KALAMAZOO – Have you always wanted your beer up on the big board at Bell’s Eccentric Café alongside Oberon, Two Hearted, Porter and others?
Here’s your chance – we’ll even provide the wort.
On Sept.10, Bell’s Brewery Inc. will host its second annual Homebrew Expo and Competition at the Café in downtown Kalamazoo.
The homebrewer who takes first place honors will get the chance to brew his or her beer with our downtown brewer Andy Farrell. The winning beer will be served on draft alongside other Bell’s favorites at the Eccentric Café.
First and second runners-up will receive gift certificates to the Bell’s General Store.
The expo will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can sign up for the competition starting at 11 a.m.
What you choose to enter is entirely up to you. The only requirement is that each entry must be brewed with Bell’s wort, which can be picked up beginning at 1 p.m.
The wort will be made with 100-percent Michigan grown pale malt. It will be minimally boiled and completely unhopped. You will have complete freedom from there.
Last year’s winning entry was a collaborative IPA brewed by brothers Jarrett and Bailey Cupp and Paul Gentz called Oscars Folly. More than 60 homebrewers participated in the inaugural event.
Representatives from the Kalamazoo Libation Organization of Brewers (KLOB), the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and local suppliers will also be at the expo to talk about homebrewing, answer questions and raffle off some Michigan and Indiana products.
Scheduled to be there are:
• Brew Hauler (Plainwell)
• Stir Starters (stir plates, southwest Michigan)
• Coldbreak Brewing (wort chillers, Grand Rapids)
• Fetzer Farms (hop rhizomes)
• Blichmann Engineering
Prizes from Brewcraft, BC Products Enterprises Inc. (another Michigan company that makes the Barley Crusher MaltMill sold at the General Store) and White Labs will also be given away.
If you are interested in entering, below are the complete details.
As mentioned above, the wort will be made with 100-percent Michigan grown pale malt. The initial OE of the base wort will be roughly 12 Plato (about 1.048 gravity), which will yield a knock-out gravity of 13+ Plato (about 1.052 gravity) after the final boil. Left unchanged, the fermentability will result in a beer with approximately 6% ABV.
Again, the wort will be minimally boiled and entirely unhopped, giving you complete freedom with your recipe. However, homebrewers will have to complete the kettle boil on their own systems.
There are no restrictions or style guidelines for the final beer, as long as it uses the base wort provided by Bell’s Brewery Inc. Beers will be judged based on a purely hedonic scale, not formal Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) criteria.
Please submit four (4) bottles of your homebrew made with Bell’s wort. The bottles must be submitted to Bell’s by 9 p.m. Oct. 28 with your entry form and properly identified with the labels provided. Any late entries will not be considered. They can be dropped off at the Bell’s General Store, Attn: Bell’s Homebrew Competition.
Winners will be announced Sunday, Nov. 6 during All Stouts Day at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe.
For more information, email dcurtis@bellsbeer.com.
Homebrewers United 2011
New Holland Brewery is excited to announce this year’s Homebrewer’s United exhibition! Sign-up has now begun! Click here to register. Spots are limited, sign-up today!
There are spots available for 20 teams consisting of 4 people. (No more, no less.) Spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Team members will need to bring brats, hotdogs, burgers, or meat of your choice for lunch off the grill. (Grills, buns, sides, utensils and condiments will be provided.) In case of poor weather, we will provide tents. (The brew must go on!)
Cost: $20 per team
Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 10am-5pm
Location: NHB Production Brewery
684 Commerce Ct.
Holland, MI 49424
Date: Saturday, August 27
Time: 10am-5pm
Location: NHB Production Brewery
684 Commerce Ct.
Holland, MI 49424
There are spots available for 20 teams consisting of 4 people. (No more, no less.) Spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis. Team members will need to bring brats, hotdogs, burgers, or meat of your choice for lunch off the grill. (Grills, buns, sides, utensils and condiments will be provided.) In case of poor weather, we will provide tents. (The brew must go on!)
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 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.
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 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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)