Winners Announced in Alaskan Homebrew Competition

Oud bruin and doppelbock tie for Best in Show

Greg Morgan, a brewer for Alaskan Brewing, and Ben Jahn, Alaskan Brewing Tasting Room Manager, judge entries in the Alaskan Homebrew Competition on October 4, 2019.

October 29, 2019 (JUNEAU, Alaska) – Judges awarded medals for outstanding homebrews in 16 categories at Alaskan Brewing Co.’s annual Alaskan Homebrew Competition. Medals were also awarded for Best in Show and Best of Spruce, the special ingredient category for this year’s competition.

This year, judges decided on two Best in Show winners, awarding medals to Kent Ficek for his Aesop’s Oaken Orchard, a barrel-aged oud bruin, or Belgian-style dark sour, and to Hanseath for his St. Arnold Doppel, a malt forward German-style ale. Hanseath also took Best of Spruce with his DWA-KUZA. Best in Show winners win a trip to Juneau to brew at Alaskan Brewing as well as $500 in cash.

“We received a ton of great entries this year, and we’re excited to see homebrewers stepping up to the plate with unique and complex recipes,” said Alaskan Brewing Co.’s Bekah Evans, one of the competition’s organizers. “Our founders, as well as many of our Brew Crew, started out as homebrewers, and we’re all about encouraging folks to brew.”

This year’s competition received 111 entries from nine different states. The competition was judged blindly according to Beer Judging Certification Program rules by 28 judges, with many of the judges recognized as beer judges by the BJCP.

Full results of the competition are below.

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

For more information on the Alaskan Homebrew Competition, visit alaskanbeer.com/homebrew.

###

Contact: Andy Kline, Communications Manager, 907.780.5922. akline@alaskanbeer.com