Brew Oahu Homebrew Competition & Learn to Homebrew Day 2018

 The first weekend in November saw the culmination of months of planning by members of the HIP Fermenters Homebrew Club that meets at Homebrew in Paradise in Kalihi. The second annual competition and festival was held at the store with entries from Oahu, neighbor islands, and the mainland. This year's competition was the first to be BJCP certified, which led to new opportunities for entrants and judges.  

For those of you that follow me or read regularly, you know that I had been taking advantage of the free BJCP judge classes offered this year. Along with half a dozen others, I took the tasting exam last month at Aloha Beer Co., after having passed the online entrance exam. While we're all still waiting for our results, we had a chance to put our new skills to the test at this competition. 

 

There were two judging days, Thursday November 1st, and Friday November 2nd. We had morning and afternoon sessions dividing the entries by style into flights to be judged individually, with those over a certain score advancing to a best of show round. The judging organization this year was planned by Paul Wheeler, who did an excellent job with time management so no one got too tired or drunk.  For those interested, a beer is judged on certain criteria matched to the BJCP style guidelines. It's not a question of if it's good or bad in the judge's opinion, but how well does it fit a style. There were so many excellent entries, it was a shame to have only had a cup or two! Thursday I did porters & stouts in the morning, then a mixed category including wheat beers in the afternoon. Friday morning I got to do German styles that included Märzen, Schwarzbier, and Altbier.  No single judge gets to rate the beer; instead two or three come up with a consensus average score for the beer after discussion and sometimes deliberation. It was invaluable learning from the pros.

Best of Show was done on Friday afternoon, and I was happy to sit in on that panel as well. This is done differently: instead of filling out a scoresheet with notes, it's a simple flight of all Best of Show beers tasted together. Each judge narrows it down to around three beers, where then the entire panel shares which were best and eventually ranks the top three placers. Our group had one clear winner that we all liked, but second and third required discussion and opinions of each judge. All the winners will/have been posted here. 

Special thanks to Square Barrels for the burgers & fries on Thursday, and Waikiki Brewing Company for the pizza and BBQ on Friday! 

The "hard work" being done, Saturday was a time to enjoy food, beer, and awards. Learn to Homebrew Day is a national celebration of homebrewing. With events all over, it's a great time to learn about the hobby and watch people at their craft. There were demonstrations, leftover homebrew tastings including notes from the judges about each, beer donation by Beer Lab Hawaii, and tons of food contributed by members. Awards were given out including medals sponsored by the American Homebrewers Association and swag also donated by them.

For anyone interested, be sure to check out the above links to get involved in homebrewing, learn to judge beer, or enter the competition 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!

The Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild & Tap Takeover Event!

 For any fan of locally produced beer, it's important to know how difficult an industry it is. Craft brewers are constantly competing with large entrenched macro breweries, many of which own controlling shares in distributors, which makes it hard or impossible to find shelf space at retail or access to quality ingredients.  To combat the 'big guy,' many small breweries band together in associations to the benefit of all.

Guilds started in the Middle Ages in Europe as a formal association of artists or craftsman to oversee the quality and function of a particular skill or product. With the explosion of local Hawai'i beer in 2005, the now-defunct Aloha Brewers Guild was formed to link these new breweries. It wasn't successful, but stood as a start.

In 2014, the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild was formed to further organize to make it easier for local breweries to produce quality beer and serve their communities without interference.  In recent months, the Guild has been submitting testimony to the state legislature for increased sales limits, and the ability to be family-friendly, among other initiatives. The Guild represents breweries based in Hawai'i that produce 100% of their beer in the state. As reported by Lanikai Brewing Company's owner Steve Haumschild, only 5% of beer consumed in the state is produced here!  Beyond lobbying, the Guild stands to educate and promote drinking local.

To that end, the Hawaiian Craft Brewers Guild will be hosting a Tap Takeover event at Square Barrels in downtown Honolulu on Wednesday, February 28, 2018 starting at 6pm! Brewery owners and representatives will be present from all members to talk story and raise support for the organization. Come down and meet:  Honolulu Beerworks - Geoff Seideman; Kauai Beer Company – Justin Guerber; Kauai Island Brewing Company – Dave Curry; Lanikai Brewing Company – Steve Haumschild; Maui Brewing Company – Garrett Marrero; Stewbum & Stonewall – Darren Garvey; and Waikiki Brewing Company – Joe P. Lorenzen.  In addition to the people, Square Barrels always has fantastic food. Each brewery is, of course, bringing beer! It's a great opportunity to try outer island breweries that aren't always available in Honolulu.

HOPS Homebrewers Kaka'ako Pub Crawl

Hawai'i never ceases to amaze. With a relatively small population and isolated geography, you can literally find a club or group for any interest. O'ahu has a few homebrewing clubs. I personally don't have the space to brew at home, but it seemed like a great way to meet like-minded people and learn more about the process of making beer. 

I jumped in at the right time. Homebrewers on Pacific Shores, or HOPS, had a pub crawl last weekend. Right from the start, people were friendly and ready for the day. Decked out in beer gear, we all met at Waikiki Brewing Company's Kaka'ako pub for lunch and a tour. It was very well organized thanks to Cindy and Siri: name tags provided, arrangements made with breweries, and just a well thought out full day.  The club is an all volunteer organization that supports the hobby. At Waikiki, we learned about the new facility with headbrewer Joe Lorenzen. They were clearly proud of the restaurant/bar area and their gleaming new equipment. The larger space gives them more room for canning and the ability to brew more than they ever could at the original location.

From there we walked to Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room, a usual haunt. Tim Golden talked about his concept for the place, which is why we like it so much there. "I'm done with dank."

We then walked to Aloha Beer Company where we had some pups. We met owner Dave Campbell for a beer history lesson, which was fascinating. He's been brewing for decades and owned the first homebrew store in Hawai'i. They graciously extended us their new British pint promotion: larger size glass with normal priced refills, plus take the glass home!

Last but not least, we headed to Home of the Brave Brewing Company / Brewseum. Here I finally got to try the Wiki Waki Woo Brew Hefe and some other newbies on tap. It's such a festive and fun place, all the newcomers loved it. We spent time in the Wiki Waki Woo Speakeasy too!  Owner Glen Tomlinson was working his cocktail magic.

Drinking is fun, but drinking with new friends is even better!

 

Barrel Aged Pele's Breath - Waikiki Brewing Company 8/25/2017

It's been a pretty dry week for new brews in the Aloha State. I had been looking forward, however, to Waikiki Brewing Company's Barrel Aged Pele's Breath, which released Friday night.  It's an imperial red ale brewed with house kiawe smoked malt and local chilis. It's aged four months in Buffalo Trace / Manulele Distillers Kohana Rum barrels.

[Manulele is the only hard liquor distillery on O'ahu; they are a self-sufficient farm for sugarcane, lettuce, and talapia. It's worth it to take their tour!]

The beer is very limited with only six barrels produced: two at Waikiki Brewing Company, two at their new Kaka'ako location, one at Village Bottle Shop, and one at Murphy's Bar; once it's gone, it's gone. It's served not super cold

 From my Untappd check-in: Very dark red, sweet aroma, nice mild bubbles, heavy yet balanced smoked flavor, bitter lingering aftertaste, only hint of grilled pepper.