To Style, or not to Style? A Brewing Dilemma…
The subject of beer style guidelines is a hot-button issue amongst beer geeks and brewers. I once heard it described as a “right brainers vs. left brainers” issue. The argument centers on whether or not beer should be judged against a stylistic standard. For instance, does Anchor’s Liberty ale fit within the guidelines of “American india pale ale”?
The most widely used style guidelines are developed and maintained by the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program). The BJCP style guidelines exist for the sole purpose of setting standards for judging beer in homebrewing competitions. Many have taken the liberty of using them to benchmark commercial offerings of beer worldwide. I think this is an abuse of the guidelines, and is the real source of pain for many professional brewers.
Homebrewing competitions, as with any competition, must have some criteria to separate the winners from the losers. Homebrewers are required to enter the beer they brew into a specific style category. We know going in that the beer will be judged per the guidelines for that style. I am a BJCP-certified judge, so I judge homebrewing competitions on a regular basis. I am also a brewer who wants to win ribbons when I enter a competition. I cannot brew an experimental, but fine-tasting blonde ale and enter it as a golden-stout (the category does not exist) and hope to garner a ribbon.
Most competitions try to award a great beer even if it is not entered in the proper category. ‘The Mountain Brewer Open’ is West Virginia’s largest and only sanctioned competition and they have an award called Spirit of free Beer that is given to a good beer that is not to style.
Commercial craft brewers cannot and should not be constrained to brew to these style guidelines. To do so would to be to put the cart before the horse. In fact, the BJCP guidelines are periodically updated to accommodate the evolving range of craft beer and give it a place in homebrewing competitions.
With that said, I too often find myself judging commercial offerings with my built-in BJCP biases. I tend to always like things that have standards or specifications, but beer is just too complex, and brewers are too creative to fit neatly into such a small parameter space. All it takes is one trip to Belgium to shake you of this bad “style guideline” habit. I have learned to describe beers more generally by region (which is still too rigid), or by the type of producer (e.g. “farmhouse ale”). But in the end, you just have to appreciate the beer for how it tastes; which is all the brewer asks of us.
Beer will always be categorized in broad style categories such as pale ale, pilsener, stout, porter etc. This is because consumers need some sort of compass to help them pick and choose beer other than light, dark or amber.
To view or download the BJCP Style guidelines go to: (a great reference!)
