RESULTS: 11th Annual Brew Masters Competition

11th Annual Brew Masters Competition Results

May 20-21st, 2016

Escanaba, Michigan

33 entries

13 entrants from 4 states

Light Ales and Lagers (8 entries)

FIRST PLACE

Dan Pipp, TCF, Kingsford, MI

“Hardhome Hefe”

Weissbier

SECOND PLACE

Andrew Park & Jason Kusowski, Columbus, OH

“Rock, Flag, and Eagle”

American Wheat Beer

THIRD PLACE

Eric Hammel, Hoffman Estates, IL

“Marsmensch Märzen”

Märzen (Oktoberfest)

Dark Ales and Lagers (8 entries)

FIRST PLACE

Andrew Park & Jason Kusowski, Columbus, OH

“O F U”

Mixed-Style Beer:Dark, Strong Mild

SECOND PLACE

Andrew Park & Jason Kusowski, Columbus, OH

“Ryenoplasty”

American Amber Ale

THIRD PLACE

David Merz, SPHBC/PSB/Marquette HBC, Marquette, MI

“German Darkness”

Munich Dunkel

Strong Ales and Lagers (8 entries)

FIRST PLACE

Eric Hammel, Hoffman Estates, IL

“Bock Aus em Blitzeinschlag"

Helles Bock (Maibock)

SECOND PLACE

Edward Mathis, TCF, Beecher, WI

“The White Monk”

White IPA

THIRD PLACE

Edward Mathis, TCF, Beecher, WI

“El Eduardo’s Red IPA”

Red IPA

Sours and Specialty Beers (9 entries)

FIRST PLACE

Todd Stephens, Marquette HBC, Marquette, MI

Berliner Weisse

SECOND PLACE

Todd Stephens, Marquette HBC, Marquette, MI

“Dry-Hopped Brett Saison”

Brett Beer

Berliner Weisse

THIRD PLACE

Kyle McAuliffe & Adam Rochelle, FORD, Farmington Hills, MI

“Sawayaka"

Experimental Beer: Yuzu Goze

BEST OF SHOW

Dan Pipp

Weissbier

2ND BEST OF SHOW

Andrew Park & Jason Kusowski

American Wheat Beer

SULTANS OF SMALL BEER

Andrew Park & Jason Kusowski

American Wheat Beer

HONORABLE MENTION: MOST CREATIVE ENTRY

Todd Stephens

“Hibiscus Berliner Weisse”

Wild Specialty Beer: Berliner Weisse with rose hips, orange zest, and hibiscus flower

2016 Brew Masters Competition: May 21st

SAVE THE DATE: 
May 21st, 2016
Escanaba, MI
Sponsored by Tri-County Fermenters and Bay de Noc Brewers

Competition highlights:
This is an open, BJCP sanctioned competition.
New this year: We are using the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines

For further information, official rules, past winners, and entry info; please see the 2016 BMC tabs above.
Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in judging or stewarding.

2015 Brew Masters Competition Judging Moved.

Hi everyone,
Due to multiple judge conflicts, I had to move the judging for this year's competition to 6pm ET, Wednesday, May 13th in Escanaba.  I apologize for the delay, but this will allow for better judging/feedback.  We have a rather small group of entries this year, with minimal club participation.
Despite this, we will hopefully have another good competition.  In light of this, next year, we will very likely combine the Brew Masters and Dead of Winter Stout Competitions, to better utilize our judges and hopefully increase club interest in both competitions.

2015 Dead of Winter Stout VII Competition Results

Stouts
1st Place, Edward Mathis, Lemon Pepper Sweet Stout, Beecher
2nd Place, Josh Marenger, Pink Peppercorn Sweet Stout, Escanaba
3rd Place, Edward Mathis, Basil Peanut Sweet Stout, Beecher

Chili Cook-off
Champion, Karol Domitrovich, Amberg
2nd Place, Gary Lindow, Homestead
3rd Place, Michelle Mathis, Beecher
This year we had 10 stouts and 5 chilis.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone that entered/judged!

Dead of Winter Update

NEW RULES for 2015: You will need to submit 4 10-12 oz bottles, OR 2 22 oz. bottles, OR 1 half to one gallon growler. You will also be allowed to enter up to five beers this year as well.   Entry fee will be $5. 
ALSO NEW THIS YEAR:Didn't have time to brew?  That's ok.  This year we will revive the Chili Cook-off.  Bring your chili (preferably in a crock pot) to be judged in a Best of Show format.  At this point, we do not have any rules regarding the chili and entry is free.  The leftover beer and chili will be served as a post-competition meal.
We are also looking for beer and chili judges.  Please contact the Czar if you are interested.

2014 Brew Masters Competition Results NEW!!!

9th Annual Brew Masters Competition Results

March 1st, 2014

Beecher, Wisconsin

33 entries

15 entrants from 8 states

Lagers and Hybrid Ales (5 entries)

1ST PLACE

Erik Hansen, KRAEUSENERS, Houghton, MI

"Frankliner Premium Pils”

German Pilsner (Pils)

2ND PLACE

Clark Torma, TCF, Norway, MI

"Jodi Juice”

Cream Ale

3RD PLACE

Dan Eastwood, Long Beach Homebrewers, Duarte, CA

"Ofest”

Oktoberfest/Märzen

Pale Ales and IPAs (7 entries)

1ST PLACE

Kevin Ellis, Monks, MONKS, Gilsum, NH

"Mission to the Citrus Moon IPA"

American IPA

2ND PLACE

Clark Torma, TCF, Norway. MI

"Rainy Day Bitter”

Extra Special/Strong Bitter

3RD PLACE

Eddie Garrison, TCF, Pensacola, FL

"Liberty APA”

American Pale Ale

Session Ales (6 entries)

1ST PLACE

Clark Torma, TCF, Norway, MI

"IRA”

Irish Red Ale

2ND PLACE

Brad Callies, MASH, Marshfield, WI

"Brown Eye’d Porter”

Brown Porter

3RD PLACE

Dana Collins,MVHBC / FOAM, Dracut, MA

"White Queen Witbier”

Witbier

Strong Ales (7 entries)

1ST PLACE

Edward Mathis, TCF, Beecher, WI

"Miami 8”

Belgian Dubbel

2ND PLACE

Dave Milani, Jackson, NJ

"I-195-PA”

Imperial IPA

3RD PLACE

Kevin Ellis & Derek Galligan, MONKS, Gilsum, NH

"Heir of the Dog”

Russian Imperial Stout

Specialty Beers (8 entries)

1ST PLACE

Dana Collins,MVHBC / FOAM, Dracut, MA

"Vulcan Rauchbier”

Classic Rauchbier

2ND PLACE

John Rugotzke, BIER, Rhinelander, WI

"Grande JouRney"

Straight (Unblended) Lambic

3RD PLACE

Clark Torma,. TCF, Norway, MI

"It Does a Body Good”

Sweet Stout with Chocolate and Vanilla

BEST OF SHOW

Dana Collins

Classic Rauchbier

2ND BEST OF SHOW

Clark Torma

Sweet Stout with Chocolate and Vanilla 

SULTAN OF SMALL BEERS

Dana Collins,MVHBC / FOAM, Dracut, MA

"White Queen Witbier”

Witbier

FURTHEST DISTANCE TRAVELED

Dan Eastwood

Duarte, CA

2244 miles

2014 Brew Masters Entry Form and Judge Registration Form

Entry Form
Judge Registration Form

2014 Dead of Winter Stout Competition News

This year's competition is fast approaching!  Make plans to attend.  Judging will be held at the home of
Edward Mathis on January 18th at 11am.

June 13th Meeting

The June meeting is now scheduled for Thursday, June 13th at Lisa Brouillette's home in Spread Eagle. See event info below. Lisa will be brewing up a batch of beer and I will make a batch of Cabernet Pyment with Killer Bee Honey. I am hoping that a change to Thursdays for the summer will help attendance.
Directions:3711 Lake Ellwood Road in Spread Eagle. Turn on Lake Ellwood Road (across from the Gold Nugget), and go 2.2 miles. Grey, cedar-shingle sided house.
Bring some samples and I hope to see you there.

We have also scheduled a summer picnic for August 10th at the home of Les and Mari Negro in Hermansville.  The event will start at 1pm and we ask that you bring a dish to pash (or grill!).  "Bring swim suits if you want to swim...and singing voices.... we have karaoke...horse shoes....."

Address:  W5131 No. 41 Rd Hermansville

Directions from Norway:  Drive east 14 miles on US 2 to Hermansville.  Staying on US 2, drive thru the caution lite in Hermansville, then,  Take first road to right....Kluba (sign is on south side of Hwy) Follow this road to the end...approximately a city block long.  Turn right again.  We are the First drive on Left- it is almost immediate!

We are still looking for a July host as well as we (hopefully) unveil some of the 25 gallons of beer that was brewed in May at Mark Young's home in Iron Mountain.  I would like to keep that meeting in Iron Mountain and if one of our new brewers would like to hot, that would be great.

Finally, the 2014 Brew Masters Competition will be held March 1st, 2014.  Save the Date!

8th Annual Brew Masters Competition Results

Lagers and Hybrid Ales (10 entries)
1ST PLACE
Jerry Henry, The Brewing Network, Langdon, NH
"Langdon Altbier"
Düsseldorf Altbier*
2ND PLACE
Ben Dickey, Red Earth Brewers, Oklahoma City, OK
"Bohemia(n) Pilsner"
Bohemian Pilsner
3RD PLACE
John Beck, Bay de Noc Brewers, Escanaba, MI
"Piano Pils"
Bohemian Pilsner

Pale Ales and IPAs (10 entries)
1ST PLACE
Kevin Ellis, Monks, Gilsum, NH
"Where You Invest Your Love"
American IPA*
2ND PLACE
John Rugotzke, BIER, Rhinelander, WI
"Bullet Tooth"
Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)*
3RD PLACE
Mike Miller, Bay de Noc Brewers, Escanaba, MI
American IPA*

Browns, Porters, and Stouts (9 entries)
1ST PLACE
Edward Mathis, TCF, Beecher, WI
"The Pike"
American Stout*
2ND PLACE
Ben Dickey, Red Earth Brewers, Oklahoma City, OK
"Dickey's Ale Beta 2"
American Stout
3RD PLACE
Thomas Walker, Aldie, VA
"The Tom Selleck"
Robust Porter

Belgian and German Ales (10 entries)
1ST PLACE
Mike Miller, TCF, Escanaba, MI
Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin
2ND PLACE
Michael Thorpe, Alexandria, VA
"Demeter Noir"
Blonde Saison with wine-soaked oak and brettanomyces/lactobacillus
3RD PLACE
Michael Thorpe, Alexandria, VA
"Strange Wit"
Witbier with lambic dregs

Bocks and Belgian Strong Ales (6 entries)
1ST PLACE
Iris and James Belt, Monks, Gilsum, NH
"Never was a fan of Blondie"
Belgian Blonde Ale*
2ND PLACE
Al Ewan, BIER, Rhinelander, WI
"Mayhem Maibock"
Maibock/Helles Bock
3RD PLACE
Michael & David McLean, Green Bay, WI
"McLean Tripel"
Belgian Tripel

Strong Ales (9 entries)
1ST PLACE
Kevin Ellis, Monks, Gilsum, NH
"A Moment of Silence"
Russian Imperial Stout*
2ND PLACE
Dana Collins, MVHBC/FOAM, Dracut, MA
"Brogue Buster"
Strong Scotch Ale
3RD PLACE
Jerry Henry, The Brewing Network, Langdon, NH
"Mach II"
Imperial IPA

Specialty Beers (7 entries)
1ST PLACE
Aaron Burghard, Dockside Brew Club, Chicago,IL
"Oaked Canadian Tire"
American Oak Barrel Stout*
2ND PLACE
Stephen Tomory, Midnight Carboys, Johnsburg, IL
"Merry Cranbeery"
Cranberry American Wheat
3RD PLACE
Aaron Burghard, Dockside Brew Club, Chicago,IL
"Anchorhead"
Imperial American Amber Ale

*Advanced to Best of Show Round

BEST OF SHOW
John Rugotzke
Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

2ND BEST OF SHOW
Kevin Ellis
American IPA

SULTAN OF SMALL BEERS
Best beer at or under 1.045 OG
Eddie Garrison
Pensacola, FL
American Amber Ale

FURTHEST DISTANCE TRAVELED
Eddie Garrison
Pensacola, Florida
1186 miles

Thank you to Gary Lindow, our host and steward; our six judges: Steve Soderman, Mike Miller, Michael Conard, Josh Marenger, Brandon Kolbe, & Jeremy Drury; and finally to all of the brewers in this year's competition.  I will send out scoresheets and awards next week.

8th Annual Brew Masters Competition Info

The deadline for this year's Brew Masters Competition is fast approaching.  The last day that we can accept entries is Monday, March 4th.  We will hold the judging on March 8-9th in Florence.  Please "Like" us on Facebook for competition results, as I will post flight results there first.  Final Results will be posted on this website the week following the competition.  Scoresheets and awards will be sent out at that time as well.  Thanks in advance for everyone that has/will entered/judge/steward/volunteer.

Call for Judges 2013 Brew Masters Competition

We are currently looking for judges for the 8th Annual Brew Masters Competition being held March 8-9 in Florence, Wisconsin at the home of Gary Lindow.  If you would like to judge please click on the link below and fill out the judge registration form.  Please contact Club Czar, Edward Mathis for any questions that you may have.  Thanks!

http://fs20.formsite.com/felix14_lonestar/form571580744/index.html?1361131396243

2013 Dead of Winter Stout Results

1st Place: Sam Hennessee, Menasha, Imperial Black IPA
2nd Place: Mike Miller, Escanaba, Chocolate Wintergreen Stout
3rd Place: Edward Mathis, Beecher, American Stout with Cacao Nibs and Dried Chili
Congrats to the winners and thank you to all of the judges and brewers!

Next Meeting is this Saturday

The Tri-County Fermenters will be holding their first meeting in 2013 this Saturday, January 19th at the home of Edward Mathis, in Beecher, Wisconsin.  Please plug in my address: N16564 Vinger Lane, Beecher, WI here to get driving directions.  I will be making a Pale Ale with Kiwi Hops starting at Noon and will follow with a New Zealand Pinot Noir Kit.  Feel free to bring some samples.  I hope to see you all there!

As a reminder, We are now accepting entries for the 2013 Dead of Winter Stout Competition being held at 12pm on February 2nd at the Iron Mountain Elks Lodge.  Please see our updated page above for more details and to register.  We are combining this event with the 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off to be held after the competition at 4pm.  Please let me know if you would like to enter a Chili.

Finally, I will be updating the page above for the 2013 Brew Masters Competition that is fast approaching on March 9th.  Better get brewing!

Renew for 2013

Hi everyone,
I am slowly working on improving the club website and have now added a couple of new and exciting features.  You can now pay your membership dues via paypal and also email the club czar from the site.  Please see the columns on the right side of the webpage for details.
I have had some compatibility issues with the version of Word that I use that caused difficulty for some of you to get our membership renewal form.  Now you can bypass this form and pay directly.
I will also be putting together some event info for 2013 soon including January 19th Club Brew, Feb 2nd Dead of Winter Stout Competition and Chili Cook-Off at the Elks Club in Iron Mountain, March 9th Brew Masters Competition, and Club T-Shirt sales.
Please renew your membership soon to continue receiving your discounts in Spread Eagle and Green Bay.
Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing all of you in 2013!

November 29th Christmas Party

To avoid the busy Holiday season, TCF will be holding their annual Christmas Party/Secret Santa Bomber Giveway a bit early this year.   We will meet next week Thursday, November 29th at the Elks Club in Iron Mountain at 6pm.

The Elks is across the street from Walgreens and will have a spaghetti supper for only $8.

We are allowed to bring in samples as long as we follow the Michigan law for limited samples to 3 ounces (beer) and 2 ounces (wine/mead/cider) as long as we patronize the club. 

For those of you the are not familiar with our Christmas tradition, each member brings a bomber of beer (or other fermented beverage) and wraps it for a blind exchange. 

Please make room on your schedule and join us for a night of fun!

Summer Wheat Beer Criteria

Hi all,
Here are the guidelines for our Summer Wheat Beer Competition being held on October 20th at MaxSells Restaurant in Florence, prior to the Beer Dinner Pairing:

AROMA: Please rate (5) Smells good and enhances the drinking experience (3) Acceptable, but unremarkable (1) Not so good, detracts from the drinking appearance
COLOR: Please rate (1) Looks like beer to me (-1) Wait a second, did you enter Berry Weiss?! CLARITY: Please rate (1) This beer is cloudy, which I would expect from wheat beer (1) excellent clarity for a wheat beer
HEAD (Retention, color, texture) : Please rate (1) Appropriate. (0) Lacking.
FLAVOR: Please rate (10) This was excellent flavor with good use of wheat and other ingredients that play nice together (8) This is better than average, but may lack slightly on the wheat flavor (6) This is about average, nothing really stands out. (4) Acceptable, but flavors do not seem to blend well together.  May be one-dimensional. (3) This beer has minor flaws that detract from the flavor (1) Fair to Poor, Off flavor detected suggesting a possible infection.
DRINKABILITY: Please rate your overall drinking pleasure (7) Extraordinary Could easily down a sixer (5) Excellent Would certainly have a few (3) Very Good Would ask for a 2nd (2) Acceptable Would stop at one (1) Deficient
CREATIVITY: Please rate the overall level of creativity of this entry (2) Good demonstration of creativity while maintaining the theme (1) This is a fairly typically beer

Please let me know if you are planning on entering.  There will be no entry forms.
I will accept growlers(1), bombers (1), or 12 ounce bottles (2).
I am also looking for 5 judges.

Florence County Fair

TCF will be serving at this year's Florence County Fair on Saturday, August 25th from 3-6pm.
Here is what we'll have now:
Tap #1 Star Spangled American Stout brewed by Clark Torma, Norway
Tap #2 Storm Warrior Ale brewed by Gary Lindow, Florence
Tap #3 Hairband Brown, a Northern English Brown, brewed by Edward Mathis, Beecher
Tap #4 Afternoon at the Edbury, A Belgian Golden Strong Ale, brewed by Edward Mathis, Beecher
Tap #5 Wimpy Russian, a party-gyle stout (2nd runnings) from a Russian Imperial Stout, brewed by Rob Hibbard, Iron Mountain
Thanks to the brewers and I look forward to seeing everyone Saturday!

Upcoming Events

Hi all, After a bit of a summer lull, we are back with a few events.
1.August 4th (Saturday) is National Mead Day and I will be hosting a club brew and mead sampling. I'll start brewing at 10am with out usual meeting sometime after 3pm There is some road construction on County Road L (the road to get to my home) so I will provide potential alternate directions as we approach the date (my address in N16564 Vinger Lane in case you want to map it)
2.August 25th (Saturday) TCF will be serving at the Florence County Fair at the Fairgrounds in Florence on County N just south of town. The club has a 5 tap system to serve off ball lock cornies and I am looking for a few people to volunteer to serve there finest homebrew. This will be the first year that we can legally serve at the Fair (previously, we had limited samples after the Brew Masters Competition.) We will also have an informal "People's Choice" Awards. We plant to serve from 2-6 pm after the completion of the 1pm start beer run. Please email me if you would like to serve. We will give you free 2013 membership if you do donate a keg (though I doubt we'll come close to running anyone dry as we will limit samples to 2 oz.)
3. October 6 (Saturday) Two great events! First is the return (likely for the last time though you never know) of Border Worts! It turns out that I still have one set of ribbons to award. So, after hearing that the Bay de Noc Brewers were kicking around possibly doing a summer wheat beer competition (Thank you Josh and Mike for the idea) I thought I take the task on. It will be a different format to what we previously did. The concept is simple: This is the antithesis of Dead of Winter Stout. Your task (should you choose to accept it) is to make a wheat beer that would be the perfect answer to the summer heat. You can make a traditional style or in the spirit of DOW make a creative entry. What you decide is up to you. We will judge the beer based on drinkability on a hot summer day in a Best of Show format, so you will not get any formal comments. This competition is free and to kick it up a notch we have challenged the Brewing Innovators and Enthusiasts of Rhinelander and Bay de Noc Brewers. We will hold the comp at Maxsells Restaurant in Florence at 3pm and we will need judges that like to drink summer wheat beers (Let me twist your arm!) this fun event will be followed by the return of:
The Beer Pairing Dinner! Thanks to the re-legalization of homebrew transport outside of your home/farm/place of residence in Wisconsin, we will return to Maxsells with sittings at 5:30pm and 8pm. More info to come, but here is the tentative menu (Please remember that this is subject to change)
Course #1 Crabcakes with Belgian Saison
Course #2 White Chicken Chili with a Fresh-Hopped Pale Ale
Course #3 Caesar Salad with Witbier 
Course #4 Steak with Brown Ale
Course #5 Dessert with Stout
I have not completely set the brewers for this event so I won't announce anything until I have a firm lineup. But if it goes as planned this is an all-star lineup and a can't miss event.
4. Other Announcements: *Our summer special is on. For $17 you can renew your membership for 2012 and extend it to 2013. If you haven't re-upped yet, take advantage of this offer *The club is looking for hosts for November, December, and January meetings. *I have tentatively scheduled Dead of Winter for Feb 2nd and Brew Masters Competition for March 9th. Please plan your brewing schedules accordingly.
5. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions.

2012 Brew Masters Competition Results!

7th Annual Brew Masters Competition Results
March 29-31, 2012
Florence, Wisconsin
43 entries
13 entrants from 6 states

Pale Ales and Pilsners
1ST PLACE
Mike Harvanek, Glen Ellyn, IL
"Amarillo by Morning"
American Pale Ale
2ND PLACE
Mike Harvanek, Glen Ellyn, IL
"Mr. Nice Rye"
Rye Pale Ale
3RD PLACE
Clark Torma, TCF, Norway, MI
"2nd Chance"
Standard/Ordinary Bitter

Irish, Scottish, Stouts, and Dark Lagers
1ST PLACE
Ross Ziegenthaler, Muskegon Ottawa Brewers,
Spring Lake, MI
"Willows Old Nessy
Scottish Export 80/-
2ND PLACE
Casey Zima, Green Bay, WI
"Eejit Red"
Irish Red Ale
3RD PLACE
Jonathan Bowker, Brew Free or Die, Weare, NH
"Toasted Sweet Stout"
Sweet Stout

IPAs and American Stouts
1ST PLACE
Clark Torma, TCF, Noway, MI
"Murder"
Black IPA
2ND PLACE
Michael Thorpe, Alexandria, VA
"PEZ DIPA"
Imperial IPA
3RD PLACE
Clark Torma, TCF, Norway, MI
"Black Ice Shoulder Buster"
Black IPA

Belgians & Wheats
1ST PLACE
Michael Thorpe, Alexandria, VA
"Sorachi Lime Saison"
Rye Saison with Sorachi Ace hops, lime zest, and Brett. Claussenni
2ND PLACE
Rob Hibbard, TCF, Iron Mountain, MI
"Border Wheat"
American Wheat
3RD PLACE
Edward Mathis, Beecher, WI & Jon Coyne, Iron Mountain, MI; TCF
"Welcome to Sour Paradise"
Flanders Red Ale

Fruit & Spice Beers
1ST PLACE
Mike Miller, TCF, Escanaba, MI
"Norwegian Wood"
Other Smoked Beer with Juniper
2ND PLACE
Jonathan Bowker, Brew Free or Die, Weare, NH
"Strawberry Blonde Ale"
Strawberry Blonde
3RD PLACE
Clark Torma, TCF, Norway, MI
"Oh Christmas Tree"
Spruce Beer with sweet orange peel

BEST OF SHOW
Ross Ziegenthaler
Scottish Export 80/-

2ND BEST OF SHOW
Clark Torma
Black IPA

SULTAN OF SMALL BEERS
Best beer at or under 1.045 OG
Clark Torma
Standard/Ordinary Bitter

FURTHEST DISTANCE TRAVELED
Dennis Byington & Brian Hughes
Chula Vista, California
2264 miles