The challenge? Searching for the best beer

File this one under "It's a tough job, but someone has to do it."

The tough task? Judging beer.

Last weekend, the Northern Ale Stars Homebrewers Guild hosted a competition in Duluth where 149 entries of beer, cider and mead were inspected with the purpose of selecting the best of the batch.

I was one of the judges.

It sounds like it might be all fun and games, but it's serious business once the judges are seated and the bottle caps are pried off.

And it's safe to say that judging beer is more complicated than one might expect.

Using guidelines established by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), participating brewers identify the style of beer they have made and the entry is grouped together with others of the same style or related styles. For example, lighter beers such as American lagers and cream ales compete against each other. Likewise, hearty beers such as American porters and imperial stouts are matched up, and more exotic brews such as fruit, spice and wood-aged beers share a category.

The BJCP recognizes 34 major categories of beer with more than 100 substyles that fit within the larger category headings. (Find out more at http://www.bjcp.org.) Judges follow detailed guidelines for each substyle of beer during a competition. The guidelines cover specific characteristics that must be present in a well-made, classic example for each subcategory of beer.

Judges need to know a lot about beer: ingredients, recipes, processes, what can go wrong or right, and why. They use multiple senses: smell, vision, taste, and then must transfer their observations into written comments. Judges volunteer their time. It is a tough job, yet fun.

Judges work quickly, typically evaluating up to eight entries in a 2-hour session. Judges make observations and furiously write notes about each beer's aroma, flavor, appearance, mouthfeel, and provide an overall impression. They note any detectable flaws or off-flavors, and assign a final numerical score to each beer. Judges don't drink a large amount of each beer. Samples are usually about 2 ounces.

Judges write things on score sheets such as, "The fruity esters in the aroma and flavor may be due to fermentation stress from high temperatures, or possibly a small yeast pitch," or "beer has a dry, clean finish, slightly chalky, with no alcohol warmth." The score sheets and comments are returned to the entrants, who can use the feedback during future brew days.

Entries are judged blind with just an entry number on the bottle so that judges don't know who brewed the beer. Judges cannot judge in a category in which they have an entry, to avoid any conflict of interest.

In four sessions across three days, I judged Light Lagers & Ales; Session Stouts; Dark & Strong European Lagers & Ales; and American Pale & Brown Ales. I also had the honor of being on the judging panel for the Best of Show round to select the best overall cider or mead in the competition. It's a tough job, but someone had to do it.

Brewers with winning entries receive gold, silver, or bronze medals, just like at the Olympics.

Homebrewing contests are extremely competitive, finishing on the podium is difficult to achieve. Entries from across the country were sent to Duluth to be judged, coming from Georgia to Pennsylvania to Washington and most midwestern states in between.

Kevin Wagner of Stilwell, Kansas, won Best of Show Beer with an American Pale Ale. Bill Boyer of Kennesaw, Georgia, won Best of Show Cider or Mead with a New World Cider.

Last weekend's competition was renamed this year to the Terry Sarne Memorial Great Northern Brew Ha-Ha to honor the longtime club member and primary organizer of the event who passed away. The Northern Ale Stars Homebrewers Guild is Minnesota's first homebrewing club, founded 40 years ago in Duluth and with members from across the Twin Ports area.

Writer Tom Urbanski has been a Certified Beer Judge since 2012, passing the written exam and tasting exam through the Beer Judge Certification Program. Urbanski is also an award-winning homebrewer of beer and cider, having finished "on the podium" more than 30 times in competitions ... he says he lost count. His English Cider entry earned the Silver Medal/second place in the Standard Cider category during last weekend's contest. Contact Urbanski care of [email protected].