The Iron Brewer beers have been judged and a winner has been declared.  Before I go any further, allow me to bring you up to speed if you are not aware what the Iron Brewer competition is.  The Iron Brewer competition is organized by the B.U.Z.Z. homebrew  club and Iron Hill Brewery.  20 homebrewers receive wort from Iron Hill (Thanks Larry and Jean), and then transform that wort into yummy, fermented goodness.  This years wort was from a Triple recipe, and brewers added their own creativity to make some unique beers.  The styles created ranged from Dark IPAs (I know Jean loves this term:), “it’s a paradox,think about it”), Belgian Strong Ales and even a Gruit.

But wait, this competition gets even better.  The winner gets to come back to Iron Hill brewery and brew his or her recipe, with Larry and Jean.  But wait, there is even more.  As if brewing with Larry and Jean is not a good enough prize, the beer will also be tapped at a special event during Philly Beer Week.  So, lets get to the winners.

Taking third place, was Brian Parker with his Hopped Belgian Triple.

Second place was a Imperial Java Milk Stout (yummy )

And the winner of this year’s 2010 Iron Brewer competition is……………………………………………

DAVE HOUSEMAN with a Baltic Porter!

Congrats to Dave and everyone that took part in the competition!  The official tapping of Dave’s winning Baltic Porter will occur during a special event at Philly Beer Week. Friday June 11th 2010 Iron Hill will have a ceremonial tapping and release party.

Thats right, it’s finally time.  Station Taproom is planning on opening its doors on Wednesday, April 21st @ 3pm.  For those who don’t know, Station Taproom is the new craft beer bar opening in Downingtown, Pa.  Craft beer, fine wine, great scotch and amazing food are what you can expect from this place.  So, Artisan Homebrew will be closing @ 3 pm on Wed. April 21st in order to welcome Sean and Mark to the neighborhood.  Is it a wise business decision?, probably not.  Is it a great “beer lover” decision? ASOLUTELY!!  So I hope y’all can join me at the Station Taproom.

We will be closed on Easter Sunday.  Have a great holiday.

The varieties include Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Fuggle, Golding, Mt Hood, Perle, Willamette and Zeus.  Limited supply.

I have been trying to get a homebrew club together for a while now, and I finally set a date for the first meeting.  Wednesday, March 24 @ 7:15pm.  However, we will not be meeting at the store, because of the limited space.  The meeting will be at The Bistro at Our Town in Exton, Pa.  The Bistro can be hard to find.  It is located in the same shopping center as The Giant, Sports Authority and next to Capriotti’s.

The first meeting is really going to be about getting to know each other.  We will need to think of a club name, so start thinking (B.U.Z.Z. is already taking ).  We will also need to decide what the best night of the week is for everyone.  I want everyone to have input on how the club should work, so this first meeting will be important.  Send me an email, mike@artisanhomebrew.com, or call, 610-873-4677,  to let me know if you want to attend.  I just want to get an idea of how many people to expect.  Thanks, and I look forward to sharing homebrew and ideas with everyone.

Keep in mind, there is already a great local club, called BUZZ, that meets @ Iron Hill W.C., every 3rd Monday of the month.  I also urge homebrewers to attend these meetings as well,  they are a great group of brewer with alot of good information.

Cheers, Mike

Starting today, January 29th, until the end of February, all 1oz bags of hops (in stock) will be 15 % off.

I went to Iron Hill, in West Chester, last night for the monthly BUZZ homebrew meeting.  I was hearing alot of talk about the new double ipa called Kryptonite, so I quickly ordered one.  The aroma was a blast of hops that hit hard, like a comic book caption- POW!  The taste pulls no punches either,- KABOOM!  In my opinion, this could be the greatest IIPA on the east coast.  So, for what it’s worth, I recommend going to Iron Hill before it’s gone. 

McKenzie Brew House is having a Belgian Homebrew Competition!  click here for more details.