thatguy314 wrote:Both fruit and spice/herb/vegetable beers REQUIRE a base beer style to be described. In it is stated explicitly and implicitly in the style guidelines that it does not need to be a "classic style" (aka a BJCP category). It should say enough that the judges understand the base beer and how you augmented it. Take Bugeater's Oatmeal Amber. I don't think the base beer fits any classic style. Perhaps its most like a scottish ale, but uses a characterful english yeast which isn't really appropriate for a scottish ale. Maybe a pale mild? Too strong. An English brown ale would probably be the closest I guess, but don't think it has the "classic" flavors. But it's a great beer. It showcases a well-brewed beer with a good and complimentary spice profile.
That said, you may get some judges who don't read the style guidelines carefully enough and may ding you for not using one of the BJCP styles. Not all judges are perfect, and that can be a problem.
Thus, I think you just need to describe what the base beer is. You don't need to have a base BJCP style. You just need to give the judges two things to assess: a base beer, and a spicing job.
That said, many SHV and Fruit beers are based on a classic style. There's nothing wrong with naming that style as long as the base beer is a good representation of the style by itself. But if you allter the base beer significantly to change meet the spicing, this isn't a great idea.
I'm sorry if I'm not being clearer.
After reading these posts I do have a better understanding now. You were being loud and clear. So correct me if I am wrong. Instead of saying I brewed a base beer kind of like an amber/oktoberfest/etc., I can describe my base beer before spicing even if it was not a classic style in the BJCP guidelines. I would describe my base beer for this as an orangish, brown english fermented ale with slightly caramel toasted maltiness and moderate spicy hops. Would this then be acceptable to list as the "base style"? Thanks for all the help everyone.
Ahhhhh....the beauty of the collective mind. Any thoughts?