CFWAY Home Brew Fest A “Smashing” Success!
(5 out of 5)
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Update: Check out our write up in Spark Weekly!
At least that’s how one participant thought. Okay, everyone thought so (I heard nothing but great comments from the brewers and fans who came out to support them.
Garrett posed the question, and CFWAY answered!
After several months of planning, our first Homebrew Festival is under our belt. Having never put together an event such as this (or really any event in general), I am very relieved that everyone who came out had a great time!
There’s was a lot of great beer to be had - some in kegs, some in growlers and bottles. Several brewers got really creative and brought signs, recipe books, handouts - how awesome!
We’ll be doing some in-depth coverage on the event this week, including a full list of beers that were available, some brewers bios, lots of pics, and more.
Update: Here our some pics, courtesy of brewer Heidi Derr!
In the meantime, here were the finalists of the event (judged by our professional brewers from the Iron Hill Brewery).
Light Ale - Scotch Ale by Kevin Burdette
Belgian/Wheat - Belgian Wit by JR Jacobs
Hoppy - 90 Minute IPA by Carl Herbst
Dark - Licorice Stout - Charles? (I seemed to have mixed up who this gentleman’s name is!)
Best of Show - Abbey Dubbel by Brian “Fool Circle” Moore
Also wanted to thank those who donated prizes for the event:
I hope all who came had as much fun as those who thanked me personally - and if there was anything that we didn’t like, let’s discuss them in the comments (or email me personally) so we can make our next event even better!
This was a very nice event. Hopefully Iron Hill will be willing to do it again next year. If so, we also need to figure out a kinder judging system - Justin & crew were looking pretty spent by the end!! I’m sure their palates were screaming
I will certainly participate if it happens again. Be careful - this could get REALLY big!
Thanks again for putting it together.
The licorice stout? I believe it was the gent standing two people to the left of JR Jacobs (not the guy with the blonde dreads and the fancy mustache, but the older man to his left).
But what an amazing selection of home brews! Heck, next year you should get Sam Adams to throw in a little something =p
I was blown away by the amount of people and It appeared as those invovled in planning, judging etc. were as well. Great time. Great event. I would like to see it done maybe four times a year. Maybe determine a style that we all must brew? I would agree with Garrett with regards to the tasting. Maybe next time we can turn in a sample a night or two prior to the event. Give them time to “individually” score it and maybe give feedback to each brewer on Sat. instead of tasting the samples. On Sat. still have the public come in and taste and judge. I think the people got into that. I was fortunate enough to talk to both Paul & Justin after the event and was able to get the specific info, good & bad, about my brew that will prove valuable for future brews. That was best part for me and really was my only goal of the event. Information to improve. Cant wait til the next. Good job Eric!
I agree with everything said by previous posters. My only regret was not bringing more beers! Looking forward to next time. Thanks to Iron Hill for hosting and to the other sponsors.
This was my first competition and I know they’re not usually like this. Involving the public provided more truthful responses. It was an awesome time and a good platform for exchanging ideas and meeting other local brewers. Seasonal competitions would be great, to better focus a few set styles. Thanks for putting it together and I will certainly be at any future events!
Hey great event! I was really happy to see how many people showed up, both brewers and tasters. I hope you guys keep this up and we see it again next year.
Hi,
I missed the event but a member of my club (BUZZ, out of West Chester) was there and led me here. You might want to consider a BJCP-type competiton (http://bjcp.org). We have a number of judges in our club plus I have organized close to 10 competitions over the last couple years and would be more than happy to help out. The best part is the whole focus is giving feedback to every entrant not just picking a winner. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss in more detail.
Chris
Hey Eric,
First time to your site. Awesome ! I am a home brewer myself and attend many events ! Awesome site ! Great photos !! Keep up the good work and of course, keep on brewing !! I am subscribing to your blog so I can keep up to date !
I’m the mystery guy with the licorice root stout. In the photo, I’m the tall guy in the blue shirt (hard to admit being the old guy - but, yeah… old guy).
Great show! Good time was had by all.
Cool Site. Beer is yummy. I will be back. I also have a beer information site. You can tell your best drinking stories there. Have a great day!