In this episode, we discuss the process of setting up and judging the Best of Show round of a homebrew competition. It takes more effort than you would think because you have a variety of styles competing for the best beer.
In the BOS round, you really need to give your full consideration to each of the beers that won their category because you aren’t comparing a style against itself like a normal round of judging. Instead, you have multiple styles that need to be appropriately placed in the sample order to give each beer its chance--without the character of the previous beer affecting your perception. And what better way to discuss the topic, than to actually have a Best of Show judging with our local BJCP Grandmaster Judge, James Lallande! For this episode, we have the category winners of the 2016 O’Zapt Is homebrew competition ready and waiting for us to pick the best of the bunch. So, congrats to all of you who won 1st place in your categories!