Brew Oahu Homebrew Competition & Brew Camp 2019

Best of Show

 HIP Fermenters threw their third annual Brew Oahu Homebrew Competition and the newly dubbed Brew Camp in time for Learn to Homebrew Day. The judging was AHA/BJCP sanctioned again this year, with judges coming from around the islands. October 24 and 25 we all met at Homebrew in Paradise in Kalihi to taste almost 100 entries. It was two full days of beer, with delicious meals donated by Waikiki Brewing Company and Square Barrels. 

Judging Essentials

 On the two judging days, we judged lots of standouts, with delicious quality beer, cider, and mead. You can see the full list of winners here: WINNERS LIST. Justin & Jenn Rivera’s Ilio IPA took home Best of Show.

In conjunction with Learn to Homebrew Day, the club also had a BREW CAMP complete with brewing demonstrations, a chili cook-off, and the awards ceremony. Another great event, I'm looking forward to next year!

Hawaii Beer Fest 2018 and BJCP Exam Class 2

It's been a busy week for beer! The 2018 Homebrew Competition committee is busy planning and we're looking forward to a fun event this November.

On Thursday, June 14th, the second BJCP Exam preparation class was held at Homebrew in Paradise in Kalihi. The group turnout was smaller, but was met with more discussion and in-depth learning. Again led by Cindy Goldstein of HOPS Homebrew Club and the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild, with esteemed Certified Cicerone instructors Scot Ahlers and Alyssa Gundersen, the class took a deep dive into descriptive language and how to complete a scoresheet. We then focused on three mores styles, filling out a sheet for each one and sharing our scores and descriptions. We covered: American IPAs, American Porters, and Blonde Ales, with a commercial or homebrew example of each. The highlight for me was seeing how close all the scores ended up being, of course with outliers and a discussion into the differences.  If you're interested in joining our next session in July, please email hops@hawaii.rr.com , there is no cost to attend, only the cost of beer samples.

Then came Saturday, June 16th and the first Hawaii Beer Fest held on the Great Lawn at the Bishop Museum. Offering a view of Diamond Head and Waikiki, it was a picturesque fresh air festival. A ring of tents around the lawn provided shade for all the Rotary Club of Honolulu volunteers who poured a never ending stream of the good stuff (a portion of the proceeds went to the club for their community projects). Sponsored by Paradise Beverages, ABInBev, local media and tourist companies, the festival had a mostly big beer presence. I was happy so many local breweries were represented: Inu Island Ales, Honolulu Beerworks, Waikiki Brewing Company, Lanikai Brewing Company, Ola Beer Co., Kohola Brewery, Maui Brewing Company, Gordon Biersch Honolulu, and probably a couple I'm forgetting. In short, we had a fun time trying a bunch of new and hard to find beers for the island. The music was good, games were everywhere, a fire dancer performed, and everyone was laughing, happy, and enjoying themselves. If you'd like to read my complete review of the event, both positive and negative, please check it out here on Yelp.

The summer weather is here; it's the perfect season for some cold beer! Mahalo for reading!

BJCP Exam Classes - Free Beer Judging Seminars

For anyone that's been stopping by the blog the last few months, there hasn't been much activity here. Chock it up to being busy; sometimes I just feel like there aren't huge happenings to talk about. New brewery openings are few and far between (but there are some exciting ones coming soon). In this exciting time of lots of craft independent breweries already operating in the islands, there's too many new releases to write about each one, so Instagram and Untappd do a great job of sharing what I'm drinking.

With the summer beginning, there's a lot more time to drink new beers and study what makes them amazing. If you have a basic interest in beer and want to learn the complexities of styles and how to describe that new favorite, I invite you to come to the free beer judging classes being offered by Cindy Goldstein of HOPS Homebrew Club and the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild. With the assistance of local BJCP Judges, Certified Cicerones, brewers, and enthusiastic hobbyists, they're offering an invaluable service to teach about the exam, content, and judging beer. These sessions are held monthly leading up to the tasting exam on October 13, 2018. In order to take this tasting exam, you must first pass the online exam, details of which can be found on the website below.

What is the BJCP? The Beer Judge Certification Program is the recognized standard of how to rate, describe, and educate about beer and beer styles. Ranked judges are present at homebrew and brewery competitions to ensure a judged beer is true to style and determine which are the best examples. Even if you don't plan on taking the exam or judging competitions, the course and style guidelines are the perfect resource to help you learn more about what you already like and maybe help you discover something new. Tonight's first session was held at Honolulu Beerworks in Kaka'ako. Future ones will rotate around to other breweries on O'ahu.

It's not all work and reading from manuals. The class has a tasting component, which is important to develop your palate, nose, and eye. Tonight's first session was broken up with three beer style tastings. The first was the classic Saison; a Saison Dupont was paired with the local Pia Mahi'ai from Honolulu Beerworks to show a clear example, a local take, and the differences and similarities of the two. Later in the session we talked about a Weissbier and finally a Foreign Extra Stout.  These classes are being taught for free; the only cost is paying for the beer and tips as necessary.

For more information, to request the syllabus, sign up for emails, or receive information about the next session on June 7th, please email hops@hawaii.rr.com.

1st Annual Oahu Homebrewing Festival & Competition

HIP Fermenters homebrewing club with assistance from Homebrew in Paradise hosted the first Oahu Homebrewing Festival and competition the first weekend of November 2017. The main draw was the beer judging competition, which was open to all homebrewers in the state. Drop off days were organized in the weeks leading up to the festival, with the majority of entrants arriving fresh. With almost 90 distinct beers, ciders, and meads, the judges had their work cut out for them!

All day Friday November 3rd, around a dozen Certified Cicerones, BJCP Certified, and brewery industry judges came together to crack open the beers, offer thoughtful feedback, and rate them.  It was a long and fun day for everyone involved, starting at 9am and going through to after 6pm. Despite the time and heat of Kalihi, the beers were ready for the awards!  I personally enjoyed hearing the insights from Joe Lorenzen of Waikiki Brewing Company and Cindy Goldstein from HOPS Homebrewing Club.

On Saturday, the day of the festival, the top nine beers and six ciders/meads were each taste-tasted for the Best of Show category to be announced that afternoon.

The festival itself had a great turnout of club members, entrants, beer enthusiasts, and curious drop-ins. Food was generously provided by club members as well as fresh hamburgers with a twist from Square Barrels' owner Thomas Ray. 

Head-brewer Euler of BeerLab Hawaii also donated a number of fresh crowlers for tasting, see the links below.  Tastings were flowing all afternoon, with the leftover submissions offering the perfect variety of beer.

Club members had a number of different homebrewing systems set up and brewing; the smell was the best part!

Awards were conferred around 2pm, with the festival winding down afterward.  For those curious of the winners, the complete list can be found here.

I hope the popularity of this event grows; here's looking to next year!

Green Matter

 Haunted Plantation

Hamachi