National Organic Brewing Challenge 2011 National Organic Brewing Challenge Presented by Seven Bridges Cooperative October 8, 2011 in Santa Cruz, CA 2011 Winners Announced! Best of Show Bernie Ducat - Toasted Coconut Porter Pilsner 1st place: Nick Pavlina - Bohemian Pilsner Bock 1st place: Nick Pavlina - Traditional Bock Light Hybrid 1st place: Nick Pavlina - American Wheat 2nd place: Nick Pavlina - Blonde English Pale 1st place: Ryan Hall - ESB 2nd place: Nick Pavlina - ESB 3rd place: Michael Carson - ESB Scottish and Irish 1st place: Dan Schreffler - Scottish Light/60 American Ale 1st place: Ryan Hall - Amber 2nd place: Darrell Rogers - Pale English Brown 1st place: Kirk Mathew - Northern English Brown Porter 1st place: John Hoover - Robust Porter 2nd place: Dan Schreffler - Baltic Porter Stout 1st place: Michael Lipton - Russian Imperial Stout 2nd place: Kevin Wright - Oatmeal Stout IPA 1st place: Sean McMasters - American IPA German Wheat/Rye 1st place: Dan Schreffler - Weizen Belgian and French 1st place: Bob Davidson - Saison w/ Brett and Lacto 2nd place: Michael Lipton - Dark Strong w/spices 3rd place: Shawn Sutton - Pale w/ Brett Belgian Strong 1st place: Anne Gregg - Dubbel 2nd place: John Hoover - Tripel 3rd place: Peter Vanderhaak - Tripel Strong Ale 1st place: John Hoover - Old Ale 2nd place: Sean Gregg - English Barleywine Fruit Beer 1st place: John Hoover - Saison w/Mango Spice, Herb, and Vegetable 1st place: Bernie Ducat - Toasted Coconut Porter Spice, Herb, and Vegetable 2nd place: Kirk Mathew - Xmas/Winter Specialty Specialty 1st place: Mike Persinger - Session Beer w/Lemon Entry deadline is October 5 All BJCP categories 1-23 accepted Only All-organic beers accepted Awards will be given to top entries of each category. Complete details & entry forms available now. Once a year, organic brewers compete head to head in a national competition that is professionally judged just for organic beers. The basic spirit of this contest is to celebrate the diversity of organic ingredients that are available and to promote brewing with organically grown ingredients. Creative & inspired interpretation of recipes is strongly encouraged because not every ingredient under the sun is available organic. The range of ingredients may be more limited, but with today's choices of fresh, clean, organic ingredients, virtually any style is possible to homebrewers with open minds and creative skills! Brewing great organic beer at home is a true challenge, and now those who take the challenge can realize the rewards of prizes and recognition that participating in this contest can bring. These challenges are similar to what commercial organic breweries face- how to brew popular, tasty beer styles without resorting to conventionally grown malt, hops, or chemical additives. Brewers who make the choice to brew organic are helping fund a global endeavor to support the huge effort organic hop and malt growers face in cultivating crops commercially and profitably without using a toxic soup of chemicals. The contest rules differ slightly from other homebrew contests because all of the ingredients must be verified organic. Just as professional brewers of certified organic beer have to show documentation that all ingredients are USDA certified, the entries will have to include a complete recipe listing the source of each ingredient- good practice for homebrewers hoping to “go pro” as organic brewers in the future. Similar to the German beer purity law, the Reinheitsgebot, which states that the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water, Seven Bridges promotes the “Organic Beer Purity Standard” which further states that all of the Barley and Hops must be organic. This competition presents a new challenge to modern day homebrewers accustomed to a huge selection of hops, barley malt, malt extract, and other brewing ingredients, because ingredients that are organically grown make up a much smaller list. Homebrewers are expected to use creative interpretation and skill in ingredient selection to brew world famous beer styles such as IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Hefeweizen, and Pale Ale using only organic ingredients. This challenge is reminiscent of the early days of modern homebrewing in the late 70’s and early 80’s when homebrewing became federally legal in 1978 and quality ingredients available to homebrewers were scarce but the desire to brew great beer at home was strong. Feedback from one of the contestants about the 2009 competition: "Hi 7 Bridges, Thanks for hosting the National Organic Homebrew Contest, it was my first competition out on the famous West Coast, home to hoppy Pale Ales. Even though I did not come close to winning ( a 30 for an IPA) I found the score sheets very valuable. I have entered about 12 competitions here on the East Coast, but by far, your judges gave the best feedback, not only on the short comings, but on ways to improve the recipe and brewing procedure. I will certainly enter next year with a vengeance ;- ) All the best. Fritz" A Huge Thank You from all of us at Seven Bridges to all of the Judges, Volunteers, Sponsors, and Contestants!! Important Links: Entry Form: Download the Contest Entry Form How to Enter: Entry Requirements and Instructions Prizes & Contest Sponsors: 2011 Prizes and Sponsors Beer Judge Certification Program Website: BJCP Website Organic Beer Homebrew Recipe Database: 7 Bridges Organic Beer Recipe Database Volunteer Judges and other Volunteers are wanted- Contact us if interested: 7bridges@breworganic.com 2010 Competition- pictures, list of winners, and winning recipes: 2010 NOHC Archives 2009 Competition- pictures, list of winners, and winning recipes: 2009 NOHC Archives 2008 Competition- pictures, list of winners, and winning recipes: 2008 NOHC Archives 2007 Competition- pictures, list of winners, and winning recipes: 2007 NOHC Archives Dates: Entry deadline is October 5th at 6 pm. Entries received after the entry date will not be entered in the contest. Contest Judging October 8 Only judges, volunteers, and Seven Bridges staff will be permitted to attend the judging. Entry Requirements- Homebrew Division: Entry fee of $7 for first entry and $5 for each additional entry from the same brewer. 3 bottles required per entry. Bottles must be no smaller than 8 oz. and no larger than 22 oz, with no labels or other markings on the bottle. All malt, hops, and adjuncts must be verified organically grown. Yeast or other ingredients containing GMO's (genetically modified organisms) are not permitted. If an organic ingredient is unknown by the contest committee (comprised of 7 Bridges staff and volunteers) further verification may be required, such as a purchase receipt showing that the item purchased is organically grown. Rules: All Ingredients must be certified organic or organically homegrown except yeast and non flavor, non chemical additives. The only non-organic additives allowed are: Burton salts, calcium carbonate, calcium chloride, citric acid, gypsum, Irish moss, lactic acid, magnesium sulfate, potassium chloride, and yeast. Genetically modified ingredeints are not allowed. Each entry must include a recipe form which lists the source of each ingredient. Entries will be judged according to the BJCP Style guidelines which are published here: http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.html Entries and empty bottles will not be returned. See complete contest rules for further details. Prizes: There will be prizes for the 1st, & 2nd place winning entries that score at least 25 points in each category. 3rd place winners will recive a placard and some categories may have 3rd place prizes as well. Winners and the winning recipes may be published on the Seven Bridges Cooperative recipe page: http://www.breworganic.com/recipes/recipes_menu.htm All prizes and sponsors are listed on the prizes and sponsors page. Categories (homebrew & craft brew): All style categories will be judged according to the BJCP style guidelines. All beer style entries will be accepted. If the style you wish to enter is not listed as a main category, you may enter it under Specialty. Because there are prizes in each of the main categories of this competition, you are most likely to win prizes and awards in categories with fewer entries. BJCP categories 1-23 accepted *A special Grand prize will be awarded to the top scoring entrant of this category. The winning recipe will be made into a Certified Organic Beer Kit. More information on our prizes and sponsors page

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