Style of the Quarter

The Style of the Quarter (SOQ) is a friendly, internal homebrew competition run for and by members of BAM, four times a year. The style is announced usually in the quarter before they are scheduled to be judged to give everyone a chance to craft something to enter.

The entries are judged by a mixture of BAM officers, members, and BJCP certified judges. Beers are judged based on the BJCP styleguide and score sheets.

Rules & Entry:

Entries should consist of two clean appropriately labeled 12oz capped bottles. The official label that you can print can be downloaded here: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/BJCP_BottleID.pdf. Use rubber bands to attach the labels to the bottles so they can be removed before judging. Having the bottles (including caps) indistinguishable from other members submissions helps for impartial unbiased blind judging.

The drop-off for entries is usually at Oak Barrel Wine Craft in Berkeley unless otherwise stated. Also, please don’t submit any swing top bottles as most likely you won’t get the bottles back from the judging.

Prizes:

1st place is awarded a $50 gift card to OakBarrel. 2nd place gets a $30 gift card, and 3rd place gets a $20 gift card.

Have a suggestion for an upcoming style? Notify the officers since the chosen styles are based off of the members interests.

2021 Clone Your Favorite Beer Challenge (SOQ4)

The basic idea is to clone a beer, compare against the original, adjust and brew again. This will culminate in a Q4 style of the quarter but the clone you submit should be at least your 2nd iteration of this beer.

RULES

  • Select a beer you love to drink, and that you are able to purchase commercially in your area.
  • Develop a recipe or find one online.
  • Make the beer. 
  • Buy a 6 pack of the original and compare side-by-side! Take notes on any differences you can identify between appearance, aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel. Take side-by-side photos. Ask your friends to comment.
  • Then, adjust your recipe or process accordingly.
  • Brew the beer a 2nd time.
  • Submit as an entry into Q4 Holiday Party SOQ (Sunday, December 12, 2021)
  • Bring your keg (or several bottles / couple growlers) and some the original beer to share.

You can submit this beer as an entry to the Q4 holiday party SOQ. Of course, you’ll have to be able to purchase another commercial example for comparison. Even as People’s Choice these beers will be judged as clones: how well they compare against the commercial example. BJCP Style 34A.

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Upcoming SOQ

Past SOQs