Joris Pattyn wrote:
> <>
> > Obviously being a BJCP judge, I'd like
> > to see them using BJCP catagories and guidelines. :-)
>
> Why? They're way too strict. Maybe OK for getting a grab on a truckload of
> homebrews, but for a professional brewer, it's just a terrible clamp on his
> sense of creativity, on his imagination. Who needs categories? I need
> imaginative brewers. And new tastes.

>From what I've seen with commercial brewers, is that
the catagories aren't what is restricting their creativity or
imagenations.

Most commerical brewers don't take advantage of all the styles they
could:
they brew the same 3 or 4 beers all the time.

A commerical brewer is lucky if they get to brew a "seasonal" beer
once every 3 months.

I've sometimes thought of becoming a commercial brewer, but then
I've wondered if I'd be extremely bored with it.

As a homebrewer I can brew any kind of beer I want, any time I want.
I think I've brewed just about every style in the BJCP guidelines,
and rarely brew the same thing two years in a row.

And if you don't like being restricted to the classic catagories
(or are not capable of brewing something within the classic
guidelines),
you can always brew enter into the "Specialty #23" catagory,
which is no-holds-barred:
"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."

Cheers,
John