SOBA National Homebrew Competition 2009

Last year I did not have much success at the SOBA National Homebrew Competition. Over the last year I think my brewing technique has improved significantly, so I hoped for a slightly better showing when I entered this year. However, I didn't expect the amazing results I obtained!

Of the 6 beers I entered 3 won medals (all of which were also Best in Class) and 2 won even greater honours!

Donkey Oatie Stout (Oatmeal Stout) - 46/50. Gold medal, Best in Class and Joint Overall Champion Beer! The judges' comments included "Nice velvet texture across palate", "Wow, what a beer!", "Good balancing bitterness to match sweet and creamy oats".

Pale Beauty (NZ Pale Ale) - 43/50. Gold medal, Best in Class and Champion Hop-focussed beer. "Nice base malt coming through, supporting the well-layered hops", "Some tropical fruit aromas".

Tasty APA (American Pale Ale) - 40/50. Silver medal and Best in Class. "Good use of hops on the palate", "Marmalade, grapefruit to style". I think this would have got a gold if the carbonation had been better.

I was absolutely stunned. Although I was very happy with these beers and hoped they might get a medal, I was not expecting such success. When the results were announced (on the Saturday of Beervana) I was wearing a very cheesy grin for most of the day.

The other 3 beers I entered did not do quite so well, but were still an improvement on last year. Only one beer scored less than 30 out of 50. A couple of the beers would probably have scored higher if my bottling technique had been better - they got marked down due to low carbonation. My Mild got 28/50 and was felt to be a bit lightweight. My Robust Porter got 30/50 and was probably let down by the fact it was a little too fresh and hadn't had long enough to condition. My Saison got 31/50, despite having been in the bottle for about a year (which explains why the judges noted it had little Saison character left).

The judges' comments were very detailed and useful this year, and overall they did a great job. One judge mistook the US hops in my American Pale Ale for NZ hops, but it didn't harm my score.

A very pleasing result. I don't brew beer to win competitions, I brew for myself and my friends, but it's good to get recognition. I'll just keep doing the same things, trying to tighten up my process and hopefully I'll do well again next year.