To celebrate we will be pouring the following leading up to the actual crown of the winner, part of the excitement is the tap takeover of last year’s (4) finalists during the first two weeks of March at the following locations.The Reservoir in Waterbury, The Bench in Stowe, The Farmhouse in BTV,  The Worthy Burger in So Royalton, The Worthy Kitchen in Woodstock, The Mule Bar in Winooski ,  Three Penny in Montpelier , Doc Ponds in Stowe and Prohibition Pig in Waterbury.

 

Little Bear Brown Beer – 5.9% ABV 50 IBU – Malt focused American Brown.  Mellow dark malt character and a balanced hop/malt flavor.  The Citra hops in the finish help to distinguish this as an American Brown, with the citrus aroma we love.

 

Chocolate Raspberry Stout – 5.5% ABV, 26 IBU – American Stout brewed with copious amounts of raspberry. Starts with a tart raspberry punch, which eludes to rich dark chocolate and robust roasted flavors.

 

Tom’s Witbier – 5.9% ABV, 22 IBU – A high concentration of wheat gives this wit a straw colored haze and the addition of oats lends to its smooth feel. This brew packs a fresh punch of coriander and is rounded out with just a touch of orange. Finally this take on a Belgian gets a Vermont twist with a higher than average alcohol content. Cheers!

 

Salute your Schwarz – 4.9% ABV, 22 IBU – 2015 MTC winner. A German style black lager with an aroma and flavor of dark chocolate, roasted malts, and light smoke. Just enough hop character to balance out the sweetness of the malt. Slightly thin body and clean finish makes this delicious lager a clear winner.

 

Make The Cut - Tap Takeover Poster

 

http://www.makethecut.beer/
The Beverage Warehouse, Farrell Distributing and 14th Star Brewing Company have created a homebrew competition unlike any other, with the goal of giving an aspiring Vermont home brewer the chance to see if their homebrew can compete commercially.

Last year 300 Vermont homebrewers submitted their brews to be judged by a panel of professional beer judges; as well hand selected members of the beer industry, local media, and fans of craft beer.

In 2016, we’re doing it all again!

We are accepting 300 entries to be judged this year. The two finalists will be selected by the judges to brew a limited 120gal batch of their beer at 14th Star Brewing, which will then be sold in tasting pairs at participating Vermont craft beer meccas along with a ballot for public voting.

The winner of the Make The Cut Homebrew Challenge will be presented with a check for $1,000 from The Beverage Warehouse and be invited to brew production sized batches of their winning beer at 14th Star Brewing Company (while maintaining rights to their recipe). Their beer will launched to the public the week of the Vermont Brewers Festival and will be available on tap at select bars and restaurants, as well as in cans at local craft beer stores, statewide.


 


Contest Rules & Regulations

General

  • Competition is open to Vermont residents over 21 only. Proof of residence and age will be required of finalists.
  • Open to anyone not currently brewing professionally or owners of breweries. Administrative staff, sales people, etc employed at brewing companies are eligible, provided they are not involved in brewing/cellaring.
  • Only one entry recipe per individual/team.
  • Competition is open to all styles, however brewers should make note of the competitions timelines. (ie, a year-long barrel aged beer is out of the scope of the competition)
  • Portions of the contest will be filmed. By accepting the terms of the contest, you authorize Beverage Warehouse and 14th Star to use your likeness in promotional material.

Registration

  • Registration fee is $10. Half of all fees will be donated to Purple Hearts Reunited, the remaining half to be donated to the charity of the winner’s choice.
  • Registration is capped at 300 entries.

Entry Submission

  • 6 12oz or 3 22oz bottles of your homebrew must behand delivered to 14th Star Brewing, 133 North Main St #7, St Albans VT 05478 between February 12th and 13th, 2016. Entries brought in before hand will not be considered. All entries will must have proper submission form (provided to all those who register) and recipe enclosed to be considered.
  • Any mailed entries will be returned to sender, if possible, or destroyed without judging.
  • Bottles should be submitted without a label or identifying mark, aside from the provided submission form and recipe.
  • Recipes must include, at a minimum:
    • Grain bill
    • Hop schedule
    • Yeast used
    • Adjuncts/other ingredients
    • Mash temp/time/type/steps/water volume, etc
    • Sparge time/temp/water volume etc
    • Fermentation times/temps/steps, etc
    • Source of water: Tap, bottled, spring, snow, sap, rain, etc
    • Brewing salt additions/filtration methods
    • Brewing water chemistry, if known.

Judging & Prizes

  • Judging will consist of scoring for beer style (BJCP) as well as a commerciality/marketability component. Remember, the focus of the competition is finding a homebrewer who is producing beer that can compete in the open, commercial market.
  • Scoresheets for all beers will be available upon request, following the judging.
  • The monetary grand prize of this contest is $1,000.00 from the Beverage Warehouse. The winner will also get to choose a charity for which proceeds from half the entry fees will go to. The Brewer shall earn no monies from sales of the product. Majority value in this competition lie in the exposure of their product.