"Scott T. Jensen" > wrote in message
...

> > (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.

That makes no sense to me at all. If we're looking for a contest that is
judging the best beers as people can buy them - well, people buy a lot of
draught beer. In some parts fo the country, draught sales are huge and is
the primary way people drink their beer. Why rule that out right off?

> > 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.

That's an opinion shared by many more people than just me.

> We've already
> established that you don't care about beer contests.

You've established that, and it's not very accurate. I don't care about beer
contests for making my purchase decisions. There's a big difference between
that and not caring about beer contests. The fact that I've judged at some
professional beer contests would be kinda weird for me to do if I didn't
care about contests.

I think contests are a good thing and a good way for breweries to get
exposure and recognition. However, I know enough not to regard contests as
pointing out the best beers available, etc. I simply view them for what they
are, not as some larger statement on who brews the best beer in the country
or whatever.

And contests often serve as a great chance to go to where the contest is
held. As the three days I spent at the Great British Beer Festival this year
amply illustrates. I definitely cared about that particular event.

> > 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.

Perhaps you have no clue who I am, how refined my tastebuds are and
therefore have no basis to make such a statement. I could play that little
game too and say that perhaps you're too lemming-like and will just
appreciate whatever the "experts" tell you to appreciate. I don't think
that's a fair statement to make, however. Just like saying my tastebuds are
not that discriminating isn't a fair statement to make. Especially on the
basis of a statement like I've seen plenty of cases where award-winning
beers weren't better than other beers available out there. Why does that
seem such an absurd statement? Especially considering how a
not-insignificant number of well-regarded breweries don't bother with
contests?

> 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.

Oddly enough, my job is marketing as well. There's a difference between what
I'd recommend for a business to do and what I do. Let's take awards. My
current client is an automaker. They have a new car that has won gobs of
awards, including some of the most prestigeous ones out there. Has it helped
their sales? Nope. They are well, well below their sales targets.

Awards are important for one thing: creating recognition and getting a
product more visibility in the marketplace. It does not mean the product is
better - or that it's going to be commercially successful. Beta was widely
considered better than VHS, and look which format survived. There are
countless other examples.

> 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.

Tell that to, say, Victory then. A brewery which, IIRC, has stopped entering
contests. Are they a "problem," even though they're one of the most highly
respected and sought-after breweries in the business?

-Steve