[a10t2]

My hypothesis is that there will be a (subjected, sensory) difference between the two products.

If you're willing to put up enough money that it would pay for the robot, I would SO take that action.

[thirsty]

... at one NHC I tasted 7 different versions of my Rye IPA recipe.  None tasted like the other and none tasted like mine does.

Denny, that is too funny.

[jeffy]

Hell I've wondered if people have ever bought a commercial craft brew, removed the label and replaced the cap and presented it as their own to a competition. That would be low... But funny if it scored poorly!

I have heard a story of such, and the guy was indignant when the beers did not win.  Tried to embarass the organizers with this fact, and got banned for life from the competition. 

Just desserts! Classic.

On the other hand I judged at a competition where the organizer slipped commercial examples of the style into the flights just to see what we'd write.  S.A. Bigfoot didn't win.  I think I scored it high 30's and said that it could use some age.

[morticaixavier]

My hypothesis is that there will be a (subjected, sensory) difference between the two products.

If you're willing to put up enough money that it would pay for the robot, I would SO take that action.

it's a bet, just give me 50 years or so to save up the cash.

**EDIT** to fix my miserable typing

[morticaixavier]

Hell I've wondered if people have ever bought a commercial craft brew, removed the label and replaced the cap and presented it as their own to a competition. That would be low... But funny if it scored poorly!

I have heard a story of such, and the guy was indignant when the beers did not win.  Tried to embarass the organizers with this fact, and got banned for life from the competition. 

Just desserts! Classic.

On the other hand I judged at a competition where the organizer slipped commercial examples of the style into the flights just to see what we'd write.  S.A. Bigfoot didn't win.  I think I scored it high 30's and said that it could use some age.

I think that is a fair score for a current year bigfoot. but after 2 or three years that stuff is nummy

[gmac]

So what you're all telling me is that you CAN taste the love.
Thanks.

I think you should put that phrase in your sig....

I'm more likely to put:
Graham's Bitter:  You can really taste the hate.

[Jimmy K]

I'm more likely to put:
Graham's Bitter:  You can really taste the hate.

My coworker always tell me...

Beer should be bitter - like divorce.

[bluesman]

So what you're all telling me is that you CAN taste the love.
Thanks.

I think you should put that phrase in your sig....

I'm more likely to put:
Graham's Bitter:  You can really taste the hate.

That'll work just fine. 

[gmac]

So what you're all telling me is that you CAN taste the love.
Thanks.

I think you should put that phrase in your sig....

I'm more likely to put:
Graham's Bitter:  You can really taste the hate.

That'll work just fine. 

Advice taken.

[bluesman]

So what you're all telling me is that you CAN taste the love.
Thanks.

I think you should put that phrase in your sig....

I'm more likely to put:
Graham's Bitter:  You can really taste the hate.

That'll work just fine. 

Advice taken.

That's awesome!

[markaberrant]

IMO, recipe counts for maybe 10%, at most 20%, of the finished beer.  Ingredient choice and quality and brewing techniques are a much bigger factor.

I keep hounding our club members that recipes DO NOT really matter as long as they are in the ballpark.  You need a rock solid foundation that starts with cleaning/sanitation, then yeast/fermentation management, and then quality ingredients and consistent brew day/packaging processes.  Once all of these are in place, start working on perfecting your recipes.

[hopfenundmalz]

IMO, recipe counts for maybe 10%, at most 20%, of the finished beer.  Ingredient choice and quality and brewing techniques are a much bigger factor.

I keep hounding our club members that recipes DO NOT really matter as long as they are in the ballpark.  You need a rock solid foundation that starts with cleaning/sanitation, then yeast/fermentation management, and then quality ingredients and consistent brew day/packaging processes.  Once all of these are in place, start working on perfecting your recipes.

All good advice.  Good fermentation, maturation, and packaging are overlooked by many homebrewers. You can lose a bunch of points in a comp due to poor packaging process.

Got to tour Bells production facility a few years back.  John Mallet stressed that packaging was extremely important. "Why brew a great beer then mess it up with poor packing processes?" to paraphase what he said.

[narvin]

So what you're all telling me is that you CAN taste the love.
Thanks.

+1,000,000,000,000!!!!

I have a theory (hypothesis actually) that I will probably never be able to test. It goes like this

take a recipe (beer or food) work it out so that you can pretty much duplicate it every time and take any and all notes needed so that another person could also duplicate it.

now program a computer/robot to accomplish exactly the same thing, following all the same steps exactly.

place the computer head to head with a human brewer who really cares about the final product. compare the products. My hypothesis is that there will be a (subjected, sensory) difference between the two products.

i.e. I think you would be able to taste the love. 

Or the inconsistency    Love is nothing but mistakes.

I mean, happy valentines day!  Please don't tell my girlfriend I said that.

[markaberrant]

All good advice.  Good fermentation, maturation, and packaging are overlooked by many homebrewers. You can lose a bunch of points in a comp due to poor packaging process.

Got to tour Bells production facility a few years back.  John Mallet stressed that packaging was extremely important. "Why brew a great beer then mess it up with poor packing processes?" to paraphase what he said.

Yup, I just gave a presentation a few weeks ago on aging and cellaring homebrew.  Spent the first half discussing the importance of brewing a clean beer in the first place (it should taste good as soon as fermentation is done), and then ensuring you package it properly (as you say, nothing worse than screwing up a great beer during this stage).

[hopfenundmalz]

All good advice.  Good fermentation, maturation, and packaging are overlooked by many homebrewers. You can lose a bunch of points in a comp due to poor packaging process.

Got to tour Bells production facility a few years back.  John Mallet stressed that packaging was extremely important. "Why brew a great beer then mess it up with poor packing processes?" to paraphase what he said.

Yup, I just gave a presentation a few weeks ago on aging and cellaring homebrew.  Spent the first half discussing the importance of brewing a clean beer in the first place (it should taste good as soon as fermentation is done), and then ensuring you package it properly (as you say, nothing worse than screwing up a great beer during this stage).

I now know that I have screwed up some excellent beers with poor packaging.  One can learn from their mistakes.