I just finished reading the 14 page intro, All the category introductions and most of the style explanations that concern the major styles I brew (which are a considerable number). I compared the 2008 style descriptions with the 2015 versions side by side, and then schlepped through the final appendixes.
Wow!
Talk about taking something lengthy and complicated, and making it more lengthy and more complicated. It will take some time to get comfortable with this new setup. The whole opening section seems to be a disclaimer on how not to interpret these guidelines, and is probably a reaction to past difficulties of the miss application of ambiguous descriptions.
It seems to me that there is a lot of separation of beer types that are arguably similar enough to be indistinguishable in a tasting session. This may make it easier to judge in a massive competition like at the NHC, but what about small local competitions? Most of these categories will, by necessity, be combined, or judged under the old 2008 rules. Back to square one it would seem. Also some of the names have been changed, for instance, a Traditional Bock is now called a Dunkles Bock. And Altbier is no longer divided into Dusseldorf, and Northern German varieties, but now that section includes a Kellerbier. Is that one or the other, or an entirely new entree?
On the positive side, the descriptions are easier to understand, with more information and less ambiguity to confuse the reader.
Where before it might say,
"Low levels of yeast character (green apples, DMS, or fruitiness) are optional but acceptable..",
which could lead to the interpretation that DMS is part of the style and necessary. Also it grouped DMS with yeast charactor "green apple, and fruitiness".
It now says,
"While a clean fermentation character is desirable, a light amount of yeast character(particularly a light apple fruitiness) is not a fault. Light DMS is not a fault.".
The current reading seperates yeast charactor from DMS, and lists them as "not a fault" at light levels. This may prevent a judge from excluding a beer for having slight DMS, or for not having DMS when it is clearly mentioned in the guidelines. I think that was the purpose of the more lengthy descriptions.
A new section is the Style Comparison where It lays out how that particular beer variety compares to other beers of similar description. Very useful in my opinion. Also a History section that helped understand where the style originated and changed over time. More detail is always helpful.
If you want a short cut, you can skip to the end appendix where it aligns the old names and category numbers with the new. I wish I had gone there first to get my head around the new lineup.
All in all I guess it had to happen. Too many requests for new style categories. Too many new beers. The IPA section, for example, has grown tremendously since 2008, and is a reflection of what home brewers are doing to progress this art.
Times, they be a changing.
