One Of These Beers Is Not Like The Other

Around the Keg contributor Joel and I attended the Michigan State Fair Homebrew Competition yesterday. I judged, and Joel was a Steward.

There were well over 700 entries this year. About 130 of them were actually judged last Monday evening; they were the beer-not-beer beers like melomel, mead and cider. The remainder were done yesterday.

We judged at the wonderful world-award-winning Dragonmead in Warren, Michigan. Their Final Absolution Tripel is considered a world-class example of the style, winning first place in the World Beer Cup last year. Bill Wrobel, the head brewer and owner, was on-site and, of course, judged Belgian-style beers in the afternoon with me. It was an honor.

As for what I judged, I did Light Hybrid Ales, which include Cream Ales, Blonde Ales, Kölsch and American Wheat/Rye beers, in the morning session. I did Belgian Strong Ales, which include Blond, Dubel, Tripel, Golden Strong and Dark Strong, in the afternoon. All in all I did 25 beers combined; 15 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon.

Specifically, in the Light Hybrids, I did Kölsch and American Wheat/Rye. By and large, with the exception of one, the Kölsch were very good and it was hard to choose one to advance. Finally, one that had just a touch of lemon and perfectly balanced malt, grain and subtle hops won out.

The American Wheats were, mostly, perfect examples of...a German weizen of hefeweizen. Wonderful banana and clove aroma with a great malty-sweet background. Unfortunately, that's inappropriate for an American style, which is hoppier and grainy with no clove and banana. A few did it right, though and moved on.

In the afternoon, I did Belgian Dark Strong ales. I really like this kind of beer, but it is also very easy to screw it up and get a bacterial infection (smells and tastes like the contents of your medicine cabinet) given the huge amounts of sugar in these beers. And indeed, about 6 of the 10 samples I had were indeed that: medicinal and solventy (turpentine). What you are looking for is peppery spice (good phenols), huge sweet malty background, floral hops and a warming (but not hot) alcohol bite. Happily, one of the beers had that and was a wonderful example of the style. In fact, it came in second. It lost to a Belgian Blond Ale, judged by Bill Wrobel. Not gonna argue with that calibre of judge with a nose for Belgians (don't take that the wrong way...).

It makes for a long day. Joel and I got there about 9:45 and helped set up. We didn't leave until about 6:30. But what a great day. Days like this, and being a judge, have really helped me be a better homebrewer, what with understanding the brewing process a little better, especially with regard to "off" flavors, what makes them, and how to avoid them as a brewer. We have to give that advice as a judge; I can't just say "it tasted like boiled, canned veggies." I have to say "it tasted like boiled, canned vaggies. This can be caused by a slow, cooler boil or too slow of a cooling period. Either increase your boil time and temp, or invest in a wort chiller to cool the beer faster." The judging process is meant as much for selecting a winner as it is for providing feedback to make someone a better brewer.

I'll leave it to Joel to document his Stewarding experience. But for me, it was another great learning experience and, of course, a real pleasure. Free beer for a whole day? Cool. Even when it's not that great. ANd especially when there's a winner.