#NHC HOMEBREW PLUS#

You’ve got a great beer but just off the mark. Comments = Congratulations on making NHC Finals.Creamy with just a touch of astringency which is ok. Comments = Medium-light body with good carbonation.the beer is really close to a Pale Ale over a Kolsch. Clean ferment missing Kolsch yeast character. Some corn-like present with some honey in sweetness.

Malts are present but hops win the balance. Comments = Hops are more dominant than expected given aroma.

Comments = Brilliant gold clarity with a yellow head that is smooth & sudsy.The touch of citrus hops are nice but noticeably out of style. Comments = Hops & grain dominate aroma.The improvements regarding water treatment and dry-hopping are relatively easy to make.įirst Round score sheet (BJCP Novice & Certified judges):įinal Round score sheet (BJCP National & Certified judges): Mouthfeel – these are pretty much according to style.

Not sure where the smoke flavor comes from.

Flavor – as with the Aroma, dry-hopping with whole flowers rather than pellets might help here.

Appearance – the color adjustment with Chocolate Wheat may have been slightly too much in this recipe and resulted in a slightly too darker beer.

Perhaps the use of campden tablets might help further reduce this. The presence of medicinal phenols throws me slightly because I charcoal filter tap water and then leave it overnight to off-gas chlorine.

Aroma – I believe the lack of hop aroma could be overcome by dry-hopping with whole flowers rather than pellets.

or bottled spring water or treat with campden tablet.

Comments = Likely had chlorine/chloramine in brewing water made chlorophenols.

Comments = Light drying note at finish.

Comments = Phonels less in flavor, light acetaldehyde.

Light green apple, subtle malt, no hop aroma.

Comments = Light medicinal phenols in nose.

#NHC HOMEBREW PLUS#

Perhaps mashing slightly higher may also counter the dryness and reduce the amount of attenuation plus contribute to a richer and fuller mouthfeel.įirst Round score sheet (BJCP Novice & Grand Master judges):

Mouthfeel – missing the richness and fullness but was instead too dry and astringent.Īs feared the color adjustment with Chocolate Wheat probably made the color too dark and contributed to the astringency.

Flavor – had the correct malt profile and esters but the acidity was overpowering.

Comments = Missing soft bready characteristics that are a hallmark fo the style.Īssessment against the BJC style guidelines:.

Comments = Just a little astringent & puckeringly dry on the finish.

Comments = Acidic finish is too dominant and overpowering the malt profile (which I hoped would be more dominant & complex).

Comments = Beautiful Munich malt aroma of breadcrusts and light in aroma.

In the following sections I will evaluate and summarize the feedback which comes together with the marks and comments on the BJCP score sheets.įirst Round score sheet (BJCP Certified & National judges): More bottles were shipping in May and judged mid-June. * went on to receive a mark of 37 (very good) in the Final Round. The score is out of 50 marks.Īward = Gold in style & 3rd place in the ‘Light Hybrid Beer’ category The entries were judged according to the BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines and awarded marks based on Aroma, Appearance, Flavor, Mouthfeel and Overall Impression with a final mark being averaged over two score sheets from two qualified judges. The entries were judged mid-April and shortly after I could see the results on the competition web site. In early 2015 I brewed and submitted the following beers to NHC 2015 and shipped 2 bottles of each entry to Zainesville, Ohio, during March: NHC consists of two rounds with the first one being regional and then all medal winners in each category going through to the final round which is judged at the annual National Homebrew Conference. American Homebrewers AssociationĮach year the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) organize a national competition for its members to submit beer, cider and mead entries. With this in mind I thought it would be a good time to evaluate the results from the 2015 entries and assess which ones, if any, would be worth re-brewing and entering the ‘hopefully’ improved versions of the recipes. Once the holidays are over it will be time for me to start brewing for the National Homebrew Competition (NHC) 2016.

Nhc homebrew