49 Down, 1 to Go
I started homebrewing in January 2011 and in July 2013 I entered my first homebrew competition. That same month, a near-death experience changed my life forever. I broke 25 bones and collapsed my right lung. When I was discharged from the hospital, I came home to my first homebrew award in the mail. In that moment, I knew life was short and I wanted to turn my passion for brewing into opening a future brewery. Having had a few hobbies that I eventually lost interest in, my wife Elaine immediately brought me back to reality. While she always supports my goals and dreams, she did not want to embark on this massive journey before knowing that brewing was a long-term passion of mine that I would want to turn into a business. She gave me two goals: 1. Become a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) certified beer judge and 2. Receive an AHA/BJCP sanctioned homebrew award in every US state.
After attending an eight-week BJCP study course, I passed the exam in 2014 to become a recognized judge. That following year I judged many competitions and eventually became a Certified Beer Judge. Studying for the BJCP exam opened my mind to a wide variety of beer styles and while I prefer creating unique recipes, there is a true tact required to make a beer precisely to style. It also ignited my craving to learn more about the art and science of brewing; aspiring me to study for the Certified Cicerone exam and take commercial brewing classes.
While the BJCP exam was very difficult, receiving a homebrew award in every state has proven to be the most time-consuming and labor-intensive of the two goals. Since 2013, I have received 92 homebrewing awards from 49 states with 36 dif-ferent beers. There have been some obstacles while working toward achieving this goal: Many competitions do not allow out-of-state residents to participate, some competitions have a theme, limit the number of participants, limit the styles accepted, and some states only have one competition per year.
I highly recommend entering AHA/BJCP sanctioned competitions. While I truly appreciate feedback from friends and family, sometimes I worry that they are just being kind. Judges’ feedback allows me to receive impartial opinions, comments, and suggestions about my homebrews. I have also had some truly memorable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities from winning homebrew competitions. One competition awarded me the opportunity to brew my recipe at Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was such a great experience scaling my homebrew recipe up to 5 barrels (155 gallons/588 L) on Odell’s pilot system.
It has been quite a journey entering so many homebrew competitions. When I was in the thick of it, it felt like I was at Scotzin Brothers buying homebrew supplies every other day. Now that our goal is almost complete, I can’t get over how blessed I am to have the support of family, friends and most importantly, my wife.
New Hampshire is the last state remaining until we complete our goal. Once we achieve a medal in every state my wife and I plan to open a brewery in Central Pennsylvania called Wolf Brewing Company.
To learn more about Derek’s homebrewing journey and track his progress, visit www.wolfbrewingco.com.
