Contest Entries

While I've slacked a bit on writing up my brew sessions, I've been quite active. I just submitted four entries to the Topsfield Fair home brew competition. I expect to be schooled in some categories, and may compete in others. The nice thing is that I should received some informed constructive criticism with my scores. Feedback from friends is nice, if not biased to the positive. Unfortunately, I don't hang out with enough home brewers who'll tell me that I under pitched the yeast and caused some wacky side reaction.

I submitted:

Frak You You Frakking Cylon - An American pale ale brewed with a german altbier yeast, and a blend of whole leaf Simcoe and Sariaci Ace hops. The APA category typically gets a lot of entries. I don't expect to faire to well. The beer is a bit turbid, and the hops aren't as fresh now as they once were. I do think my hop choices, particularly the Japanese Sariachi Ace may get some bonus points for uniqueness.

Alt Deco Rock Fist - My take on a german altbier. I cold conditioned this quite effectively to get a nice smooth flavor. My cold conditioning equipment may offer an advantage over a complete novice. I may have over hopped this brew - and may lose points for using some American hops.

The Wallonian Wazoo - A saison that had been sitting in the basement for about 8 months with a strain of Brettanomyces bringing the funk. I entered it as a Belgian specialty ale. Its too dark to meet the saison guidelines, and might be a bit funky. This beer is decent, and may benefit from slim competition.

The Cult of Skaro Triple - This Belgian style triple would easily be my strongest entry if I weren't afraidd of some problems with uneven carbonation. Lets see if I get lucky, or some advice to solve that problem.