional American or English character. See English-style India Pale Ale. Original Gravity ( Plato) 1.060-1.070(14.7-17.1 Plato) Apparent Extract/Final Gravity ( Plato) 1.010-1.018(2.5-4.6 Plato) Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 5.0%-6.0%(6.3%-7.5%) Bitterness (IBU) 50-70 Color SRM (EBC) 6-12(12-24 EBC) If you ve ever tasted a Thanks Captain Obvious before, you ll know that it most certainly ticks many of these boxes. The recipe above certainly indicates that it has American hops and thus could be considered an American IPA however, the key point is that the ABV of Thanks Captain Obvious is 5.8% whereas this style guideline calls for an ABV of at least 6.3%. TCO is too low in alcohol (and OG) to be considered an American IPA despite the words India Pale Ale being on the label. The IBUs and OG are also too low for the style. 2 - Is Thanks Captain Obvious an American-style Pale Ale? So let s consider another class. If the alcohol is too low then perhaps it is an American-style Pale Ale? From the BA Style Guidelines: American-Style Pale Ales are deep golden to copper or light brown. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Hop haze is allowable at any temperature. Low caramel malt aroma is allowable. Fruity-ester aroma should be moderate to strong. Hop aroma is medium to mediumhigh, exhibiting floral, fruity, sulfur/diesel-like, citrus-like, piney resinous characters that are typical of though not exclusively from American-variety hops. Low to medium maltiness may include low caramel malt character. Hop flavor is medium to medium-high, and is reflective of American-variety hop aroma characters. Hop bitterness is medium to medium-high. Fruity-ester flavor should be moderate to strong. Diacetyl should be absent or very low. Body is medium. Original Gravity ( Plato) 1.044-1.050(11.0-12.4 Plato) Apparent Extract/Final Gravity ( Plato) 1.008-1.014(2.1-3.6 Plato) Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 3.5%-4.3%(4.4%-5.4%) Bitterness (IBU) 30-50 Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28 EBC) Again, we find ourselves in the situation where indeed, Thanks Captain Obvious ticks all of these boxes but is it an American Pale Ale? Again, the alcohol plays a role and this style is too low (a maximum of 5.4%) vs Thanks Captain Obvious 5.8% ABV. 3 - Is Thanks Captain Obvious an American-style Strong Pale Ale? So here we are in a situation where TCO is not an IPA due to not being strong enough and it s not an American Pale Ale because it is too strong! So where does it fit? The answer is that it fits in American-style Strong Pale Ale class, or as I affectionately call it, the Hop Hog Class named after the widely available (India?) Pale Ale from Feral Brewing in Western Australia.
Let s look the American-style Strong Pale Ale style guideline: American-Style Strong Pale Ales are deep golden to copper. Chill haze is allowable at cold temperatures. Hop haze is allowable at any temperature. Low caramel malt aroma is allowable. Fruity-ester aroma may be low to high. Hop aroma is high, exhibiting floral, fruity, sulfur/diesellike, citrus-like, piney, resinous characters that are typical of though not exclusively from American-variety hops. Low level maltiness may include low caramel malt character. Hop flavor is high, and is reflective of American-variety hop aroma characters. Hop bitterness is high. Fruityester flavor may be low to high. Diacetyl should be absent or low if present. Body is medium. Original Gravity ( Plato) 1.050-1.065(12.4-15.9 Plato) Apparent Extract/Final Gravity ( Plato) 1.008-1.016(2.1-4.1 Plato) Alcohol by Weight (Volume) 4.4%-5.6%(5.6%-7.0%) Bitterness (IBU) 40-50 Color SRM (EBC) 6-14(12-28 EBC) Perfect. So let s enter Thanks Captain Obvious into the American-style Strong Pale Ale class. Understanding the Judging Process Great. So you ve entered your beer. Next, a competition will send you entry labels which typically have a bar code and exhibit number on them. This is done because judges won t see your beer label they will only see an exhibit number. In some competitions such as the AIBAs, that exhibit number is then transposed into a judging number during judging in what s called double blind so that judges who happen to be brewers don t recognise their own exhibit number. This enhances the fairness and impartiality of the competition. Good times. When you enter a competition, they ll also tell you how much beer, where and by when you need to deliver your exhibits. Last year at the AIBAs, some 1600 beers were entered. Let s assume that they were all bottled for a minute. That s 16 bottles per entry and 1600 entries which is 25,600 bottles of beer! And that s not even taking into account that some beer is entered in keg form. Yep any beer competition is a logistical nightmare which can quickly spiral out of control if the competition is not well organised. It takes a talented team of professionals to receive entries, categorise beer, store it cold in order ready for judging, and then serve it in the best possible condition to the judges. This job is done by the stewards. Judges are supported by an equally enthusiastic steward team who ensure that beers are poured and presented to judges in the best possible condition while making sure that the correct beer is presented to the judges. Stewards prepare beer samples for the judges behind a wall in what s known as the stewarding area. Judges are forbidden to enter the stewarding area as this is where beer samples can be identified by name. During the 3-5 days of competition judging, a judge will assess some 250 samples while never, ever seeing a beer label or bottle. The stewarding team is likely to pour, run, collect and wash some 10,000 glasses during the judging. Wow. Each beer is presented to the judge in a tasting glass that is labelled with a tasting order number (the tasting order number is different to the entry number so to ensure that it is not possible for a judge to recognise his or her own entry number an added safeguard ensuring full impartiality).
Judges are assigned to tasting panels made up of about 5-7 judges with one judge being designated as table captain. The panel will individually assess each beer sample along the following criteria against the style guideline: Appearance (colour, head retention etc) Aroma Flavour Technical Ability Body and Mouthfeel Each judging day, a judging table is assigned a classes of beer that they will judge that day and how many exhibits they have to judge. A judge can assess up to 60 or more samples per day but don t worry, the amount of each beer sampled in order to give an accurate sensory evaluation is very small and judges manage to keep a clear head. The judges will individually assess each exhibit and then a group discussion will take place to work out a table score for each exhibit. This is typically an average of each of the individual scores however there is some room for movement especially if there are one or more dissenting judges. Some robust conversations can and do take place. Understanding the Allocation of Medals Depending upon the competition you enter, medals are awarded differently. If you enter the World Beer Cup or most other beer competitions, medals are awarded where Gold is first place, Silver is second and Bronze is third place. Exhibits are evaluated many times and a process of elimination whittles away the medal candidates to a short list. In this case, beers are judged against each other. For the Australian International Beer Awards, medals are awarded on a points-earned basis. This means that beers are judged on their individual merit and are not compared against each other. Up to a maximum of 20 points are awarded for the following qualities: Appearance 3 Points Aroma 5 Points Flavour and Body 6 Points Technical Quality 3 Points Style 3 Points Medals are awarded based on the table score as follows: Gold 17.0 and higher Silver 15.5 to 16.9 Bronze 14 to 15.4 How to Win Trophies In addition to medals being awarded, the AIBA also awards trophies. Although it may seem like lots of them on awards night, trophies are only awarded to the brewers who are the best-of-the-best. Trophies are awarded for the following: Champion beer amongst each beer section (i.e. Pale Ale, Wheat Beer, IPA, Reduced Alcohol etc) which is a group of closely related beer classes. All gold medal winning exhibits in each
class are evaluated again however this time, it is against each other and not based on an individual judging against a style guideline. Champion Small, Medium and Large Australian Brewer. Awarded by taking the average of the highest two scoring beers from a brewer one of which must be a gold medal beer. Champion Small, Medium and Large International Brewer. Awarded by taking the average of the highest two scoring beers from a brewer one of which must be a gold medal beer. Champion Gypsy Brewer. Awarded by taking the average of the highest two scoring beers from a brewer one of which must be a gold medal beer. Champion Beer. Awarded to the highest scoring beer of the show. Putting Your Best Foot Forward by Brewing the Best Possible Beer Ready for Judging So now you ve decided to enter a beer competition, you ve got an award winning recipe (see above), what else can you do to ensure your beer is assessed in a way that ensure you garner the highest score possible? Here s a few tips: Objectively match your beer to the best style class not just what s on your label. Have an objective third party help you here if necessary. Have a good recipe that is not only your unique interpretation of the style but also matches what the style guideline calls for. Write it down before you brew so you can repeat it should it do well. Keep track of your recipes as they change over time. You never know if you re on to a winner and you ll certainly want to repeat it if it is! Set a clear specification as to what your beer recipe is before you brew it. Have good Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) processes in place to ensure that your beer matches your specification and is repeatable. Undertake a blind sensory evaluation of your product on an ongoing basis. If you have multiple batches of a product, evaluate candidates for your best batch and enter the batch you believe matches the style and is free of faults. Pack your exhibit as close as possible to the deadline for entries to be received by the competition in the best possible condition. Ensure your entries arrive as late as possible whilst meeting competition deadlines. Join Rockstar Brewer and Make The Best Possible Beer You Can Sure you could go and steal the recipe for Thanks Captain Obvious IPA above and hey if you want to, go for it. But it takes more than just a recipe to create an award winning beer. Proper QA and QC are the extra 5% you need on top of your existing process to ensure that your beer is of the best quality standard possible. And that is how you become a Rockstar Brewer. Rockstar Brewer is an easy to implement program that ensures you re making the best beer possible. It includes: An app to collect brewing data (currently in beta) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure your process is being carried out with a quality focus, and
Monthly Q & A Sessions where we tackle your brewing issues in a collaborative manner. Way better than Googling for an answer. A QA and QC framework is important to uphold the highest quality standards for your brewery because your customers demand it. Rockstar Brewer gives you ongoing guidance and advice to implement and maintain high standard quality management and control of your beer and we do it as part of a community of like-minded craft brewers to ensure that knowledge is shared and continuous improvement is achieved. We also offer one-on-one consulting should you require a bespoke solution. Contact us today at info@rockstarbrewer.com to get started. Footnote Much of the information relating to the Australian International Beer Awards contained in this ebook is available from the RASV as part of the AIBA Entry Booklet. You should totally go and read the entry booklet in detail should you be considering entering the AIBAs.