© 2009 Ed Bronson
National Homebrewers Conference
National Homebrew Competition Winners Announced!
National Homebrew Competition judges have chosen this year's winners! A total of 1,310 brewers entered the competition in the First Round. Following the First Round, 455 brewers qualified to enter 840 brews in the Final Round. Of these, 422 brewers sent 760 entries to the Final Round. There were 84 category awards possible in the Final Round, and 71 brewers won those awards.
| NHC 2008 | NHC 2009 | |
| Number of Entries | 5,644 | 5,166 |
| Advancing Entries Judged in the Final Round | 759 | 760 |
| Number of Brewer Entered | 1,308 | 1,310 |
Gordon Strong of Beavercreek, OH was a repeat winner of the Ninkasi Award, which is given to the brewer who scores the most points for awards in the Final Round. The Saint Paul Homebrewers Club of Saint Paul, MN won the Homebrew Club of the Year Award for the third straight year.
The Gambrinus Club Award was won by a club with approximately 140 members. Eight club members entered 44 brews in the First Round of the National Homebrew Competition. Four brewers advanced 12 brews to the Final Round, and two of the entries earned Gold medals for 12 points (the points awarded are 6, 4, 2 for Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, respectively).
This year three Gold medals were awarded to the same brewer as last year:
- Richard McLain of Highlands Ranch, CO took the Gold medal in category 10 for the second year in a row. Category 10, American Ale, is one of the most entered categories in the competition with 364 entries this year and 430 entries last year.
- Thomas Eibner of St. Paul, MN took the Gold medal in category 25 for the second year in a row using the same cherry mead in both competitions. Thomas won the mead Best of Show, Meadmaker of the Year award this year.
- Jeff Carlson of Grand Rapids, MI took the Gold medal in category 27 for the second year in a row with a Common Cider. Jeff is the Cidermaker of the Year (Best of Show cider) for the second year in a row.
There were 155 judges, of which 150 are BJCP-ranked judges, and 30-40 stewards who volunteered their time and effort for the competition.
We would like to thank the Brewing Network for the live audio stream of the awards broadcast, and thank all of the Final Round judges and participants!
See the 2009 Winners!
Keynote Speaker
Ken Grossman, co-founder and president of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was the keynote speaker for the 2009 conference. Ken was introduced to the homebrewing hobby by a friend, and owned The Home Brew Shop before brewing his first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on November 15, 1980.
Read the full Press Release.
© 2009 Ed Bronson
What is the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) National Homebrewers Conference?
The National Homebrewers Conference is a fun, educational gathering designed to enhance homebrewers' brewing skills and knowledge and increase homebrewing camaraderie. Special seminars and events cater to beer enthusiasts and amateur brewers of every level.
The American Homebrewers Association is a division of the Brewers Association, established 1978 in Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A. In 1979, 200 people attended the first AHA National Homebrewers Conference held in Boulder, Colorado Now the conference is recognized as the world's largest-attended conference devoted to amateur brewers.
