Format of a Style Description

We use a standard format for describing beer styles. The sections within this template have specific meanings that should be understood so as not to be misused:

• Overall Impression. This section describes the essence of the style – those points that distinguish it from other styles, and that make it unique. It can also be thought of as an expanded consumer- level description useful for describing and differentiating the style to someone who isn’t a beer geek or judge. This section also acknowledges the many uses outside judging, and allows others to describe a beer simply without using the detail needed by judges.

• Appearance, Aroma, Flavor, Mouthfeel. These four sections are the basic sensory building blocks defining the style, and are the standards against which a beer is judged in competition. These sections focus on the sensory perceptions derived from the ingredients, not the ingredients or process themselves. For example, saying that a Munich Helles tastes like continental Pils malt is a great shorthand for what is perceived; except, of course, if you have no idea what continental Pils malt actually tastes like. Our guidelines are written so that a trained judge who has not tasted examples of a given style can do a credible job judging it using the structured evaluation method and using our guidelines as a reference.

• Comments. This section contains interesting trivia or additional notes about a style that do not affect the sensory assessment. Not every style has extensive comments; some are quite simple.

• History. The BJCP is not a historical research organization. We rely on available information, often revising our summaries as new facts are published. Our histories are abridged summaries of some of the more important points of style development; please do not take these notes as the entire, complete history of styles.

• Characteristic Ingredients. We identify typical or common ingredients or processes that drive the distinguishing character of the style. Please do not treat these notes as recipes, or as requirements. Beer can be made in many different ways.

• Style Comparison. Since some might better understand an unfamiliar style if it could be described in terms of other known styles, we have provided notes on the key points that distinguish a style from similar or related styles. Not every possible style comparison is listed.

• Entry Instructions. This section identifies the required information necessary for judges to evaluate a competition entry. This information should always be provided by the entrant, accepted by competition software, and provided to judges. Entrants should be able to supply optional comments about their entries, subject to review by competition organizers.

• Vital Statistics. The general characteristics of the style, expressed in Original Gravity (OG), Final Gravity (FG), Alcohol-by-Volume (ABV), International Bittering Units (IBUs), and Color as expressed in the Standard Reference Method (SRM) from the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC).

For those outside the United States that use the European Brewing Convention (EBC) color method, note that an EBC value is roughly double the equivalent SRM value. For those familiar with the Lovibond system, Lovibond is roughly equivalent to SRM for colors that exist in all but the darkest beers. For the purists out there, we’re talking about what is distinguishable to a judge using their eyes, not chemists using analytical equipment in a laboratory setting.

Some style categories include multiple styles that represent a continuum, such as British Bitter or Scottish Ale. When we provide a dividing line between these styles, we typically use a single number to represent the upper bound of one style and the lower bound of the next. This does not imply that a beer with that borderline stat (e.g., ABV or OG) should be entered in both styles. No overlap is intended. In these cases, treat the upper bound as “ending just before” and the lower bound as “starting at” the listed numbers.

Keep in mind that these Vital Statistics are still guidelines, not absolutes. Commercial outliers certainly exist, but these statistics are meant to describe where most examples are clustered. They help judges determine judging order, not whether an example should be disqualified.

• Commercial Examples. We include a selection of current commercial examples that we believe are representative of the style at the time of publication. We may publish additional examples on the BJCP website in the future. We cannot guarantee that breweries will continue to make these examples, that the names will stay the same, that the recipes won’t change, or that they will be available at your local bottle shop. Some are rotating, seasonal, pub-only, or otherwise difficult to find outside festivals, competitions, or local markets.

Do not assign any additional meaning to the order of examples within the guidelines. Do not assume that every commercial example would score perfectly when evaluated against the style descriptions. Simply because a commercial example is listed as a reference for a style does not mean that every example is going to be world- class. Some beers can be mishandled, and some examples change over time.

Do not use commercial examples as the sole benchmark for a style – judge competition beers against the guidelines, not expectations from a single commercial example. One beer rarely defines the entire range of a style, so do not limit your expectations in such a restrictive way. Breweries often assign names to their beers that do not agree with our style guidelines. Be careful about selecting examples based on brewery- supplied names alone.

• Tags. To facilitate the sorting of styles into alternate groupings, we have applied tags to signify attributes or information about a style. The tags are in no particular order, and should not be used to infer any deeper meaning.