[hopfenundmalz]

Sounds like you have convinced yourself regardless of the responses. I do that a lot myself.

Sometimes you just have to see for yourself.  I'm guilty too.

No. As we get within a day or two of dropping off the entries, a bottle will be sampled and compared to the same beer on draft.

If there is any evidence of O2 affecting / degrading the overall flavor, the beer will be re-bottled with fresh draft.

Time will tell.

I recommend you bottle one or two more than than you’ll send in. Set it aside without refrigeration. Then, if you know the date of the judging you can taste the beer yourself on that same day to see what the judges are getting.

Great idea! I will do that!
Thanks.

Have another bottle to drink while you read the Scoresheets. Sometimes I nod in agreement, saying yeah that is there. Sometimes it is WTF.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Sounds like you have convinced yourself regardless of the responses. I do that a lot myself.

Sometimes you just have to see for yourself.  I'm guilty too.

No. As we get within a day or two of dropping off the entries, a bottle will be sampled and compared to the same beer on draft.

If there is any evidence of O2 affecting / degrading the overall flavor, the beer will be re-bottled with fresh draft.

Time will tell.

I recommend you bottle one or two more than than you’ll send in. Set it aside without refrigeration. Then, if you know the date of the judging you can taste the beer yourself on that same day to see what the judges are getting.

Great idea! I will do that!
Thanks.

Have another bottle to drink while you read the Scoresheets. Sometimes I nod in agreement, saying yeah that is there. Sometimes it is WTF.

It has been years since a competition was entered. My entry was a Czech Pils, and we had just toured the Czech Republic.
I thought the beer was very good, but my scores ranged from 34 to 36 points. I never made it out of the first round of judging.