How is the judging typically done?
For judging, the entries in a competition are normally grouped into “flights”, usually with 7 to 14 beers per flight. The organizers will generally try to keep the same (or similar) style beers together in the same flight. When categories must be merged (due to a small number of entries in a given style category), some attempt is made to combine similar styles, so that you don’t end up with, e.g. an American Light Lager being judged with a Barleywine in the same flight. Sometimes, at large competitions (or for very popular styles), a style may be split into more than one flight. All of the beers in a single flight are usually judged by the same judges. If there is an inexperienced (non-certified) judge on a flight, the non-certified judge will generally be paired with a more experienced (certified) one. The judges evaluate how well the beer fits the style it was entered as, and assign a numerical score, in the range of 0 to 50 points. Scores below 15, or above 40, are rare. Most beers
