Brew Slam 2015 judging and awards wrapped up last weekend and it was quite a whirlwind of activity. If you haven't noticed yet, results from Brew Slam 2015 have been posted to the site. We ended up with 318 entries, 31 judges, and 9 stewards over both days of judging. Pretty great turnout for a first year competition!
PDF version of Brew Slam 2015 Results
Congratulations to everyone that placed in the competition. We already distributed many of the prizes at the award ceremony on Sunday, the rest will be mailed out early next week. As stated in the entry instructions, all scoresheets will be emailed to participants. You can expect them early next week as well. All Toronto Brewing gift cards for Silver and Bronze medals will be emailed out to winners.
These and most other photos by Zack Weinberg.
Thank You Volunteers!
Thanks to all of the volunteers that made this event possible. We had judges come from near and far. One judge even came all the way up from 5 hours away in NY state, another judge was visiting Toronto from Chile and our competition happened to line up. Overall we had 31 judges, 23 of whom were recognized or above in rank. Thank you judges for your patience with us, we have a few lessons learned for next year!
We had 9 incredible stewards that worked tirelessly throughout the judging days to ensure things stayed on track. They were fantastic at asking what they could help with, and this competition would have fallen apart without their help. Thank you to everyone that helped sort the entries and prizes! Our sorting night went flawlessly and we managed to sort all those entries in record time.
Last but not least, thank you to my co-organizers Geof Traill, Craig Wallace, and Andrew Kotowick. You guys were incredible and I had a great time working with you.
BOS, Pro-Ams, and Local Brewer Award
Pro-Am
John Henley of Durham Homebrewers was our Best of Show winner and he will be joining Junction Craft Brewing for a Pro-Am Brew Day. Our runner up to BOS was Eric Cousineau of GTA Brews who will be joining 5 Paddles for a Pro-Am Brew Day. The winner of Category 16 (Belgian Ales) was Scott Wallace with co-brewer Craig Wallace of GTA Brews, they will be joining Habits Nanobrewery (soon to be renamed to Folly Brewpub) for a Pro-Am Brew Day.
Brewer for a Day
We had three Brewer for a Day experiences sponsored by local breweries. Andrew Kotowick of GTA Brews won Category 10 (American Ale) and will join Left Field Brewery to help out on a brew day. Michael Hampson and co-brewer Sam Arlow of GTA Brews won Category 14 (India Pale Ale) and will be joining Rainhard Brewery to help out on a brew day. Chris Nowlan of Cowtown Yeast Wranlgers won Category 12 (Porter) and will join Muddy York Brewing Co to help out on a brew day.
Local Brewer Award - Sponsored by Fast Brewing
The brewer from the local area with the most points in the competition was Craig Wallace. He was awarded a Fast Ferment and Fast Rack kit from Fast Brewing.
Thank You Sponsors
We had an incredible amount of prizes donated for this competition, thank you to all our sponsors. Thanks to you we had plenty of loot for our winners to enjoy. Thank you homebrew stores, I hope that all those gift cards go to good use and they help get you new return customers! Special thank you to our Lead Sponsor Toronto Brewing for sponsoring all Bronze and Silver medals with $10 and $15 gift cards respectively. Thank you suppliers, your quality products will go to good use in the hands of this country's most talented brewers. Thank you to all our Pro-Am sponsors, I look forward to hearing how the Pro-Am and Brewer for a Day experiences go!
Venue hosts:
Amsterdam Brewing Co.
Lansdowne Brewery
Lead Sponsor:
Toronto Brewing
Homebrew Stores:
Beer Grains
Brewers Pantry
Everwood Ave Brew Shop
Canuck Homebrew Supply
Brew North
Short Finger Brewing
Noble Hop
Ontario Beer Kegs
Homebrew Suppliers:
FastBrewing and WineMaking
Five Star Chemicals
Hops Connect
Beersmith
Escarpment Laboratories
Pro-Am Sponsors:
5 Paddles Brewing Company
Junction Craft Brewing
Category Sponsors:
10 – American Ale: Left Field Brewery – Brewer for a Day
12- Porter: Muddy York Brewing – Brewer for a Day
14 – India Pale Ale: Rainhard Brewing – Brewer for a Day
16 – Belgian and French Ale: Habits Nanobrewery – Pro-Am on Cat 16
Breweries:
Garden Brewers
Longslice Brewery
