Hop Chef: The Crowd Favorite

Hop Chef Champion Brewer Competition (Saturday, April 16^th) was a resounding success! The whole day was an excellent representation of the craft beer community, with a tremendous outcry of support for each other’s beers, and a commitment to having fun and getting to hang with the people that make our jobs possible! We had a kick getting to taste all 16 of the fun, delicious, and unique beers crafted for this event. Big thanks to everyone who attended and the breweries that participated; we were stoked to see folks on both sides having a blast!

Our celebrity panel of judges was made up of Brewing Networks’ Justin Crossley, Master Cicerone Nicole Erny, and Henhouse’s Co-Owner and Brewmaster Collin McDonnell. The three did an amazing job of entertaining the crowd and providing candid commentary on all of the beers. There were 3 awards selected by the judges; here’s who won:

Best Use of Ingredient

Iron Springs, “Fawlty Towers”– Basil infused Kolsch-style Ale

Best Beer Name

Bear Republic, “Sweet Child O’ Lime“- American Cream Ale with Sweet Lime

A for Effort

Thirsty Bear, “Devil’s Milkshake”– Blonde Ale with lactose and Strawberries served on nitro

And the brewery who walked away with the cherry wood mash paddle and was voted the Crowd Favorite was Alvarado Street.

Crowd Favorite

Alvarado Street, “Eddie would Gose”– Grapefruit Gose

If you missed out on the fun you can still try the beers at Drake’s Dealership, we will be putting the beers on as our guest taps. Check the beer menu on the website to see what we’ve got.

Here’s the full line-up of the beers made:

21^st Amendment, “Speed Date”– Belgian Style Dubbel with Dates

Alvarado Street, “Eddie would Gose”- Gose with Grapefruit

Bear Republic, “Sweet Child of Lime”– American Cream Ale with Sweet Limes

Cleophus Quealy, “Thai Gose to the Brewer”– Gose with Lemongrass

Drake’s, “Tears of a Sisserone”– Barrel Aged Malt Liquor with Mint

Faction, “Bizarro World”– American Strong Ale with Juniper Berries

Fieldwork, “124 Conch Street”– IPA with Sea Salt and Pineapple

Iron Springs, “Fawlty Towers”– Kolsch Style Ale with Basil

Jupiter, “Push it… A Salt-n-Pepacorn Ale”– Roggenbier with Peppercorns

Knee Deep, “Olé Molé”– Imperial Stout with Chili Peppers

Magnolia, “Ginger Says”– English Pale with Ginger

Sierra Nevada, “Marty Go Round”- Brown Ale with Raisins

Social Kitchen, “Imaginary Beach Party”– Pale Ale with Coconut

ThirstyBear, “The Devils Milkshake”– Blonde Ale with lactose and Strawberries

Triple Rock, “Hello Hibiscus”– Ale with Hibiscus

Triple Voodoo, “Blind Lemon”– Belgian style Wheat Beer with Meyer Lemons

We’re looking forward to round two of Hop Chef!