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Annual beer brewing competition to be held May 16

From press release

Published: May 5, 2009

Amateur beer brewers from throughout the Carolinas have an opportunity to showcase their original brews at the 19th annual US Open Homebrew Competition on May 16. The competition will be judged at Carolina Beer & Beverage in Mooresville.

The US Open competition will be open to 27 nationally recognized beer categories and prizes consist of ribbons for each category, and then narrowed to three Best of Show awards. Also to be awarded is the highly coveted Gambrinus Cup; the opportunity for a winning recipe to be brewed on a commercial scale by Carolina Beer & Beverage and offered to the public as a premium beer at the 2009 Carolina Renaissance Festival, held weekends from Oct. 10 to Nov. 22.

Arguably a more diversely flavored beverage than wine, beer is a complex collection of a wide range of ingredients. Amateur brewers must carefully calculate the ratio of various malts, hops and yeast along with precision timing for boiling, cooling, fermenting and storage. Slight variation and any one of the many ingredients and steps in the brewing process can seriously alter the beer's flavor and affect the style in which the beer may be categorized (ale, stout, porter, etc.).

Judges in the US Open have undergone rigorous Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) enabling them to successfully identify by scent, sight and palate the various ingredients that make up a top-quality, hand crafted brew.

The US Open Homebrew Competition will be hosted by the Carolina Brewmasters, a non-profit club whose members are dedicated to the time-honored craft of beer brewing, and is sponsored by Carolina Beer & Beverage and The Carolina Renaissance Festival. Amateur beer brewers in the Carolinas interested in entering the competition can learn more at www.carolinabrewmasters.com.

More information about Carolina Beer & Beverage can be found at www.carolinablonde.com. More information about the Carolina Renaissance Festival can be found at www.royalfaires.com/carolina.