[Some cutting and pasting was done below so points could be properly
addressed and not appear too jumbled.]

"Steve Jackson" > wrote:
> "Scott T. Jensen" > wrote:
> > You don't care about beer contests. That's fine. It doesn't
> > mean this discussion is worthless though. There are many
> > people who do care or at least would like to know who
> > places well in such contests. I'd just like to know of a
> > contest(s) that uses secretly store-bought beers as the beers
> > that will be judged.
>
> I'm just pointing out that I don't see how using store-bought
> beer is really going to make any difference.

For the simple reason that the beers then tasted would be ones the consumers
would be able to purchase and not ones specially brewed for the contest.
It's like doing drive tests on cars secretly purchased from car dealership
rather than cars delivered to the testing grounds by the manufacturer.
Sure, some car manufacturers are going to ship to the contest cars randomly
picked off the assembly line, but there's no guarantee that all car
manufacturers are going to do likewise. Add into this equation some
perceived value of winning the contest and the temptation to send only your
best is just that much stronger.

> (and what are you going to do about the huge number
> of draught-only beers in that scenario?)...

I'm not seeking a beer contest that takes into consideration all the
different beers. Just store-bought beer. The beer most us will be able to
purchase from our local retail store and not need to live within reasonable
driving distance to taste. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with
draught-only beers ... or home-brewed beers for that matter. It just isn't
what I'm seeking in a contest.

> It's still a subjective contest in an artificial environment that
> simply states a certain beer measures up best against certain
> criteria.

Correct. All I'm seeking is a less artificial environment than what GABF
has ... as far as store-bought beers are concerned.

> And, knowing how judging often plays out - the biggest or
> bitterest beer wins 90 percent of the time - I find the results
> even more worthless.

That's your opinion and that's fine for you to have. We've already
established that you don't care about beer contests.

> Are you actually making purchasing decisions based on
> judgements at beer contests?

Yes. There are a lot of beers out there and I wouldn't mind knowing what
experts in the field think are the best. I do this all the time with almost
anything important that I buy.

> That's what I'm saying is daft.

I would consider you thinking that contests don't help the purchasing
process is rather daft.

> Sure, everyone finds out about beers they might not have
> otherwise via these contests, but I've seen enough cases
> where an award winning beer isn't any better than a lot
> of similar beers out there.

Again, that's your opinion. Perhaps your tastebuds are not that
discriminating.

> I'll try stuff out of curiosity, because I respect the brewery,
> because of its reputation, because of friends'
> recommendations, etc. Winning a contest is pretty low on
> the list. But maybe that's just me.

Yeah, I'd say that's probably just you. By profession, I'm a marketing
consultant so I do understand the importance of winning awards for
businesses. Any business that was a client of mine that would take your
attitude towards awards would be one that I'd consider to have a problem.

Scott Jensen
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