Winners of Our Inaugural Homebrew Competition Announced

​Thank you to everyone who came out to Brouwer's Cafe in Fremont on Saturday to celebrate the winners of the Seattle Weekly's Inaugural Homebrew Competition. We had 68 entries, all very diverse and indicative of not only the thriving homebrewing culture in this city but also its general beery bent. I was honored to be a judge this year, along with members of Seattle's professional and homebrewing communities and the boys behind Seattle Beer Week. And the winners are:

Best in The Stout Category - Jim Spence
Best in The Porter Category - Rick White
Best in The Lager/Pilsner Category - Mark Guth
Best in The Pale Ale Category - Ryan Fitzgerald
Best in The IPA Category - Ted Stone
Best in The Wheatbeer Category - Jim Tanguay

And the BEST IN SHOW...

McDonald and Barrow's winning beer was scaled up for production and brewed by
Big Al Brewing in White Center. Brouwer's Café debuted this killer brown ale on tap Saturday for the event. I remember it from the competition. So often, brown ales are flat, as in they just produce no emotion al all, as if they come from a hop and malt limbo where nothing registers. Not only was McDonald & Barrow's beer flavorful, it got extra marks for its carbonation, and that made it a stand out. "You make a jump from extracts to different ingredients, but everything that made this beer and the recipe so good is in the final version,' said brewer Alejandro Brown (Big Al), "and when we tasted the beers side by side we were all really happy with it."

Brouwer's will feature the Mild Mannered Ale on tap through the week (or until their four kegs run out), and Big Al's has it on tap at the brewery. They also have kegs available for purchase.

We here at the Weekly are kicking the tires on some dates for the next homebrew competition, and we want to make sure to not only give a brewery time to reproduce the winning beer but also give you time to prep your recipe and make it. Email us HERE to keep in the loop as dates are announced or sign up in the side column above for our email updates. The competition's homepage is homebrew.seattleweekly.com. We've had so much amazing feedback and can't wait to do it again. Sooner than you think... So get to beerstorming.

Thank you to the 2009 Seattle Weekly Inaugural Homebrew Competition sponsors:

Cellar Home Brew, Black Raven Brewing, Bob's Home Brew, Big Al Brewing, Mountain Home Brew, Tap Handles, Brouwer's Café, World Class Beverages, Naked City Tap House, Pike Brewing