Homebrew on the WEB 2012

[Revvy]

Looks like Phil only took three this time? I can't wait til I get back in a good brewing schedule to have stuff ready for contests again. With the surgery last year and not a lot of brewing initially, I haven't had stuff ready in time. Or had anything on hand.

One of the judges had a bottle of my Kentucky Common he wanted me to enter, but I didn't think I had another 12 ouncer still. Turned out I found one, but it was too late. But he took the other one up to a pre-judges meeting a couple weeks back and shared it around and I guess folks were raving about it.

I'll have to make sure to enter it next year.

 

[Revvy]

Since most of us don't use our "real" names on here, which of you are you among the winners?

BOS Winners

Beer

Sam Firke - Ann Arbors Brewers Guild
17B - Flanders Red - "Dregs of Society"
Mead/Cider
Anthony Kilimas - Kuhnhenn Guild of Brewers
27A - Common Cider - "Sweet Cider"


BJCP Style Name Club Placed # of entries
01-E Brad Kamphuis The Brewing Network 1
01-C Joseph Frankiewicz N/A 2 entries
01-B Phil Sullivan Underground Brewers 3

02-C Joseph Frankiewicz N/A 1
02-C David Curtis KLOB 2 entries
02-B Ben Ruppel N/A 3

03-B Larry Reuter SAAZ 1
03-B Jeff and Susan Rankert Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 2 entries
03-A Larry Reuter SAAZ 3

04-B Nathan Baker HOPS! 1
04-A Joseph Burgel and Mike Zukowski CRAFT 2 entries
04-B Matthew Smylie KGB 3

05-C Brian LaGoe Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 1
05-A Dave Stahl MASH 2 entries
05-C Jim Satin Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 3

06-C Michael Malinowski SAAZ 1
06-C Phil Sullivan Underground Brewers 2 entries
06-D Brian LaGoe Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 3

07-A Jeff Russell and Rob Walker CRHBC 1
07-B Bill Zimmerman and Jesse Rowell N/A 2 entries
07-B Adam and Britani Wisniewski N/A 3

08-B Chad Vanderpool MALTZ 1
08-B Aaron Potter N/A 2 entries
08-B Jeff Russell CRHBC 3

09-E Joel Kamp Muskegon Ottawa Brewers 1
09-E Kevin Rayl Motor City Mashers 2 entries
09-E Stephen Bender N/A 3

10-B Rick Marek Brew Gadgeteers 1
10-A Matt Therrien TC-Hopz 2 entries
10-C Kyle Alberda MASH 3

11-A Mike Carr CRHBC 1
11-C Carl Zeuner CRAFT 2 entries
11-C Todd Hale N/A 3

12-C Rachael Holland Primetime Brewers 1
12-B Anthony Terry LAB 2 entries
12-B John Lofquist N/A 3

13-E Brad Hopkins SODZ 1
13-D Pat Hyde and Satan CRHBC 2 entries
13-B Joe Merriman Red Ledge Homebrewers 3

14-C Mike Kirk LAB 1
14-A Chris Breimayer and Seth Rivard Primetime Brewers 2 entries
14-B Blake Key TC-Hopz 3

The judges did not award a first place medal for this category 1
15-A Pat Hogan and Barb Bauer CRHBC 2 entries
15-A Keith McFarland and Dave Bertolotti SAAZ 3

16-A Konrad Schlenner CRAFT 1
16-E Pat Hogan and Barb Bauer CRHBC 2 entries
16-C Chris Carr Muskegon Ottawa Brewers 3

17-B Sam Firke Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 1
17-B Christopher Frey and various members of the FORD club FORD 2 entries
17-A Adam and Britani Wisniewski N/A 3

18-E Kevin Paul CRAFT 1
18-C Mike Yingling SAAZ 2 entries
18-A Stephen Bender N/A 3

19-C Greg and Mike Muller CRAFT 1
19-A Jim Satin Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 2 entries
19-B Kevin Paul CRAFT 3

20-A David Worth SAAZ 1
20-A Daniel Fick CRAFT 2 entries
20-A Greg Fowler N/A 3

21-A Daniel Fick CRAFT 1
21- Patrick and Chris Cain SNOBS 2 entries
21-A Brian LaGoe and Steve Porter Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 3

22-A Nathan Baker HOPS! 1
22-C Phil Sullivan Underground Brewers 2 entries
22-C Bob and Kim Barrett Ann Arbor Brewers Guild 3

23-A Ray Leenhouts and Glenn Hallett Dead End Brewers 1
23-A Mike Yingling SAAZ 2 entries
23-A Joel Kamp Muskegon Ottawa Brewers 3

24-C Ken Schmidt CRAFT 1
24-C David Kelley KGB 2 entries
24-B Ron Bridges KGB 3

25-B Judith Hurt KGB 1
25-C Michael Spears KGB 2 entries
25-C Michael Spears KGB 3

26-A Denise Kruczyk and Pam Stapleton CRAFT 1
26-A Joseph Vrabel and Nathan Rinke Underground Brewers 2 entries
26-A Donald Hanke KGB 3

27-A Anthony Kilimas KGB 1
27-A Robert Vrabel KGB 2 entries
27-A Donald Hanke KGB 3

28-D Dave Clark SNOBS 1
28-D George Gorospe KGB 2 entries
28-C EDwight Paslean N/A 3

 

[mlyday]

I did notice that almost all the winners were members of clubs. So either good brewers join clubs, or joining a club makes you a better brewer.

 

[boostsr20]

Looks like I scored two Bronze medals, not bad!! One for my California Common and one for a Berliner Weisse. I can't seem to break the bronze barrier, I now have 3 bronzes but have never recieved a silver or gold. I'll just have to keep trying.

Thats me with the 16c Saison.

John palmer Judged the mini BOS for sours, I'm anxious to see if any of mine made it that far. What was your process for the berlinner? Sour Mash?

 

[AdamWiz]

Looks like Phil only took three this time?

I noticed that too - I'm used to seeing Phil's name at least 7 or 8 times on every winners list. Considering that he usually enters a TON of beers, he must have not had a very good day at the judging. Maybe he toned down his number of entries, or maybe he got cocky ( I noticed a couple months back that in the article about him winning "Midwest Homebrewer of the Year", he talks about "dominating" Michigan competitions in the coming year). After sitting at the Michigan Beer Cup awards ceremony over the summer and listening to his name called over and over, I must admit that now one of my goals in every comp. is to beat him.

One of the judges had a bottle of my Kentucky Common he wanted me to enter, but I didn't think I had another 12 ouncer still. Turned out I found one, but it was too late. But he took the other one up to a pre-judges meeting a couple weeks back and shared it around and I guess folks were raving about it.

I'll have to make sure to enter it next year.

I don't think I'll be entering my Kentucky Common in any more competitions. Judges just don't seem to "get" it. Despite being one of my best beers IMO, it always scored terribly. Judges say things like " a little thin on the body" - What do you expect? It is a low gravity sour mash beer after all. Plus, since it goes into cat. 23, it goes up against a bunch of high gravity monsters - not really a fair comparison. Maybe there should be another sour category for beers that don't fit one of the current sour categories, call it "other sour beer".

 

[AdamWiz]

Since most of us don't use our "real" names on here, which of you are you among the winners?

That's me and the wife with the bronzes in categories 7 and 17. See where "AdamWiz" comes from now? Until people know what my last name is, they probably see my nickname and assume I pee myself a lot or something.

 

[Revvy]

I don't think I'll be entering my Kentucky Common in any more competitions. Judges just don't seem to "get" it. Despite being one of my best beers IMO, it always scored terribly. Judges say things like " a little thin on the body" - What do you expect? It is a low gravity sour mash beer after all. Plus, since it goes into cat. 23, it goes up against a bunch of high gravity monsters - not really a fair comparison. Maybe there should be another sour category for beers that don't fit one of the current sour categories, call it "other sour beer".

Well, some research tends to lean toward the idea that not all Kentucky Commons were sour, or meant to be. There's quite a lot of discussions including those between O'Daniel and myself that our research tends to believe that sour versions were more than likely due to poor brewing practices than intentional souring. In fact the "Handy Book of Brewing and Malting trades" where the KC was first mentions it, only describes it as being sour in one edition, the other time it appeared, no mention of it being soured was in evidence. Which leads us to believe that a KC is more like a California Common, in that it is not sour, and more of just a dark cream ale.

But were you the one that entered a KC in another contest recently in category 23 and asked that it be judge only in terms of the historical descriptors and documentation for the style?

 

[AdamWiz]

I did notice that almost all the winners were members of clubs. So either good brewers join clubs, or joining a club makes you a better brewer.

I think it's just that club members tend to enter more competitions and enter more beers in each competition than a lot of folks. Plus, people in clubs have a lot more chances to get experienced feedback on their beers. And regularly being around other good brewers pushes people to improve, I'm sure. Myself, I don't need any extra motivation - I'm obsessed enough as it is. And my wife always takes pride in us being amongst the only winners not affiliated with a club. Like being in a club somehow makes it not as big an accomplishment or something.

 

[Revvy]

I think it's just that club members tend to enter more competitions and enter more beers in each competition than a lot of folks. Plus, people in clubs have a lot more chances to get experienced feedback on their beers. And regularly being around other good brewers pushes people to improve, I'm sure. Myself, I don't need any extra motivation - I'm obsessed enough as it is. And my wife always takes pride in us being amongst the only winners not affiliated with a club. Like being in a club somehow makes it not as big an accomplishment or something.

I always list the Homebrewtalk Michigan mashers as my "club" when I enter, just like those brewstrong guys. We're a club for all intents and purposes. Many of us get together as a group and brew representing HBT at Cap N Cork for the twice yearly brew events.

 

[AdamWiz]

Well, some research tends to lean toward the idea that not all Kentucky Commons were sour, or meant to be. There's quite a lot of discussions including those between O'Daniel and myself that our research tends to believe that sour versions were more than likely due to poor brewing practices than intentional souring. In fact the "Handy Book of Brewing and Malting trades" where the KC was first mentions it, only describes it as being sour in one edition, the other time it appeared, no mention of it being soured was in evidence. Which leads us to believe that a KC is more like a California Common, in that it is not sour, and more of just a dark cream ale.

I did a lot of research on it, and I agree that most likely it was not initialy intended to be sour-just ended up that way a lot because of primitive brewing and storage methods. However, the idea of a little twang was what intrigued me about the style to begin with. So I went with a 20% sour mash for 24 hours, and I loved the beer. You wouldn't even necessarily call it "sour", it just has a little edge to it. I have considered brewing a "clean" version, but never have since I like mine so much. So you brew yours clean with no sourness? How is it?

But were you the one that entered a KC in another contest recently in category 23 and asked that it be judge only in terms of the historical descriptors and documentation for the style?

Nope, not me. Sounds like a good request, though.

 

[Yooper]

Thats me with the 16c Saison.

John palmer Judged the mini BOS for sours, I'm anxious to see if any of mine made it that far. What was your process for the berlinner? Sour Mash?

Good for you! I only two people on that list, I think, just you and Racheal (hotbreakhotel here on the forum). Good job!

 

[AdamWiz]

John palmer Judged the mini BOS for sours, I'm anxious to see if any of mine made it that far. What was your process for the berlinner? Sour Mash?

That's pretty sweet that John Palmer may have judged my Berliner ( and the recipe even came from him & Jamil's book ! ). I brewed it last year, and I almost didn't enter it because I don't have much left. It actually is the simplest beer I ever brewed - low grain bill, 15 min. boil, brewday was about half as long as usual. I didn't do a sour mash or anything, I just used White Labs' "Berliner Weisse blend" that they release once a year. Next time I probably will go with a sour mash, because it took a long time (6+ months) to get the amount of sourness I wanted with the blend. Until then, it just tasted really bland whenever I sampled it.

 

[hughes_brews]

Plus, people in clubs have a lot more chances to get experienced feedback on their beers.

This is probably what I have found to be the biggest benefit of joining a club. It's nice to get knowledgeable feedback on the competition score sheets, but it's one-way feedback. At club meetings, you can share your beers with several people and get constructive feedback right away where you can ask questions about ways to improve, different processes, etc.

 

[jdrowell15]

Jesse, 2nd Cali Common. Sorry Adam!
We want to be in a club, but the only one fairly close is KGB and in my opinion they are already pretty large and only going to grow with the popularity of homebrewing lately. Anyone want to help us get a Clawson brew club going? LOL

 

[jdrowell15]

BTW, I heard a rumor that Phil is brewing at Kuhnhen's. So he may be a bit too busy to enter as much beer as he usually does.

 

[fishkid]

Jesse, 2nd Cali Common. Sorry Adam!
We want to be in a club, but the only one fairly close is KGB and in my opinion they are already pretty large and only going to grow with the popularity of homebrewing lately. Anyone want to help us get a Clawson brew club going? LOL

I like brewing. I live in Clawson. I'd help with a Clawson brew club.

 

[jdrowell15]

I like brewing. I live in Clawson. I'd help with a Clawson brew club.

Awesome! Looking forward to reading through you thread about the Detroit water report and comparing it to the report I got after sending in a sample of our water. I've done some adjustments and have gotten great results. Our first 1st place at the Ren. Fest. was water adjusted!

 

[cshamilton]

This was my first competition and I just got my scoresheets! The e-mail says they hope to get them all out by Thursday.

My IPA didn't fair well, but I knew it had some issues.

My best was a 32/50 for a Sour Stout (cat 23) - I also sent some Apple Wine that scored a 32. Lots of good feedback - I've got less than a year under my belt, so I'm happy with the results.

 

[fishkid]

Awesome! Looking forward to reading through you thread about the Detroit water report and comparing it to the report I got after sending in a sample of our water. I've done some adjustments and have gotten great results. Our first 1st place at the Ren. Fest. was water adjusted!

Oh that sounds great, I would like to know how accurate those reports are. I've been thinking about sending in water to Ward Labs, is that who you used?

 

[fishkid]

I also just received my scoresheets,

APA1 - 32
APA2 - 35
Dry Stout - 34.5
Belgian Dark Strong - 36
Black Licorice Porter - 35

I'm pretty happy with the scores although I'd prefer to be decorated in gold

 

[AdamWiz]

Jesse, 2nd Cali Common. Sorry Adam!

Congrats! - no hard feelings. Yours must have been pretty darn good, because the one I entered was pretty much my best recipe. I have brewed and tweaked it several times, and have it pretty much spot-on to Anchor Steam (still one of my favorite commercial beers). It is usually people's favorite among my offerings.

*BTW, anyone else notice that category 7 is pretty much always won by an Altbier? It sems that no matter what, a well-made Alt beats out a well-made Cali common every time. I'm not sure how that happens, since the beers are judged against their own style and not head-to-head. I guess Altbier is just a more liked/respected style, thus scores tend to be higher. Same thing with category 6 - it seems a Kolsch always trumps a cream ale. Anyone else ever notice this?

 

[jdrowell15]

Yeah I'm pretty sure Ward Labs is who I used fishkid.
Adam, sounds great, how did u score on it?

 

[AdamWiz]

Adam, sounds great, how did u score on it?

Still no score sheets here - I figured that for people who have medals coming, they are jut going to mail the score sheets with the medals. On the website it says "score sheets for non medal winners will be emailed only" - so I guess if you were a medalist, you don't get them emailed? Did you get yours emailed, and if so, what did you score?

 

[wolverinebrewer]

Still no score sheets here - I figured that for people who have medals coming, they are jut going to mail the score sheets with the medals. On the website it says "score sheets for non medal winners will be emailed only" - so I guess if you were a medalist, you don't get them emailed? Did you get yours emailed, and if so, what did you score?

My medal and score sheets came in the mail yesterday in a big yellow envelope. I had been waiting for an email but when I got home yesterday from work there it was, in the mail. I have to get to work now.

 

[mors]

Since most of us don't use our "real" names on here, which of you are you among the winners?

I won cat 21 and got a silver in 20.

I think Phil scaled back a bit. He does NOT brew at Kuhnenns. He works there sure, but not as a brewer. He has his kolsch on tap but that was from winning a homebrew comp not because he was being paid to be a brewer. Phil is an awesome guy and gets far to many haters.

 

[AdamWiz]

Phil is an awesome guy and gets far too many haters.

Not hate - motivation. I don't want to beat him because I dislike him or anything, I want to beat him because he is obviously the top dog right now. It's about wanting to beat the best, no hate involved. I love all my fellow homebrewers!

 

[mors]

Fair Enough. I suppose I just mean he gets haters in general. There are alot of people out there that don't like to lose to him all the time...

 

[Homercidal]

In sports, most athletes want to compete against the best. It improves their own play and it means more to win.

 

[boostsr20]

BTW, I heard a rumor that Phil is brewing at Kuhnhen's. So he may be a bit too busy to enter as much beer as he usually does.

Nah, not that I know of. He did go in and Brew his Kolsch there as sort of a "Great job winning Midwest Homebrewer of the year". I must say, that beer is absolutely amazing.

Adam, I agree, there should be an american Wild Ale category or something along the lines of what GABF does. A lot of my sours that I sent in the judges complained that they had a lack of body..... really, because at 1.004 it should have amazing body? Come on....

Also comments on my belgian Dark Strong were hilarious. recipe was 100% base malt with JUST 1lb D-90 and 1lb D180 Belgian Candi syrup. I got comments like "Great attempt for a stout", "lacks signature dark Fruit", "Too many Roasted grains"....

 

[mlyday]

Im wondering if they are ever going to update the honorable mentions section on the results. They remove the old names, but so far nothing new.