The People’s Choice phase of the Members of Barleyment & Beau’s Oktoberfest Homebrewing Competition was held this past weekend at Beau’s Oktoberfest in Vankleek Hill, Ontario. This year’s event featured an expanded 800 square foot tent in a prime location right next to the main stage. After the results were tallied on Saturday night, Justin DeMerchant came out on top with his most popular Canadian Loyalist ESB. Congratulations! Justin will be receiving $250 in Beau’s gift certificates, and will have his name engraved on the Beau’s Cup.
Thanks go to all of our sponsors, and especially to Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company for so strongly supporting this event once again this year. Many thanks also to all of the volunteers that tirelessly worked many long hours in the judging tent. With their coordinated efforts, we managed to set a new record of just shy of 1,900 sample pairs judged by Oktoberfest attendees. And a special thank you to my wife, Janice, who put in many many hours along side me getting everything ready for the event.
We are already starting to plan next year’s event so that it can be even bigger and better!
Dave Gilmour
People’s Choice Competition Coordinator
The BJCP judging of this year’s Members of Barleyment & Beau’s Oktoberfest Homebrewing Competition has been completed. I would like to thank Beau’s and all of our other sponsors: Beer Grains, Defalco’s, Toronto Brewing, Mout International, White Labs, Hopdawgs, and Hops Direct) for their generous prizes.
In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to all of the judges, stewards, other staff, and judging venue hosts who made it possible for us to judge 407 entries in three very short weeks. Special thanks go to our registrar, Kyle Buchanan, who sacrificed his basement for a thousand beer bottles and Dave Gilmour, who made the registration system work and who graciously took on the People’s Choice competition. I would also like to recognize Craig Williams who volunteered for just about every session, ultimately judging 73 entries!
Congratulations to our grand prize winner, Michel Lecavalier! He will be brewing a commercial batch of his recipe with Beau’s. For the complete results, please visit:
www.bit.ly/ZJXH8W
Judging sheets will be mailed out in the upcoming couple weeks and prizes and medals will follow.
Cheers!
Alex Sheftel
MoB & Beau’s Oktoberfest 2014 Homebrewing Competition Director
The Members of Barleyment are pleased to announce the 2014 edition of the annual MoB & Beau’s Oktoberfest Homebrewing Competition.
The grand prize winner will get to brew their own recipe at Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company. Additional prizes include brewing ingredients and other goodies from Hops Direct, Toronto Brewing, Hopdawgs, Defalco’s, Mout International, and White Labs will be offered up by other brewery and homebrew suppliers! In addition, handsome MoB medals will be given to all brewers who place in each flight. Stay tuned for further prize details!
As with last year, we plan to have our competition included in the Brewer of the Year (http://www.breweroftheyear.com/) competition!
This event is 2 competitions in 1!
The first is a BJCP-sanctioned competition:
All beer categories in the 2008 BJCP Style Guidelines will be accepted (Categories 1-23).
As with last year, we will have a category 99 – Black IPA option (please see the style description below).
Each brewer can submit a maximum of one entry per subcategory.
The second is a People’s Choice competition:
Attendees of Beau’s Oktoberfest 2014 will take part in judging your homebrew!
The People’s Choice Judging promotes beer literacy by getting non-homebrewers to judge competition-worthy homebrew and consult the BJCP guidelines.
Details of People’s Choice entries will be provided in a later announcement.
Entry Deadline is Friday, September 12, 2014.
Stay tuned! More details to follow. For questions, contact alex.sheftel@mail.mcgill.ca.
Category 99 – Black IPA
Aroma: A prominent to intense hop aroma with a citrusy, floral, perfume-like, resinous, piney, and/or fruity character derived from American hops. Many versions are dry hopped and can have an additional grassy aroma, although this is not required. Some clean malty sweetness may be found in the background and can include dark malt character such as chocolate, mocha, or coffee that do not overshadow the hops. Fruitiness, either from esters or hops, may also be detected in some versions, although a neutral fermentation character is also acceptable. Some alcohol may be noted.
Appearance: Color ranges from dark brown to opaque black. Should be clear, although unfiltered dry-hopped versions may be a bit hazy. Good head stand with off-white to ruddy light brown color should persist.
Flavor: Hop flavor is medium to high, and generally reflects an American hop character with citrusy, floral, resinous, piney or fruity aspects, though tropical fruit hops character may also be present. Medium-high to very high hop bitterness, although the malt backbone will support the strong hop character and provide the best balance. Malt flavor should be low to medium, with subtle to moderate coffee, mocha, and/or chocolate undertones. Strong roastiness and roasted barley bitterness are inappropriate. No diacetyl. Low fruitiness is acceptable but not required. The bitterness may linger into the aftertaste but should not be harsh. Medium to dry finish. Some clean alcohol flavor can be noted in stronger versions. Oak is inappropriate in this style.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium-light to medium-bodied mouthfeel without hop- or malt-derived astringency, although moderate to medium-high carbonation can combine to render an overall dry sensation in the presence of malt sweetness. Some smooth alcohol warming can be sensed in stronger (but not all) versions. Body is generally more than non-Black counterparts.
Overall Impression: A decidedly hoppy and bitter, moderately strong American pale ale with a dark specialty malt character akin to Schwarzbier.
History: A dark version of the American IPA originally conceived by the late Greg Noonan.
Ingredients: Pale ale malt (well-modified and suitable for single-temperature infusion mashing), dehusked dark specialty malt; American, New Zealand, and/or Australian hops; American yeast that can give a clean or slightly fruity profile. Generally all-malt, but mashed at lower temperatures for high attenuation. Water character varies from soft to moderately sulfate.
Commercial examples: Vermont Pub Blackwatch IPA, Alchemist El Jefe, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous, Hill Farmstead James, Flying Monkeys Netherworld, New Glarus Black Top.
Vital statistics: Original Gravity (ºPlato) 1.056-1.075 (14-18.2º); Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato) 1.012-1.018 (3-4.5º); Alcohol by Volume 6 -7.5%; IBU 50-70; Color SRM (EBC) 35+ (70+ EBC)
Contact alex.sheftel@mail.mcgill.ca for any questions you have about becoming a sponsor.
Filed under beaus oktoberfest craftbeer beer competition
The entry fee is $7 for your first entry and $5 for additional entries.
You need to send in 4 bottles for your first entry and 2 for each additional entry. The extra two bottles you enter go to Beau’s for judging by “normal people” during the Oktoberfest event.
Registration will hopefully open next week and will include bottle labeling details. Stay tuned!
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Thank you all for participating in this year’s MoB & Beau’s Oktoberfest Competition! We received 182 entries from across Canada–only about 60 entries were actually from the Ottawa area! Thanks also to our sponsors: Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Covered Bridge Brewing, Ontario Beer Kegs, and Defalco’s. I also want to thank all the judges, stewards, and volunteers–without them, this would not have been possible.
We have some nice prizes that were not all announced initially:
For the BJCP competition:
1st Place Best-in-Show: Commercial batch of beer at Beau’s and name on the Beau’s cup
2nd Place Best-in-Show: Sweatshirt and two glasses from Covered Bridge Brewing; 5 gallon keg from Ontariobeerkegs.com
3rd Place Best-in-Show: T-shirt and two glasses from Covered Bridge Brewing; 5 gallon keg from Ontariobeerkegs.com
4th Place Best-in-Show: $40 gift card from Defalco’s
5th Place Best-in-Show: $40 gift card from Defalco’s
All (collapsed) Category winners: A glass from Covered Bridge Brewing
All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place (collapsed) category finishers will receive handsome Members of Barleyment medals.
For the People’s Choice competition:
1st Place: $250 gift certificate for merchandise from Beau’s and name on the Beau’s cup
2nd Place: 5 gallon keg from Ontariobeerkegs.com
3rd Place: 3 gallon keg from Ontariobeerkegs.com
Thanks once again and we look forward to your participation in next year’s event!
-Alex
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Alex Sheftel
Homebrewer
Members of Barleyment
Sponsors:
Beau’s
Covered Bridge Brewing
OntarioBeerKegs.com
Defalco’s
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