Capital Brewer's Indian Summer Beer Competition

[Pheeel]

Entry is via the competition website details of which will be announced in the next few days.

Bollix, when I'm on holiday!!!

[Dr Brown Ale]

Stewards Wanted!

We'll need somewhere in the region of 8-10 people to steward for this comp, so if you want to lend a hand, let me know please.

[Leann ull]

8-10 are you sure? We had 12 running 120 beers in Belfast and just 2 of us ran the 20 odd beers in NCB comp.
Really sorry guys I'm sucking beer in RDS that day what are the timings again?

[Jonnycheech]

Is the Beer Festival not the 8th-10th September and this comp is on 27th August?

[Dr Brown Ale]

8-10 are you sure? We had 12 running 120 beers in Belfast and just 2 of us ran the 20 odd beers in NCB comp.
Really sorry guys I'm sucking beer in RDS that day what are the timings again?

Want to get it as close to a "nationals" day as possible, which means 1 Judge Table, 1 Steward (or the very odd case of 2 Tables 1 Steward).

[irish_goat]

Is the Beer Festival not the 8th-10th September and this comp is on 27th August?

It is. I made a mistake earlier in the thread, was going on last year's RDS dates.

[Hingo]

Registration now open!

http://capitalbrewers.org/

OP has been updated with T's & C's also available via website.

[johnrm]

I received a email or a pm or a dm or a tweet or something from a Ciaran about the software fit the comp.
I didn't get to replying, now can't find the message.

[Hingo]

I received a email or a pm or a dm or a tweet or something from a Ciaran about the software fit the comp.
I didn't get to replying, now can't find the message.

No worries, looks like it's all good, Paul & Ciaran did a great job getting it up & running.
If we can, we'll throw a document together for any other clubs looking to host the same software


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SlugTrap]

New England ipa are covered under speciality, which was added to the new styleguides to be a catchall for whatever wacky ipa comes along next. As a result, the definition for ipa is quite strict and you'll get marked down if you don't match it exactly.
New England Ipa should be in 21B, no question. When the judges pour pea soup, they'll know what's going on

Vermont/New England/Northeast-style IPAs are definitely a thing of their own (for now) and should be entered in 21B.

I've done some quick and dirty style guidelines for this emerging style/fleeting trend.
Commercial examples are mostly British because otherwise you have to go to Massachusetts, Vermont, or NYC.

Impression
A hazy, unfiltered, or even turbid, straw- or light orange-coloured pale ale with light malt character, low perceived bitterness, juicy tropical/stone fruit/melon/citrus hop flavours and a very soft mouthfeel.

Ingredients
Pale malts with no Crystal. Munich, Carapils, etc for speciality malts. Wheat malt is also sometimes used. 
Conan, the Alchemist's yeast strain released commercially as "Vermont ale yeast", is low flocculating + contributes peach/apricot esters. Other English yeasts like London III 1318 or British 1098 are also used.
Oats, maize or even flour contribute to soft mouthfeel + haze.
New World/American hops, especially newer fruity varieties (e.g. Mosaic, Galaxy) *all* added as late, post-boil, and dry hops.

Examples
Alchemist Header Topper, Cloudwater DIPA v3, Magic Rock UnHuman Cannonball, Brighton Freshman

What's the difference between this and the 2015 definition of a pale, aroma-forward DIPA (22A)?
Clarity and softness. Also much less bitter and fruitier than 22A.

Note: Most commercial example come in around DIPA strengths (~8%) but there is no particular ABV range associated with the style.

[SlugTrap]

To follow up on the above, there were some changes to the DIPA style between the 2008 (14C) and 2015 (22A) guidelines that people should be aware of.

TL;DR - Of Foam & Fury would score as too sweet and maybe too dark by the new 2015 guidelines.

Basically, in the last 10 years DIPAs have shifted from chewy, bitter, and piney* (e.g. Dogfish Head 90 Minute, Ska Decadent) to light, juicy, and fruity (e.g. Odell Myrcenary, Stone Enjoy By, Whiplash Surrender to the Void) thanks to the new generation of aroma hops like Galaxy and Mosaic.

Here are some details with bold added by me.
2008: "Color ranges from golden amber to medium reddish copper"
2015: "Color ranges from golden to light orange copper; most modern versions are fairly pale"

2008: " ...the malt backbone will generally support the strong hop character and provide the best balance....
2015:  "...excessively complex grist can be distracting. Crystal-type malts often muddy the hop flavors, and are generally considered undesirable in significant quantities. "

2008: "Can use a complex variety of hops, typically American or New World"
2015:  "...typically American or New World, often with cutting-edge profiles providing distinctive differences. Modern hops with unusual characteristics are not out of style"

2008:

• OG: 1.070 – 1.090
• FG: 1.010 – 1.020
• SRM: 8 – 15

2015:

• OG: 1.065 – 1.085
• FG: 1.008 – 1.018
• SRM: 6 – 14

If you want to enter an old school/East Coast-style/Foam & Fury clone DIPA, enter it in 21B as "2008 DIPA" or it will be marked (down) by the new guidelines.


Edits to the American IPA category from 2008 (14B) were not as extensive; new guidelines in 2015 (21A) only expand to:

• mention new hop varieties ("...tropical fruit, stone fruit, berry, melon, etc.")
• caution against over-dryhopping ("Grassiness should be minimal, if present.")
• warn about  cloying sweetness ("Restrained use of crystal malts, if any, as high amounts can lead to a sweet finish and clash with the hop character.")

Enter American IPAs as normal.


*except California: Pliny, Stone, et al.

[garciaBernal]

I have a beer statistically right on the border between an IPA and a Double IPA. From a judges point of view what are the stand out characteristics I should look for taste wise that will decide which category I should enter? Thanks. 

[Shanna]

Hi there,

Would a Jaggery Pale ale be accepted in to the competition under "21B. Specialty IPA"? Its based on the Radical Brewing recipe by Randy Mosher - http://www.radicalbrewing.com/rbrecip.html

Shanna

[SlugTrap]

I have a beer statistically right on the border between an IPA and a Double IPA. From a judges point of view what are the stand out characteristics I should look for taste wise that will decide which category I should enter? Thanks.

I'd look at 3 things:

• Perceived bitterness - American IPA (21A) tops out at 70IBUs, which is actually not that high. If yours is a tongue scrapper, bump it up to DIPA (22B).
• Hop flavour - At Nationals a lot of DIPAs got marked down as not hoppy enough; be sure you've got the firepower before you pick 22B.
  
  
  • 21A: "A decidedly hoppy pale ale... Hop flavor is medium to very high..."
  • 22B: "An intensely hoppy pale ale... Hop flavour is strong and complex..."
• Alcohol warmth - Is it hot? DIPA allows for this, IPA doesn't, really. Choose accordingly.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo is a great commercial example that might seem like a DIPA, but by the numbers (7.2% ABV, 65 IBUs) is 21A, and has scored well when rated by BJCP judges.

Hi there,

Would a Jaggery Pale ale be accepted in to the competition under "21B. Specialty IPA"? Its based on the Radical Brewing recipe by Randy Mosher - http://www.radicalbrewing.com/rbrecip.html

Shanna

Yes. Since we don't have the Historical or Spiced categories open by the terms of the competition, then special little snowflakes like that should go into 21B with notes for the judges.

[Hingo]

Just a quick update guys, We're gonna move out the registration and drop off deadlines respectively by a week. having a chat about it, it was probably a bit early to expect beers to be in by. - I'll update the OP and website

Prize wise, So far we've got a couple of goodies, and thanks to Irish Goat for asking them, Rascals Brewing be able to offer the BoS winner a  Pro:Am brewday with them after the summer when things quieten down.

There may be some extra T's & C's for this - EG if the recipe, when scaled up, requires hops that are hard to get, may need to review the recipe.. all depends on what's being brewed etc.

Also thanks to The Mottly Brew, who will be providing a prize also. (further details to follow)

We should have a few more to announce, i'm just waiting to see what we can cover with the fees too, I've my eye on a nice shiny piece of equipment, otherwise there'll be a couple of other goodies to follow in there.

With the extra weeks deadline, there's still some time for some last minute entries.

A number of club reps have agreed to act as drop off points so if you're interested in entering, speak to your local guys and see what you can manage.