Annual Alaskan Homebrew Competition

The Competition was held October 2019 in Juneau, Alaska.

The Alaskan Homebrew Competition is an event sanctioned by the Alaskan Brewing Company. The competition provides an opportunity for homebrewers to have their brews be judged by qualified judges.

 

Alaskan Homebrew Competition 2019 Winners:

Flight 1 – Spruce Sours
Gold – Michael Kenny: Sitka Sour
Silver – Kimberly Miles: Spruce Saison
Bronze – Dan & Staci Miller: St. Landy

Flight 2 – Spruce Hoppy Beers
Gold – Jeremy Hanohen: Kolsch w/Sitka Spruce
Silver – Hanseath: DWA-KUZA
Bronze – David Howard: Nice Tips Craig

Flight 3 – Wheat & Lagers
Gold – Travis & Breanna Alatalo: Creekside Picea Pale
Silver – Meghan Keating: Spruce IPA
Bronze – Nicolas Carrillo: How’re Ya Now?

Flight 4 – Spruce Dark Beers
Gold – Mike Cragen: Cragen’s Spruce Imperial Stout
Silver – George Watt, Zac Watt, Pat Neara, Willie Benning: Spruce Up McKilt
Bronze – Joe Riesch: Old Bry Irish Rye Ale

Flight 5 – Spruce Mead & Cider
Gold – Cindy Oberlin: Purple & Gold Huskies
Silver – Cindy Oberlin: Dopey Husky

Flight 6 – Cider
Gold – Christophe Venot: Stiff Upper Lip
Silver – Mike Cragen: Cragen’s Berry Cider
Bronze – Cindy Oberlin: Bunny Trail

Flight 7 – Meads
Gold – Grant Ficek: Once You Go Ginger
Silver – Kent Ficek: Bitter Bee
Bronze – Dan & Staci Miller: BBL Mead
Honorable Mention – Kent Ficek & Grant Ficek: Big Lake Prickly Pear Mead

Flight 8 – Fruit Beer
Gold – Blake Hass: Landi Berry
Silver – Mike Cragen: Cragen’s Raspberry Imperial Stout
Bronze – Danielle Burnett: Butterfly Fruit Ale

Flight 9 – Sours
Gold – Chris Miller: Belgian Ale
Silver – Garreth Wippel: La Bier de Saison
Bronze-Blake Hass: Funky Monk

Flight 10 – APA
Gold – Mike Cragen: Rock, Flag, & Eagle Pale
Silver – Hanseath: Earl Grey, Hop
Bronze – David Howard: Something Hoppy

Flight 11 – IPA
Gold – Chris Miller: Cryo IPA
Silver – Patrick Morgan: Pat Attack
Bronze – Greg Handley: 3 Cent IPA

Flight 12 – Dark Lagers
Gold – Braden Ohlsen: Rye Bock
Silver – Jeff Brandt: TyketoberFest
Bronze – Braden Ohlsen: Schwarzbier

Flight 13 – Light Lagers
Gold – Garreth Wippel: Kolsch
Silver – Kent Ficek: Maroboduus
Bronze – Garreth Wippel: Lost Signal

Flight 14 – Stouts
Gold – Mary Jean Sebens: Anastasia’s Imperial Stout
Silver – Kent Ficek: Tiramisu Stout
Bronze – Mike Cragen: Cragen’s Oatmeal Stout
Honorable Mention – Andre Koehrer: 3C’s

Flight 15 – Malt Forward
Gold – Hanseath: St. Arnold Doppel
Silver – Timothy Rimgale:
Dunkles Weissbier
Bronze – Hanseath: Bearded One
Honorable Mention – Chris Miller: Weissbier

Flight 16 – Wood Beers
Gold – Kent Ficek: Aesop’s Oaken Orchard
Silver – Garreth Wippel: Babbling Troll
Bronze – David Howard: Collusion

Best of Spruce
Hanseath: DWA-KUZA

Best of Show
1st – Kent Ficek: Aesop’s Oaken Orchard
2nd – Hanseath: St. Arnold Doppel

 

Past Winners

Alaskan Homebrew Competition 2018:

  • Best in Show – Jamey Barlow, Vinyl
  • Special Ingredient (Smoked Malt) – Mike Cragen, German Smoked Salmon Bier

Alaskan Homebrew Competition 2017:

  • Best in Show – Mike Cragen, Life on Märzen
  • Special Ingredient (Spruce Tips) – Glenn Martin, Spruce Pale

Judging

A beer will be judged by the traditional method of determining how closely the entry meets the style definition for the category in which it is entered; each beer may be entered only once.

Judges will be using the BJCP 2015 Guidelines for Beer, Cider, and Mead:

Beer: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf

Mead: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Mead.pdf

Cider: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Cider.pdf

In the event any category receives less than 4 entries, it will be collapsed into the next closest style subcategory, but each entry will be judged according to the style guidelines under which it was entered.

Judging will be held in October 2019.  Location in Juneau will be announced closer to the date.

Anyone interested in judging at the 2019 competition must submit a Judging Waiver Form as soon as possible. Please send to bevans@alaskanbeer.com.

Judges will not be allowed to participate in judging any category in which they have entered a beer.

Competition Rules

This competition is AHA/BJCP sanctioned and open to any amateur homebrewer age 21 or older.

It is the entrant’s responsibility to enter their beer in the proper category, as specified in the 2015 BJCP “Style Guidelines.” No entry will be reclassified. For additional details refer to the guidelines at the BJCP website:

Beer: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Beer.pdf

Mead: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Mead.pdf

Cider: https://www.bjcp.org/docs/2015_Guidelines_Cider.pdf

Each entry will consist of three (3) 12 ounce or two (2) 22 ounce capped bottles that are void of all identifying information, including labels and embossing. Bottles with glued-on or taped-on labels will be disqualified. Printed caps are acceptable, but any printing must be completely marked out. Bottles must be received by the deadline.

Please fill out the entry forms completely. Entries in some categories/sub-categories need to specify special ingredients and/or classic style information on the entry form and bottle labels. Mead and cider entries also need to specify whether the entry is still/sparkling and dry/semi-sweet/sweet. Failure to note such ingredients may impact the judges’ scoring of your entry.

Bottles will not be returned to contest entrants.

Special Ingredient

We are bringing back spruce tips as the special ingredient for 2019’s competition.  All entries with spruce tips will be judged against all other spruce tip beers.  One winner will be selected to enter the Best of Show against all other category beers.

Request for spruce tips closed on July 31st.  All spruce tip orders have been received and shipped and can be expected soon.

Register for Competition

Each entry shall have an Entry Recipe Form (https://www.bjcp.org/docs/SCP_EntryRecipe.pdf) submitted.  Entries that do not have this form will not be judged.

Each entry shall consist of three (3) 12 ounce or two (2) 22 ounce bottles, except entries in the mead and cider categories which only require two (2) bottles. Competition labels (https://www.bjcp.org/docs/SCP_BottleID.pdf) must be attached with a rubber band, please NO TAPE OR GLUE.

There is no entry fee for the competition.  There is a limit of 5 entries per person.  Up to 200 entries total.

Entry and shipping deadline is Friday, September 27th, 2019 at 5 pm. Late entries will not be judged or returned.

The competition organizers are not responsible for miscategorized entries, mailed entries that are not received by the entry deadline, or entries that arrived damaged.

The competition organizers reserve the right to combine categories based on number of entries. All possible effort will be made to combine similar styles. All brews in combined categories will be judged according to the style they were originally entered in.

All entries will be judged on an individual basis – judging sheets will be mailed to all entrants and a list of winners will be posted on the Alaskan Homebrew Competition website after the award ceremony.

The Best of Show judging will be determined by a Best of Show panel based on a second judging of the top winners.

Drop-off Location

Please pay attention to the notes provided for each drop-off location. There could be earlier deadlines for some drop-off locations listed, particular hours when entries are accepted, certain individuals to leave your entries with, etc. All entrants are responsible for reading the information provided by the organizers for each drop-off location.

Juneau, September 23-27, 2019
Alaskan Brewing Depot – Downtown
Alaskan Brewing – Lemon Creek
Gourmet Alaska – Valley

Anchorage, September 23-27, 2019
Arctic Homebrew Supply

Fairbanks, September 23-27, 2019
Please contact the Brewery at 907-780-5866 to talk to us about a possible pick up.

Packing and Shipping

Carefully pack your entries in a sturdy box. Line the inside of your carton with a plastic trash bag. Partition and pack each bottle with adequate packaging material (no packing peanuts).

Enclose each of your bottle labels in a small zip-top bag before attaching to their respective bottles. This way it makes it possible for the organizer to identify specifically which entry has broken if there is damage during shipment.

Every reasonable effort will be made to contact entrants whose bottles have broken to make arrangements for sending replacement bottles.

If you live in the United States, please note that it is illegal to ship your entries via the United States Postal Service (USPS). Be aware that entries mailed internationally are often required by customs to have proper documentation. These entries might be opened and/or returned to the shipper by customs officials at their discretion. It is solely your responsibility to follow all applicable laws and regulations.

Please ship your entries to:

Alaskan Brewing Co.
5429 Shaune Drive
Juneau, AK 99801

Awards

The Award Ceremony will be held during the Alaskan Brewing’s AKtoberfest on October 12th at the JACC.  Tickets are available at the Depot, Tasting Room, the JACC, or at the door.

The announcement of winners will be posted on this site on Monday, October 14th.  Medals, certificates, and judging notes will be mailed out on Monday, October 14th.

Contact Us

Any questions about the competition regulations, procedures, awards, etc., should be directed to the competition organizer: Bekah Evans at bevans@alaskanbeer.com or Blake Hass at bhass@alaskanbeer.com