1. Brewing Award Winning Beer & Being True to Style
Presented by Randy Scorby
Free Powerpoint Templates

2. The right beer, On the right day, With the right judges.
What is an award winning beer?
The right beer,
On the right day,
With the right judges.

3. Maintaining The Edge
There are great beers entered in every competition, make sure your entries have the stylistic nuances that make them rise to the top.
Avoid the hangnails!!!

4. Thermometers & hydrometers calibrated?
Know Your System!
System efficiency
Temperature loss
Thermometers & hydrometers calibrated?
Grain mill properly set?
Attention to detail!!

5. Keep your brewing equipment clean!
Cleaning and Sanitation
Keep your brewing equipment clean!
Know where bugs can hide and focus on those areas.
Inspect your fermenters before every brew. Beware of beer stone!!
Stainless!!!

6. Beer Stone
A grayish brown substance made of calcium oxalate and organic substances that forms on the interior surfaces of your brewing equipment.

7. Beer Stone
Beer stone will build up and eventually flake off on the inside of your brewing equipment and beer lines if not properly cleaned. High levels of beer stone may also have a negative effect on the flavor of your beer.

8. Practice the three ‘S’ of brewing:
Cleaning and Sanitation
Practice the three ‘S’ of brewing:
Sanitation!

9. The Beer Wave

10. The reverse is also true.
Your Beer is Ever Changing
Beer is alive, and is constantly changing and evolving. A beer that is spot on when you bottle may not be on competition day.
The reverse is also true.

11. Some types of Oxidation; Vegetal character; Inappropriate phenols;
Can I Fix It???
Infections;
Some types of Oxidation;
Vegetal character;
Inappropriate phenols;
Light-struck;
Metallic;
Fusel alcohol.

12. Use the freshest ingredients possible.
Sample your grains, smell your hops, taste your water,get the best date on your yeast as possible.

13. Ingredients
Use ingredients indigenous to the style being brewed. If you’re brewing a German Pilsner use German malt, noble hops, and a German yeast strain.

14. Do you use book recipes or formulate your own?
Recipe Formulation
Do you use book recipes or formulate your own?
Once you brew a winner do you continue to tweak the recipe or leave it alone?

15. Recipe Formulation
Don’t try to get too fancy. Sometimes it’s easier to determine what to add than what to remove.

16. I start out using the KISS method when brewing new styles:
Recipe Formulation
I start out using the KISS method when brewing new styles:
Keep It
Super
Simple

17. Recipe Formulation
When brewing stylistically accurate beer, review the BCJP style guidelines carefully for the stylistic requirements, then tailor your recipe to fit well within them.

18. Recipe Formulation
When brewing a specialty beer style, dial in your base recipe first before adding specialty character. Judges are looking for a balance between adjuncts and the base beer.

19. Classic Rauchbier – BJCP 22A
Smoke Screen
Classic Rauchbier – BJCP 22A
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.012
IBU: 28
SRM: 12

20. Smoke Screen Weyermann Rauchmalz – 70.4% Weyermann Pils Malt – 11.2%
Weyermann Munich II – 10.2%
Weyermann Caravienne 51L – 7.1%
Weyermann Carafa II 400L – 1%
1.6 oz Tettnang 4%A,
.5 Tsp Irish 15
.5 Tsp Wyeast Yeast 15
Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Blend

21. Single decoction mash, initial rest at 143 degrees.
Smoke Screen
Single decoction mash, initial rest at 143 degrees.
Hold at 155 degrees for 20 minutes then boil for 10 minutes. Return to main mash and hold at 152 under conversion is complete.
Fly sparge at 168 until pre-boil amount reached.

22. Do not allow gravity to fall below 1.012 while sparging.
Smoke Screen
Do not allow gravity to fall below while sparging.
Boil for 90 minutes, cool to 45 degrees and pitch yeast.

23. Planning & Organization Equipment Clean & Ready Grains – Double crush?
Brewing Day
Planning & Organization
Equipment Clean & Ready
Grains – Double crush?
Water Treatment
Hop Additions
Avoid unnecessary harshness!!!

24. Vary mash type for style being brewed.
Brewing Day
Mash
Vary mash type for style being brewed.
An infusion mash will produce many fine beer styles, but consider a decoction mash for most lager, and some ale, styles.

25. Boiling the grist will not create astringency.
Brewing Day
A decoction mash can develop a rich and refined malt character, better clarity, and a darker color.
Boiling the grist will not create astringency.

26. Choose the proper strain What do you want your yeast to do?
Yeast Choice
Choose the proper strain
What do you want your yeast to do?
Five considerations:
Style of beer brewed
Flavor Profile
Fermentation Temps
Attenuation
Flocculation

27. Pitch the correct amount- -1.055 direct pitch 1.055 – 1.070 starter
Yeast Choice
Pitch the correct amount-
direct pitch
1.055 – starter
starter beer

28. Yeast Choice
Don’t be afraid to experiment with yeast. Try splitting your batch between two or more yeasts to determine which works best with your recipe.

29. Understanding Beer Styles
A Belgian Tripel is not a sugar bomb!
American IPA and IIPA do not require harsh hop bitterness to be stylistically correct.

30. Understanding Beer Styles
The best way to understand beer styles is to drink them!!
Home brew club meetings – pick a category and compare each style.

31. Entering Your Beer
If you’re happy with your beer, enter it!! Don’t be too concerned if the nuances were present before but are missing on bottling day, it may be riding the beer wave.

32. Entering Your Beer
Understand that some styles are meant to be served fresh, and some are suitable for aging.

33. Entering Your Beer
Always have a control bottle on hand to sample when you receive your score sheets.

34. Understand the Competitions
Demographics
Pro vs. Amateur
Know your judge pool

35. Judging beer makes a better brewer
BJCP Member?
bjcp.org
Judging beer makes a better brewer

36. Judging Beer
Three step process
Beer Judge Entrance Exam – Online exam, consists of 200 questions in 60 minutes.
Pass or fail.

37. Judging Beer
Beer Judging Exam
Six beers are judged as if in a competition in 90 minutes. Evaluated on Perceptive and Descriptive abilities, as well as Completeness and providing relevant Feedback.

38. Written Proficiency Exam
Judging Beer
Written Proficiency Exam
20 true/false questions and five essay questions. Requires a minimum score of 80 on the Judging Exam to take.

39. Group beer tasting & evaluation sessions
Improve your Palate
Sensory Training
Group beer tasting & evaluation sessions
Books are great resources, but nothing can replace learning from your beer.

40. Designing Great Beers – Ray Daniels
Beer & Brewing Library
Designing Great Beers – Ray Daniels
New Brewing Lager Beer – Greg Noonan
Brewing Better Beer – Gordon Strong

41. Yeast – Chris White with Jamil Zainasheff
Beer & Brewing Library
Yeast – Chris White with Jamil Zainasheff
How to Brew – John Palmer
The Classic Beer Style Series
BJCP Style Guidelines

42. Be your own worst critic!!!
Summary
Be your own worst critic!!!
Never stop trying to improve your brewing processes and your beer.
Formulate your own recipes.

43. Maintain a clean brewery. Get out of your comfort zone.
Summary
Maintain a clean brewery.
Get out of your comfort zone.

44. Questions??