[denny]

Some folks seem to be upset at the recapping and that setting these beers aside significantly affects the quality of their beers.  I personally don't see it, but I also have no practical experience with the judging.  Thanks for your response and observations.

See that's just stupid. Would these people prefer that their bottles sit open for 1-2 hours while other's are being judged? I mean, unless they want the mini BOS to be all flat beers.  Give me a break.

My take on it is that they prefer having a second bottle judged. 

So, then, would they like to send 3 bottles instead 2?  You need to have a "just in case" bottle, so judging a different bottle for mini BOS means they'd have to send one more and each comp. location would have to handle and store 1/3 more bottles.  I think that the people who complain about this are also missing the fact that all the mini BOS beers are treated the same way, so if this was to negatively affect anything, it would affect them all the same.

[denny]

Just for info purposes, what is the standard serving temperature when judging?

Dave

There really isn't one.  Each comp decides for itself and does the best they can.

However it is up to the highest ranking judge at each table to try and get the beers to the best temperature for the respective styles, even if this means letting them sit at room temp to warm up

Absolutely....letting them warm up is easy.  But there have been comps (names withheld to protect the guilty!) where the beers were served almost warm.  Not too much the judges can do about that. 

[mroakley]

Some folks seem to be upset at the recapping and that setting these beers aside significantly affects the quality of their beers.  I personally don't see it, but I also have no practical experience with the judging.  Thanks for your response and observations.

See that's just stupid. Would these people prefer that their bottles sit open for 1-2 hours while other's are being judged? I mean, unless they want the mini BOS to be all flat beers.   Give me a break.

My take on it is that they prefer having a second bottle judged.  

So, then, would they like to send 3 bottles instead 2?  You need to have a "just in case" bottle, so judging a different bottle for mini BOS means they'd have to send one more and each comp. location would have to handle and store 1/3 more bottles.  I think that the people who complain about this are also missing the fact that all the mini BOS beers are treated the same way, so if this was to negatively affect anything, it would affect them all the same.

You'd have to ask them.  

The conversations are around on the various forums.  For example, "...I rationalize [the entries] were victims of the AHA recapping on oxygen beer abuse and disrespect methodology."

[tankdeer]

Agree with Denny. This is a massive competition. Sending more bottles just for a mini BOS is silly. The organizers are already dealing with hundreds and hundreds of bottles. Think about it, we had 2 (I think) regions this year hit the cap of 750 entries. That means they were already dealing with 750 bottles, can you imagine the headaches for those guys if they had to deal with 1500?

[tankdeer]

You'd have to ask them.  

The conversations are around on the various forums.  For example, "...I rationalize [the entries] were victims of the AHA recapping on oxygen beer abuse and disrespect methodology."

Whoever said that is an idiot, and has no idea how this works. They are obviously just trying to make excuses for why they didn't win - and blame it on somebody else.

[akr71]

You'd have to ask them.  

The conversations are around on the various forums.  For example, "...I rationalize [the entries] were victims of the AHA recapping on oxygen beer abuse and disrespect methodology."

Whoever said that is an idiot, and has no idea how this works. They are obviously just trying to make excuses for why they didn't win - and blame it on somebody else.

Not to mention that any bottles that make to a mini-BOS are treated the same way, so it is still a level playing field...

[tankdeer]

Exactly! Trust me, these bottles are not abused. And I have every bit of confidence that the condition of the beers in the mini BOS is identical to what it was during the normal flight.

[hamiltont]

That means they were already dealing with 750 bottles, can you imagine the headaches for those guys if they had to deal with 1500?

Just had to say.  I bet they would have headaches from all the free beer after the comp was over.  

Getting back to the topic. 750 entries has to be a daunting task to manage. I tip my hat to the NHC Regional & Finals hosts!!

[tankdeer]

Agreed! Those guys work their butts off for this comp. And it's not like they're getting paid for it

[bluesman]

Just for info purposes, what is the standard serving temperature when judging?

Dave

There really isn't one.  Each comp decides for itself and does the best they can.

However it is up to the highest ranking judge at each table to try and get the beers to the best temperature for the respective styles, even if this means letting them sit at room temp to warm up

One would only hope.

[dbeechum]

One would only hope.

Never seen one yet not do it.

[SiameseMoose]

I judged three flights in the East region, and did a mini-BOS for all of them. I will first say that I don't know of a better way to do it, but some of the beers clearly suffered from the delay more than others. For instance, I had light hybrids as my last flight. One of our first beers was an absolutely outstanding Kolsch. Not just better than any homebrewed version I'd had before, but better than half of the commercial versions I've tried (and I was in Cologne for three days last October, right after Munich, right before Belgium, not that I'm bragging or anything  ). When I had it in mini-BOS, I would estimate it had dropped from a 45 to a 35 level beer. It still got second, but a fresh bottle would have blown away the rest of the table. I don't worry about it, because it did move on, and in the second round there will be a fresh bottle for mini-BOS (I can't imagine this beer NOT making mini-BOS).

The other flights I had this year, Scottish and Irish, and IPA, were much less susceptible to any issues. However,I have experienced some degradation in other comps whenever I get pale light beers.

[gail]

Some folks seem to be upset at the recapping and that setting these beers aside significantly affects the quality of their beers.  I personally don't see it, but I also have no practical experience with the judging.  Thanks for your response and observations.

All the beers going to mini-BOS have been recapped, usually very early on in the judges' tasting of the beer (at least I try to do it early to preserve the beer as much as possible).  That means all the beers going to mini-BOS essentially have a level playing field.
Do the beers change over time?  Yes.  All of them do.  Does the beer you're judging change over the time that you are assessing just one factor in that one beer?  Absolutely.  Beer is constantly evolving in aroma, taste, appearance.  
If you've ever judged or stewarded, I would bet you've seen how careful folks are with the beers--that has been my experience over many, many comps.  A level playing field for all of the beers has always been a primary goal of all the comps in which I've judged.
And YES, there were outstanding, fantastic, and downright incredible beers, meads and ciders this year for the 1st round.  Hats off to Janis and the regional organizers as well!
 

[marty]

You'd have to ask them.  

The conversations are around on the various forums.  For example, "...I rationalize [the entries] were victims of the AHA recapping on oxygen beer abuse and disrespect methodology."

Whoever said that is an idiot, and has no idea how this works. They are obviously just trying to make excuses for why they didn't win - and blame it on somebody else.

thats harsh, McDole isn't an idiot and he knows how it works

[tankdeer]

If it was truly McDole who said that, he should know better. I don't think any competition, especially this one, has a "beer abuse and disrespect methodology." That's just BS.