TTB’s latest LOOKatOKC column
This actually was on the racks and online last week, but I forgot to post it here. I initially put up a smallish post about Choc’s upcoming home brewing contest. I went into more detail in my column. Here you go:
So maybe you fancy yourself quite the home-brewing savant.
You probably wonder how anyone can drink half the stuff out there. After all, it certainly doesn’t measure up to the liquid gold you’re hand-crafting in your garage.
If only you had a chance to prove your mastery, right?
Well, now you have the chance.
The fellows at Choc Beer recently announced their first home brewing contest: Brew at Choc. This contest is wide open, and first prize really is something to raise a glass to.
For starters, any beer type is allowed. Choc sales and marketing director Zach Prichard said they considered specifying a certain beer type, but decided to leave it open to allow brewers to be creative. They even encourage non-traditional styles. Prichard said the idea of a home brew contest was a natural for Choc.
“We owe a lot of our success to home brewing,” he said. “Our brewery started out as a very crude homebrew around 90 years ago. So it seems like a great way to honor and recognize this tradition while at the same time exposing ourselves to some new ideas.”
Prichard said the guys at Choc are looking forward to seeing what home brewers have to offer. The experience will even help them get their own creative brewing juices flowing, he said.
So how do you enter? Just make your beer and drop it if off at Choc, or mail it in to the brewery, along with a brief description of the ingredients and brewing process. Simple, right? The deadline is Feb. 26.
And how about that first prize? The winning beer will be brewed by Choc and sold in liquor stores alongside other offering in Choc’s Brewmaster’s Signature Series. On top of that, the brewery will enter the beer in the 2010 Great American Beer Festival in Denver.
I wondered to Prichard what would happen if they didn’t get a really good beer. You know, would that make them hesitate to follow through on brewing it and entering it in competition?
Prichard said their problem likely won’t be getting one good beer, but picking from several good ones.
“A lot of time the smaller home setups allow brewers to take more chances, be more creative, and in turn produce remarkable beers,” he said.
The Choc brewery is located at 120 SW 8th, Krebs, OK 74554. Have questions about the contest? E-mail Prichard at zach@chocbeer.com.
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[...] -The deadline for Choc’s Brew at Home Homebrew Competition is Friday. You can learn more about the competition here. [...]