There are new Brewers Cup Rules! These have profound effects on the discipline. We have summarized and analyzed the consequences for you.
- Far-reaching changes in the Compulsory Service
- New scoresheets, altered sensory focus, and new calculation bases
- Significant upgrade for the Head Judge with their own score sheet
- New definitions for the water to be provided by the organizer
- Far-reaching consequences for the competition setting as a whole and the coffee selection in the Open Service
Compulsory Service
Quite a lot has changed! In particular, paragraph 9.1.C. now looks completely different. Let's first look at the facts and then venture an interpretation.
In the future, not only the provided coffee must be used, but also the provided water and grinder.
The old rule 9.3.C., which stated: “Coffee ground before the competition time will be allowed,” has also been removed. Now, coffee must be ground during "Competition Time" (See also 11.3 second paragraph).
Consequences: Until now, it was relatively easy to influence the character of the Compulsory Service coffee by choosing your own water. By selecting softer or harder water, one could emphasize acidity, body, or sweetness. This tool is now gone. The brewing recipe and brewing method will become even more important in the future.
Interesting additional difficulty: the coffee cannot be conveniently weighed and sifted multiple times before competition time. In fact, not even during set-up time, if we read the rules correctly! (See, among others, 13.2.3. fifth paragraph)
This creates certain time pressure during the 7 minutes of Competition Time, depending on the brewing method.
Score Sheet Cup Score | Open and Compulsory Service
Flavor and Overall are no longer double-weighted. Instead, Acidity and Body are the new big point providers. These rule changes apply to both the Compulsory Service and the Open Service, but have very different effects.
In the Compulsory Service, these are an interesting addition to the other changes noted above. Both Acidity and Body are components that can be wonderfully worked on by choosing brewing devices and recipes.
Crucially, Acidity contributes to the vibrancy and fruity character of a coffee without being sour, harsh, or dominant.
Body is a very exciting parameter that describes the tactile performance of the coffee in the mouth. The primary focus here is not on intensity but rather on quality. A "light body" can be wonderfully smooth and score many points, whereas a "heavy body" that is astringent and clunky performs poorly.
It's certainly good that Overall is no longer part of the Double Points. Compared to all other cup components defined in the Brewers Cup regulations, Overall is the most open to subjective impressions.
In the Compulsory Service, the question of coffee selection doesn't arise – as it is provided. In the Open Service, this question definitely arises. Does this new evaluation approach now affect coffee selection? I would say yes, absolutely. But first, let's look at the other changes in the Open Service.
Open Service
At first glance, one might overlook the changes. In both the summary of the overall competition and the description of the Open Service itself, nothing is initially striking. But quite a lot has changed. First of all, regarding the water.
When selecting water in the Open Service, participants will no longer be bound by the range defined in 11.2, which applies to the water provided in the Compulsory Service. This opens up entirely new possibilities to experiment even more with water! What the Compulsory Service loses, the Open Service gains back even more.
- The Head Judge will have to taste "their own water" hot and at room temperature. This is to ensure that the water is flavor-free.
All other rules are hidden in the Score Sheet! We've already reported on the Cup Score. However, a lot has also changed in the Presentation Score section.
The three judges still award 40 points, but no longer double for the defunct "Overall Impression" category. Instead, they will now be doubled for Customer Service and Taste Description.
The Cup Scores in the upper section of the sheet are filled out by the judges as if in a blind tasting. What the competitor says, sings, or dances about it doesn't matter. In the Taste Description, it is now compared whether what the competitor described matches the blind tasting. And this will be more important than ever in the future, otherwise it will hurt twice as much! And Customer Service also goes up, displacing Overall Impression.
However, the content of Overall Impression does not disappear but moves to the Head Judge's Score Sheet. Yes, and in the future, the Head Judge will not only cup but also serve as a Technical Judge.
Overall Workflow incorporates Overall Impression. In the future, the workflow, the use of tools, items, and their organization will be evaluated. Additionally, cleanliness AND consistency will be assessed!
Finally! Of course, what's in the cup is important. But I've long believed that uniform and consistent processes are also crucial. There is now space for that on the score sheet.
Another new aspect is the evaluation of sensory uniformity. And here, a rule change is actually hidden. Previously, it was not necessary to brew three identical cups. I explicitly did not do that at the World Brewers Cup in Rimini. In the future, this will no longer be possible. Instead, all cups must perform consistently over time.
In total, the Head Judge can award 20 points. I will discuss the overall scoring and its impact further below.
Water
- In the future, water for the Compulsory Service will be provided (see 9.5.A and 9.1.C). Thus, the possibility of experimenting with water, as described above, is eliminated.
- The range of water to be provided by the organizer has become significantly narrower and noticeably "softer." Instead of a target range of TDS 150 mg/L and an allowed range of TDS 75 – 250 mg/L, it will now require TDS 85 mg/L or a range of 50 – 125 mg/L. The "Calcium Hardness" is set at 51 mg/L instead of 68 mg/L.
What doesn't change!!!
9.4.D. This rule has been the undoing of numerous participants worldwide. It remains in place. It simply states that at least 120 ml must be served in a vessel. If the participant pours from a brewing vessel into a cup, the served cup must contain exactly 120 ml!
Scoring
Now, only the Compulsory Round will be counted towards the final. Previously, all First Round results were "carried over." This means that points from a potentially poor or good Open Service round will be eliminated. The results of the Compulsory Service will therefore carry even more weight! Because they will be fully added to the Open Service results of the Finals!
That reads so simply, but it's a very big deal! I interpret this as a strong re-evaluation of individual brewer skills in delivering with an unfamiliar coffee!
The Open Service is calculated as follows. The results of Total Cup and Total Presentation are added per judge and divided by 1.40. Subsequently, the Final Scores from each judge are added, and the average is calculated by dividing by three. This number is then multiplied by 1.4, the Head Judge's score is added, and then that is divided by 1.6. Example: J1 gives 71, J2 73, J3 72 points = 72 on average x 1.4 = 100.8 + 15 from the Head Judge / 1.6 = 72.375
It sounds complicated. And it is. Let's take the same example and let the Head Judge give more or fewer points, in this case 10, 12, 14, etc., and the Sensory Judges stick to their average. Then it looks like this:
10 => 69.25, 12 => 70.5, 14 => 71.75, 16 =>73, 18 =>74.25, 20 => 75.5
So, ten points from the Head Judge's score here are approximately 6.25 on the total score. That's quite a lot! These are points no one wants to miss out on. It's likely that in the final, the competition level will be very tight, and then two more or less Head Judge points will really hurt!
Summary and Conclusion!!!
I venture to claim: the new champions and world champions will be chosen via the Compulsory Service in the future. And that's a good thing, because this is the part of the competition where a brewer can best demonstrate their skills! The importance of coffee in the Open Service is softened. There are still many points for it, but presentation and consistency in work will be rated more strongly.
Lately, the Brewers Cup has increasingly become a question of the available budget for exquisite coffees and has been dominated by certain varieties or green coffee companies. This development is now being curbed.
Indeed, the higher scores for Acidity and Body open up entirely new possibilities in the selection of green coffees. I am excited to see what comes in the next few years.
Overall, I would say that the new regulations are very beneficial for the Brewers Cup. I believe that with these regulations, the Brewers Cup will remain in the fast lane! In this respect, my great praise goes to the team at WCE who developed the new rules!
PS: This is also important. :)
