The 2021 National Homebrew Competition Awards Ceremony will livestream on June 19th at 6:00p MT. Tune in to this public event to see who comes out victorious in the largest homebrew competition in the world!
About the National Homebrew Competition
In 1979, 34 entries competed in the first American Homebrewers Association (AHA) National Homebrew Competition held in Boulder, Colorado.
Today, the National Homebrew Competition has become the largest homebrew competition in the world. The goal is simple: to celebrate the spirit of homebrewers. The competition gives homebrewers a chance to receive invaluable feedback on their entries and also recognizes the most outstanding, world-class homebrewed beer, mead and cider. Final round winners are revealed at Homebrew Con.
Over the years, we’ve seen homebrewers push the envelope and blur the lines between professional and amateur brewing. As homebrewers, you lead the way with style awareness and ingenuity, all while pushing homebrewing into uncharted territory.
The first, Pow Chicka Wow Wow, is an 8 percent ABV hazy New England-style double IPA. “The hops … beer festivals, which are staffed by brewery sales reps or volunteers, Big Beers draws the brewers, …
The inimitable Jaega Wise and her team at Wild Card have turned out a hazy IPA named … brewers, and Cloudwater beers are always a treat. A collaborative brew with craft beer giant Brewdog …
What started as an experiment in home brewing … with their craft beer exported to over 50 countries and counting. Their most popular beer styles include IPA, lager, pilsner, stout, dark lager …
5,045 beers entered; 126 medals awarded to recognize brewing excellence
Boulder, Colo. — The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) awarded more than 120 medals in 40 categories to amateur brewers and homebrew clubs worldwide at the 2021 National Homebrew Competition awards ceremony. Winners of the world’s largest homebrew competition were recognized for the most outstanding homemade beer, mead, and cider during a ceremony livestream.
Over its 43-year history, 156,830 brews have been evaluated since the inaugural AHA National Homebrew Competition in 1979 in Boulder, Colo. This year’s competition saw more than 5,045 entries from 2,037 homebrewers located in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 13 countries.
Most-Entered Style Categories
The winners of the top five most-entered categories were:
Cat 26: Strong Belgian Ale (246 entries) GOLD: Daniel Kukuk, Grosse Point, Mich., Motor City Mashers SILVER: John Thompson, Encinitas, Calif. BRONZE: John Horton, Aurora, Colo., Aurora City Brew Club
Cat 3: Pilsner (199 entries) GOLD: Jeff Klatt, San Bruno, Calif., Worts of Wisdom Homebrewers SILVER: Rob Hardisty, Fort Collins, Colo., Liquid Poets BRONZE: Patrick Mousaw, Granger, Ind., Michiana Extract & Grain Association (MEGA)
Cat 5: Amber European Beer (185 entries) GOLD: Jon Serluco, Brooklyn, N.Y., Brewminaries SILVER: Matt Lennon, Redwood City, Calif., Bitches & Studs Brew Club BRONZE: Joe St. John, Los Angeles, Calif., Yeastside Brewers
Cat 19: New England IPA (191 entries) GOLD: Keith Linn, Rogers, Ark., Fayetteville Lovers of Pure Suds (F.L.O.P.S.) SILVER: Jason Lowery, Amherst, Ohio, Brewly Homebrew Club BRONZE: Paul Arends, Rockford, Mich., Brewsquitos Homebrewing Club
Cat 23: Imperial Porter & Stout (191 entries) GOLD: Mandy Naglich & Wesley Carmichael, New York, N.Y. SILVER: Zach Rice, West Des Moines, Iowa, Iowa Brewers Union (IBU) BRONZE: Ryan Stack, Saint Cloud, Minn., Cloudy Town Brewers
Major Awards
In addition to category style awards, six major awards recognizing overall brewing excellence were presented.
Samuel Adams Ninkasi Award – Sponsored by Samuel Adams Recognizes the entrant who accumulates the most points in the final round of competition. Jason Lowery, Amherst, Ohio, Brewly Homebrew Club
Homebrewer of the Year Award – Sponsored by Muntons Malted Ingredients Ben Amidon, Arlington, Mass.
Cidermaker of the Year Award – Sponsored by Vermont Hard Cider Company Jeff Carlson, Grand Rapids, Mich., Primetime Brewers
Meadmaker of the Year Award – Sponsored by Redstone Meadery Stephen Kilburn, Bonita, Calif.
Homebrew Club Award – Sponsored by Country Malt Group Awarded to the club accumulating the most total points in all categories of beer, mead, and cider in the final round of competition. Diablo Order of Zymiracle Enthusiasts (DOZE), Walnut Creek, Calif.
Gambrinus Club Award – Sponsored by LD Carlson Recognizes the club garnering the most final round points per total club entries. Foam Rangers Homebrew Club, Houston, Texas
Homebrew Con™
This year’s 43rd annual Homebrew Con concluded with the National Homebrew Competition (NHC), the world’s largest international amateur beer competition recognizing outstanding homebrewed beer, mead, and cider. Homebrew Con is a three-day conference where homebrewers and fermentation hobbyists celebrate the art of brewing beer, making cider, mead, and kombucha, and learning fermentation techniques. This year, Homebrew Con was held online and featured a keynote speaker, a virtual expo hall, meetups, and more than 30 live seminars with access to post-event recordings.
“Once again homebrewers around the world continue to amaze judges with their quality and creativity across all categories,” said John Moorhead, AHA competition manager. “Congratulations to this year’s winners of the National Homebrew Competition for their mastery of fermentation.”
A complete list of winners of the 2021 National Homebrew Competition can be found here.
Editor’s note: Photos for media use are available upon request.
The 2021 AHA National Homebrew Competition was made possible in part by the generous support of its sponsors.
Media contact:Mariel Fulton (on behalf of the Brewers Association) 970.963.4873 x1205
Fretboard Brewing Company (Blue Ash, OH) isn’t known for their collaborations with other breweries. Over the course of their 3 year history, they’ve partnered with musicians like Bootsy Collins and The Cliftones, to foundations like ArtsWave, and even a bread company (Klosterman Baking), but they’ve never released a product brewed in partnership with another brewery. Until now. Today, Fretboard is proud to announce the release of “Dark Throne” Dark Czech Lager, a collaboration with one the country’s rising small breweries, Branch & Bone Artisan Ales (Dayton, OH).
Making a name for themselves since opening in 2018, Branch & Bone was quickly recognized by USA Today as a “10 Best” Small Brewery in the country. Fretboard’s Director of Operations, Kevin Moreland, has a storied history with breweries in Cincinnati and had been paying close attention to the incredible liquid being brewed by Brett Smith, co-founder and head brewer of Branch & Bone. The two met in February this year at the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference in Dayton and the brainstorming for a collaboration quickly began. Both Kevin & Brett share a love for lager beer, and brewing traditional styles not commonly found in the market. After a months-long hiatus in communication, as both breweries managed business under new guidelines, the two saw Fall approaching and landed on a beer neither had ever brewed; a dark Czech lager.
On brew day, Smith sat down with Moreland for an episode of Fretboard’s interview show, FretboardTV, and explained how they landed on the name, “Dark Throne”. Inspired by a Norwegian black metal band by the same name, Smith went on to add, “We do like heavy metal a lot in our brewery. It gets us through the work day sometimes. Buckles us in.” Both sides agreed that a dark beer deserved a dark name, and with a release in October, it only amplified the spooky theme.
“Dark Throne” is a full-bodied lager, with notes of caramel, toffee, dates, and bread. The perfect transition from Marzen and Festbier for cool Fall nights. Craft beer fans can expect to find this limited release on draft and in 6-packs throughout greater Cincinnati, and in select stores in Dayton. Those who live in Ohio, but outside of the distribution range, can order the beer online (order.fretboardbrewing.com) to be shipped directly to their door.
Stay up to date with Fretboard Brewing and Branch & Bone by following them on Instagram. More big things on the way before this crazy year comes to an end!
(Portland, OR)- Ecliptic Brewing has teamed up with Seattle area Stoup Brewing to release a Pineapple Gose. Shipping August 18th in 16-ounce…
read post
The post Ecliptic Brewing and Stoup…
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Mash grains at 150° F (66° C) and rest for one hour. Sparge at 170° F (77° C). Boil 90 minutes. Chill to 68° F (20° C), pitch yeast, and hold for two days before ramping temperature to 85° F (30° C) until fermentation is complete. Dry hop five days in the primary at 68° F (20° C). Rack to secondary to clear for two days at 68° F (20° C). Keg at 3 volumes (6 g/L) CO2 or bottle with 5.75 oz. (163 g) corn sugar.
On September 23, 2020, gluten-free breweries from around the world connected virtually at the 2nd Annual Gluten-free Beer Conference, hosted by Golden-based Holidaily Brewing Company. Out of over 8,000 craft breweries in the U.S., only 15 breweries are dedicated gluten-free, meaning they brew, package, and sell gluten-free beer only.
The U.S. breweries in attendance included Alt Brew, Aurochs Brewing Company, Bierly Brewing, Ghostfish Brewing Company, Holidaily Brewing Company, N.E.F.F Brewing, Dos Luces, Red Leaf Brewing, and Cold Crash Brewing. Also in attendance were Canada-based Glutenberg and Australia-based Two Bays Brewing.
The conference began with a welcome from Holidaily Founder, Karen Hertz, who announced this year’s theme – A Commitment to Quality.
“As dedicated gluten-free breweries we have unique challenges, but we also have unique responsibilities,” said Hertz. “One of those is our commitment to quality. The Gluten-free Brewers Group sets the highest standards for gluten-free beer.”
Hertz went on to remind attendees of the group’s goals: to improve customer experience, promote safe gluten-free products, and join forces in leading the gluten-free beer industry.
Attendees heard from Lauren Torres of the Brewers Association, who delivered the keynote presentation on “Defining Quality.” Julia Herz presented beer and food pairings to improve the taproom experience and boost sales. Other sessions ranged from brewing to marketing to FDA labeling.
JP Bierly, Owner of Bierly Brewing, and a member of the group’s steering committee urged attendees to join various committees within the Gluten-free Brewers Association.
“The association is a self-governed group that strives for positive change in the gluten-free beer industry,” said Bierly. “Together we make this change happen by focusing on education and advocating for safe gluten-free beer in a unified voice.”
With the momentum from the 2nd Annual Gluten-free Beer Conference, Hertz is confident in the direction of the group and the industry. “Customer safety is absolutely the number one priority,” said Hertz. “Gluten-free breweries can now make 100% gluten-free beer that doesn’t compromise on taste. This is the standard moving forward.”
About dedicated gluten-free breweries:
Dedicated gluten-free breweries produce their beer on dedicated gluten-free equipment. They allow only gluten-free ingredients to enter their doors so there is no cross-contamination risk for the consumer. There are currently 15 dedicated gluten-free breweries in the United States. Follow along with the hashtag #getbeercurious to learn more about gluten-free beer. Breweries interested in joining the Gluten-free Brewers Association can reach out to Kaitlyn Gipple at [email protected].
