Out of 59 entries in a wide range of categories, our eight judges chose nine beers for the final Best of Show judging. Ray’s Barleywine easily took top honors. Judges scored Ray’s Barleywine with 90 out of 100 points (two judges each scoring it with 45 points). They thought it was a great example of the style.
Runner-up was an American pale ale by Ismael Zavala of Chicago. His beer earned 78 out of 100 points (40 from one judge and 38 from the other). One of the judges called it an “excellent” American pale ale.
Coming in third was an Irish red ale from Shannon Speight of Sylvania, Ohio. Judges said there were nice caramel and toffee notes and good body. They rated it an 80 out of 100 (40 each from the two judges).
Category: AMBER HYBRID BEER
Place: 1 Score: 25 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Alt Habits
Brewer: Fred Pilz
Category: AMBER HYBRID BEER
Place: 2 Score: 21.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Cellar Dweller Lager
Brewer: Joseph Bracey
Category: AMERICAN ALE
Place: 1 Score: 39 of 50 Points
Beer Name: American Pale Ale
Brewer: Ismael Zavala
Category: AMERICAN ALE
Place: 2 Score: 24.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: HumBolt
Brewer: Tom Dahl
Category: BELGIAN AND FRENCH ALE
Place: 1 Score: 43.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Citrus Mace
Brewer: Shannon Speight
Club: Glass City Mashers
Category: BELGIAN AND FRENCH ALE
Place: 2 Score: 29 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Biere De Funk
Brewer: Kevin Noltemeyer
Category: BELGIAN STRONG ALE
Place: 1 Score: 43 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Terrestrial Trippel
Brewer: Michael Aube
Category: BELGIAN STRONG ALE
Place: 2 Score: 36.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Dubbel WHaT?!
Brewer: Michael Aube
Category: BELGIAN STRONG ALE
Place: 2 Score: 36.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Abbey Road
Brewer: Dennis Petersen
Club: BURP (Brewers United for Real Potables)
Category: DARK LAGER
Place: 1 Score: 36 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Schadenfreude Dunkel
Brewer: Matthew Lakota
Category: ENGLISH PALE ALE
Place: 1 Score: 36.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Something Completely Different
Brewer: Eli Fleishauer
Club: Long Beach Home Brewers
Category: ENGLISH PALE ALE
Place: 2 Score: 26 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Frenchy’s Bitter
Brewer: Jeffrey French
Category: EUROPEAN AMBER LAGER
Place: 1 Score: 21 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Oktoberfest 2.0
Brewer: Hank Lieurance
Category: FRUIT BEER
Place: 1 Score: 36 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Pitted Tart Cherry Cream Ale
Brewer: Roger Sorenson
Category: FRUIT BEER
Place: 2 Score: 31.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Pineapple Wheat
Brewer: Derek Wolf
Category: FRUIT BEER
Place: 3 Score: 30.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Currant Wheat Saison
Brewer: Keelan Runnalls
Club: Milwaukee Beer Society
Category: GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE BEER
Place: 1 Score: 36.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Broken Compass Dunkel Weiss
Brewer: Keelan Runnalls
Club: Milwaukee Beer Society
Category: GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE BEER
Place: 2 Score: 34.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Bustin’ A Rye’m
Brewer: Tyler Everson
Club: Sheboygan Sudzzers
Category: GERMAN WHEAT AND RYE BEER
Place: 3 Score: 25.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Ancestral Wheat
Brewer: Kevin Noltemeyer
Category: INDIA PALE ALE (IPA)
Place: 1 Score: 39 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Wither’s Flight
Brewer: Evan Sorenson
Category: INDIA PALE ALE (IPA)
Place: 2 Score: 34.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Door County Pale Ale
Brewer: Rich Wolter
Category: INDIA PALE ALE (IPA)
Place: 3 Score: 36 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Hopsplosion DIPA
Brewer: Matthew Lakota
Category: LIGHT HYBRID BEER
Place: 1 Score: 30.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Commencement Cream Ale
Brewer: Matthew Lakota
Category: LIGHT HYBRID BEER
Place: 2 Score: 27 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Summer Lovin’
Brewer: Alex Abel
Category: LIGHT HYBRID BEER
Place: 3 Score: 26.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Nick Loven’s Golden Ale
Brewer: Nick Teifke
Club: Central Wisconsin Vintners and Brewers
Category: PORTER
Place: 1 Score: 40.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Thunder Snow Porter
Brewer: Rodney Swart
Category: PORTER
Place: 2 Score: 35.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Taddy Porter
Brewer: Justin Minikel
Category: PORTER
Place: 3 Score: 30.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Honeymoon Porter
Brewer: Roger Sorenson
Category: SCOTTISH AND IRISH ALE
Place: 1 Score: 40 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Bad Arse Irish
Brewer: Shannon Speight
Club: Glass City Mashers
Category: SMOKE-FLAVORED AND WOOD-AGED BEER
Place: 1 Score: 38.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Push Pole Porter
Brewer: Jake Wade
Club:
Category: SOUR ALE
Place: 1 Score: 41 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Bristlecone Berliner
Brewer: Sam Weber
Category: SOUR ALE
Place: 2 Score: 31 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Kaptn’s Old Brown
Brewer: Kevin Noltemeyer
Category: SOUR ALE
Place: 3 Score: 29.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Jacked White
Brewer: Tom Dahl
Category: SPECIALTY BEER
Place: 1 Score: 42 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Oh Fudge! Stout
Brewer: Roger Sorenson
Category: SPECIALTY BEER
Place: 2 Score: 36.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Imperial Farmhouse Ale
Brewer: John Mielke
Category: SPECIALTY BEER
Place: 3 Score: 33.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Black EyePA 152
Brewer: Frank Bellanca
Club: Lamplighter Homebrewers Club
Category: SPICE / HERB / VEGETABLE BEER
Place: 1 Score: 35.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Vanilla Porter
Brewer: Ismael Zavala
Category: SPICE / HERB / VEGETABLE BEER
Place: 2 Score: 32.5 of 50 Points
Brewer: Frank Bellanca
Club: Lamplighter Homebrewers Club
Category: SPICE / HERB / VEGETABLE BEER
Place: 3 Score: 31.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire
Brewer: Keelan Runnalls
Club: Milwaukee Beer Society
Category: STOUT
Place: 1 Score: 42.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Wicked Russian
Brewer: Justin Minikel
Category: STOUT
Place: 2 Score: 39.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Nazgul Stout
Brewer: Michael Sorenson
Category: STOUT
Place: 3 Score: 33.5 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Chocolate Coffee Milk Stout
Brewer: Hank Lieurance
Category: STRONG ALE
Place: 1 Score: 45 of 50 Points
Beer Name: Ray’s Barleywine
Brewer: Rich Wolter