21 Jul The Homebrew Contestant – Spending Good Money for Criticism and (Maybe) a Medal – Yeah It’s Worth It
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
We had the results from three large beer competitions come down in the past few weeks – The Indiana Brewers’ Cup (IBC), the National Homebrew Competition (NHC), and the US Open Beer Championship. We’ve talked about the pro results from the IBC & the US Open and what it takes for a brewery to make a medal winning beer, but we should also give the homebrewers their due – they make great beer, and they do it for fun.
The Indiana Brewers’ Cup is an official contest for which homebrewers can be awarded points in the Master Homebrewer Program (MBP), a program that tracks the progress of both homebrewers and contests (but for the life of me I can’t find any lifetime brewer rankings). Yet IBC is still a single competition; you submit your beers and wait for the judging results and feedback (remember our recent piece on medaling beers and how important feedback is in making beer better – here).
NHC is a bit more involved for the brewers (see 2023 results here). You had local competitions in Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego, and Tampa. Those competitions were limited to about 750 entries each and were first come, first served. Beers that were 1) awarded a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place medal in a first round competition and 2) received a score of at least 30 points, were then eligible to be entered in the national judging (this year in San Diego).
image credit: National Homebrew Association
Entrants for the final judging then submit their beer(s) again. First round shipping is in March, so beers were likely brewed in January or February. Final round shipping of beers is in June, so it’s likely that final round entrants could be re-brewing their beer. That’s more time, more money, more work, and more worry. Yet they’re still willing do it for a chance to win a medal. To wit, 2023 NHC saw 4500 entries from more than 1700 homebrewers from every state, DC, and 13 other countries.
Despite all this work and competition, Indiana once again shone through. NHC saw five medals awarded to four different Indiana homebrewers. Joel McGormley of Zionsville won two medals at NHC – a 2nd in the wood aged beer category (103 entries), and a 3rd in the Seasonal Spice Beer group (30 entries). He also won two medals at IBC this year (see below) and has had success in the past by winning the Whitestown Homebrew Competition with his Preacher’s Son Brewing brand and by coming in first out of 600 homebrewers in the MBP Circuit of America group of select homebrew contests.
Joel has been brewing since 2003 when his wife bought him a bucket kit. He said that it was a sporadic hobby until 2014, when he picked up the pace and started entering contests. Unlike many winning homebrewers, Joel doesn’t brew with a club. He said, “I haven’t previously joined a home brew club because my kids were young and time was tight. And, admittedly, I was a bit insecure when I started—outside of friends and family—about what I was doing. I’m thinking of joining an Indy home brew club this year to learn from others. We all have to keep growing.”
image credit: Joel McGormley and Preacher’s Son Brewing
Of his medaling beers, Joel said, “The Autumn Seasonal, Wandering Scarecrow, that got the bronze was probably in its fifth iteration. The specialty wood-aged beer, which was Wandering Scarecrow aged on Brandy barrel, was the first time in that form, and a bit like catching lightning in a bottle. Sometimes it just clicks!” He added that he approaches brewing like cooking, where he loves to work with flavor combinations and it’s apparent that he has a knack for it, but he also works on understanding the science of brewing. Keep an eye out for more from Joel (see below).
Chris Hunter, from Martinsville and the Artesian Homebrewers Club, won a gold medal in the British Stout category (161 entries) for his Critter Milk Stout. Critter was Chris’ childhood nickname, so it’s apparent that his brewing is an extension of his life and experiences. With the idea of feedback being important for success in mind, “Critter” is a beer that he has been brewing for six years, and first won a medal with at the 2019 IBC. He said, “When watching the ceremony, I was initially shocked when I heard my name called. Given the number of entries I truly didn’t expect to place and was caught off guard to the point I asked my wife, did they just call my name? It took a few days to process it and honestly, I am still in a bit of a daze about it. It’s the biggest achievement of my brewing adventures so far.”
After beginning to brew in 2017 with an introduction to it through friends, Chris joined the Artesian Homebrewers and made upgrades to his system for temperature control, and he has looked for even more feedback by joining in the Master Homebrewers Program and finishing in the top 20 for the Circuit of America. This definitely shows his desire to be a better brewer, and we’ll definitely be seeing more of him.
Michael Beck of the IBRU club in Crown Point won a 3rd place medal in the smoked flavored group (78 entries). Michael told me about his early brewing, “My first interaction with the homebrewing process was back in 2009 when I accompanied my father over to his coworker’s house who was going to be brewing a beer for my high school graduation party. I remember asking a hundred questions about the process from the science side. The seed was planted that day and several years later, right before my 21st birthday (2011), I reached out to that gentleman, Dave, to see if he had any contacts in the industry that might lead me to an internship during my summer vacations in college. He was able to put me in touch with Ian Wilson, who at the time was working for Rock Bottom in Orland Park. This solidified my love for homebrewing, garnering a new and better appreciation for craft beer.”
Michael, along with the other brewers I talked to, made a point to emphasize the importance of feedback, for him it first came through his club. He said, “I joined Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU) in January of 2022 after seeing the club at a few events like Crown Beer Fest. IBRU has absolutely contributed to my success at not just winning competitions but at bettering my brewing knowledge and ultimately my skills. The expansive knowledge within the club has advanced my understanding of brewing well beyond what I could have achieved myself.’
image credit: IBRU
It was just about the time he joined IBRU that Michael started entering beers in competition, and since then he has medaled in 8 of the 9 competitions (14 medals) in which he has entered beers, including a Best in Show beer. His Licthenheiner beer for NHC was the third iteration of this beer, and also won a 3rd in the 2022 NHC.
Peter Graham of Fishers also won a 3rd place medal in the specialty beer category (90 entries), but I was not able to make contact with him before publishing. If I had been able to speak with him, I would have asked him the same question I asked all the winners – you have any ideas to go pro? Joel McGormley and his brother are actively looking for a place to set up shop after having two places fall through in Zionsville. Michael said that he’s in the middle of creating his brand, and has no commercial plans ….yet. Chris told me that he has helped a brewery in the brewhouse, in the taproom and at events, and he’d love to do more, but he acknowledges that the economy isn’t conducive to starting to look for funding now.
Turning to the 2023 IBC results, Indiana looked good again, although I was pleasantly surprised to see how many medals were won by people from other states. This means that IBC is seen as an important competition and draws entrants from all over the country.
The biggest winner for IBC Dean Steuerwald of the Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI), who took eight medals, including for Best In Show Cider/Mead and Cider/Meadmaker of the year – 8 medals! Brady Smith of Circle City Zymurgy was named the Indiana and Grand Champion Homebrewer and took five overall medals. Jed Lengerich of the MASH club in Fort Wayne also won five medals (in both beers and ciders), and his club was named the Bill Friday Award winner. The FBI club was also named the homebrew club of the year.
image credit: Indiana State Fair
We wish to give congratulations to all the medal winners at IBC (find the results here), but will call out those Indiana brewers that won two or more medals for special recognition. Those brewers are: Dean Steuerwald (8), Brady Smith (5), Jed Lengerich (5), Chris Krull of MASH (4), Alex Kandel of MEGA (3), Richard Rawlings (2-including Best of Show Beer), Andrew Korty of FBI (2), Joel McGormley (2) – in addition to his NHC medals), and Daniel Hervey of MASH (2).
A special shout out should go to Caleb Meinke from Cambridge, WI for medaling in all three contests we’ve spoken about today. He took a medal at NHC – a silver for his Len’s Light Lager in the Pale American Beer category. This same beer won a silver medal against the professional brewers in the Light Lager category at the US Open Championship – one of the few competitions in the country that allow homebrewers to directly compete against commercial breweries (if they won a gold medal at NHA, which Caleb did in the 2022 NHA contest, the qualifying event for this year’s US Open).
Caleb then won three medals at IBC this year; a 1st for the Len’s Light Lagers, a 2nd for his export Helles in the Pale European Beer group, and a 3rd for his German Leichtbier in that same category. Caleb is a member of the Madison Homebrewers & Tasters Guild in Madison – the same group that puts on the Great Taste of the Midwest festival each August. You really should get tickets for this event next year – like every year, it’s sold out for 2023.
Congratulations to all the homebrewers that take their time and money to produce beer, and then spend more money to have people tell them what’s wrong with it. In some instances, these breweries end up owning commercial breweries down the line, and these homebrewer experiences do make a difference for them and the beer they produce for us. In other instances, these brewers end up brewing for an existing commercial brewery, and once again, their homebrew experiences help us get better beer to drink. However, in the vast majority of cases, these are just people brewing beer for fun and to challenge themselves to do it better. But don’t kid yourself, these homebrewers still make us better drinkers and make craft beer better overall.
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