–By Nate Muller, Senior Homebrew Correspondent–

The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) is having a member rally at the Pike Brewery coming up on July 10.  I’m really excited about this event for a few reasons.  The first is that Charlie Papazian will be there.  Charlie is a legend of homebrewing.  He’s one of the most influential people in bringing homebrewing back to the mainstream.  His book “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” was one of the first books on homebrewing I read.  He founded the AHA and has since continuously fought for homebrewing rights.

Homebrewing rights may sound like a joke, but it’s not at all.  Prohibition left a tangled mess of laws restricting or outlawing homebrewing.  It wasn’t until 1978 that homebrewing was legalized in the US.  It was only recently legalized in Oklahoma and Utah, thanks to the AHA.  Unfortunately, it’s still illegal in Alabama and Mississippi.

On a happier note, the AHA also sponsors great events, publishes Zymurgy, and brings homebrewers together to advance the hobby.  If you’ve been thinking of becoming a member of the NHC, this is a great excuse to do so.  Membership includes a subscription to Zymurgy, access to member rallies, a pub discount program, and more.  I never pay attention to my pub discounts, but if I did, I could probably pay for my membership in pub discounts.

Hope to see you at this or future member rallies. Sign up before the event fills up.

Cheers,

Nate

Yesterday we announced that the 2012 American Homebrewers Association selected Bellevue, WA as the location for its 2012 National Homebrewers Conference. The video teaser that the Washington Homebrewers Association (WAHA) produced about the upcoming event is informative and funny. I’ve included it at the end of this post.

Today we offer a trip report from Nate Muller, our Sr. Homebrew Corespondent, who just returned from this year’s conference in San Diego. With a dinner catered by Sean Paxton and guest speakers like Tomme Arthur and Vinny Cilurzo (the genius behind Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger and others), you can understand why all beer geeks and not just homebrew geeks should be happy that this conference is coming to town.

National Homebrew Conference San Diego Trip Report

by Nate Muller – Washington Beer Blog Sr. Homebrew Correspondent

I just got back from the National Homebrewers Conference (NHC) in San Diego and it did not disappoint. I have been listening to glowing reports from NHC for years now, but haven’t been able to make the trip due to other obligations.The real stinger was when I was actually in Oakland during the Oakland festival two years ago, but had other obligations that kept me from enjoying the festival. Finally, just last weekend, I got to spend three fantastic days enjoying the largest homebrewing event in the country.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with NHC, here’s the scoop. It’s a three-day conference full of homebrew sampling and guest lectures on all things brewing. Guest speakers this year included Tomme Arthur from Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, Matt Brynildson of Firestone Walker Brewing Co., and some of you may have heard of Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company just to name a few. The event finishes with a banquet catered by Sean Paxton, the homebrew chef, and the presentation of the National Homebrew Awards.

Personally, I focused on the lectures this year. Being my first time, I wanted to absorb as much information as humanly possible. I’ll spare you the details, but I learned a ton and got to meet a lot of my brewing heroes in person. One of my favorite speakers was Ken Schramm who is the master of all things mead.  He was funny, informative, and most importantly—he poured a ton of mead during his talk. I’m amazed that I found my way out the door after that talk.

Homebrew correspondent Nate Muller and fellow homebrewers participate in a podcast from the 2011 AHA National Homebrew Conference.

The biggest news to come out of the San Diego conference is what we already announced on the Washington Beer Blog: 2012 will be in Seattle! Ok, technically, it’s in Bellevue, but close enough. We are super excited to be hosting next year. A number of people from Washington Homebrewers Association have already put in a ton of hours preparing for this event. I particularly like the teaser video (below) they put together for the NHC Seattle. You can check out the Brewing with Bigfoot website for more details as the conference develops.  It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of people to make this event a success. Keep an eye out for more posts from me to learn how you can be involved. I’m looking forward to volunteering next year, the volunteers this year seemed to be having as much if not more fun than the participants.

The Washington Homebrewers Association publicly announced today that the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) National Homebrewers Conference is coming to Bellevue in 2012. Each year a significant portion of the AHA’s 26,000 members descend upon one lucky city to share their love of homebrew and beer in general. Next year, they’re coming to Bellevue. While the secret has not been very well kept, it is official as of today. The AHA wanted to wait until the 2011 conference had concluded before they announced the location of the 2012 conference.

This is a bigger deal than you might be thinking. The 2011 AHA National Homebrewers Conference, held this past weekend in San Diego, was attended by nearly 2,000 homebrewers from across the nation. No doubt there will be many great beer events—for homebrewers and other beer lovers—planned around the conference. We will have more details in the coming months. The event is scheduled for June 21-23, 2012.

Below is the official announcement we received this morning via Nate Muller, the Washington Beer Blog’s Senior Homebrew Correspondent.

Homebrew correspondent Nate Muller (dark shirt on left) and fellow homebrewers participate in a podcast from the 2011 AHA National Homebrewers Conference.

The Washington Homebrewers Association is proud to publicly announce that the 2012 National Homebrewers Conference will be held in Bellevue, Washington from June 21^st-23^rd at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. This is the largest annual gathering of homebrewers in the country and is an event not to miss. It features three days of educational seminars from homebrewers, craft brewers, and industry professionals, hosting of the second round of the National Homebrew Competition (the world’s largest beer competition), a local craft brewers festival, industry exhibits, and a homebrew club night / festival where you can try the best and most innovative homebrews from all over the country (and from all of our clubs!) You can find out more about the National Homebrewers Conference at www.ahaconference.org and can see a fun pre-conference video at www.brewingwithbigfoot.com (the local committee’s main website).

The conference is a great time but takes a lot of effort from local homebrewers and clubs. We will be needing people to help plan pre-conference events, judge and steward for the competition, help with beer logistics, and generally just lend a hand throughout all of the conference events. With a lot of help the conference will run incredibly smoothly and everyone will have a great time. We will be working to get up a tool to volunteer to help with the conference very soon. You can read about all of the things that the local committee has to work on here: http://ahaclubs.homebrewersassociation.org/NHCplanningguide.

The most important thing that you can start doing now is brewing beer, meads, and ciders! We are the hosts and as the hosts, we want the guests to be able to enjoy great brews all throughout the conference. You can start brewing some great, exciting beers now and definitely get brewing next spring. Homebrewers who are part of clubs should start getting together to plan out what beers they would like to have on tap at throughout the conference. Clubs should start finding out who is planning on being a part of the conference and form a planning team to help arrange club logistics.

We are very excited to have all of you be a part of what will be the greatest conference ever. Get the word out to your friends and start your beer engines!

Cheers,

Washington Homebrewers Association

by Nate Muller, Senior Homebrew Correspondent

A quick reminder to all you beer geeks: The King County Library homebrewing basics courses are rolling.   Two of them are tonight at the Mercer Island and Maple Valley Libraries. The rest of the schedule is below.  I’m teaching the Mercer Island, Shoreline, and Kirkland Library classes. Best of all, these classes are free and don’t require registration. These classes are targeted to people who have never homebrewed before.  They will cover the basics of beer and how to brew your first batch of homemade beer. There will be time for Q&A for people who have more advanced homebrew questions.

I hope to see you tonight or at one of the future classes!

Cheers,

Nate
Homemade Beer – The Basics of Homebrewing

Have you ever thought about brewing your own beer? This introduction to the world of homebrewing covers the basics of beermaking using malt extract. Topics include: ingredients, equipment needed, and the steps in the beermaking process. The instructors for this class are all expert homebrewers and are each certified by theBeer Judge Certification Program as a qualified Beer Judge.

Mercer Island Library, Wednesday, April 20, 7pm
Maple Valley Library, Wednesday, April 20, 7pm
Des Moines Library, Sunday, May 8, 2pm
Fairwood Library, Tuesday, May 10, 7pm
Fall City Library, Thursday, May 12, 7pm
Shoreline Library, Thursday, May 19, 7pm
Kirkland Library, Monday, May 23, 7pm, sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Kirkland

by Nate Muller – Senior Homebrew Correspondent

Professional Brewers Turn to Home Brewers for Inspiration

Here’s a beer competition that’s great for home brewers and beer lovers alike: the Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition. This competition is all about bringing professional brewers and home brewers together.

For home brewers, this is an amazing opportunity to have your beer brewed at a commercial scale. The list of breweries is huge this year, with 15 breweries participating. Many of the breweries have even been kind enough to indicate what style they’d like to select from the competition.

For beer lovers, this event will inspire a bunch of new recipes at your favorite breweries. Keep an eye out for the Pro-Am winning beers. They are often creative and always tasty. Here’s the list of participating breweries:

Ram Restaurant and Brewery

Elysian Brewery

Big Time Brewery

Rock Bottom – Seattle

Rock Bottom – Bellevue

Big Al Brewing

Baron Brewing

Diamond Knot Brewery

Snipes Mountain Brewing

Naked City Brewing

Harmon Brewery

BJ’s – Tacoma

Flyers Brewery

Powerhouse Brewery

Issaquah Brewhouse

I plan to submit my entry soon. I’m going to try my hand with a hoppy cream ale that I like to call Muller Lite. The entries are due Tuesday, April 26^th. I won a similar contest with my Belgian Dubbel named OmmeKNate which earned me the opportunity to brew with Al and Big Al’s Brewing. I hope many of you get to do the same.

For more Washington Homebrewer news, check out the April newsletter.

by Nate Muller – Senior Homebrew Correspondent

Are you a beer lover who would like to start homebrewing? Did you buy a homebrewing book, but you still haven’t found the energy to open it?
Believe it or not, King County Library is looking to help you out. They are sponsoring a series of beginning homebrewing classes at various libraries around the county. They have partnered with a friend of mine, Steve Antoch. He’s a master beer judge and a fantastic teacher. The classes are targeted to people who have never tried homebrewing, but there will also be plenty to learn for a novice. The classes will cover everything you need to know to brew your first batch: ingredients, equipment, and process.

The class schedule and teacher bios are below.  As you can see, I’m one of the teachers. I hope to see you at one of the classes!

Cheers,
Nate

Updated 2/19/2011

• Federal Way 320th Library,  4/6/2011, 7pm,  Mike Hausenfluck
• Mercer Island Library, 4/20/2011, 7pm,  Nate Muller
• Maple Valley Library, 4/20/2011,  7pm, Steve Antoch
• Des Moines Library, 5/8/2010, 2pm, Peter Twigg
• Fairwoods Library, 5/10/2011, 7pm,  Mike Hausenfluck
• Fall City Library, 5/12/2011, 7pm, Steve Antoch
• Shoreline Library, 5/19/2011, 7pm, Nate Muller

Homebrewer Instructor Biographies

Dan O’Leary -  Dan has been brewing for just over 6 years. Dan is the Treasurer of Kent’s Impaling Alers Homebrew Club. He has won several 1st place medals for various beers in competitions between Minnesota and Washington. Most notably, Dan took 2nd Place at the National Homebrew Competition in 2010 for his American Wheat beer. Dan generally brews true to established styles but is dabbling into Sour Ales and some collaborative barrel aging projects.

Dan is a commercial airline pilot for Horizon Air, based out of SEA-TAC. He has been flying for Horizon for over 10 years.

Mark Emiley -   Mark Emiley has been homebrewing since 1998, when he cooked up his first batch of Porter. With over 225 extract and all-grain batches under his belt, he has won numerous beer-making awards and his recipes have even been brewed commercially many times. Mark has passed the Institute of Brewing and Distilling’s General Certificate in Brewing & Packaging examination through UC Davis. As the Executive Chair of the Washington Homebrewers Association and President of the Boeing Employees Wine and Beer Makers Club (BEWBC), he has taught dozens of homebrewers how to start brewing, both individually and in group classes. He has brewed beers from every style in the BJCP’s (Beer Judge Certification Program) style guidelines and is a BJCP judge, holding the rank of Master.  Mark is a former US Air Force officer and analyst for The Boeing Company.

Mike Hausenfluck - Mike began homebrewing in 1994.  He is a Past President of Kent’s Impaling Alers Homebrew club.  Mike has won numerous awards in homebrew competitions over the years.  He is a Certified BJCP Judge, and loves brewing all styles, but particularly enjoys brewing Belgians such as Saison. He is a graduate of the American Brewers Guild Craftbrewer’s Apprenticeship Program.  Mike is a high school Spanish and French teacher in the Issaquah School District. Teaching others is among his passions in life.

Nate Muller -  Nate has been brewing since 2004.  He is the Treasurer of Kirkland’s Cascade Brewer’s Guild homebrew club.  He’s a BJCP Certified beer judge, which has taught him to appreciate just about every style of beer.  He recently won best-in-show at the Seattle Weekly homebrew competition with his Belgian Dubbel named OmmeKNate, earning him the opportunity to brew his recipe at Big Al’s professional brewery. The beer was on tap around Seattle, as Big Al’s Local Hero #9. His latest brewing interest has been trying to perfect a flavorful session beer. He’s still working on the perfect recipe.  Nate is a Product Manager at Microsoft.

Peter Twigg - In 1996, Peter purchased a basic beer kit for his father for Christmas. Over the next 14 years, the hobby has become more his own than his father’s and the simple kit has expanded into a good portion of the garage and basement. He brews at least monthly and shares anything he deems acceptable with as many people as he can find. Peter has won numerous awards for his beers including Best of Show at the NovembeerFest Competition in 2009 with a fantastic English mild. He took the BJCP exam in the fall and is anxiously awaiting his final exam results. Peter is a Technical Project Manager (PMP certified) and currently works as an independent consultant.

Steve Antoch - Steve began home brewing since 2002 when he was given a “Mr. Beer” kit as a Christmas present. He is one of the founders of the Mt. Si Brewing Society, which meets in Snoqualmie, and is one of the Charter members of the Washington Homebrewer’s Association, holding the position of Education Focal. He has won several awards for his beers in various homebrew competitions around the Puget Sound area.  He is a BJCP Judge holding the rank of Master, teaches the BJCP Certification classes to train other BJCP Beer Judges, and is a BJCP Exam Grader. Steve is a former US Army Officer and works as a Computing Research Engineer for FTI Consulting.

by Nate Muller, Senior Homebrew Correspondent

Washington Homebrewer Association (WAHA) just released its latest newsletter, and its packed with great events and competitions.

For the homebrew geek, Jess Caudill will be speaking at Big Al Brewery. I really enjoyed his talk last year on the use of wild yeast and bacteria in brewing.  Although the talk focused on bugs, he was also happy to answer the standard homebrewing yeast questions.

I’m looking forward to the judging opportunities. Judging has been the best way for me to improve my own understanding of beer. If you have a good taste for beer, but want to develop an exceptional taste for it, consider judging at one of the upcoming competitions. You don’t have to be a certified judge to participate, just an open mind to beer and a solid taste for the different flavors in beer.

Don’t forget to fire up your kettle for the Puget Sound Pro-Am. This is one of Washington’s biggest homebrew competitions for good reasons. Fifteen winners will have their recipe scaled up at a local microbrewery. There’s nothing like walking into a bar and ordering your own beer!

I hope to see you in one of these events or competitions.
Cheers,
Nate

For more information refer to the WAHA website.

Washington Homebrewers!

The upcoming spring season has a ton of great Washington homebrew events for you to be a part of. We’ve got most of them briefly described in this article but you can find out more details in the full articles on the WAHA site. Start planning your homebrew calendar for the spring! You can always check the 2011 WAHA planning calendar for everything major going on in homebrewing. (You can follow the links through this article for more information on the various topics). We know the following list is a bit absurd, but we want as much help from everyone to make these events successful!

Upcoming Events:
Feb 19th – Bellingham BJCP Exam
Feb 26th – Mead Exam Review
March 5th – Cascade Brewers Cup Judging
March 12th – Exbeerience
March 12th – Mead BJCP Exam
March 19th – Joint Base Lewis-McChord Brewfest Judging
March 25th – Joint Base Lewis-McChord Brewfest
April 1st – NHC Early Judging
April 2nd – NHC Main Judging
April 8th – Wyeast Educational Speaker
April 10th – Seattle BJCP Exam
April 17th – Parkway Tavern Am-Pro Competition
April 30th – Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition
May 7th – BIG BREW!!!

WAHA Events

National Homebrewers Competition Regionals In Seattle-Come help!
Break out your entries, get ready to judge, and come be a part of what will be the largest homebrew competition hosted in Washington state! The National Homebrew Competition is the most prestigious homebrewing competition in the world, drawing collectively more entries than any other beer competition. Seattle will be hosting the 2011 Northwest Regionals of the competition and wants Washington to bring it strong!

WE NEED EVERYONE WHO CAN OR WANTS TO JUDGE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMPETITION!!! If all of our great BJCP judges as well as non-BJCP brewers who know their beer and want to get some more experience judging can show up on the weekend of April 2nd at Pyramid Brewery and Alehouse to help judge, we will be able to process all of these entries quickly and show the AHA that Washington judges are a force to be recognized. Lunch will be provided, we’ll have a raffle, and we are working on “after-judging” plans. We are expecting out of state/area judges to come in as well so if you need a place to stay or are willing to offer someone a place to crash, please contact Tim Hayner. This is a great chance to get exposed to some fantastic beers and judges from around the region.
If you are interested in judging, PLEASE REGISTER HERE:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/C735L5G

Judging Information
Main Judging Session: Saturday, April 2nd, 9 am – 3 pm (judges arrive between 8:30-9:00, stewards between 8:00-8:30)
Location: Pyramid Alehouse Brewery (1201 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134)
Breakfast Snacks and Lunch will be Provided
BJCP and Non-BJCP Judges Welcome
Stewards and Helpers Needed!
Judges Contact: Tim Hayner
“Early Session” (Get some extra BJCP points!)
Friday, April 1st starting at 6:30 pm (arrive at 6:00)
Pyramid Alehouse Brewery (1201 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134)
If Interested Contact: Tim Hayner
Educational Speaker – Wyeast – April 8th

The Washington Homebrewers Association would like to invite all homebrewers and beer lovers to hear the fifth speaker of the WAHA’s Educational Speaker Program – Jess Caudill of Wyeast Laboratories. Last year’s talk was a great success and Wyeast has agreed to come back and talk some more.

Come to Big Al Brewing on April 8th to hear Jess speak about Berliner Weisse fermenting microbes and answer all of your yeast questions and answers. Admission is free and the event is open to all homebrewers and beer lovers. We ask that people RSVP in advance at http://tinyurl.com/wyeasttalk. If you home some around, please bring a few bottles of homebrew for Jess as a token of our thanks!

Event Details:
Date: Friday, April 8th, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Big Al Brewery
9832 14th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98106
(206) 453-4487

National Homebrewers Conference Participation
The 2011 National Homebrewers Conference will be held in San Diego, CA from June 16th – 18th. Washington plans to make a strong showing and we hope that you’ll be a part of it.  BREW, GEBL, and the WAHA will be hosting tables at club night. Registration for the conference is open and hotel space is running out. Go to www.ahaconference.org for all of the details you need.
The WAHA is helping with coordination before the conference. You can go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WAHAAHAConf2011/ and sign us as a part of our group. We’ll work together to figure out shipping down kegs and equipment, help people find roommates, and make sure Washington has a great showing down in California. Get registered and signed up today!

BJCP Exams
The WAHA has been working to coordinate a bunch of BJCP exams for people interesting in taking the beer judging exam. In the next few months, there are tests in Washington in February, March, April, and May. Classes will be organized in support of some of these tests and for those interested in self-study, contact WAHA.

The next exams with spots available are a Mead Exam in Seattle on March 12th (contact Mark Emiley), a beer exam in Seattle in April (contact Mark Tanner), and a beer exam in Yakima on May 7th (most spots reserved for Eastern Washington residents – contact Steve Antoch).

There will be a Mead Exam Review Session on Feb 26th, from 2-6 pm at Balefire in Everett run by Mark Tanner. As Washington’s only Mead Certified Judge, he will be helping you figure out what you need to study and doing some practice tastings. If you are interested in taking the class contact Mark Tanner (if you are interested in taking the exam, contact Mark Emiley).
There are also exams scheduled in October and November.  Both of these exams will have prep classes. The October class will be held at Larry’s Homebrew Supply (contact Mark Emiley), and the November class will be held in Issaquah (contact Steve Antoch).

Given the very high demand for exams and limitations on exam scheduling, we are having to book exams further and further out. If you have a group that may be interested in having an exam near you, please contact us and we can help you get rolling!

Other Washington Homebrewing Events

Cascade Brewers Cup and Exbeerience
Entries due Feb 25th, Judging March 5th, Exbeerience March 12th
The next big WHOTY competition is the Cascade Brewers Cup hosted by the Cascade Brewers Guild. We encourage entrants (and prospective judges or stewards) to register online right now. Entries can be dropped off at the locations listed below between February 18th and February 25th, and should include three, 12 oz bottles for beer entries and two bottles for mead/cider entries.  The fee is $6 per beer, mead or cider entered.  The bulk of the judging will occur on March 5th at McKinstry Corporation in Seattle, WA.  Winners will be announced on March 12th at the 5th Annual ExBEERience Festival held at Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, WA.  At the festival you will be able to witness live announcements of the winners for both the CBC and the 2010 Washington Homebrewers Association awards (Bert Grant, Golden Mash Paddle and Washington Homebrewer of the Year) and sample beer from local breweries and homebrewers. For more details on the Cascade Brewers Cup and to volunteer as a judge, visit the competition website.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord Brewfest
Entries due March 12th, Judging March 19th, Brewfest March 25th
Spring is the season of competitions and festivals. Joint Base Lewis-McChord will be hosting their brewfest again this year with a WHOTY competition to start (entries due March 12th, judging March 19th) followed by the Brewfest itself.  At the Brewfest homebrewers and craft brewers will serve their beers in a festival format on base. Non-military participants will be allowed on base. For more details, visit this page.

Parkway Tavern Am-Pro Big Beers Competition
Entries due April 10th, Judging April 17th
Do you brew great big beers? Here’s your chance to have your homebrew recipe selected to be brewed and served on tap at the Parkway Tavern in Tacoma. Entries are due April 10th at several locations in the Tacoma area. Judging will be April 17th so come on down and help judge. Entries are $5 each and require 3 10-12 oz bottles. Find out more information about the competition here.

Puget Sound Pro-Am Competition – GABF Pro-Am Qualifier, 15 Breweries!
Entries due April 26th, Judging April 30th.

This is the country’s largest GABF Pro-Am qualifying competition with as many as 15 breweries selecting homebrew recipes to scale up (more breweries still being added!) Last year the PSPA sent 12 of the country’s entries into the GABF Pro-Am and brought home the gold medal in 2008!
This is an AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition and WHOTY qualifier aimed at providing award winning homebrew recipes to be brewed by Puget Sound breweries with the goal of capturing a medal from the Great American Beer Festival’s Pro-Am Competition. The Puget Sound Pro-Am is unique in that it will have FIFTEEN breweries looking for their favorite homebrew beers to scale up and brew on their systems. Winning beers of AHA members may be sent on to the GABF for a shot at national glory!

Start dreaming and brewing up your entries today! Check the competition website at http://www.bewbc.org/pro-am for the latest details including participating breweries, desired styles, contest rules, and links to online registration. Entries (three 10-12 oz brown bottles) are due April 26th with an entry fee of $6 per entry (several drop-off locations accepting entries beginning in early April). Judging will be held on April 30th at Larry’s Brewing Supply in Kent (if you are interested in judging, stewarding, or helping with event execution, contact Mark Emiley or register online on the website through the same link that allows you to register beers and volunteer as a judge). Winners will be selected in the weeks following with a webcast announcement planned on May 8th. To have the best shot of having your beer brewed, you need to be an AHA m ember by the time of the competition, so join today! Invite your friends to join the AHA and submit beers as well (all beers will be judged and ranked regardless of AHA membership). Good luck!

Today we introduce a new contributor. Nate Muller is an avid home brewer and has generously offered to help keep us informed about what’s happening on the local homebrew scene. While this first story focuses on something his particular homebrew club is organizing, he’ll be reaching out to other clubs as well. Please welcome Nate to the blog.

The ExBEERience Beer Festival

by Nate Muller – senior homebrew correspondent

I have been attending beer festivals for as long as my age has allowed me in the door. Over the years, I have seen beer festivals become bigger, more frequent, and more popular. This is great for a beer lover home brewer like myself, but it also comes with higher prices, fewer tastes, and bigger lines.

In March of 2009, I attended my first ExBEERience Beer Festival and it was like I was in a time warp. It felt like I was back at my very first beer festival. It was small, at only around 150 attendees that year. It had free food! Most importantly, the level of beer geekery was much higher than any festival I had been to in a long time.

ExBEERience is a different kind of beer festival. It’s hosted by the Cascade Brewers Guild—a local homebrew club. The festival is a pure celebration of beer, brewing, and brewers. It will have over 15 professional breweries pouring their favorite beers. But unlike the big festivals, it will also have homebrew, beer judging workshops, and an awards ceremony for the Cascade Brewers Cup, Washington’s biggest homebrew competition.

The 2009 ExBeerience was so inspiring to me, I re-joined the Cascade Brewers Guild and now I’m the treasurer. I hope to see you there on March 12. Tickets are only $25 in advance or $30 at the door. I wouldn’t count on any door sales though. It sold out last year and it should sell out even sooner this year.

ExBEERience Beer Festival
Redhook Ale Brewery
Saturday, March 12th
Noon – 5:00.
Get Tickets

Today at 2:00 Brouwer’s Cafe hosts the awards ceremony for the 2010 Seattle Weekly Homebrew Competition. Each year local home brewers submit samples of their beer to the competition with the hopes of getting to live the dream–the winning brewer is awarded the opportunity to brew the winning beer on the big system at Big Al Brewing.

The winner will be announced and their beer, which has already been brewed at Big Al Brewing, will be on tap for the first time. Last year, Brouwer’s quickly blew through two kegs of the winning beer. This year they have secured four kegs.

Visit the Brouwer’s Cafe website for more information.

We just learned about the winners of the Puyallup Fair Amateur Beer Contest. What’s more, we just learned that there is such a thing. Cheers to that.

The top three winners of each category are being displayed through the remainder of the Fair, which ends Sept. 26. First and second place winners received a cash premium and rosette; third place winners were awarded a rosette.  Best in Show winners received a large rosette as a prize.

Contratuations to the top finishers (listed below), as well as everyone else who took home an award.

• Best of Show: “Toilettenwasser,” a German Pilsner brewed by Cary Peltz of Renton.
• Best of Category: Standard Bitter, brewed by Jason Glasgow of Poulsbo.
• Best of Category, Mixed: Al’s Chocolate Stout, brewed by Al Toepfer of Snoqualmie.