[braufessor]

FWIW, though, I have never hit 40 in the Finals, and now have 4 medals.  38.5 is very good

Ugh.... I think I am the opposite of you.  I have had 4 over 40 in the finals and no medals.  44 on Dortmunder this year was my "high" for the finals. I would gladly trade:)

[theDarkSide]

42 for my Doppelbock, 40 for the new world cider and both got bumped in mini-BOS

[macbrews]

Hmmmm.  Got a 38.5 for my mbos Hefe but a 0 for my RIS. does that mean they lost it or it wasn't judged?  It scored a 44 and a 1st place in the first round.........


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[dbarber]

I got a 40 for my vienna and made it mini-BOS, but got bumped.  Only a 33 for my german pils, which always scores high 30's to low 40s in the first round, but never gets above low 30s in the Finals.

[tommymorris]

It must be fun to judge the NHC final round with all the great scores. Great job!

[toby]

It must be fun to judge the NHC final round with all the great scores. Great job!

Yes, and no.  Mostly good to great beers, but there are some stinkers on occasion.  Guys next to us received a really problematic Black or Brown IPA.  The first bottle was awful, so they asked for a second bottle, and it was only bad.  They wound up giving it a 19 (which honestly is the same as a courtesy 13 in most competitions).  Much like any other competition, bad bottles show up (infection or similar problems), and other times, it's a rushed rebrew that didn't turn out the same.  This one had some manner of infection.  They poured the steward a big cup to 'thank him' for bringing it to them.

[jeffjm]

I scored a 41 for my cream ale, which made mini-bos but did not place. First time I've made it that far, and I am still without a medal after five final round appearances.  There is always next year.

[brewinhard]

I scored a 41 for my cream ale, which made mini-bos but did not place. First time I've made it that far, and I am still without a medal after five final round appearances.  There is always next year.

I am in the same boat, but going on my sixth year with no hardware. We must be the best losers! 

[seyahmit]

My international amber lager scored a 35 and made it to mini BOS. No medal though.

[HoosierBrew]

I'm on a run of good scores not advancing lately. Best this year was a 41 on my cider, didn't advance. Hoping to break the streak next year.

[hopfenundmalz]

I'm on a run of good scores not advancing lately. Best this year was a 41 on my cider, didn't advance. Hoping to break the streak next year.

Hey, last time I had one in the second round was Philly. Had a nice run, but the last 3 years makes me say "there are a lot of good Brewers out there".

[HoosierBrew]

but the last 3 years makes me say "there are a lot of good Brewers out there".

Absolutely. The talent pool is pretty deep.

[hopfenundmalz]

but the last 3 years makes me say "there are a lot of good Brewers out there".

Absolutely. The talent pool is pretty deep.

It is also getting deeper. It was a long time before I saw familiar names.

[santoch]

It must be fun to judge the NHC final round with all the great scores. Great job!

Yes, and no.  Mostly good to great beers, but there are some stinkers on occasion.  Guys next to us received a really problematic Black or Brown IPA.  The first bottle was awful, so they asked for a second bottle, and it was only bad.  They wound up giving it a 19 (which honestly is the same as a courtesy 13 in most competitions).  Much like any other competition, bad bottles show up (infection or similar problems), and other times, it's a rushed rebrew that didn't turn out the same.  This one had some manner of infection.  They poured the steward a big cup to 'thank him' for bringing it to them.

Totally agree with Toby's comments.  Some of the 2nd round beers are awesome.  Some of the styles that would benefit from rebrew are not, and the age shows, or, the rebrew is not as good as the one that got them there.

I was lucky enough to also judge 2nd round NHC BOS last year (San Diego).  Even then, we narrowed down to about the top 12 somewhat quickly.  After that, it got very difficult.
The Gueze that won that flight was simply phenomenal.

[udubdawg]

It must be fun to judge the NHC final round with all the great scores. Great job!

Yes, and no.  Mostly good to great beers, but there are some stinkers on occasion.  Guys next to us received a really problematic Black or Brown IPA.  The first bottle was awful, so they asked for a second bottle, and it was only bad.  They wound up giving it a 19 (which honestly is the same as a courtesy 13 in most competitions).  Much like any other competition, bad bottles show up (infection or similar problems), and other times, it's a rushed rebrew that didn't turn out the same.  This one had some manner of infection.  They poured the steward a big cup to 'thank him' for bringing it to them.

Totally agree with Toby's comments.  Some of the 2nd round beers are awesome.  Some of the styles that would benefit from rebrew are not, and the age shows, or, the rebrew is not as good as the one that got them there.

I was lucky enough to also judge 2nd round NHC BOS last year (San Diego).  Even then, we narrowed down to about the top 12 somewhat quickly.  After that, it got very difficult.
The Gueze that won that flight was simply phenomenal.

Going through the 24 beers (2 didn't send a 3rd bottle and weren't represented) quickly is the only way the hefe managed to win.  We wanted to kick flawed beers as soon as they landed on the table but couldn't hear over the stewards so we did have to let them finish.  After that though, 30 minutes.