Two Lugwrench Beers Medalled at OSHC

The results of the 2013 Ocean State Homebrew Competition were announced last night and Lug Wrench was elated to see two of our "beers" on the list of winners.  It has been a real pleasure watching the OSHC grow from small beginings into a sizable competition, with 359 entries this year.

Our Frosty Fool Eisbock was awarded a silver medal in the Bock category (out of 12 entries).  I struggled with whether to enter it as a doppelbock or a true eisbock, but ended up putting it in the doppelbock category as I didn't think it was "over-the-top" enough to do well as a eisbock.  Competitions tend to award those beers that stand out in their categories, so strong doppelbock would likely do better than a middle-of-the-road eisbock.  The true test will be when I get to read the judges comments to see how the pegged the beer, but given its place on the awards table, it obviously did well as a dopplebock.

Our Mason Dixon Line Mead won a gold medal in the Traditional Mead category.  However, given there were only two entries in the category, we'll take this win with a grain of salt.  This was actually the first time I've entered a mead (Tom has won a few medals before for his meads), but this mead was special as it was a combination of Virginia and Rhode Island honey (thanks yet again to Bil for the RI honey!).  What impressed me most about the mead is how it has evolved over the years.  Tom originally described it having a very medicinal quality in its early life and we both shelved it and forgot about it.  But recent tastings showed it to have transformed considerably - enough so to give it a try in competition.  It goes to show that unless a beer or mead is critically flawed, there is always value in letting it age out and watching the flavors change over time - many times for the better.  The scoresheet and score on this mead will be the real tell for how well the taste has evolved.

Our thanks go out to all the organizers, judges, and volunteers who took part in the 2013 OSHC - we look forward to another good comp next year.

Slainte!

-JW


"Drink is the feast of reason and the flow of soul."
-Alexander Pope