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Next years is in Philly huh? This year my ESB scored a 32, up 11 points from last year. Hopefully next year i can make it into the second round, would love to plan a trip to Philly to go to the NHC.
32 is a decent score. It means it generally met the style and maybe had a minor flaw or two.
Nice job. What I've found to be the single thing that affects final product quality the most (behind good sanitation) is fermentation temperature control. If you can keep the fermentation temp in your narrow target range, your beer will improve by leaps and bounds.
The best score I ever gave was a 49 for a Kolsch. It had a slight chill haze when I held a flashlight to the glass. Best homebrew I've ever tasted. I was a relatively new judge at the time and was nervous writing that score down. Think about it- you give a guy a 49 out of 50, then what happens if it goes to Best of Show and loses? Thankfully, it won BOS, too, so I didn't look like an idiot.