Winners of Oaktoberfest Competition Announced

October 10, 2009

Winners of the first annual Oaktoberfest homebrew competition were announced Saturday at the Oaktoberfest festival in Oakland, CA.  Competition organizer Brian Cooper along with judge & steward coordinator Steve Van Tassell announced the awards live on the main festival stage at 2:00 PM.

Attendance at this year's 2nd annual festival was tremendous, and the weather was superb. Mad Zymurgists poured samples of homebrew for the attendees, including a Düsseldorf Alt, Witbier, Imperial IPA, ESB, Belgian Dark Strong, and a Kölsch. All kegs were drained dry by mid-afternoon.

This competition was organized by the Mad Zymurgists at the request of the Oaktoberfest committee, which runs this yearly festival in the Dimond district of Oakland.  The festival is hosted by the Dimond Improvement Association and the Dimond Business & Professional Association.  The competition received 55 entries total, and main judging was held in advance, on October 4th, 2009, at the Hopyard Alehouse in Pleasanton.

Best of show judging was conducted at 11:00 AM Saturday on the festival site, judged by 3 BJCP Grand Master judges -- John Watson, David Teckam, and Kevin Pratt.  Congratulations to best of show winner, Dwight Mulcahey from the Worts of Wisdom, with his excellent Weizenbock!  Look for additional winners on our Oaktoberfest page.

Thank you to everyone who entered and helped with the competition.  Plan ahead to brew and if needed, lager your best German beers for next year's competition, with entry window in September of 2010.