[HighVoltageMan!]

Homebrewing has gotten better in the last 10-15 years. Just look at the resources that became available to homebrewers in that time.

I built a RIMS system 12 years ago. At that time they were pieced together, there was all kinds of information meant to dissuade a person from brewing on a RIMS (thin beers, hot side aeration, scorched wort, etc.). There wasn't a any RIM tubes available, so I pieced one together with parts from McMaster-Carr (I love that site). Controller? Gotta build it yourself. Now you can buy parts, premade controllers, whole systems ready to go from a box like the Grainfather. RIMS are very common now.

Some improvements are meant to make it easier, more convenient. Some just make better beer and easier to boot. Here's a few that I can think of:

- more yeasts are available, both dry and liquid. The dry yeast has gotten better over the years. Huge impact on quality
- more choices in grains and other ingredients from all over the world
- more hops and better packaging. Places like Yakima Valley Hops treat the hops better than some dude in a backroom of a homebrew shop stuffing an ounce of hops in a poly bag and sealing them with a hot sealer. No nitrogen flush, no mylar packaging, no date, no hop harvest year.
- devices like the Tilt to monitor live fermentation, better temp controllers, ready to go RIMS systems with tighter temperature control
- a variety of spunding valves for both pressurized fermentation and spunding in a keg and pressurized transfers
- a variety of stainless steel fermenters, conical, "bucket", modified Sanke kegs, etc. This allows for closed, pressurize transfers. No more auto-siphon and open air transfers not to mention spunding
- brewers are better informed. The internet has brought so much information to the average home brewer, it's astounding. Books about nearly any subject you care to know
- a lot of different brewing software, take your pick

This is just the stuff I can think of off the top of my head. I know my brewing has improved in just the last couple of years. I have been brewing for 16-18 years and competing for 10 years. I'm convinced that the beer I won golds for 10 years ago would not do as well today. There are so many good brewers out there, it's amazing.

So has quality of homebrew improved over the last 10-15 years? I believe it has, or a lot of these advances in homebrewing were for not.

[Bel Air Brewing]

You could be right.  I had a recent 45 not place, though - again, just anecdotal.

You’re not the Lone Ranger!
We had a 42 and a 43 not place. Both beers were very good.

Getting scores over 40 is a challenge! We had beers score 38, 39, and get a Gold.

[denny]

You could be right.  I had a recent 45 not place, though - again, just anecdotal.

Which while unusual, is not unheard of. You could say it was exuberant judging as much as beer quality.

[ynotbrusum]

For sure, but it would be interesting to compare scores year over year and category by category to see if there are any trends to be spotted among major competitions.

[jeffy]

In my case, I don't think my brewing has gotten worse, but that everyone else has gotten better.  My winningest years of competition were 16 years ago.

[denny]

In my case, I don't think my brewing has gotten worse, but that everyone else has gotten better.  My winningest years of competition were 16 years ago.

That's a good assessment.

[Bel Air Brewing]

Now that a full week has passed by, has anyone gotten updates on when the score sheets (comment sheets) will be provided to the participants?
I'm beginning to lose interest at this point.

[jeffy]

Now that a full week has passed by, has anyone gotten updates on when the score sheets (comment sheets) will be provided to the participants?
I'm beginning to lose interest at this point.

I got my score sheets today.  Evidently my smoked beer was too smokey.

[hopfenundmalz]

Now that a full week has passed by, has anyone gotten updates on when the score sheets (comment sheets) will be provided to the participants?
I'm beginning to lose interest at this point.

I got my score sheets today.  Evidently my smoked beer was too smokey.

A judge that has never been to Schlenkerla.

[BrewBama]

I laughed out loud at the ‘smoke beer too smoky’ remark.


*Disclaimer*: Any comment I add is simply the way I brew beer. There are certainly other ways that can be equally effective which other brewers may contribute. This is what I’ve found that works for me using my equipment and processes so I offer this for your consideration. YMMV

[Bel Air Brewing]

One of my entries was a Munich Helles. It was actually one of our best beers. We expected it to do well. It did not.

They knocked it for "balance". Comment was it drinks like a Pilsner.

But their scoring showed it to be malt forward, with "grainy sweet malt up front", both in aroma and flavor.

I agree with my wife, when she said..."Why spend over $200 to have someone else tell you if your beer is good?"

[BrewBama]

…
I agree with my wife, when she said..."Why spend over $200 to have someone else tell you if your beer is good?"

[ynotbrusum]

Also agree.  I only enter a couple beers in my club’s competition, because it is our biggest fundraiser.  I’ve judged enough to know that despite its best efforts to create objective standards, the BJCP still cannot avoid the hedonistic preferences of specific individual judges.  I consider myself as a judge in decline due to normal aging - so when I am paired with a younger judge, I will yield to that other judge fairly readily, unless the other judge is vastly less experienced and clearly missing important aspects on a particular entry.  In your case, that judge must have felt that the entry was hoppier than he or she preferred.  But there are ranges of acceptable nuances and not knowing the IBU or other bittering/flavor measure, the judge is basically making a personal preference call.

Keep making good beers - to your taste preferences and to those who appreciate your beers.  Cheers.

[Bel Air Brewing]

    I chatted with one judge at Homebrew Con. She said there was a lot of pressure just to eliminate beers from each round and not enough time to give quality feedback. I have heard rumblings that this feeling is not isolated to this one judge.



The above is from another forum.
After getting comment sheets, I believe this is the case. There was no helpful input / feedback regarding my entries.
Looking at my results, the initial thought was the judges were just trying to get it over with, as quick as possible.

[hopfenundmalz]

    I chatted with one judge at Homebrew Con. She said there was a lot of pressure just to eliminate beers from each round and not enough time to give quality feedback. I have heard rumblings that this feeling is not isolated to this one judge.



The above is from another forum.
After getting comment sheets, I believe this is the case. There was no helpful input / feedback regarding my entries.
Looking at my results, the initial thought was the judges were just trying to get it over with, as quick as possible.

NHC is not the competition to seek feedback. It's been that way for years.
Yes there was time pressure on the judges to get through the flights.
The short for sheets can be completed quickly, anf there is little room to write down comments.