Delaware Wine and Beer Festival to Host Homebrew Championship

DOVER, Del. — Delaware will crown its first homebrew champion on Sunday, October 20 at the Delaware Wine and Beer Festival, Sunday, October 20 at the Delaware Agricultural Museum & Village in Dover from 12 noon to 5 p.m.

The event is an American Homebrewers Association sanctioned competition, meaning the champion will be selected by Beer Judge Certified Program (BJCP) judges. Festival-goers who purchase the VIP ticket package will select the semi-finalists in five categories, and the certified judges will pick the champion from among those five.

The winner, in addition to holding the state title, will earn $250 in cash, a minimum of $250 in prizes from the Delaware Wine and Ale Trail and Cabot Cheese, plus a ribbon. Five finalists will earn ribbons. The competition is sponsored by How Do You Brew, a wine and beer homebrew store located in Newark, DE.

The five categories will include: IPA (American/Imperial); American Ale (Pale, Amber, and Brown); Delaware-Grown Fruit Beer; Belgian/French Ale; and Specialty.

“We also wanted to announce that the competition rules have changed,” said Charles Gray, who is managing the competition for Kent County Tourism, producers of the Festival. “Our Homebrewers let us know that we had originally asked for too much beer per entry,” he said. “And we listened. The new requirement is 6-12 bottles or keg equivalent per entry.” Gray said that amount should be sufficient for VIP ticket holders to choose five finalists, from which the certified judges will select the state champion.

To enter, purchase a $10 “Brew Competition” ticket online at http://www.eventbrite/delawarehomebrew. Competitors are asked to deliver their entries to the Festival grounds in Dover between 11 a.m. and 12 noon on Sunday, October 20. Competitors may also purchase a greatly-discounted $10 festival ticket with five tastings.

The Delaware Wine and Beer Festival, now in its fourth year, is Delaware’s official Wine and Beer Festival, featuring Delaware’s wineries, breweries and distilleries at one great event. This year’s theme is “Drink Local, Eat Local and Buy Local,” and will feature select Delaware restaurants serving seafood, barbecue and gourmet sandwiches; 40 Delaware artists and artisans, corn hole tournament, keg tossing competition and live reggae music by the Island Boyz.

The first 500 ticket buyers will receive their choice of a free wine or beer glass, and VIP ticket holders can sample and judge the semi-finalists of the Delaware Homebrew Championship. This year’s event will include expanded free parking adjacent to the festival grounds, the 19th century farm village.

For tickets, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5171847134. For information on the event, which is owned and managed by Kent County Tourism, a non-profit destination marketing organization headquartered in Dover, DE, visit http://www.DelawareWineandBeerFestival.com, or call 800-233-5368.