2014 Member-Owner Homebrew Competition

The Black Star Co-op Member-Owner Homebrew Competition is back, and we want you to design a beer for our Fall/Winter line-up. It’s been a while since we’ve reached out to Austin’s talented home-brewing community, and we are definitely past due.

The winner will brew their recipe with the Black Star Beer Team for a release sometime in November or December. We’re also giving the winner 5 gallons of the first batch–that’s about 33 pints to do with as you wish as long as the beer flows.

Now, what to brew? We’re keeping it pretty open, with just a few
criteria: we want the beer to be malty, amber or red-colored, seasonable for Fall/Winter, and above-all eminently drinkable. That’s a fairly wide net, but we feel it’s a good one. Some necessary constraints: 

1. We use a clean house strain (Dry English Ale Yeast WLP007 from White Labs) which would most likely be used for your brew.

2. No wild yeast/bacteria should be present (e.g. Brettanomyces).

3. No lagers. Sorry!

4. Up to three entries per brewer/brewing team.

The judging team will made up of a panel of Black Star Co-op Worker-Owners. 2 bottles per entry should be provided, and the below label should be affixed with a rubber band to each. Entries should be turned in at Black Star Co-op between November 10-14.

All entrants must be members of the Co-op. Join today!

Explore some interesting styles! No ABV limitations. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us through beer@blackstar.coop. Cheers!