Barage Brewers Club
About Dr. BeerBob - Dr. BeerBob is one of our most distinguished members and has given much to this club and the art of homebrewing. We are excited about publishing information in this section that is either provided or endorsed by him. From time to time, we will update this section to share some of the club's findings, knowledge, and discoveries, when Dr. BeerBob thinks it is worthy information to share.
As a help to homebrewers that may visit our club site, I would like to present an occasional comment that I have found helpful during my decades long pursuit of this hobby. I feel a good beginning would be a discussion of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines.
As we strive to learn the art of beer making, it can be very instructive to focus on some standard styles to calibrate our ability to achieve recognized results. To this end, the BJCP style guidelines available at www.bjcp.org provide a rich resource that describes the basic characteristics of each style with regard to taste, aroma, and appearance. In total there are 28 basic styles but each will have from 2 – 6 sub-categories that represent the style.
While the descriptions of the style characteristics are very helpful, and the specification of O.G. and F.G. levels and the IBU and color targets are useful, some of the most important information for me is contained in the lists of commercial examples given for each beer type. This allows one to conduct a taste test with a known target for the style, and so to be able to benchmark your attempt against a known standard.
A visit to this website will also provide a very extensive resource to further your appreciation of the beer making universe. As such, this can further promote your appreciation of this most rewarding of hobbies and increase your capabilities. The ultimate goal for me is to submit a beer for judging in a competition that will be recognized as a worthy representative of a particular style. So far I’ve achieved good recognition as an ‘Old Ale’ but, since I submitted it as an ‘American Barleywine’, I didn’t get to take home a medal. It’s all a matter of a learning curve!!
