NHC 2nd round rebrew?

[Twah]

I took first in the NHC Nashville region for category 21 with a Dubbel with 37 points.

I just Brewed another Dubbel with a tweak of the candi sugar. To me, it tastes better than the one I won with.

Thoughts on sending the winning Dubbel or the rebrewed tweaked version to 2nd round? Thoughts are send it since that won the region and being honest about keeping true to seeing the same beer through and how it performs. Or send the new Dubbel in and see how that goes and not staying true to the beer that got me to the 2nd round.

I have 4 bottles left and was going to do a side by side between the old and new Dubbel and decide.

Thoughts?

[NervousDad]

Congrats! I would send the rebrew, if you think it's better. I rebrewed all of my entries and tweaked them as well. There is nothing wrong with that.

Also, you'll need 3 bottles for your final round so don't sample too much if you choose to not send the rebrew.

[BDawg]

+1
Rebrewing is common if not mandatory for some styles. Do the side by side and send in the best one.

Good Luck!

[Twah]

Thank you! Pretty excited. Only my 3rd competition (been brewing for 10 years now) and got 1st in category 21. 37 on the Dubbel and a 35 on my single. And ok on my Porter and a special bitter, 26.5 and 32.5 I think. I could taste the astringency in both. Had water/pH issues on the Porter.

Thanks for the confirmation, I know I've heard the guys on the shows say they rebrew for competition but mine is a bigger change than just trying to get fresh hops flavors.

Unfortunately I don't have any more bottles but I have 4 bottles left that I was going to use for some local competitions. So 3 off to NHC and that 4th is going to be a side by side with the new brew. I definitely taste the more depth of the newer beer vs the original even uncarbonated. I'll filter and carb the new and do a tasting. I'm glad I have a few weeks before they have to be in.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[brewinhard]

I would most definitely sample the older version vs the newer one prior to making any decisions. If possible have someone sample too who also has a good pallette (nearby judge?) as they may be able to help you pinpoint down the decision. If you go this route, I would not tell the person which sample they are drinking (old or new) just to see what they think.
Sometimes fresher examples are better in these cases, and other times a mature version is appreciated more. Good luck in the final round. Exciting!

[Twah]

I got a 41.5 in the second round of 2016 NHC with my Dubbel! Forgot to post back here. Oops. Didn't win but a 41.5 is pretty exciting!

[BDawg]

Great job-
Anything in the 40's is an awesome beer.

[Twah]

Thanks BDawg! I was bouncing around my client's office when I saw I took 1st in the Nashville region (38 point on that beer) and the rebrew was what I was looking for on the first brew and got the 41.5 and I couldn't have been happier! Not bad for my first NHC and my 2nd and 3rd competitions. (I don't enter a lot)