Blue Ridge Brew-Off (2025)
Thanks to all who participated in the Blue Ridge Brew-Off (2025).
There were 282 entries judged and 189 registered participants, judges, and stewards.
Best of Show Winners
Best of Show – Beer
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Stephen Schmitt | Festhalle | 4B: Festbier | Evanston Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Ken Hilton | MWQ4 | 31B: Alternative Sugar Beer | Down East Alers (DEA) |
| 3rd | Tony Kulas | NZ Pilsner | LSX5: New Zealand Pilsner | Down East Alers (DEA) |
Winning Entries
Table 1: American and International Lagers (19 entries)
Table 2: Czech Lagers (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steve Ristau MHP | Stau-Haus P A L E | 3A: Czech Pale Lager | Ale Riders Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Andy Cox MHP | Face The Raven | 3A: Czech Pale Lager | Underground Brewers of Connecticut |
| 3rd | David Towles MHP | Czech Dark Lager | 3D: Czech Dark Lager | High Plains Drafters [TX] |
Table 3: Helles, Export, and Pilsner (18 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tony Kulas MHP | NZ Pilsner | LSX5: New Zealand Pilsner | Down East Alers (DEA) |
| 2nd | Scott Patrick MHP | NZ Pilsner | LSX5: New Zealand Pilsner | Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters (MALT) |
| 3rd | Sean Murphy | Audra's Helles | 4A: Munich Helles | Lowcountry Libations |
Table 4: German Beers (19 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Stephen Schmitt MHP | Festhalle | 4B: Festbier | Evanston Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Jim Thompson MHP | Baixa Portugese Smoked Amber Lager | 6B: Rauchbier | Oregon Brew Crew |
| 3rd | Jim Williamson MHP | March Of The Scarecrows | 6A: Märzen | M.A.S.H. Marietta Association of Schoolhouse Homebrewers |
Table 5: Bock, Doppelbock, and Baltic Porter (9 entries)
Table 6: Wheat Beers (9 entries)
Table 7: British and Australian (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Curtis Ritter MHP | Ritter's Bitter | 11B: Best Bitter | Ace Brewing Society |
| 2nd | Travis Cherry MHP | Dominion's Bitter Duchy | 11A: Ordinary Bitter | Bay Area Mashtronauts |
| 3rd | Seth Gee | Katt Miraly | 11C: Strong Bitter | Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters (MALT) |
Table 8: Dark British Beers (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rob Goodwin | Carl's The Man | 27A4: London Brown Ale | Winston-Salem Wort Hawgs Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Omar Al-Nidawi MHP | Blimey! | 13B: British Brown Ale | DC Homebrewers |
| 3rd | Tyler Miller MHP | You Know, Brown Is This Year's Pink | 27A4: London Brown Ale | Arizona Society of Homebrewers |
Table 9: Scottish, Irish, and Dark German (12 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Adrian Sutherland | Stumbling Through The Dark | 8B: Schwarzbier | Upper Palmetto Zymurgy Society |
| 2nd | Steve Ristau MHP | Scalded Shankle II | 14C: Scottish Export | Ale Riders Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Adam Reynolds MHP | Reddy To Go | 15A: Irish Red Ale | Miami Area Society of Homebrewers (MASH) |
Table 10: Stouts (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jim Williamson MHP | You're Not From Around Here, Are You? | 16D: Foreign Extra Stout | M.A.S.H. Marietta Association of Schoolhouse Homebrewers |
| 2nd | Emersen Heron MHP | Glenny Balls MVP | 16A: Sweet Stout | Kansas City Bier Meisters |
| 3rd | Tyler Miller MHP | This Munchkin Milk Stout Galinda Found For Me | 16A: Sweet Stout | Arizona Society of Homebrewers |
Table 11: Strong Ales (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Tyler Miller MHP | Dear Old Ale Shiz | 17B: Old Ale | Arizona Society of Homebrewers |
| 2nd | Ryan Larsen | Fire Pit Potion | 17A: British Strong Ale | James River Homebrewers |
| 3rd | Dirk Montgomery MHP | Jeff's Not Heavy | 17C: Wee Heavy | Red Earth Brewers |
Table 12: American Ales (19 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Travis Johnson MHP | Salivating Moose | 19C: American Brown Ale | QUAFF |
| 2nd | Anthony Mercer | Gnarly Branch Pale Ale | 18B: American Pale Ale | Down East Alers (DEA) |
| 3rd | Dave Frombach MHP | Strata Special | 18B: American Pale Ale | Peninsula Fermentation Society |
Table 13: Porter and Stout (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Brian McCrickard MHP | Dark Obsidian | 20A: American Porter | Seven City Brewers |
| 2nd | Dave Frombach MHP | Old School | 27A7: Pre-Prohibition Porter | Peninsula Fermentation Society |
| 3rd | Brandon Christian MHP Co-Brewer: Carla Christian | Helm Of The Damned | 20A: American Porter | Seven City Brewers |
| HM | Dirk Montgomery MHP | Tsar's Choice | 20C: Imperial Stout | Red Earth Brewers |
Table 14: American and Hazy IPA (19 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Shaun Huggins MHP | Hop Solo Shot First | 21A: American IPA | San Antonio Cerveceros |
| 2nd | Jeff Zwetsch MHP Co-Brewer: Don Frakes | Oh Yeah | 21C: Hazy IPA | Ace Brewing Society |
| 3rd | David Gulotta MHP | Big Fly WCIPA | 21A: American IPA | Ace Brewing Society |
Table 15: Double and Specialty IPA (8 entries)
Table 16: BdG, Blond, and Saison (10 entries)
Table 17: Strong Belgian and Monastatic Ales (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Shawn Stafford | BT 24 | 26C: Belgian Tripel | Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters (MALT) |
| 2nd | Ken Hilton | Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark Side | 26D: Belgian Dark Strong Ale | Down East Alers (DEA) |
| 3rd | Shawn Stafford | BQ 24 | 26D: Belgian Dark Strong Ale | Mountain Ale and Lager Tasters (MALT) |
Table 18: Historical Beers (8 entries)
Table 19: Sour and Wild Beers (11 entries)
Table 20: Fruit Beers (9 entries)
Table 21: SHV, Alternative, and Experimental (11 entries)
Table 22: Wood and Smoked Beers (11 entries)
Table 23: Ciders (8 entries)
Table 24: Meads (11 entries)
Judging Sessions
Friday Evening
09/12/2025 6:00 PM, EDT.
Saturday Morning
09/13/2025 8:00 AM, EDT.
Saturday Afternoon
09/13/2025 1:00 PM, EDT.
Account Registration Closed
Account registrations accepted 07/01/2025 9:00 AM, EDT through 09/12/2025 6:00 PM, EDT.
Registrations for judges or stewards accepted 07/01/2025 9:00 AM, EDT through 09/13/2025 7:47 PM, EDT.
Entry Registration Closed
The competition entry limit has been reached.
Entry Drop-Off Closed
Entry bottles accepted at drop-off locations 07/28/2025 12:00 PM, EDT — 08/22/2025 9:00 PM, EDT.
Please pay attention to the notes provided for each drop-off location. There could be earlier deadlines for some drop-off locations listed, particular hours when entries are accepted, certain individuals to leave your entries with, etc. All entrants are responsible for reading the information provided by the organizers for each drop-off location.
Entry Shipping Closed
Entry bottles accepted at the shipping location 07/28/2025 12:00 PM, EDT — 08/22/2025 9:00 PM, EDT.