Hello all. I have a question on the BJCP 2015 guidelines for american rye beers. I used to enter my american rye in the 2008 american wheat/rye category. I've never used any wheat in these beers and was never dinged for not using wheat.
2015 guidelines state "American rye beers should be entered in the Alternative Fermentables specialty category". I just received results for my american rye entered in the alternative fermentables category in a comp using the 2015 guidelines and both score sheets dinged me for not using any wheat with statements like "no wheat flavor", "lacks wheat characters", "different category??", "very clear for a wheat style beer", "no bready wheat character", "out of place with a wheat ale base".
The beer won a gold medal so I'm very happy and not sour-graping, but should I consider using wheat malt with my american rye beers or am I misunderstanding something? Are there different expectations for american rye beers now with the updated guidelines? Thanks for any feedback!