First Club Competition A Success!

The following is a summary of the evening, written by Bill D., who included the text below into an email to Geary's Brewing Co. in Portland, ME.

On Tuesday evening, August 09, Patrick Scanlon won the Geary's Pale Ale competition of the Indiana Pennsylvania Alesmiths (IPAs) homebrew club held at Ray Schamus's Pennsylvania Barbecue in Indiana, PA.

In April, 2011, Bill Dietrich, under the direction of president Nate McElroy, circulated copies of the recipe for the Geary's Pale Ale clone from "Clonebrews" ( T & M Szamatuiski, 1998, pg. 149). The objective was to have each member brew the same beer to see which came out best. Tom Montgomery of Montgomery Underground Winery, and our local homebrew supplier, made kits for both all-grain and extract brewers.

In all, there were thirteen brews to try plus a six pack of Geary's Pale Ale brought from the brewery on Bill's recent fishing trip to Maine.

The event was a success and all of the ales were very good. A first-time brewer and two brewers who had not brewed in a long time entered the competition. Twenty three beer enthusiasts tasted and voted for the best Geary's Pale Ale clone. The winner, Pat Scanlon, brewed an all-grain recipe on his home-built recirculating brew system. He was awarded a glass, some cozies and bottle opener from Geary's.

A good time was had by all.