I was wondering if anybody could give the best advice on this.
I plan on trying to enter as many competitions as possible this coming year and I have a beer that I'd like to put through the test that, doesn't fall in exact parameters but, I'd hate to just lump in the Specialty beer category.
This past August, I needed to get a Marzen ready for an Oktoberfest party at the end of September and since there was no way a lager would be ready by then, I took my grain bill and just fermented it with Wyeast 1007. Problem was that through a mixture of good efficiency and what had to be an error by my LHBS and how much grain they gave me, I ended up with a 7.3% ale instead of the ~5.4% I was shooting for.
That brings me to the question: Just what the heck is it? I could try running it as an Imperial Marzen or, a North German Imperial Altbier and put them both in their respective categories, hoping that the points taken off for being out of OG/FG range would be offset by other qualities or, just throw it into the specialty category.
I would just love some feedback on what others would do.