[Bel Air Brewing]

A new friend of mine, and self proclaimed beer connoisseur, has just tried this stout. John is a huge stout fan, and has consumed this style of beer for a long time.

His reaction was very positive. He thinks it is a fine beer. In itself, that really does not mean much. But he is an impartial judge, and actually told me he was not simply being "kind", that this stout is a great beer. John is brutally honest, and would not say anything that was a fabrication.

I am happy he likes it! Now...what will the judges think?

[fredthecat]

A new friend of mine, and self proclaimed beer connoisseur, has just tried this stout. John is a huge stout fan, and has consumed this style of beer for a long time.

His reaction was very positive. He thinks it is a fine beer. In itself, that really does not mean much. But he is an impartial judge, and actually told me he was not simply being "kind", that this stout is a great beer. John is brutally honest, and would not say anything that was a fabrication.

I am happy he likes it! Now...what will the judges think?

this is excellent news

[Iliff Ave]

A new friend of mine, and self proclaimed beer connoisseur, has just tried this stout. John is a huge stout fan, and has consumed this style of beer for a long time.

His reaction was very positive. He thinks it is a fine beer. In itself, that really does not mean much. But he is an impartial judge, and actually told me he was not simply being "kind", that this stout is a great beer. John is brutally honest, and would not say anything that was a fabrication.

I am happy he likes it! Now...what will the judges think?

I'm happy for you. I'm sure it will do well as usual.

[Bel Air Brewing]

A new friend of mine, and self proclaimed beer connoisseur, has just tried this stout. John is a huge stout fan, and has consumed this style of beer for a long time.

His reaction was very positive. He thinks it is a fine beer. In itself, that really does not mean much. But he is an impartial judge, and actually told me he was not simply being "kind", that this stout is a great beer. John is brutally honest, and would not say anything that was a fabrication.

I am happy he likes it! Now...what will the judges think?

I'm happy for you. I'm sure it will do well as usual.

This is actually a special story, a "two beer" story. I only know John through photos, and text messages. I was introduced to him by his uncle, who is Father Michael O'Connor, of Our Lady of The Gulf Church.

John's interest is in airlines, and airline pilots and flying airplanes. But it was only recently that he advised me of his passion for beer, and in particular, stout.

I brought a smile to John's face. That alone is worth a gold medal to me.

[goose]

I recently brewed an Imperial Stout with 27 lbs. of grain for a 5 gallon batch that came in with a low ABV, around 7.8%.  I have aged it on bourbon soaked oak chips and was thinking of entering it but think it would get dinged because it is not "chewy" enough.  It tastes really good and I will probably age if for a couple months before I make my final decision.  That said, like Dave mentioned, the judging is a crap shoot.

I blame the low ABV on poor extraction and it seems that the latest bag of Maris Otter gives less efficiency than previous lots, but I am not totally sure.  Need to do some more research here (maybe need to do a congress mash with this lot).

[fredthecat]

I recently brewed an Imperial Stout with 27 lbs. of grain for a 5 gallon batch that came in with a low ABV, around 7.8%.  I have aged it on bourbon soaked oak chips and was thinking of entering it but think it would get dinged because it is not "chewy" enough.  It tastes really good and I will probably age if for a couple months before I make my final decision.  That said, like Dave mentioned, the judging is a crap shoot.

I blame the low ABV on poor extraction and it seems that the latest bag of Maris Otter gives less efficiency than previous lots, but I am not totally sure.  Need to do some more research here (maybe need to do a congress mash with this lot).

thats a huge amount of grain for 7.8%, what was the OG/FG/IBU?

[kramerog]

Sweet 10W-40 is not appropriate under the 2015 BJCP guidelines. A few quotes: "bittersweet finish." "Should not be syrupy or under-attenuated."

[Bel Air Brewing]

Sweet 10W-40 is not appropriate under the 2015 BJCP guidelines. A few quotes: "bittersweet finish." "Should not be syrupy or under-attenuated."

Mine is actually 10% ABV. Not sweet at all. Very rounded and mellow, from the 10 month aging.

[fredthecat]

Sweet 10W-40 is not appropriate under the 2015 BJCP guidelines. A few quotes: "bittersweet finish." "Should not be syrupy or under-attenuated."

lol, just checked the 2021 BJCP for imp stout. lmao
FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 - 40
IBUs: 50 – 90

i dont even know what to say but lol, this is why i dont give a single care about the BJCP anymore. this isn't even relevant considering the direction that award winning imp stouts are going nowadays (2020 and on)

[Bel Air Brewing]

Sweet 10W-40 is not appropriate under the 2015 BJCP guidelines. A few quotes: "bittersweet finish." "Should not be syrupy or under-attenuated."

lol, just checked the 2021 BJCP for imp stout. lmao
FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 - 40
IBUs: 50 – 90

i dont even know what to say but lol, this is why i dont give a single care about the BJCP anymore. this isn't even relevant considering the direction that award winning imp stouts are going nowadays (2020 and on)

The 2022 Bluebonnet is using the 2015 guidelines. This is my first attempt at an Imperial Stout. No big deal either way.

[dmtaylor]

lol, just checked the 2021 BJCP for imp stout. lmao
FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 - 40
IBUs: 50 – 90

i dont even know what to say but lol, this is why i dont give a single care about the BJCP anymore. this isn't even relevant considering the direction that award winning imp stouts are going nowadays (2020 and on)

Heh.  So, it's black, and it's got some alcohol.  The rest is up to us.   

[fredthecat]

lol, just checked the 2021 BJCP for imp stout. lmao
FG: 1.018 – 1.030
SRM: 30 - 40
IBUs: 50 – 90

i dont even know what to say but lol, this is why i dont give a single care about the BJCP anymore. this isn't even relevant considering the direction that award winning imp stouts are going nowadays (2020 and on)

Heh.  So, it's black, and it's got some alcohol.  The rest is up to us.   

more than that, i saw the recipe for some big award winning imp stout from 2021 that had an FG of 1.04 or so, and 30 to 40 is a 5% standard porter range in colour. my imp stout was 85 IBU and next one i do i will probably be pushing to 110 territory for sure, and its SRM was 61.

even the commercial examples they list there are ones that were big 10+ years ago, and this is an important category for beers.

The 2022 Bluebonnet is using the 2015 guidelines. This is my first attempt at an Imperial Stout. No big deal either way.

just compared, 2015 is exactly the same as 2021 BJCP.

[Bel Air Brewing]

The nice thing about brewing your own, if you don’t like the rules, i.e., official style guidelines, you can make them up.

[goose]

I recently brewed an Imperial Stout with 27 lbs. of grain for a 5 gallon batch that came in with a low ABV, around 7.8%.  I have aged it on bourbon soaked oak chips and was thinking of entering it but think it would get dinged because it is not "chewy" enough.  It tastes really good and I will probably age if for a couple months before I make my final decision.  That said, like Dave mentioned, the judging is a crap shoot.

I blame the low ABV on poor extraction and it seems that the latest bag of Maris Otter gives less efficiency than previous lots, but I am not totally sure.  Need to do some more research here (maybe need to do a congress mash with this lot).

thats a huge amount of grain for 7.8%, what was the OG/FG/IBU?

I am not home right now (in FL until early April) so I don't have the specs. with me.  I know that the FG wad about 7.5 degrees Plato and I had to add DME to boost the OG.  Was looking for 25 degrees Plato for OG and was maybe in the low 20's, IIRC.

[Bel Air Brewing]

With nearly 27.5 pounds of grain, our OG was 1.093, and FG was 1.014. ABV 10%.
IBU - 55
Wyeast London Ale

My friends like it. Now, what will the BJCP judges say?