DAI Oktoberfest 2013 Beer Judging

Oh my. Success can beget many a problem for a beer judging competition, and today was a case in point. Last year, this competition was an easy, quick point. This year? I think I judged around 40 beers. Seriously. Before lunch I had judged eighteen beers: two flights of nine, including Oktoberfest and Light Lagers, while after lunch I got smaller flights of American Brown Ales, Scottish and Irish, and English Brown Ales. Oh, and IPAs—I wouldn’t want to forget the surprise last flight of the day. Then I did two mini-BOS flights to determine overall winners, one for a category I did not initially judge. And I think I am missing something along the way as well—there was some other third mini-BOS along the way as well. The afternoon was, needless to say, something of a blur via the sheer volume of beers I judged.

Other than the volume of labor, the competition ran smoothly, however. Highlights include a delicious lunch—mac and cheese sprinkled with bacon, and pulled beef (or pork) sandwiches—sorry, I was more focused on the intake of food to offset the pending chaos of excessive beer judging. My favorite beer of the day was either the Imperial IPA that won the IPA flight or the American Brown Ale that also won the American Ale category. The American Brown was also the only beer that myself and my fellow judge disagreed on during the initial judging—I’m glad I fought to push it on. I’d include the overall results, but they haven’t been posted yet, as the award ceremony is this coming Saturday, September 28th. I’ll try to remember to update this once the places are posted. Update: results are posted here.

(9/21/2013)