On Saturday, June 29th the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) awarded 102 medals to amateur brewers and homebrew clubs worldwide at the 2019 AHA National Homebrew Competition (NHC). In a ceremony Saturday at the Rhode Island Convention Center, medals were presented for the most outstanding homemade beer, mead, and cider in 34 categories.

More from a press release:

Over its 41-year history, 152,429 brews have been evaluated since the inaugural AHA National Homebrew Competition in 1979 in Boulder, Colo. This year’s competition judged 9,189 entries from 3,492 homebrewers located in 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 17 countries. The most-entered category was Specialty IPA, with 475 entries. 

MOST-ENTERED STYLE CATEGORIES
The winners of the top five most-entered categories were: 

Cat 17: Specialty IPA (475 entries)
GOLD: Tom Beach, Rocky River, OH, Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers
SILVER: Josh Clark, Littleton, MA, Boston Wort Processors
BRONZE: Matt Cowper and Aaron Vieira, Costa Mesa, CA, Orange County Mash Ups 

Cat 25: Spiced Beer (430 entries)
GOLD: Tom Lawrence and Zach Dixon, San Diego, CA
SILVER: Scott Sykes, Plymouth, MN, Mötley Brüe - Twin Cities Home Brew Club
BRONZE: Keith Linn, Rogers, AR, Fayetteville Lovers of Pure Suds FLOPS 

Cat 2: Pale European Beer (394 entries)
GOLD: Gregory Irving and Mike Yingling, North Royalton, OH, Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers
SILVER: Metts Potter, Browns Summit, NC, Battleground Brewers Guild
BRONZE: Russell Berger, Portland, OR, Portland Brewers Collective 

Cat 22: Strong Belgian Ale (389 entries)
GOLD: Michael Maugel and Jarrod Hanson, Denver, CO
SILVER: Wesley Carmichael and Mandy Naglich, New York, NY
BRONZE: Jonas Geiss and Luiz Carlos Gaspar, Guarulhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, AcervA Paulista 

Cat 13: British & Irish Stout (369 entries)
GOLD: Josh Baas and Jeff Rorison, Elk Grove, CA
SILVER: Gregory Irving, North Royalton, OH, Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers
BRONZE: Maggie and Tom Seitz, Fort Meyers, FL, Hangar 41 Brew Club

MAJOR AWARDS
In addition to category style awards, six major awards recognizing overall brewing excellence were presented.

• Samuel Adams Ninkasi Award: Awarded to the entrant accumulating the most points in the Final Round of competition.
   • Mark Peterson, Queen Creek, AZ

• Homebrewer of the Year Award
   • Mark Peterson, Queen Creek, AZ

• Cidermaker of the Year Award
   • Michael Wilcox, Wichita, KS

• Meadmaker of the Year Award
   • Michael Wilcox with Scot Schaar and Carvin Wilson, Wichita, KS NHC 

• Homebrew Club Award: Awarded to the club accumulating the most total points in all categories of beer, mead, and cider in the Final Round of competition.
   • Arizona Society of Homebrewers

• Gambrinus Club Award: Awarded to the club garnering the most Final Round points per total club entries.
   • Battleground Brewers Guild, Greensboro, NC

HOMEBREW CON™ 
The competition’s final round judging and award ceremony were held in conjunction with AHA’s annual conference, Homebrew Con. The three-day conference and expo, the largest of its kind for amateur brewers, mead and cidermakers, hosted nearly 3,000 attendees and offered more than 70 educational seminars on beer styles, the brewing process, ingredients, recipe formulation, sensory analysis, and yeast & fermentation. 

“Over the years, we’ve seen homebrewers push the envelope for what beer can be, leading the way with style awareness and ingenuity,” said Gary Glass, director American Homebrewers Association. “Congratulations to this year’s winners of the National Homebrew Competition for their achievement and their commitment to the greatest hobby there is – homebrewing.” 

A complete list of winners of the 2019 National Homebrew Competition can be found here. 

Editor’s note: Photos for media use are available upon request. 

The 2019 AHA National Homebrew Competition was made possible in part by the generous support of its sponsors. 

Contact: Alex Kofsky, on behalf of the American Homebrewers Association, (212) 255-75417 
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About the American Homebrewers Association 

The American Homebrewers Association^® (AHA) has worked on behalf of the homebrewing community since 1978 and celebrates a membership of more than 46,000 homebrewers. The American Homebrewers Association organizes events including Homebrew Con™ and the National Homebrew Competition. The AHA also publishes Zymurgy^® magazine for homebrewers and beer lovers, and offers money-saving deals and recipes via the Brew Guru®  mobile app. The AHA is part of the Brewers Association℠ (BA), whose independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The BA’s Brewers Publications^® division is the leading publisher of contemporary and relevant brewing literature for today’s craft brewers and homebrewers.

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