Monday, May 23, 2011

Office Hours reaches Category 23.

It all started last September ...

BJCP listing of Lager, minus Bock, at tonight's Office Hours with the Publican.

... and now it's approaching a conclusion.

With summer break looming, tonight at Office Hours with the Publican, we arrive at the final Beer Judge Certification Program style category. It's Category 23 — Specialty Beer, described like this:

This is explicitly a catch-all category for any beer that does not fit into an existing style category. No beer is ever “out of style” in this category, unless it fits elsewhere.

Unusual "techniques or ingredients" fall in Category 23, such as the steinbier method (stone-brewing) and the use of potatoes as an adjunct.

It's also referred to as an “incubator,” intended for existing styles deemed not yet appropriate to have a category or sub-category, although Belgians are excepted and given their own catch-all. Examples in Category 23 include Australian Sparkling Ale and Czech Dark Lager, as well as one of particular interest to us lately: Rye IPA.

I'm heading to Keg Liquors shortly for field research. Office Hours begins at 6:30 p.m.; it's five bucks per head; and we'll be in Prost, as always.

2 comments:

Rick500 said...

Is 6:00 a typo?

The New Albanian said...

Yes -- corrected. Thanks. 6:30, as usual.