The #SpoBREW Classic: A recap

It came, it went, and we’re still bowled over how well the #SpoBREW Classic worked out. (And really, the success was none of our doing.) Fifteen great homebrews—there wasn’t one bad beer this year, possibly because we weren’t competing—and a record turnout flanked by Veraci Pizza were just a few of the things that made this a great evening.

So, what place better to begin than with the votes? Who won? Who lost? Who made a comeback?

We had two categories this year: hoppy and malty. Each team had its own table where brewers and the public could come sampling while chatting with the homebrewers. The brewers and judges picked their winners in each category, and the highest overall score from the judges crowned the one true winner.

The brewers speak

Brad and Joel somewhat famously broke up after winning #SpoBREW together, something that sent Brad spiraling down to last place in #SpoBREW2. Now together again, the two came back and reclaimed their throne with their Smooth, Brown & Juicy, a black IPA-ish.

Stephen and Vik—the latter our brilliant as ever announcer—were close, but their IPA didn’t quite put them over the top. Helge, who won the judge’s choice (see below), only placed #4 with the brewers. Just goes to show how different people’s tastes are.

In the end, the race was close, and with last place scoring a very respectable 16.19 points, we can safely say all beers in the hoppy category held a high quality.

As for the malty category…

It’s interesting that the malty category entries received higher overall points than the hoppy one. That’s somewhat abnormal here in the IPA-obsessed Northwest.

And damn close the tally was too.

Joe’s Bulk Bin Fever just barely managed to inch ahead of Ben and Nathan’s A Touch Too Much. .03 points was all that separated the two teams.

And again, one of the judges’s choices placed low: Jason and Joe—the judges’s winner—only managed to hit #6 with the brewers. Stephanie and Heidi ended up last, though that could be because they ran out of beer. (As did Joe, but apparently late enough for it not too have much of a negative impact.)

Enter the judges

Once again we were lucky enough to have two great and, not least, professional judges: New Belgium’s Ely Johnson made his third #SpoBREW appearance, while Big Sky’s Joe Petrilli made his second. If we’ve learned anything over the years it’s that these guys know their stuff. So what did they think about the contest beers?

Helge repeated his win from last year, proving once and for all that Norwegians are pretty much perfect. It was a close race, and Vik and Stephen once again sat comfortably at second place. Maybe the most interesting part was seeing Brad and Joel at the bottom. They won the brewers’s choice for hoppy category, as well as the unofficial audience vote. Was the ish in their black IPA-ish just a bit too much of an ish?

Jason and Joe’s northern German altbier might not have been a hit with the brewers, but the judges found it spot on, and a perfect example of the style. Said one of them: "to style!".

The love-hate relationship people had with Allison and Ted’s marzipan ale continued with the judges, which I suppose kind of reflects how people feel about marzipan in general. It’s not something for everyone, but it definitely is something for us, which in the end is all that matters

And the overall winner? Helge’s imperial IPA took it home, with the highest overall score of the competition. Congratulations!

The art contest

This one was simple: in the end there was no art contest. And really, there wouldn’t have been much of a contest no matter how many people entered, as LK Studio’s Lars likely would have dominated with his Drink Local Beer poster.

Luckily Lars’s work did not go to waste. Twenty posters were printed up and sold, with all proceeds being donated to our host, the Porch. Not surprisingly we ran through them quickly.

A few thanks to these awesome people

Veraci was as usual at hand serving up their pizza, and a hit it was too. Again. But that should surprise no-one.

The beer might have been served at tables this year, but that doesn’t mean we made the judges go and serve themselves. Barry was the event’s beer wench, and a great job he did getting the judges their beer!

And speaking of the judges, they deserve a special thank, not just for judging, but also for their generosity. Ely and New Belgium provided grade A tasting glasses, while Big Sky Joe brought beer. The professional kind.

The event could of course not have taken place had it not been for the Porch providing their space again. People always point out how great their building is, and with good reason. The place has been good to us over the last three years!

Finally, thanks to Mark for providing photos from the event!

Really finally, just for fun, here are the audience favorites.

And that’s it! Return to SpoCOOL.