Yes you can Jimmy part of it is knowing yourself what's good stuff and developing a thick skin. The better your beer, the more chance it has of being randomly spat out of the system with a medal. The feedback isn't awfully useful as you say, you need to have your own built in feedback, but competing will improve your brewing because it makes you strive towards better brewing.Jimmy wrote:You can't really pick and choose which feedback is right/wrong, .GuingesRock wrote:LiverDance said it best ... "these competitions are a total crap shoot."
....some feedback is good though. If you pick your judge.
It's just the same as reading a brewing book. Mostly a lot of crap, and sometimes you learn something.
The competition system and Its brewing to style, is also an important part of the craft beer movement. It encourages the authentic brewing of modern and historic styles.