Sunday, September 13th, Midwest Supplies hosted MHBA’s September club meeting and the Iron Home Brew Competition. In this competition, the beers entered were not judged “to style,” but were judged on how well lime was used in harmony with the beer. This was a great opportunity for brewers to brew outside the box. Congratulations go to all the brewers who tackled this difficult ingredient. We had a panel of 3 judges taste all 8 beers and award the Iron Home Brewer trophy.
This year the trophy and a $50 Midwest gift certificate was awarded to a team of brewers: Scott Ode and Jim Bradburn for their Lime Pale Ale.
Best of Show: Scott Ode and Jim Bradburn for their Lime Pale Ale
People’s choice, along with a $50 gift certificate was awarded to another team: Megan and Ryan Hoveland for their Lime Wit.
People’s Choice: Megan and Ryan Hoveland for their Lime Wit
All the winners noted that they utilized lots of lime zest to perfect their beers.
Other participants included; John Kreimer (tied for 2nd), Nathan Steigman (tied for 2nd), John Vircks , John Longballa, Dave Royer, and Kevin Meintsma.
We also had many entries in the Brewers of Fame program, including all the lime contestants, who will receive credit in the fruit beer category. Others who received credit for sharing at least a six-pack, keg, or growler of a particular style were Kevin Meintsma for a cream ale and a barrel-aged robust porter, John Kreimer for an IPA, a cherry Belgian, and a RazBerry Rhubarb Ale, John Longballa for a cider, a bitter, and a brown ale, and Jon Hunter for a dunkleweizen. This has been a great opportunity for brewers to get some immediate feedback on beers, and a great opportunity to focus the meeting on one beer for a few minutes. If you have a beer and would like feedback, please feel free to bring it to meetings and enter it in the Brewers of Fame program.
A huge thank you goes to Midwest Supplies for allowing us to us their space and donating some of the prizes. The competition was the brainchild of Matt Weide, so thank you to Matt for putting the event together.