2024 Indiana Brewers Cup results – Homebrew Edition

18 Jul 2024 Indiana Brewers Cup results – Homebrew Edition

by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap

Last Saturday (July 13) was the awards ceremony day for the State Fair Indiana Brewers’ Cup, undoubtedly the most significant event in Indiana craft beer each year. This celebration brings together both pro and amateur brewers to congratulate each other, and generally revel in the art and science of brewing.

We talked about the commercial brewing results a couple of days ago (here), so now it is time to give the homebrewers their due. As I’ve said in the past, I have great respect for these artisans, using their own money to produce a product that they then give away. And here they go even farther, asking judges to criticize the results of their hobby.

The vast majority of homebrewers have no interest in going pro, they do it because they love it, and they actually pay to have their beer critiqued. And a lot of them do this. Over 120 medals were awarded at the Indiana Brewers’ Cup, with winners coming from 21 states and the District of Columbia (just under half the medals were awarded to Indiana homebrewers). The varied list of states results from IBC being one of the premier homebrew competitions, as a regional qualifier for the National Homebrew Competition and for which brewers can be awarded points in the Master Homebrewer Program.

Homebrewers compete as individual (or as teams, there were several husband/wife brew teams that won medals this year), and they can identify as independent or as a member of a homebrew club. There were several medalists that don’t brew with a club, but most are club members. Foam Blowers of Indiana on the 2024 Homebrew Club of the Year for the cumulative number of medals their members won, with the Tippecanoe Homebrewers’ Circle being Named the Bill Friday Award winner.

Many homebrew clubs participated, and as always, the names are great: Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI – 16 medals), Tippecanoe Homebrewers’ Circle (THC- 7 medals), Bloatarian Brewing League (7 medals), MASH (7 medals), Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU – 6 medals), Indiana Brewers Union (IBU – 1 medal), Boneyard Union of Zymurgical Zealots (BUZZ – 1 medal), Louisville Area Grain & Extract Research Society (LAGERS – 1 medal), and my personal favorite from this year’s competition – Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers (TRASH – 3 medals).

Metts Potter, from Morrow Ohio, was named the Homebrewer of the Year for 2024, with seven total medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze), while Kyle Ducharme of Saint Albans, VT won the Cider/Meadmaker of the Year with five total medals (2 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze). Metts displayed skill in several areas, with medals in both American and European style beers, in both dark and light beers, and in both hoppy and sweeter beers.

Joel McGormley of Zionsville garnered six total medals (2 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze) to lead Indiana homebrewers, following up on his two National Homebrew Competition medals last year. The homebrewer with the most gold medals was Todd Cogswell from THC, with five total medals (3 gold, 2 silver).

It’s also worthy to note that two other brewers won at least four medals (Dean Steuerwald of Brownsburg and Michael Harper of Columbia, MD), and that Aaron Pigors of St. John, IN was the only homebrewer to win medals for both beer and cider.

See all the results here, and congratulations to all the brewers, medalists and non-medalists alike.