Siciliano's Homebrew Party - Contest Results

The 8th annual Siciliano's Homebrew Party was held at Townsend Park on Saturday, May 14th.  The weather was a little on the chilly side with a bit of rain here and there.  It made no difference though, most people brought their own shelters or were able to set up on the porch of the picnic shelter. The park was packed with homebrewers from all over Michigan, each with plenty of their own brew to share with others.  Members from Primetime Brewers and BOTL were there with their keg systems.  Food provided by Siciliano's Market and entertainment from local blues legend Jimmie Stagger made the day extra special.

The MOB was able to set up on the porch next to the people from BOTL.  We had a banner made and this was the first time that we were able to display it.  We received a lot of positive feedback from people at the party, seems that a few people heard the shout out that we received on The Brewing Network.

The MOB had three members in attendance that entered beer in the contest.  Tim Borreson entered a Dunkelweizen, Ross Zigenthaler entered an Extra Special/Strong Bitter and Russ Smith entered an American Stout.

The awards were given out after dinner and The MOB had a pretty good showing.  Tim Borreson's Dunkelweizen, a very good beer in our opinion, did not medal but the feedback on the score sheet is invaluable.  The American Stout submitted by Russ Smith scored a 42 out of 50 and won a gold medal.  The Extra Special/Strong Bitter from Ross Zigenthaler scored a 46 out of 50 and also won a gold medal.

Once all of the medals were passed out, the winners of the gold medals were invited back up to the stage for the announcement of the winner of The Best Of Show award.  The winner of this award not only gets bragging rights forever but they get their name engraved on the coveted Siciliano's Cup and they get to brew their beer at The Hop Cat in downtown Grand Rapids.

The announcer said that because there were so many excellent beers they had to limit the contenders for the Best Of Show to those with scores of 46 and higher.  Since I had a score of 42, I was not going to win but Ross was still in the running.  After a brief pause to build the excitement, they announced that the winner of the Siciliano's Market 2011 homebrew competition Best Of Show was Ross Zigenthaler.  Ziggy "The Hauler" hauled one in for The MOB!  Way to go Ross! 

The MOB has put the homebrewers in this area on the map!  Once Ross' beer is finished at The Hop Cat there will be a release party that The MOB will have to attend.  We'll have more information on that later.

Thanks to Siciliano's Market and Jimmie Stagger for a truly memorable day, you guys really know how to throw a party!  The MOB is proud to be a part of this event and we are looking forward to next years' homebrew contest.  Congratulations Ross!

Support HB-4061

Calling all Mobsters!!

Last year State Representatives Douglas Geiss and Deb Kennedy co-sponsored HB 5613, a bill that would have modified existing legislation to allow homebrewers to hold meeting, competitions and exhibitions at Michigan microbreweries and brew pubs. Unfortunately the bill did not get approved.

After discussing the bill’s intent with the Chairman of Regulatory Reform, Mr. Hugh D. Crawford, Mr. Geiss has re-introduced the bill as HB 4061 this session.  Mr. Crawford has specifically requested a summation of who is in support of this bill. So, I am asking you to consider doing two things.

First, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z5Q2KM3 . There you will find a brief survey for Michigan homebrew clubs, homebrew supply stores, microbreweries and brew pubs. There is even an “other” category for anyone else related to or interested in homebrewing (think perhaps better craft beer sales outlets, restaurants, politicians, and other influencers).

Second, if you feel so motivated, send a letter of support to State Representative Douglas Giess at Douglasgeiss@house.mi.gov indicating why you support this bill, and he will share your responses with Lansing.

We need this feedback by Friday, May 20^th! Please forward this on to anyone who you know that you think would support this bill, and consider dropping a personal email to State Rep. Geiss voicing your support.

Big Brew 2011/ May's Meeting of the MOB

Mobsters,
    Well The MOB's 1st annual Big Brew was a great success.  We had a great
turnout.  There were 7 batches of beer made for a total of 45 us gallons brewed
by The MOB.  2 batches of the AHA Porter recipe were brewed and 2 batches of the
AHA Wit were made, as well as a Blonde Ale, an IPA, and a Pilsner.  The weather
was amazing and a few of us got some nice sun burns.  Russ took great video
footage and posted a video on YouTube that will be entered into the AHA 2011 Big
Brew Video Competition.  The link is up on the website and I will post a link
below.
    Our first MOB competition for Wheat beers had 4 competitors, there were 3
American Wheat's and 1 Dunkel.  Each competitor was assigned a number and
judging was done by 4 judges split into pairs, when each pair of judges finished
scoring all 4 beers, all 4 judges met to decide on final scoring.  The only info
on the beers that the judges were given was the entry # and the style.  Judges
were not competitors.  All beers were judged based on BJCP guidelines.  The
judges said it was a tight competition.  They also said they were very impressed
with the quality of all 4 beers and all beers placed in the mid 30's and above. 
I will email score sheets to the competitors in the next couple of days. 

MOB points were given to all competitors. 
4 points for 1st place
3 points for 2nd
2 points for 3rd
1 point for all other entries. 

1st place:  Ross Ziegenthaler (american wheat)

2nd place:  Josh Troast and Chad Doane (american wheat)

3rd place:  Jim Brewer (american wheat)

4th place:  Russ Smith (dunkel)

Thanks to all the judges for their hard work, and the Mobsters who entered their
beers.

    Next month's competition will be "The Best of your Cellar" bring in any 
beer that you have been sitting on for a while, I ask that they be at  least 3
months old.  I will send out an email in the next week or two  with all of the
details for June's meeting and competition.
Cheers,
Ross


p.s.  Here is the link to the video made by Russ Smith thanks again Russ. 
         
             
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd__LnvciDQ

2011 Big Brew Video

The 2011 AHA Big Brew Day for The MOB was a great time.  We shot a video to enter in the AHA contest and uploaded it to YouTube.  Here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd__LnvciDQ