This is a unique opportunity for homebrew clubs to compete head-to-head (so to speak) with other tri-state area homebrew clubs, with one being crowned Chicago’s “Beer Hoptacular Homebrew Club of the Year.”
Participating Clubs each receive a total of 10 lbs. of grain (generously donated by Great Western Malting). There are both base malts and specialty grains; each grain bag is labeled. The base recipe is very loosely patterned after a pale ale, but there are no style requirements. Individuality is encouraged!
Just a reminder that there is no competition entry fee and each competing club will receive two complimentary tickets to the BeerHoptacular Saturday afternoon session, November 5th, 2011.
If you interested in learning more about Home Brewing clubs and how to join, contact our BeerHoptacular HomeBrew Contest co-ordinator, Home Brewing for Dummies Author Marty Nachel at aleconner@aol.com or visit here.
For the second annual Homebrew Challenge we compiled an expert panel of judges to bring an hoptical amount of expertise to the judges table. Each homebrew club's entry will be critiqued by the following beer aficionados:
Marty Nachel is an award-winning freelance writer and book author of renown. His works include “Beer for Dummies” and “Homebrewing for Dummies.” In addition to his writings, Marty is teaches beer appreciation classes throughout the Chicago area.
Nachel’s palate has been expertly honed since he became a Certified Beer Judge in 1986 (the first in the state of Illinois). He has served as a beer evaluator at the Beverage Tasting Institute in Chicago, a finalist judge at the Boston Beer Company’s Sam Adams LongShot Competition in Boston, and he also serves on the Panel of Professional Beer Judges at the Great America Beer Festival in Denver.
He has attained the first level of certification through the Cicerone® Certification program and has recently launched his own Ale-Conner Beer Certification Program at www.beerexam.com.
Joe Formanek started homebrewing nearly 25 years ago as an undergraduate in Microbiology at the University of Minnesota. He was bitten by the brewing bug after taking a tour of Summit Brewing Company within a year after they had opened in St. Paul in 1987, and he has been going ever since. Joe later went to Graduate School at the University of Illinois and helped found the Boneyard Union of Zymurgical Zealots (BUZZ) Homebrew Club. He currently resides in Bolingbrook, IL, is a Technical Director for a Food Company in Chicago, and is a proud member of the Urban Knaves of Grain Homebrew Club. Joe is also the Midwest Regional Representative for the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), holds a National Judge ranking, and is currently the Vice President of the organization.
Over the years, Joe has received many honors related to homebrewing. He is a 6 time winner of the Midwest Homebrewer of the Year award (1999, 2001-2004, 2007), won the American Homebrewers Association Meadmaker of the Year award in 2004, is a 2 time winner of the American Homebrewers Association Ninkasi Award (2000, 2006) for winningest brewer in the final round of judging, and has won numerous BOS awards at local and regional competitions.
Most recently, he was honored as being named one of the two homebrewer winners of the 2011 Sam Adams Longshot American Homebrewing Competition. Joe will help brew his winning Russian Imperial Stout at one of Sam Adams’ breweries later this year. The Longshot six-pack containing Joe’s winning brew will be distributed nationally in March, 2012.
A homebrewer since 1984 and a BJCP Judge since 1990, Steve Hamburg has a wealth of beer and brewing knowledge earned the old fashioned way - he drank it! After some 30 trips to the UK and judging 7 times at the annual Great British Beer Festival in London, it's no surprise that Hamburg is renowned for his expertise on British beer styles. But he has also traveled extensively throughout the other major European brewing countries and taught beer appreciation and judging classes for three years in Japan, where he remains an Honorary Master Judge.
Back in the USA he has organized or judged countless homebrew competitions, is a two-time Best-of-Show Judge for the AHA National Homebrew Competition, and has judged every year at Chicago’s Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer. Steve was co-founder and cellarmaster for the Chicago Real Ale Festival (1996-2003) and is cellarmaster for the Chicago Beer Society's annual Day of the Living Ales (2005-present). He has written extensively on British beer styles and the proper cellarmanship of cask-conditioned beer and is frequently recruited as a speaker on both subjects, most recently at the Wisconsin Brewers Guild Technical Conference in April. He has been a regular contributor to Zymurgy and other beer publications, including The New Brewer, All About Beer, and Great Lakes Brewing News. He also earned a Certificate in Sensory Analysis for Flavor Production & Control from the Siebel Institute of Technology.
With over 25 years in the beer business on the East Coast, West Coast, and North Coast (Alaska), Marty joined Bell’s Brewery in 2008. Holding positions in Sales and Marketing Management at breweries (Bell’s, Redhook, Orchard Street) and distributors (Maryland/DC, Seattle, Alaska) as well as founding his own consulting company has allowed for a deeper insight into all levels of selling craft beer. Passionate about great beer, he has also homebrewed, and is a Certified BJCP Beer Judge.
Michael Miller, one of The Beverage Testing Institute’s longest serving and most outspoken judges, is owner and operator of Delilah’s Nightclub and the craft beer centric Bottom Lounge music venue in Chicago. Delilah’s is America’s most recognized whiskey bar (2004 Whisky Magazine, Best Whisky Bar Award), is equally world famous for both its jukebox and its unparalleled selection of beer, wine and spirits. Miller has published dozens of articles concerning all things Drinks, Music, Travel, and Nightlife. Mr. Miller has one feature film to his credit, a cutting edge bar in Spain in the works, and a tremendous dedication to offering the best experience possible for his many patrons and friends. BTI is proud to have Mike on board our panels and thankful for his considerable sensory skills, product knowledge, and thought provoking opinions.
Bob McDermott. As founder and owner of The Beer Bistro, a famed Chicago establishment serving over 200 different brews, Bob has clocked in over 18 years in the Beverage industry. His steadfast dedication to beer appreciation has resulted in coverage from MSN, AOL, and CityGuide among other media outlets.
His Beer Bistro was born out of a desire to offer people from all walks of life a chance to try and find their own love of Craft Beer.
Jerald O’SKennard is the Director of the Beverage Testing Institute, one of the world’s foremost authorities on alcoholic beverages. The Beverage Testing Institute (BTI)—was founded in 1981, as America’s premier independent alcoholic beverage review organization with a mission to create fair and reliable reviews of wines for consumers. In 1994, BTI began reviewing beers and spirits and founded, and is director of, the World Beer Championships, the oldest international beer competition in America, and the World Spirits Championships—now named the International Review of Spirits. BTI regularly reviews thousands of beverages every year. BTI was the first organization to publish wine reviews online—managing the America Online Food and Drink Network from 1989 to 1999. All of our reviews, including over 30,000 of our most recent reviews, plus hundreds of articles, now appear on our website, Tastings.com. Leading producers and marketers participate in BTI’s reviews and competitions because they recognize the Institute’s ability to identify and describe the best products and get that information out to consumers. Additionally, BTI partners with many other websites and media that feature its reviews. Examples include: CNBC, BusinessWeek TV, the Chicago Tribune, WGN Radio, Martha Stewart Radio, BBC Radio International, All About Beer magazine, Restaurant Hospitality magazine, and many others.
Jerald received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago, completed post-graduate work in the arts, and has over a decade of food & beverage management and event management experience. He has developed beverage programs and lists for many of the Midwest’s major cultural institutions and trained thousands of service personnel in all facets of wine, spirits, and cuisine.
He began his relationship with BTI in the late 90’s as a taster and quickly established himself as a senior panelist based on his remarkable sensory abilities. He then worked as a consultant for BTI, helping to develop e-commerce applications for BTI’s product review databases. In 2000, he was hired as Tasting Director. As a man experienced in both the arts and business, he brings a robust palette of organizational and creative skills to the Institute and is directly responsible for administering and marketing all of BTI’s tasting and private consultation programs. His writings on spirits, wine, and beer can be regularly found on Tastings.com and in All About Beer, the Chicago Tribune, and Restaurant Hospitality magazines. He is a beverage contributor to the CNBC television network, BusinessWeek TV, and BBC’s Radio International and is often consulted on and quoted by the New York Times, Business 2.0, Wall Street Journal, Men’s Journal, Reuters, and other national and international publications on the subjects of wines, beers, and spirits.
He loves to travel and learn from wine, beer, and spirits producers around the world and is developing a beverage television show that will share his insights and discoveries. In what little spare time he has, he is a musician and composer with several albums and movie soundtracks to his credit. He also has an intense passion for pursuing what he calls the “Three C’s” of the beverage and entertaining industries: culture, cuisine, and celebration. However, wherever he goes, he seems to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince people that he actually works for a living.
