Brewing students won awards at local homebrew competition
On August 10, 2024, Cincinnati State Brewing Science students competed in the 36th annual “Beer and Sweat” homebrewing competition hosted by the Bloatarian Brewing League, a homebrewing club based in Erlanger, Kentucky. Event participants representing the entire tri-state area and from as far away as Washington, DC, entered 110 beers in the competition.
Three CState students won medals for their beers:
- Ashley Goebel won the Student Best of Show award for “Better Luck Next Time,” an Irish Red Ale.
- Megan Bowersox earned 3rd place in the “Weird Beer” category for “Beery Lemon Burst,” a blueberry-lemon American Wheat Beer.
- Ben Obenour and Matt Blumena collaborated on brewing “Vibe Czech,” a Czech Dark Lager, and took 3rd place in the “Liquid Thunder” category and also were runner-up in the Student Best of Show category.
Other CState participants included:
- Joel Davidson, who brewed “The Fourth Doctor,” an English Mild.
- Oscar Sanchez, who brewed “La Tropicana,” an American Pale Ale with banana, mango, and pineapple.
- Faculty member Larry Feist, who joined the students for the competition, brewed “FeistFest,” a Märzen-style Oktoberfest beer.
Beers were grouped by style and graded by judges from the Beer Judge Certification Program— the same program that evaluates entries for professional brewery competitions around the world.
Brewing Science Program Chair Caleb Ochs-Naderer said, “This was a fantastic learning opportunity. The students had to create a beer from grain-to-glass, and then were formally evaluated by professional judges.”
He added, “Many of the homebrewers who participated have been brewing for 20 years or more, so it’s a huge accomplishment for our students to earn recognition alongside them.”
Ochs-Naderer also participated in the event as a judge for the Soda, Specialty IPA, and overall Best of Show categories.
