Right Ladies and Gents here’s a nice little project for you to get your teeth stuck into over the winter months.  The 1st annual Strong Island Home Brew competition will see you have a bash at brewing your own beer to be entered into a competition which will be judged by a panel of experts with the winner potentially having their brew/recipe brewed by Irving & Co. Brewers and made for distribution around pubs in the Portsmouth area.  This is all providing you have what it takes to be a brewing master of course!  Who knows, we may even coax a beer brewing superstar out of the woodwork!

There are 2 categories to enter in this competition:-

1st – The Specified Home Brew Kit category.  This is for all the beginners out there who have never attempted anything like this before but are still willing to have a bash at becoming Strong Island Home Brew champion.  We’ve specified the Young’s Home Brew Kit available from Wilkinson’s as the kit to use for this category.  To enter this all you have to do is pop down to Wilkinson’s or follow the link, purchase the specified kit and then start brewing.  A receipt of your purchase will have to be provided as part of your entry form on the night.

2nd – The Unrestricted Brew category.  Whether you already are a home brewer or you really want to go to town and build your own micro brewery this is the category for you.  Designed to make no boundaries for the brewer, this category is designed to really let the skills be shown of your home brewing talent.  Any kit and brewing process is allowed so go for your life.

Rules

The categories to which your final brew will be judged on are -

• TASTE

• AROMA

• COLOR

• CLARITY

• DRINKABILITY

• NAME/PRESENTATION/LABEL

The judging panel will consist of Shep Woolley who is organiser of the annual Portsmouth Beer Festival,  Malcolm Irving from Irving & Co. Brewers in Portsmouth,  Stuart Ainsworth who is Landlord of the Leopold Tavern which is Portsmouth & South East Hampshire CAMRA pub of the year and myself, Ben Mills proprietor of LJRs and The Belle Isle.

• Any brew is welcome to enter be it Ale, Bitter, Ginger Beer, Cider, Lager etc. (Note this only applies to the Unrestricted Brew category)

• There are no limits on team numbers so you can enter as a solo brewer or as a team

• Over 18′s only can enter the competition

• Final entries are to be presented to the judges in bottles.  3 bottles are to be submitted to give a fair representation of your batch.

• Your receipt of purchase MUST be presented with your entry form on the night (for all Specified Home Brew Kit entrants)

• A list of all ingredients and a brief description of the brewing process MUST be submitted with your entry form on the night (for entrants of BOTH categories)

Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places as well as best in show.  Remember we won’t just be looking at the brew but also the presentation, name and label design of each entry and don’t forget the golden carrot if the winning brew’s up to scratch you could well see your recipe brewed up by Irving & Co. Brewers and distributed to pubs in and around Portsmouth.

The judging evening will be Wednesday 2nd February at Little Johnny Russells, Albert Road, Southsea.  Make sure your brew is ready for then along with all the requirements for entry.

Any questions or queries please email homebrew@strong-island.co.uk

Paul will be posting details at the end of the week about how to do the initial sign up with an online form but until then you can get brewing from now.  Get your friends or family involved, spread the word and good luck brewing!

Poster Design: Tristan Savage