AHA club-only competitions... let's get brewing!

Different people have different strategies for brewing. Some brew clones; others brew crazy stuff they make up. Some keep tweaking the same recipe until it's just right; others jump from style to style trying something new. Some map out their brewing schedule months ahead of time; others wake up on a Saturday morning, look at what grains and hops they have in stock, and throw something together on the spot. Different strokes for different folks (and we all know it takes diff'rent strokes to move the world, yes it does).

Well, this year the folks at the American Homebrewers Association are running a series of club-only competitions.
Here's how it works. They pick a style. Our brewers each individually brew to that style. We then pick the best beer Survivor-style (well, maybe not Survivor-style, but we pick the best beer) and submit it to the national competition. In the process, brewers are challenged to broaden their brewing horizons, and our club's members get to really pick a part a style and see how different recipes and processes produce different results.

Anyway, enough on the process... let's talk beer! We're a little too late for the first competition of the season (Belgian strong ales are due Nov. 27th), but we'd like to get on board for the rest of the schedule. Here are the styles and relevant deadlines:

January/February 2010

The Session Challenge – English Brown Ales

Entry deadline is Tuesday, February 16, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, February 20, 2010.

Hosted by Tim Hayner and the Impaling Alers of Kent, WA, this competition covers BJCP Category 11 styles. For more information, contact Tim Hayner at president@impalingalers.org.

March/April 2010

American Ales

Entries are due Saturday, April 3, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010.

Hosted by Bill Lynch and the Carolina Brewmasters of Charlotte, NC, this competition covers BJCP Category 10 styles.
For more information, contact Bill Lynch at brewcnc@yahoo.com.

May 2010

Extract Beers

Entries are due Saturday, May 1, 2010. Judging will be held Saturday, May 22, 2010.

Hosted by Ric Cunningham and the Niagra Association of Homebrewers of Buffalo, NY, this competition covers all BJCP beer categories (1-23).

So there you go. If you wanna get in on the action, plan your brew days accordingly. And stay tuned for more info on how we'll be determining our entry and relevant internal deadlines. Happy brewing!

Style of the Month: Oud Bruin

Oud Bruin or Flanders Brown is a reddish brown ale originated in East Flanders. It is significantly more malty and bitter than a Flanders Red. Oud Bruin is aged in stainless steel tanks, this prevents oxygen contact that contributes the acidic character associated with Flanders Red. Try some tonight!

HOPS get a few new judges

The wait is over and the unofficial results have arrived. Tommy, Michael and Bob are now Recognized BJCP judges. Michael and Bob both scored a very respectable 77. With the necessary experience points they are both on track to be Certified judges. Tommy having years of beer drinking experience was the high scorer with an awesome 81. 20 experience points and he will be a National ranked judge. Congrats to all!

Three beers I'm looking forward to this winter

As the days grow shorter and the wind colder, it seems appropriate to turn our thoughts to that which warms us up. No, I'm not talking about Snuggies; I'm talking about beer! The Oktoberfests and pumpkin beers are slowly giving way to barley wines and winter warmers, so I thought I would briefly discuss three beers I'm looking forward to trying this winter.

1. Friend of HOPS! Metropolitan Brewing has had its beers out on the market for almost a year now, and most Chicagoland beer geeks have tried their three regular offerings: Dynamo, Flywheel and Krankshaft. Well, this winter Doug and Tracy will be releasing their first seasonal: Generator Doppelbock. I had the pleasure of trying a test batch, and if the final product is even tastier than what I sampled this is going to be one delicious Doppelbock. The first batch will be draught only, so all the more reason to meet up at your local watering hole for some holiday cheer! [Full disclosure: Doug and Tracy Hurst are former (maybe even current?) members of HOPS! and several members are investors in Metropolitan, though I am not.]

2. Lakefront Brewing often finds itself in the shadow of New Glarus when it comes to Wisconsin breweries (and that's more a testimony to New Glarus than a slight to Lakefront), but their Holiday Spice Lager is second to nobody. I generally don't like my holiday beers too heavily spiced, and feared that a clean lager would only further accentuate the spices, but I was wrong. This is one smooth beer, and deceptively smooth at 11% ABV. Want to be the hero of the holiday party? Bring a sixer of this stuff and you won't need any stinkin' mistletoe.

3. Okay, this is really five beers in one, but Dark Horse Brewery just released the first of its five seasonal stouts. To be honest, I missed the first two last year and only got to enjoy Tres (a blueberry stout), Fore (a smoked stout) and Plead the 5th (an incredible Russian imperial stout). However, given how great each of those were, I'm looking forward to trying One (an oatmeal stout) and Too (a sweet stout) as well this year. Together these five beers really showcase the range of flavors that fall under the general term "stout."

So those are a few of the beers on my radar this late fall/winter. What are you looking forward to cracking open in front of a roaring fire?

FOBAB this Saturday; tickets still available

So I'm not sure how we neglected to post about it before, but this Saturday is the seventh annual Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer (or FOBAB if you're into the whole brevity thing) sponsored by the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild. FOBAB is one of those events where if you go there once you end up returning every year. You've got everything from imperial stouts to double IPA's to sour beers to smoked beers aged in everything from wine barrels to bourbon barrels to cedar.

And the breweries involved? Well for starters you've got local favorites such as Goose Island, Rock Bottom, Flossmoor Station and Metropolitan. Then you've got regional craft brewers such as Three Floyds, Bell's and Lakefront. But that's not all... Several highly-respected breweries that don't even distribute in Illinois will be there, including Firestone Walker, Russian River and Stone.

So how much would you pay to try barrel-aged brews from the breweries listed above, as well as 41 additional breweries? $60? $50? Lower. $40? Keep on going. That's right, you can buy your FOBAB tickets for the low, low price of $35. The afternoon session is sold out, but tickets are still available for the 6-10pm session. Buy yours here and I'll see you there!

We don't call ourselves the AWARD-WINNING brewers of HOPS! for nothing.

Congrats to our very own Michael Corey, who took third place in the English Brown Ales category of this year's CBS Spooky Brew Review. Perhaps we'll all get to try some of his Special Dark Mild at this month's meeting (hint, hint)?