Northwest Homebrewers Winners at MCAB
April, 1999Washington homebrewers John Childs and Chuck Holshouser, contenders for top honors at the 1998 Novembeerfest at Kent,WA, were once again in the running for Best of Show at the Master's Championship of Amateur Brewing, held on February 12 and 13 in Houston, TX. Both brews qualified for the first ever MCAB. This time, John, whose American Pale Ale was narrowly beaten by Chuck's doppelbock in November, took the top award - a short course in brewing from the renowned Siebel Institute of Chicago.
A homebrewer for only three years, John was excited by the news of his victory. "They called me at work," he said. "I couldn't believe it!" A medical technician at Northwest Hospital in Lynnwood, WA, he was turned on to homebrewing by the husband of a co-worker.
After "four or five" extract batches, John says he's been brewing "all grain ever since." He normally brews on a 7 gallon system (with a 10 gallon kettle), with no pumps, using a simple infusion mash.
For his best of class Novembeerfest award, John had only three bottles left - just enough to enter. He brewed several other batches using the same basic recipe for the MCAB competition, and picked the best one for his entry. John has also entered his beers in the Cascadia Cup and Brew Debut contests, and plans to enter another competition in Boulder, CO, later this year.
