2012 Competition Rules & Styles
- No individual brewer or single team of brewers may submit more than one entry per style. However, individuals who participate in several different teams of brewers do not disqualify those teams from entering a style that the individual has already entered.
- An entry consists of three (3) 12 oz. brown or green, crown cap bottles and one (1) 5 gallon keg. No swing cap, painted, or embossed bottles. We cannot accept larger bottles; smaller (7 oz.) bottles may be used for Barley wine only.
- One Entrant's Information Form should be completed for each entrant (or team of entrants) including the entrant's name, address, phone number, club affiliation, if any, and a listing of entries by category and style. Each bottle and keg must be labeled only with (a) the entrant's name and (b) category and style. Labels must be affixed to bottles with rubber bands. Do not use tape or gummed labels of any sort. Any cap other than plain must be blacked out. Entries not identified by style, where applicable, may be disqualified (see Category and Styles Description sheet).
- Be sure the entry label clearly includes all information for the judges, particularly for entries in the Specialty category.
- A beer may not be entered in more than one style or category.
- All entries must be brewed in California by an amateur brewer. For the purpose of this competition, an amateur brewer is anyone not directly involved in a commercial brewing process, either as an owner, employee, or consultant during the time of the competition.
- Each entry must have been brewed by the brewer identified on the Entrant Information form.
- Entries may not be blends of two or more separately-brewed batches, except in the Specialty category.
- All entries become the property of the California Festival of Beers at the time they are accepted at the drop-off booth. Unused portions will not be returned to entrants and may be disposed of as necessary by the California Festival of Beers. Winning entries will be available for tasting during the festival.
- Score sheets and uncollected awards or prizes will be delivered to the entrants via either personal delivery, US Mail, UPS, or some other delivery service in a timely manner after the competition is over. Awards may be collected on behalf of winners by a representative of the winner (friend or fellow club member) at the time of the awards ceremony. Delivery and safety of such awards will be the responsibility of the recipient, not the competition, its staff, or sponsors.
- Winning entries will be made available for attendee tasting after judging has been completed. Please provide appropriate taps for dispensing.
Entry Fee: Free
PART 2 – CATEGORY LISTINGS
The following category descriptions are an attempt to group similar styles for the judges' convenience and for the purposes of presenting awards. Please note, with the growth of "American" or "West Coast" variations of some styles it is increasingly difficult to fully define categories. Unless a descriptor specifically requires regional ingredients a wide latitude should be given to entries which employ ingredients of non-traditional varieties. Similar latitude may be given to the hopping level of some styles. Judges should focus on the essentials of a quality beer; taste, balance, cleanliness, ingredient quality, and brewing technique. Any category which does not specify styles is open to all entries which meet the category description. In consideration of the creativity of the brewer, these descriptions avoid citing commercial examples.
LIGHT ALE
AMERICAN LIGHT ALE - Straw to gold in color. Hopping rate is low to moderate. May have a slightly fruity hop aroma. Light body and mild maltiness. Tends to be dry in the finish. Effervescent. (BJCP Style 6B)
CREAM ALE - Pale straw to light golden color. Similar to American Lager but fermented with ale yeast followed by cold conditioning. Cereal grain adjuncts (corn) apparent. Light bodied with corresponding low hop bitterness. Hop aroma may be evident but mild. Effervescent. (BJCP Style 6A)
KOLSCH - German ale unique to Cologne. Pale gold in color. Light body. German floral hops evident but not assertive. Light dry finish. Fermented as an ale but cold conditioned to produce less fruitiness and esters. (BJCP Style 6C)
PALE ALE
BRITISH PALE ALE - Golden to deep copper in color. Aroma of hops in bouquet should lead to those of malt and grain. Flavor should be full, malty, and grainy with a hoppy bitter finish and perhaps a little sweetness from residual dextrins. (BJCP Styles 8B,8C)
AMERICAN PALE ALE - Pale to deep amber/copper. High hop bitterness. Medium hop flavor and aroma. Low to medium maltiness. American hops. (BJCP Style 10A)
IPA
English IPA - Pale to deep amber/copper. High hop bitterness. Medium to high hop flavor and aroma. Medium body. Medium to high maltiness balanced by hops. Noticeable alcohol. English malt, hops, and yeast should be used. (BJCP Style 14A)
American IPA - Pale to deep amber/copper. High hop bitterness. Medium to high hop flavor and aroma. Medium body. Medium to high maltiness balanced by hops. Noticeable alcohol. American malt, hops, and yeast should be used. (BJCP Style 14B)
Double IPA - Pale to deep amber/copper. High to absurdly high hop bitterness. Intense hop flavor and aroma. Medium body. Malt backbone should support the hop character and bring balance. Noticeable alcohol. (BJCP Style 14C)
BROWN ALE
ENGLISH BROWN ALE - Medium to dark brown. Malt dominates. Northern English version will be dryer or nuttier than sweeter Southern English version. Low bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma. Medium body. (BJCP Styles 11B,11C)
ENGLISH MILD - Medium to very dark brown. Low hop bitterness. Mild maltiness. Medium body. Low alcohol. Low carbonation. (BJCP Style 11A)
AMERICAN BROWN ALE - Similar to the dryer English Browns but with greater hop character. Possibly higher alcohol content. (BJCP Style 10C)
IRISH ALE - Amber to copper color. Malt dominates, although finish is almost dry due to use of roasted grains. Medium-low hop bitterness with low hop flavor and aroma. (BJCP Style 9D)
SCOTTISH ALE – Deep amber to dark copper color. Medium malty sweetness, accentuated by kettle caramelization and some diacetyl. Hop character low to none. Drying finish from roasted grains. May have a peaty aroma and flavor. (BJCP Styles 9A,9B,9C)
STRONG ALE
TRAPPIST ALES - Amber to copper. Medium bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma. Spicy, possibly with slight sourness. Malty with alcohol evident. (BJCP Styles 18B,18C)
ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH - Light amber to deep amber/copper and brown. Low to medium hop bitterness. Medium hop aroma and flavor. Malty sweet and full bodied. Estery with complex character. English may have a more molasses/metallic quality. Scottish may be sweeter. (BJCP Styles 19A,9E)
OTHER - Any beer which has the general characteristics of Strong Ale but does not fit into the above categories. Examples are Belgian Blond Ale, Belgian Golden Strong Ale, and Belgian Dark Strong Ale. (BJCP Styles 18A,18D,18E)
PORTER
BROWN PORTER - Brown to black in color. Medium hop bitterness. Some hop flavor and aroma. Medium to full body. Low to medium sweetness. Chocolate malt evident. Roastiness OK, but not essential. (BJCP Style 12A)
ROBUST PORTER – Like Brown Porter, but with more aggressive roastiness and some burnt flavor as well as more hop character. May be dry-hopped. (BJCP Style 12B)
BALTIC PORTER – Dark copper to dark brown. Complex, rich, malty sweetness with alcohol evident and a port-like character. Hop character subdued. Sweetness balanced by dry finish from roasted grains. Clean lager character with no esters. (BJCP Style 12C)
STOUT
DRY STOUT - Black opaque. Medium to high hop bitterness. low hop aroma. Malt and Roasted barley (coffee like) character evident. (BJCP Style 13A)
SWEET STOUT - Black opaque. Low hop bitterness. Low to no hop flavor or aroma. Sweet maltiness dominates. Low roast barley character. OG (BJCP Style 13B)
OATMEAL STOUT - Black opaque. May share characteristics of Dry and Sweet versions but with much greater body. "Bigger" mouth-feel does not necessarily require "sweeter" flavor. (BJCP Style 13C)
IMPERIAL STOUT - Dark copper to black. Medium to high hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Rich maltiness with dark malt evident. Alcohol and esters evident. Complex character. Wineyness OK. (BJCP Style 13F)
OTHER - Any beer which has the general characteristics of Stout but does not fit into the above categories. Examples are Foreign Extra Stout and American Stout. (BJCP Styles 13D,13E)
MIXED STYLES
CALIFORNIA COMMON BEER - Amber to copper color. Medium to high hop bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma. Medium body. Malty. An ale with low esters and fruitiness due to use of lager yeast at ale fermentation temperatures. Northern Brewer hops required only to clone Anchor Brewing Company's version of this style. (BJCP Style 7B)
ALT - Copper colored German ale similar to British Pale Ale using German ingredients. Cold conditioned to produce a cleaner palate and low fruitiness with high clarity. Flavor is dominated by high hop bitterness followed by a dry malt graininess. Northern variation has slightly muted flavor and is less bitter. American variations welcomed. (BJCP Styles 7A,7C)
LIGHT LAGER
EXPORT/DORTMUNDER - Pale to golden. Medium bitterness. Some hop flavor and aroma. Medium body and malty sweetness. (BJCP Style 1E)
PILSNER - Pale to golden. Medium hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Light to medium maltiness and body. Effervescent. (BJCP Styles 2A,2B,2C)
AMERICAN LAGER - Pale. Low hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Low maltiness. Adjuncts such as rice or corn used. Effervescent. (BJCP Styles 1A,1B,1C)
OTHER - Any beer which has the general characteristics of Light Lager but does not fit into the above categories. Example: Munich Helles. (BJCP Style 1D)
DARK LAGER
BAVARIAN - Copper to dark brown. Low to medium bitterness. Some hop flavor and aroma. Nutty, malty sweetness. (BJCP Styles 4B,4C)
AMERICAN DARK - Copper to dark brown. Low hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Light to medium body. (BJCP Style 4A)
MARZEN/OKTOBERFEST - Amber to deep copper. Low to medium bitterness, low hop flavor and aroma. Malty, toasted sweetness and flavor. Low malt sweetness. (BJCP Style 3B)
VIENNA - Amber to deep amber copper. Low to medium hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Toasted malt aroma and flavor. Low malt sweetness. (BJCP Style 3A)
TRADITIONAL BOCK - Copper to dark brown. Low bitterness and hop flavor. Malty sweetness. Some toasted/chocolate flavor acceptable. Full body. OG (BJCP Style 5B)
MAIBOCK - Pale to amber. Low bitterness and hop flavor. Malty sweetness. Full body. (BJCP Style 5A) DOPPELBOCK - Light to very dark brown. Low hop bitterness and flavor. Intense maltiness and sweetness. Alcoholic and very full body. (BJCP Style 5C)
OTHER - Any beer which has the general characteristics of Dark Lager/Bock but does not fit into the above categories. Example: Eisbock. (BJCP Style 5D)
WHEAT BEER
BERLINER WEISSE - Pale. Low hop bitterness. No hop flavor or aroma. Lactic sourness. 60-70% malted wheat. Effervescent. (BJCP Style 17A)
WEIZEN - Pale to gold. Low hop bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma. Light to medium body. Clove and banana. Light sourness. 50% wheat malt. Effervescent. (BJCP Style 15A)
DUNKELWEIZEN - Light to dark amber. Low hop bitterness. Low hop flavor and aroma. Medium body. Malty. Clove and banana. (BJCP Style 15B)
AMERICAN WHEAT - Light to dark amber. Low to medium hop bitterness, flavor and aroma. Light to medium body. 50% wheat malt. Subtle fruitiness. Tangy. (BJCP Style 6D)
WIT – Very pale straw to light gold. Cloudy, with dense white head. Hop character should be quite low and spicy. Moderately sweet and grainy aroma and flavor. Can be tart. Coriander and bitter orange spices. (BJCP Style 16A)
OTHER - Any beer which has the general characteristics of Wheat or uses substantial wheat or rye in the recipe but does not fit into the above categories. Examples are Weizenbock and Roggenbier. (BJCP Styles 15C,15D)
SPECIALTY BEER - Any style of beer brewed with the addition of a variety of extra ingredients, such as, but not limited to, herbs, spices, fruit, honey, and smoked malts. Meads are not included in this category. The goal of this style is to create a unique character in the beer based on the special additive(s) or adjunct(s) used. Please state on the bottle label what the special ingredient(s) or characteristics are. This category includes Belgian and French Ales such as Saison, Biere de Garde, and Belgian Specialty Ale, along with Sour Ales like Flanders Red and Brown Ales, Lambic, and Gueuze. (BJCP Styles 20,21A,21B,22A,22B,22C,23,16C,6D,16E,17B,17C,17D,17E,17F
