The National.

Well, that was a lot of fun!

This weekend was the National Homebrew Competition in Oxford, the annual contest to find the best homebrews and brewers in the UK. It's all run by volunteers so I went along to help with the judging.

Setting up and organising the categories.

 The day started with a rather early 5:45 alarm! And on a Saturday! But against all probability I got up, showered and got to the train station in time to catch the 7am train to Oxford - thanks in no small part to my girlfriend driving me to the station. Meeting several other dazed Bristol homebrewers on the platform, we boarded the train clutching coffees and headed off.

All the essentials for beer judging.

My first category to judge was British Pale Ales, and while this wasn't the smallest category, it was a much easier start to the day than the poor table with Belgian Strongs. +9% beers at 10am are a test for sure! My category was a mixed bag, with no beers that I felt really stood out as great examples of the style. Quite dissapointing really, but there were a few good ones. I think the problem is that, for competition, brewers tend to focus on the more bombastic styles to create the biggest impact. It's difficult for any Pale Ale to compete with a Double IPA. So I think a lot of the better brewers stayed away from the category.

After lunch I judged the Smoked and Wood Aged category, which was really interesting. A wide range of different styles and some really cracking beers. Though, admittedly, some that were not good! A very good Smoked Imperial Stout, which poured like engine oil, took the category deservedly. It went on to be given second place in best of show.

Getting towards the end of judging now.

I finished off the afternoon judging Hybrid Beers, one of the more boring categories of beer in my opinion! To be fair, some of the beers we judged fitted the style guidelines closely and had been brewed with skill. I just find those styles dull. But following the strong stouts and porters of the earlier round, it was probably good to finish with quite light beers. This was also made more enjoyable because I was judging with a guy I know, Johnny, who brews for a living at Bristol Beer Factory.

So with all the judging finished, it was time for the awards to be given out and I only went a won a medal!!!

YEEEAAAHH!!!!

My Alfresco Saison took second place in the Belgian and French Ales category (Table 12 here). To say I'm happy about this would be understatement of the year! For a start this was one of the largest categories in the competition, with 45 entries. But also, as it's a trendy style and not an obvious one, it was mostly the more experienced brewers who entered beers. I spoke to the judges and they said the standard was really high, so I'm over the moon. The category was won by a hoppy Belgian Wit in the speciality category, so mine was the top rated of all the saisons! Woo!

None of my other beers got placed, which I'm not overly surprised by. I think there were faults/issues with all of them. But mostly due to over-carbonation I think, so it'll be really good to get the judging sheets. As I said before, the feedback and scores is really what I'm after.

So that was competition day. A Long day, yes. A Tiring day, very much so. But a very enjoyable day made even more so by the company of some excellent people. It was great to meet some new brewers and spend a day talking beer! I just need to get planning my beers for next year now...