BJCP Category Queries

[irish_goat]

Starting a thread so people can post up any queries they have regarding which category their beers should be entered into.

New 2015 guidelines are here.

[garciaBernal]

Ok I have a Saison conditioning in bottles at the minute and should be ready next week. I've included Parsley, Rosemary, Lemon Grass and Star Anise so I guess the question is should I enter it in 25B for Saisons or enter in 30A. Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer OR should I wait to see how pronounced the flavours are next week before I make any decisions? 25B states "Subtle, complementary herb or spice additions are allowable, but should not dominate". So will I just wait and see? Wanted to fill out the forms and register so maybe I should just hold off a couple of weeks? Thanks for any info.

[Bubbles]

You can enter the same beer in both categories! But if you don't want to do this, SHV might be a safer bet. You can only determine the appropriate category by tasting the beer once it is aged sufficiently.

Having said that, rosemary and star anise are very assertive flavours and I'd imagine they would easily dominate a beer, unless you've added them at very subtle levels.

Never heard of parsley in a beer before!

[garciaBernal]

I made a version of it before only this time I'm using wlp568. None of the herbs dominated last time and they all gathered together in harmony so from past experience it should be fine. We aim to innovate! Thanks for the help.

[pob]

Remember that you should enter the category based on how it tastes (& looks, etc), rather than what you brewed. It may not have finished out as you wished.

Some beers can fit in more than one category based on crossover of some of their style guidelines, eg a big American Pale vs a small American IPA.

Use your fellow local brewers/clubs to advise.

Not in a club; get down & introduce yourself, they're meeting regularly

[garciaBernal]

Pencilled in for Midlands Brewers meeting this weekend so I'm on top of that already.

[irish_goat]

Am I right in saying that for the Speciality IPA category it's sufficient to say "Red IPA". Or should I specify what I've done specifically to differentiate it from an IPA?

[Garry]

Am I right in saying that for the Speciality IPA category it's sufficient to say "Red IPA". Or should I specify what I've done specifically to differentiate it from an IPA?

There are a few defined types for specialty IPAs. (Black IPA, Brown IPA, White IPA, Rye IPA, Belgian IPA, Red IPA)

Once it fits into the Red IPA defined type, then yes, Red IPA should do.

[dcalnan]

Right this is a tricky one decided today to enter a saison, but it's far from the guidelines for a saison, first of all its a dark saison and second it has cascara added to it. (Cascara is the dried berries of the coffee plant, similar to raisins) I'm thinking a fruit beer? Or maybe autumn/winter seasonal.

[pob]

Can you taste the fruit addition? If so, Fruit Beer with Saison as base in description or whatever beer it fits into now.

Not sure on Cascara (never heard of it before now), but check Autumn/Winter guidelines against how it tastes.

It's not what you brewed, it's what beer it is it now; that's how you decide the category.

[dcalnan]

It's a bit hard to taste it, if you had no idea what cascara is. It adds a bit of spiciness and tartness to it. But so does the yeast, the aroma is quite fruity, but again it could be perceived as just a yeast quality.

[Will_D]

If you do mean Cascara then be aware, be very aware:

Quote from Wiki:

"Rhamnus purshiana (cascara buckthorn, cascara, bearberry, and in the Chinook Jargon, chittem and chitticum; syn. Frangula purshiana, Rhamnus purshianus) is a species of buckthorn native to western North America from southern British Columbia south to central California, and eastward to northwestern Montana.

The dried bark of cascara has been used for centuries as a laxative, first by Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest, and then by European/U.S. colonizers. The chemicals primarily responsible for the laxative action are the hydroxyanthracene glycosides (particularly cascarosides A, B, C and D), and emodin. These act as stimulant laxatives, with the hydroanthracene glycosides stimulating peristalsis, and emodin exciting smooth muscle cells in the large intestine."

So what bits are you using??

[dcalnan]

Yeah the name can confuse people, it's the dried berry of the coffee plant, normally when you separate the seed(bean) from it it gets thrown away, but some farmers dry them out and use it as a tea. So hopefully no judges will become ill from it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_cherry_tea

I think I'm going to go with fruit beer.

[Will_D]

Again from Wiki:

"Coffee cherry tea is an herbal tea made from the dried berries (or "cherries") of the coffee plant. It is also known as cascara, from the Spanish cáscara, meaning "husk". It is different from cascara sagrada tea, a powerful plant-based laxative.

Coffee cherry tea is rarely produced for export, but is commonly drunk in some coffee-growing nations, notably Bolivia and, as the variant Qishr, in Yemen.

It is commonly consumed in Bolivia, where it is referred to as Sultana, and is made of sun-dried and lightly toasted coffee cherries. It may also be mixed with sticks of cinnamon. It is also called "the poor man's coffee", and "the coffee of the Army".[1]"

Just don't want a brewer going into th ehealth food shop and getting 50 gms of th ewrong Cascara!!