Tis the Season
By George Perrin
No, not Christmas season; homebrew competition and beer judging season. And the season is in full swing. Already past are the Big Bend Brewoff in Tallahassee and the Florida State Fair in Tampa. But what many consider to be the granddaddy of them all is still to come: the SunshineChallenge in Orlando.
In January, a few Hogtown Brewers made to trip to Tallahassee for the Big Bend Brewoff (BBBO), put on by the local homebrewing club, the North Florida Brewers League (NFBL). This was my third trip to judge in Tallahassee with this group and they make the BBBO one of my personal favorites. Mark Tumarkin, Dave Williams and I took advantage of their Beds for Brewers program and were kindly put up in the home of Sarah Bridegroom and John Larsen. Robert Riley and Jamie, both dual Hogtown Brewers and NFBL members, were also there.
We met Friday night at the competition location, the Buckhead brewpub, for a few tasty pints with the club. I enjoyed Buckhead's winter warmer- a Strong Scotch ale that won a silver medal in the World Beer Cup. (Congratulations to head brewer Wayne Wambles.) We met back at Buckhead by 9:30am the next morning and had bagels, juice & coffee while being given our first judging assignments.
After judging a round or two, we were provided lunch, then another round or two of judging. Mark was then lucky enough to be selected to judge for best of show. After the results were read and the raffle was over, we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and then to the Leon Pub where there is an excellent beer selection. Fuller's ESB on hand pump...mmm. The weekend after the BBBO was the Meadllenium mead competition in Orlando. If you're serious about meads, consider going to this next year.
Then in February, the homebrew competition of the Florida State Fair saw a number of Hogtown Brewers make the trip to Tampa to judge. Mark, Richard Furlong, Dave Williams, Robert Riley and Jamie, Sue Smith and I became living exhibits at the fair. The atmosphere of judging beer while on display does take some getting used to but we all managed to follow the judging rule sheet provided and not "punch out the 100th person who asks how they get our job". Another judging opportunity is the upcoming Sunshine Challenge in Orlando- not just a competition; it's a beer event. And there are other competitions that require a little more travel: the SAAZ competition (Melbourne), Palm Beach Draughtsman (West Palm), MASH (Miami) and the Peach State Brewoff (Atlanta). Of course, the easiest way to judge homebrew without traveling far is to judge at a Hogtown Brewers club competition. It's fun & interesting. Give it a try. Have a Happy Beer Judging Season!