New Zealand’s Best Amateur Brewer to Be Announced

New Zealand’s Best Amateur Brewer to Be Announced

Amateur brewers from across the country will be keeping their fingers crossed as they await the results of the 2014 SOBA National Homebrew Competition this weekend.

For the 8th year, a group of expert judges will taste hundreds of beers over November 1st and 2nd in Hamilton.

As well as vying for some fantastic prizes, all brewers will receive feedback from the judging panel headed by international beer judge Graeme Mahy. Other notable panel members include New Zealand brewing legend Ben Middlemiss, plus brewers Kieran Haslett-Moore of North End, Søren Eriksen of 8 Wired, Dave Kurth from Hot Water Brewing, Tracy Banner of the Sprig & Fern, and 2014 Brewer’s Guild champion Martin Townshend.

Competition organiser Greig McGill says almost 400 entries were received last year and a similar, if not higher amount, was expected this time round.

It was great, and a sign of the maturing beer community, to see more and more women entering the competition and enjoying beer in general.

"Historically, brewing was a job done almost entirely by women. In more recent times, it's become seen as a very blokey thing to do.

“Luckily for us, women are realising that brewing is a great hobby, and that's been reflected in the growing number of female entrants. It would be great to see that trend continue."

The brewer judged New Zealand champion - the person with the most points across all their entries - will again be provided with a generous brewing scholarship package provided by BeerNZ. This will consist of a 2015 “SOBA NHC Beer” release brewed by the champion brewer at Four Avenues in Christchurch, as well as training and education in commercial brewing, plus sponsored further releases at the brewer’s discretion.

Last year’s winner, Matt Smith, has just released his American Brown Ale brewed at Four Avenues as part of his prize.

Describing the NHC as the highlight of his homebrewing year since he first entered in 2010, winning champion brewer provided the perfect opportunity to kick-start a career in brewing.

“As I had long been daydreaming about owning my own brewery, and had a plan in motion to achieve this, the prize couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Brewing at Four Avenues in Christchurch was a great crash course in commercial brewing operations along with the ins and outs of scaling a home-brew recipe for large scale production.

Meanwhile, the brewer behind the competition’s champion beer, the individual brew that scores the highest, will also have the opportunity (and bragging rights) to see it released on a commercial scale by Auckland brewery Hallertau.

Last year Barbra Joppa’s stout was judged number one. She brewed her “Joppa Stout” at Hallertau and the beer was received warmly by critics and beer drinkers alike.

The competition will be held at the Ruakura Research Campus in Hamilton and is sponsored by Cryer Malt, BeerNZ, The Grainfather and NZ Hops Entries cost $15 or $10 if you are a SOBA member, and full details can be found at http://nhc.soba.org.nz.

The Society of Beer Advocates was formed in 2006. It is a consumer-based organisation with a mission to educate, promote, and advocate for the appreciation of, and access to, a diverse range of quality beer. www.soba.org.nz

ENDS

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