Which recipe should I make??

[J A]

There's whether it fits into a particular 'style' or class and then there's whether or not it's good & drinkable. I asked a BJCP guy to review my 'fest a couple years ago and he ripped me for it being too sweet and caramel-y. Literally just seconds before I got beer of the month from the locals. It was solid feedback, and nothing wrong with what he said to me about it, but sometimes the 'style guidelines' aren't necessarily the friend of what's a good, drinkable beer.

Breweries don't brew to style guidelines to fill taps and keep asses glued to stools. One issue, though, is that customers need an idea of what they're ordering so there should be some resemblance between the style attributed in the beer name and what comes ends up in the glass.

I've long since given up on anything labeled "kolsch". It doesn't mean much in many instances - the beer could be a hoppy blonde ale or some sort of fruit-tinged adjunct concoction. But...I think it's pretty common for beers brewed in that general style to be pretty drinkable and popular even if (and maybe because) they don't adhere to the guidelines for an actual Kolsch style.

Pilsner, at least has some geographical designation that may give you a hint. If the tap says "German Pilsner" and it has Idaho Gem hops, I'm entitled to bitch about it. If it says "Italian Pilsner" (whatever that actually is) or "West Coast Pilsner" all bets are off. I'll probably like it a lot but if it shows up in in the German beer BJCP table at a contest, I'm knocking it for style points.

IPAs are all over the map these days, mostly leaning toward juicy and/or hazy but if someone calls it an IPA, I know what expect to some extent - lots of flavor, plenty of hops, maybe pretty bitter.

Who cares if a beer is award winning or not
Means nothing to me
If you like it you like it

Depends a lot on the award...when a brewery is consistently getting high-level gold medals for several of their lagers within their first couple of years, that definitely says a lot about their program. I order a Helles or Pils in full confidence that it'll be a proper German style beer of high quality.
If a homebrewer has won a local competition with a particular beer, I don't necessarily put a lot of stock in that. Might be great, might be somewhat mediocre.
Most craft beers and breweries are not "award winning" but that doesn't stop them from producing solid and sometimes spectacular beers.

 

[Dave Y]

Breweries don't brew to style guidelines to fill taps and keep asses glued to stools. One issue, though, is that customers need an idea of what they're ordering so there should be some resemblance between the style attributed in the beer name and what comes ends up in the glass.

I've long since given up on anything labeled "kolsch". It doesn't mean much in many instances - the beer could be a hoppy blonde ale or some sort of fruit-tinged adjunct concoction. But...I think it's pretty common for beers brewed in that general style to be pretty drinkable and popular even if (and maybe because) they don't adhere to the guidelines for an actual Kolsch style.

Pilsner, at least has some geographical designation that may give you a hint. If the tap says "German Pilsner" and it has Idaho Gem hops, I'm entitled to bitch about it. If it says "Italian Pilsner" (whatever that actually is) or "West Coast Pilsner" all bets are off. I'll probably like it a lot but if it shows up in in the German beer BJCP table at a contest, I'm knocking it for style points.

IPAs are all over the map these days, mostly leaning toward juicy and/or hazy but if someone calls it an IPA, I know what expect to some extent - lots of flavor, plenty of hops, maybe pretty bitter.


Depends a lot on the award...when a brewery is consistently getting high-level gold medals for several of their lagers within their first couple of years, that definitely says a lot about their program. I order a Helles or Pils in full confidence that it'll be a proper German style beer of high quality.
If a homebrewer has won a local competition with a particular beer, I don't necessarily put a lot of stock in that. Might be great, might be somewhat mediocre.
Most craft beers and breweries are not "award winning" but that doesn't stop them from producing solid and sometimes spectacular beers.

Yes.

The thing about beer is that even though there are objective standards, the judging is subjective and approximately analogous to gymnastics in that regard.

 

[Donoroto]

My Mom always said "there is no accounting for taste" I always took that to mean that we all like and dislike different things. Is Michelob Ultra a great beer? To some it is, to millions in fact. Doesn't make it good, bad, great or anything else. Sure is popular though

Better marketing than, say, Labatt’s.