Michigan Bell's Homebrew Competition 2021

[Mr. Vern]

Anyone planning on going? Signup is this Sunday July 11th. I want to participate for fun. I learned of this last summer and bummed out with covid, super cool of them to do this.

Its a bit of driving from SE Michigan but I get to refill my cooler and slowly drive by Arcadia to shed a tear. Ill probably ask the wife to go as brewer #2

https://www.bellsbeer.com/news/details-2021-bell-s-homebrew-competition-now-available

 

[2row]

I signed up, should be fun. I have a friend going to pickup the wort for me as a proxy, then I will make the drive to drop off our bottles before labor day. I'll definitely be going to the brew expo on Sept 19th.
Arcadia was a loss, I'd love to see another brewery use that space. So much potential!

 

[Mr. Vern]

pickup the wort for me as a proxy

That is a great idea. I am driving from Livonia for pickup, we will see how the brew turns out if I am going to drop off some bottles. I am not in a club or really have any friends who are into brewing. My pal likes to brew extract kits and hangs out when I'm brewing grain. I will be there for the Homebrew Expo/Anniversary though!

I spun up a .25L starter from (2) bottles of Bell's Beer last weekend, I am going to brew up a small beer with that this weekend (2nd phase starter tonight). Not sure what I will do with the wort but I intend to use some of the house yeast borrowed from a special bottle.

 

[2row]

Cool. If you are going there, they also sell homebrew packs of their house yeast via Imperial. You can get it at the General Store.
I'm not part of a homebrew club either, but have been making a few friendly connections via Cadillac Straits in Madison Hts. They have a nice homebrew store there.
If you want me to drop your bottles for you, I'm going through Kzoo to get to South Haven and could easily help you if you want.

 

[Mr. Vern]

I was there a few weeks ago to pick up some of that 1985 re-release.. they were bottle conditioned so I went ahead and saved some yeast just for fun. I also think a couple generations on this yeast might do well.

Thank you very much for the offer, that is mighty kind of you. While I do not expect to have an exceptional beer, if it turns out well I might as well send a few bottles out. Time will tell! If I think I will have beer to submit I will reach out to you, gas money and some extra bottles is the least I can do! Its my Bday weekend and unknown plans thus far

 

[2row]

Anyone know if this is happening this year? I haven't seen anything posted from Bell's. Maybe a casualty of the sale?

 

[Mr. Vern]

Better late than never!

The text on the Bell's website is White on White background, you have to highlight it to see it for some silly reason. With the changes to the format you could feasibly start today and have additional time to condition your homebrew! Details coming this week via Eccentric Cafe signup. Kind of bitter/sweet for me, I liked the "use this wort" format but this will definitely provide a wide array of homebrew submittals.

https://bellsbeer.com/homebrew-central/crafting-something-new-with-our-2022-homebrew-competition/

Homebrewers, rejoice! Our Homebrew Competition is back for 2023.
We’re changing things up a bit this year so that more people will be able to participate in the greatest homebrewing competition around. Contestants will be able to use whatever malt they desire, not just wort from our General Store. Don’t worry, we’ll still be offering free grain pick-up for those of you that love to stick to tradition (or just want a reason to visit your pals here at Bell’s). It’s important to note that we’re giving out free malt this year, not wort.
Here’s a quick rundown of the competition timeline:

• October 1: Registration opens via Etix
  • Link will be provided via this blog post and the Eccentric Café and General Store social channels on this day
  • Those of you that wish to register in person can chat with one of our General Store staff members who can help get you registered online
• November 5: National Learn to Homebrew Day and Free Grain Pick-Up
  • The beers of our two previous Homebrew Competition winners will be tapped
  • We will be offering tours of our downtown brewery
• November 6: Registration closes and beer drop-off begins
• December 23: Beer drop-off closes

Judging will take place in the weeks following the last beer drop off. Check back to this blog post and keep an eye on our social channels for more information regarding the prize and other homebrewing fun we have in store for you. Cheers!

 

[2row]

Wow, thank you for posting this! I can't believe it's unreadable on there site.
Maybe I'll make a Best Brown close since they aren't distributing it this year urgh...