Field Beer
Color: Can range from pale to very dark depending on the underlying style, and may be influenced by the color of added ingredients.
Clarity: Clear to hazy is acceptable
Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Very low to medium-high
Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Very low to medium-high
Perceived Bitterness: Very low to medium-high. Vegetable character should not be muted by hop character.
Fermentation Characteristics: Varies with underlying Belgian style
Body: Varies with style
Additional notes:
Vegetable aromas, ranging from subtle to intense, should be evident, and should not be overpowered by hop aromas. Field Beers are any beers incorporating vegetables as flavor or carbohydrate adjuncts in either the mash, kettle, primary or secondary fermentation. The vegetable character should be in harmony with other attributes and can range from subtle to intense.
Within the framework of these guidelines, coconut is defined as a vegetable, and beers containing coconut should be entered as Field Beers. All beers containing chili peppers would be categorized as Chili Beers. Beers containing nuts would be categorized as Field Beers.
When using these guidelines as the basis for evaluating entries at competitions, brewers may be asked to provide supplemental information about entries in this category to allow for accurate evaluation of diverse entries. Such information might include the underlying beer style upon which the entry is based, or other information unique to the entry such as vegetable(s) used or processing which influence perceived sensory outcomes.
- Color SRM (EBC): 5-50 (10-100 EBC)
- ABV: 2.0%-10.5% (2.5%-13.3%) %
- IBU: 5-70
- AE - Apparent Extract: 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.6 °Plato)
- OG - Original Gravity: 1.030-1.110 (7.6-25.9 °Plato)