Looking Back, Thinking Forward

I started competing in 2021 with the Bluebonnet Brew-Off. Bluebonnet was the first competition I entered, and the competition that made me hungry for more.

I was sitting at Saloon Door watching the Bluebonnet awards ceremony on YouTube with my friends in the Mashtronauts. When the announcer began naming the winners for the Light Ale table, I was elated to hear my cream ale had received a silver medal. That was all I could have hoped for, to medal with a light beer at Bluebonnet, the largest homebrew competition in the state.

When they announced that my Australian Sparkling Ale had taken gold in the category I was dumbfounded. I knew in that moment that I wanted more.

2021 was a good year for me. I finished 19th on the Lone Star Circuit and happened upon the Bayou Circuit early enough to enter all but the first competition and fought my way to 3rd in the state of Louisiana. I made a lot of good friends in 2021, was elected to be Vice President of my homebrewing club and generally had a great time making (and drinking) good beer.

I have high hopes for 2022; I’m striving to place in the top ten in the Lone Star Circuit, and at the very least, maintain top 3 in the Bayou Circuit. Lot of things were learned last year, and my brewing system has grown quite a bit over the last several months, I’ll be making posts in the future about my decision to move away from brew in a bag to 3-vessel. I have a home-made glycol system now, that will be the subject of it’s own post at some point. I hope I’ve done everything I can to position myself for success in 2022!