With 381 Beers Only One Can Be "Best Of Show"
about #beersaturday and thought this might be interesting to all of us who really like trying new beers. There are many an article about beer tastings here on Steemit but how many people actually sit down and analyze from a beer judges perspective?
I was going to write about one beer but our club, the Central Florida Homebrewers, just happens to be on the last judging session for Best Of Show.
Just a quick summary of me and a great homebrew club.
The CFHB was started in 1989 in one of Orlando's first craft breweries. Four guys were just sitting around discussing their new hobby, homebrewing. Homebrewing was finally made legal by President Carter and was slow to start off. But by the 1990's homebrewing became one of America's fastest growing hobbies. But information and supplies were still hard to come by.
As word of the club spread throughout Central Florida the club grew to over 200 members, about the time I joined. I can recall my first time tasting homebrew and wow, I fell in love with not only the different styles of beer but the people of the club.
It was towards the end of the meeting and I was introducing myself around the crowd. I had been drinking a Strong British Stout and conversing with a nice couple Barb and Les. They were asking about my attempts at brewing and other interests when suddenly without any hint or warning my gut instinct kicked in or should I say flew out.
The darkest beer I ever consumed exited my pie hole at subsonic speed on a direct heading towards this nice ladies pure white shoes!
Damn, I just joined a great club and here I go and look like an amateur punk who can't handle a little beer. But who would have thought this was the beginning of a 30 year friendship.
This Years Challenge Was A Challenge
The CFHB was one of the first clubs to introduce homebrew competitions east of the Mississippi. Over the years we had grown to have over 800 entries in our competitions . But as the years grew older we currently limit our entries to a 400 cap. Remember each entry requires 3 bottles, 1st round, 2nd round and best of show. Now not all beers go on to 2nd or BOS. But judging best of show is one of the most satisfying jobs. Someone has to do it!
Looking For The Best Of The Best
This year we fell behind in judging due to the fact that a lot of certified judges in our area are either retired, grew out of the hobby or moved away. But, we hope to continue the competitions as we try to convince more homebrewers to become certified beer judges.
This year we settled on 23 great beers! Now how do you judge 23 beers at one time?
Every club I'm sure have their own tried and true system and we have ours. We just lay out a huge piece of paper that covers the table. Then it's on to pouring. We have 3 judges this year and a couple of stewards. So each judge gets a few ounces of beer.
What we are looking for is if each beer was brewed to the specifications of the entered category. But tasting a light lager over an imperial stout is very subjective. It's hard to keep ones dislike of one particular style over another. That is why we have an odd number of judges to help break the tension.
As the beers are poured we all just make simple notes in our own way. Now let me tell you some of these beers are high in alcohol, but sometimes it's hidden behind all of the malt and hop complexities. It's not long in to the tasting when suddenly it hits you as you stand up to go tinkle.
At one point we couldn't find a beer to give it a second taste. We just poured it not long ago and it just vanished. Damn alcohol!!
We looked at all the caps. We double checked the fridge and finally... we found it sitting on a chair pushed under the table. We felt like arses! But we carried on.
Finally after about 3 hours later we had a winner!
The winner for best of show went to a Belgian Blonde Ale.
Here is the list of winners in this years Sunshine Challenge! Congrats to all of those who entered this years competition and we can't wait for next years winner.
In the mean time click here to find a homebrew club near you and go attend a meeting. Then you can learn to really appreciate all of the beers you consume.
A Big Thank You goes to Jim, Chris , Alexis, Kimber, JR, all the members of the CFHB and especially Lori and Paul for making this years competition a success.
Until we meet again - "Drink Better Beer!"
Here are a few articles I wrote about Homebrewing:
https://steemit.com/beer/@everybitmatters/who-made-your-beer-now-we-will-know
https://steemit.com/beer/@everybitmatters/how-to-score-beer-in-a-homebrew-competition
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