This fall's competition was a classic

All that beer... and so little time.

Yesterday the Oregon Brew Crew held its sixth annual "Fall Classic" homebrew competition at the Main Street Ale House in Gresham, OR. Roughly forty judges, over half trained and certified by the Beer Judge Certification Program, evaluated 214 entries in 24 categories, selecting winners in each category plus Best of Show.

Yours truly submitted entries in four categories and came away with ribbons in two: first place for a sparkling dry apple cider called "Incider Riot," and second for a plum mead (melomel) called "Plumber's Crack." Best of Show winners are:

(Best of Show) Nathan Zorich 17D Golden B-Day Haze
(Best To Brew) Tom Litwin 1A Leander Lager
(3rd Place) Mitch Scheele 4C Black Pieree
(4th Place) Paul Johnson 26C Holiday Mead

A full list of winners will be posted on the Oregon Brew Crew website by Wednesday, according to Chris.

The judging began a little after 9 AM. Organizer Chris Hummert dispatched judges in twos and threes to tables in the Ale House's spacious dining room. Stewards followed quickly with beers and flight sheets. What is always the most difficult and chaotic moment of a home brew competition - figuring out who's there and getting them assigned to categories to judge - actually progressed relatively quickly as many experienced hands pitched in to ease Chris's pain.

Some categories, like one I judged - Light American Lagers - had only one entry, and judges merely had to score it and determine which level of award it deserved. Others, like American Ales, drew too many entries (27) for a single panel to handle. Those were divided into sub-flights for separate panels to evaluate, followed by a taste-off.

The judging process is of course subjective at its root, but through training and the development of the BJCP guidelines it is conducted in as objective a manner as possible. Judges taste small samples of each entry in a given category, evaluating it according to its aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall enjoyment. Points are awarded for each component and totaled to provide an overall score, ranging from 0 to 50 in theory but typically 13 to 45 in practice. 13 is undrinkable swill, infected and not at all to style; 45 is a "world-class example of style." Over the course of my three flights we had one beer rank 18 and another 44, but most ranged from 25-35. This speaks to the overall high quality of entries in this competition. We have some really good brewers out here.

Unlike wine, beer judges have to swallow to properly taste all flavor components. A beer's aftertaste is important and its bitterness can only be fully appreciated if the beer passes over the bitterness taste receptors concentrated in the back of the mouth. (Really. Trust me.)

With all that beer, and starting at 9 AM, you'd think we'd have a bunch of drunks on our hands by 3 o'clock. This is avoided (for the most part) by taking small samples 0 usually 2-3 ounces - of each beer (and we don't always consume even all of that), and keeping tasting flights small - usually about 6-8, but always under a dozen.

With a good turnout of judges from all over the Northwest, and even one from Georgia, we were able to do that and drive home safely. Good work, Chris, and congratulations to all who went home with prizes.

Thanks also to the Ale House for hosting and providing a great lunch to absorb some of that alcohol.