While I thought World Cup would be my next judging opportunity, I squeezed in the competition from the Chico homebrew club on Sunday. Sierra Nevada is an excellent place for events with their spacious rooms and their accommodating nature for the amateur brewers. I think a couple of firsts happened that day. After 80 or so competitions I finally had a Bière de Garde in a competition. It was one of 23 styles on the Best Of Show panel. This judging will stand out for me as the unanimous choice for the best beer that day was a Premium American Lager. This is proof that the big beer will not overwhelm the little (boring) styles for the best beer in a competition. This was cleanly brewed and there was not any debate about the excellence of this beer. It still comes as a bit of a shock, but five out of five judges agreed. One was Sierra Nevada brewer Jim (sorry, I did not get the last name). As an obviously trained taster, this was a fine qualification to join the four BJCP judges. So congratulations to John Abbott of Chico for his winning beer. A simple recipe (Durst Pilsner malt and Mt. Hood hops), but well brewed.

So keep in mind that a great beer can win, regardless of the other competing beers. The good beer judge keeps this in mind.

David T.