Ontario Brewing Awards Judging Commences

Last night marked the start of the judging for the Ontario Brewing Awards (OBA) which featured both BJCP judges and non-BJCP judges.  The accredited judges are actually doing the proper judging to determine the winners of the individual categories and the non-BJCP judges are there to determine the 'people's choice' award for each category.  That's where I fit in.

Two years ago I was asked to help judge the OBA's and I didn't really have a good experience.  I made a note to myself that I wouldn't help judge again unless I became an actual BJCP judge or if the awards had more BJCP people involved.  Last year it did, so when asked this year if I'd like to help select the people's choice awards I thought I'd give it another go. 

Like I said, the OBA's were sanctioned last year and it is no different this year.  All the actual judges there last night (with the exception of guys like me) have all been doing the BJCP thing for years; it adds so much credibility to the awards.  It was good to catch up with some of them too, as I hadn't seen many of them since the judging of the Canadian Brewing Awards.  Roger Mittag, who runs Thirst for Knowledge - Beer School and the Prud'homme Beer Certification program, and who also organizes the OBA's, stated that this year features the highest number of entries, just under 200, which he said was a significant leap over last years OBA's.

Part 1 took place last night and the second round goes next Tuesday to determine the final overall winners.  Our table, which was comprised of three judges and three people's choice judges, drew the Light Lager, Amber Lager, and Pale Ale categories, and I can say, without knowing the names of the breweries who entered them, that some beers surprised me - both good and bad.  There was good banter between the judges after they finished tallying their scores, seeing if their scores jived with one another.

No word yet on when the actual winners will be announced, but stay tuned, once I find out, I'll post here.