I got my 2018 NHC first round results today. I put in 3 beers and 1 mead which hits the 4 entry limit-cap.
My entries were:
- Dark Mild
- Weissbier
- American IPA
- Traditional Mead
The mead was not the same mead that won gold in 2014. I used Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast instead of 71B, but other than that it was the same (even made it in late 2011 IIRC).
Results
Here are my 2018 NHC scoresheets with judge’s names/IDs removed.
The tl;dr is:
- 1st Place American IPA – 40 points
- 1st Place Traditional Mead – 43 points
- 3rd Place Weissbier – 40 points
- Dark Mild – 28 points
Random thoughts and low-grade ranting
I’m happy that I’m moving on with 3 entries. But I do have a good rant built up: my dark mild was judged badly.
It’s fine that my mild didn’t win, but the judges describe a mild:
- “brown sugar/toffee”
- “light roast, caramel, nutty”
- “toasted malt, low toffee, low herbal hops, low bitterness, light dark fruit esters (raisin), malty”
And then they both put it closer to “Not to style” than “Classic
example” – what‽ I’m not saying I should win everything. I’m not saying
I should have won this category. I don’t even have a problem with a 28.
My beer may very well have fallen lifeless on this particular day for
these particular judges – all that is totally cool. But I do have a
problem when judges describe a mild – verbatim from the guidelines –
then tell me it’s not to style 
</rant>
I was thrilled with my other scoresheets, I didn’t expect to do so well. The weissbier was particularly surprising since I’ve struggled so much with that style – I’m sure I’ve brewed at least 3 sulfury examples in the past year!
Recipes
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a weissbier recipe, and I did a few things differently with my IPA, so here goes:
American IPA (2018-02-01)
Stats
- OG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- FG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- IBU (Tensith): 96.5
- Batch Size: 6 Gallons
- Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Fermentables
| Ingredient | Amount | % | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Shoot Meridian Pale | 15 lbs | 85 | Mash |
| Briess Carapils | 1 lbs | 6 | Mash |
| Corn Sugar | 1 lbs | 6 | Mash |
| Bards Carastan | 0.5 lbs | 3 | Mash |
| Weyermann - Acidualted Malt | 4 oz | 1 | Mash |
Hops
| Variety | Alpha | Amount | IBU | Form | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinook | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz. | 36.3 | Loose Pellet | FWH |
| Amarillo | 9.5 % | 1.00 oz. | 20.7 | Loose Pellet | 45 Min |
| Columbus | 15.5 % | 1.00 oz. | 28.3 | Loose Pellet | 30 Min |
| Mosaic | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz. | 18.5 | Loose Pellet | 10 Min |
| Citra | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 7.0 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Columbus | 15.5 % | 1.00 oz | 7.3 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Ekuanot | 12.5 % | 1.00 oz | 5.9 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Galaxy | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 7.0 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Mosaic | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz | 6.1 | Loose Pellet | Flame Out |
| Citra | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Columbus | 15.5 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Ekuanot | 12.5 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Galaxy | 15.0 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
| Mosaic | 13.0 % | 1.00 oz | 0.0 | Loose Pellet | Dry Hop |
Yeast
| Strain | Amount | Starter |
|---|---|---|
| A07 Imperial | 1 New pack thing | Nope |
Steps
- Dough in with 9.7 Gallons of Water at 164°F for a strike temp of 154°F
- 2 tsp Gypsum to mash for calcium
- Rest 60 min @ 154°F
- Sparge 20 min with 170°F water
- Preboil 9 gallons at 1.040
- Boil 90 minutes to reduce to 7 gallons
- Add recirc arm and chiller at 20 minutes
- 1 tsp Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend at 10 minutes
- 1 whilfloc tab at 2 minutes
- Hot whirlpool with flameout hops 20 minutes
- Chill to 62°F using ice water through Hydra Immersion Chiller
- Transfer to conical and use 90 seconds of oxygen through air stone at 1 LPM
- Pitch 1 pack A07 dated 2018-01-28
- Set space heater for 64°F
- Add 1oz Columbus, 1oz Mosaic, 1oz Ekuanot T-90 pellets to fermentor on day 3
- Jumper to keg with surescreen and 1oz Galaxy T-90, 1oz Citra T-90, 1oz Ekuanot LupuLN2™, 1oz Mosaic LupuLN2™
- Move keg to kegerator on day 3
- Jumper to clean keg, add gelatian, put under 30 PSI for 2 days
- Reduce pressure to 12 psi, pour off a few chunky pints, enjoy!
Weissbier (2017-01-15)
Stats
- OG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- FG: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- IBU (Tensith): 12.3
- Batch Size: 6 Gallons
- Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Fermentables
| Ingredient | Amount | % | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weyermann Pale Wheat | 4 lbs | 59 | Mash |
| Root Shoot Odyssey Pilsner | 5 lbs | 37 | Mash |
| Best Dark Munich | 8 oz | 4 | Mash |
Hops
| Variety | Alpha | Amount | IBU | Form | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallertau | 4.5 % | 1.00 oz. | 12.3 | Loose Pellet | 60 min |
Yeast
| Strain | Amount | Starter |
|---|---|---|
| White Labs WLP300 | 1 New pack thing | Nope |
Steps
- Dough in with 8.25 Gallons of Water at 114°F for a strike temp of 110°F hold 15 minutes
- Recirculate and heat to 125°F
- Add 2 tsp gypsum
- hold 10 minutes
- Pull 9 quarts of thick mash (at a water/grist ratio of 1qt/lb) into a decoction pot and heat to 160°F, hold 15 minutes
- Recirculate and heat main mash to 147°F
- Bring decoction to a boil and boil for 20 minutes
- Return decoction to main mash to hit 158°F
- Hold 25 minutes
- 1.038 preboil gravity for 9 gallons
- 1 tsp Wyeast Beer Nutrient Blend at 10 minutes
- 1 whirlfloc tablet at 2 minutes
- Chill to 58°F using ice water through Hydra Immersion Chiller
- Transfer to conical and use 90 seconds of oxygen through air stone and wand at 1 LPM
- Fermentation peaked at 70°F
- Keg at 2.5 weeks, 30 psi for 2 days, 12 psi after