What BJCP category does my beer belong in? THE OFFICIAL THREAD

[Hop Bomb]

I figured it would be a good idea to start this thread to keep BJCP beer questions all in one place. Keeps everything neat & tidy & its easier for people to read through a single thread. No doubt questions asked here will be helpful to others & save them asking the same questions in another thread. 

[Rossa]

Good call.

[Hop Bomb]

I brewed this at the weekend. Double batch. First batch is:

Stout.
OG 1.076
FG 1.015  (1.006 ish once brett is done with it)
100 IBU
97 ebc

Saison blend yeast in primary. Aged on american oak cubes with Brett claussenii.  Is this a belgian speciality ale? Or wood aged beer?


The second half of the wort is fermenting with english ale yeast.  Nothing else added, no brett or anything.  Its almost within the realm of foreign extra stout but the colour & IBU is too high. 
Its a bit on the weak side for a RIS & the FG is too low. Would you enter it as a RIS or foreign extra stout?

[Rossa]

Good question. I'd say wood aged and 'speciality' would probably be more accurate. .. Eg not to style with notes for the judges on what it is.  Anyone else think?

[Hop Bomb]

Its a historic recipe btw. So the grist & the numbers are all bang on.  The one fermented with english ale will be an exact clone of the historic recipe.

The batch with saison & brett is an experiment. So yeah I guess speciality category would fit it.

[Rossa]

I would put the historic in the speciality with a note saying as such.

[Hop Bomb]

Thank you! 

[Hop Bomb]

Session Pale ale. 
SG: 1.044
FG: 1.012
4.2%

Dry hopped, 39 ibu,  (would pass for a beer in the 5.5 to 6% abv range)

Enter in the speciality category or enter as a pale ale?

[delzep]

IBUs aren't judged yeah?

Depends on what hops you used for category chosen

[Hop Bomb]

Single hop with mosaic all the way through.

Grist is mostly Vienna, some pale, biscuit & melanoiden malt.

[Ciderhead]

Actually this section should be great practice for the judges signing up.
Looking at the guidelines you are ok for ibu but just below on alcohol, can a judge advise how this is treated?

[Hop Bomb]

I was aiming for 3.8 abv but it finished a bit lower than expected on the ferment.

Can you enter the same beer in different categories?

[Tom]

Hard pushed to detect a missing 0.4% alcohol. I wouldn't worry about it. It will be judged on body and mouthfeel, where FGs are concerned.

[johnrm]

I would say to enter it into the appropriate category for the target style if you feel that it is close in every other respect.
If you were aiming for a particular ABV and miss the mark, then this is down to your process. Worst case, If noticed by a judge you will be marked down.

[Hop Bomb]

What about the grain bill though? It has only 10% pale in it. The rest is vienna & some spciality malts. This wasnt brewed or designed to fit in category 10A (but it might make sense to enter it as that instead of category 23). Do judges get a sheet with all the info on it such as grain bill, SG, FG, etc or do they just judge & score by taste?