Feedback from the MN State Fair homebrew competition 2012
Big white State Fair ribbon is on the far right:
I got my official scores and ribbon this week from the MN State Fair 2012 homebrew competition. I noticed the judges generally gave me lower scores this year than last year in this particular competition, yet this year I placed. This leads me to believe they scored everyone lower than last year. For instance, last year I entered five beers into this competition and scored 21.5, 33, 35, 36 and 37 yet I didn’t place in any of those categories. This year I entered four beers and my highest score of 33 was the only one to place. Funny, as 33 was my 2nd lowest score last year.
Here are my 2012 State Fair homebrew comp scores:
| Entry # | Entry Name | Style | Feedback | Score | Winner? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 408 | Maibark | 05A: Maibock/Helles Bock | “under-attenuated, too big, unbalanced on the sweet side” | 27.5 | – |
| 407 | Golden Gate Retriever | 07B: California Common Beer | “dial back bittering hop charge and reduce carbonation and then it’s a 40” | 33.5 | 3rd place |
| 409 | Alba Dog | 09E: Strong Scotch Ale | “push attenuation further, increase ferment temp to bring in a little boozy character, increase bittering hop charge to give more balance” | 28.5 | – |
| 410 | Rauch! Rauch! | 22A: Classic Rauchbier | “astringent – decrease smoked grains or lager longer, too much alcohol so decrease grain bill a bit, add flaked oats for more head retention” | 31 | – |