One of the main criticisms of the BJCP is that it stifles creativity. People complain that in order to enter competitions, they have to brew “inside the box”, sticking to specified style guidelines rather than chucking in whatever malt, hops and yeast they fancy using.

I suppose there is some truth to this, though the pros of the guidelines probably outweigh the cons (the guidelines give brewers something to aspire to and consumers something to compare beers to, essentially empowering the beer drinker, giving them the confidence to say – hey! this is not supposed to taste this way!).

Anyway, the latest BJCP competition held in the Western Cape found a way to give a South African edge to the American contest – and a way to challenge brewers’ creativity. Eric van Heerden of Triggerfish came up with the idea to brew a pale ale using solely South African ingredients – no imported hops or malt (though the yeast was from outside the country). Homebrewers could aim for an American Pale Ale or an English-styled brew and since only pale and black malt are available locally, entrants were encouraged to have a go at roasting their own malt in order to get the correct flavour profiles. The inspiration for the contest was one of Eric’s own beers, the Southern Right South African Pale Ale (read my review of the beer here).

The results were impressive. 16 brews were entered, including two entries couriered down from Jo’burg and one from PE (props to Kevin Ryan, Llewellyn Janse van Rensburg and Robin Venter). You know people take their homebrewing seriously when they’re shipping beers to other parts of the country in order to enter contests. Although we got a couple of disappointing brews (one that we had to chew, another with the heady aroma of a slice of stilton), the overall standard was impressive, with the nine BJCP-qualified  judges giving a score of 30 or more to more than half of the beers in the preliminary round (falling into the ‘very good’ category on the BJCP scoresheet – “generally within style parameters, some minor flaws”.

Eric from Triggerfish helps judge the Best in Show

Hops were plentiful (sometimes too much so, with a few entries actually being marked down a touch for resembling an IPA more than an APA) and there were some pretty impressive examples of bottle conditioning . Six beers made it through to the Best of Show judging but in the end there was a clear winner – here are the full results:

1st – Dylan Phelan
2nd – Roger Ingarfield
3rd – Liam McElhinney

People’s Choice – Troye May

Triggerfish sponsored the prizes, with the grand prize being the opportunity to brew the winning beer on Eric’s system. Dylan will take two kegs of his South African Pale Ale home and the rest will go on sale at the taproom. Keep an eye on Triggerfish’s Facebook page for details on when the brew will be ready.

Props to the guys from the SouthYeasters for running a seamless event – particularly to Rob Ambler-Smith who is probably the most organised person I know. Make sure you follow the SouthYeasters on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on future events and competitions.