Homebrew competition this weekend

AUGUSTA – Judging for the 22nd annual NJ State Fair Homebrew Competition is Friday, July 27, and Saturday, July 28, in the Administration Building at the Fairgrounds in Augusta. Forty-four judges, both nationally certified and novice, will be judging 340 different beers based on Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines with the help of 30 other volunteers.
The 100 entrants saw a new category this year for New England-style IPAs, which received an impressive 16 entries in this year’s competition. The NJ Pride category is unique to the NJ State Fair Homebrew Competition and the entries are judged not only on taste, but how well they conform to the NJ Pride theme. This is the second year for this category and 14 beers have been entered. The winner will have their beer brewed commercially at Jersey Girl Brewing in Hackettstown.
On Saturday, August 4 at 3:30 pm, a Best of Show Winner will be chosen from the 24 different categories of beer, cider & mead in the Richards Building at the New Jersey State Fair/Sussex County Farm & Horse Show. The winning brewer will be invited to brew the winning recipe at Kroghs Brewpub in Sparta, NJ for commercial release at the restaurant. Last year’s winning beer, a German Pilsner, was selected from 384 entries and served to a gathering of brewers and craft beer lovers at Kroghs.
The Awards Ceremony will immediately follow the Best of Show judging, where local homebrewers will cheer each other on, collect prizes and awards, and sample competition entries. The ceremony is open to the public, and the awards will be displayed for the duration of the Fair as part of the Creative Arts for the Home and Hobby Exhibition.
The New Jersey State Fair Homebrew Competition is New Jersey's Longest Running AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Event. The competition is sponsored by more than 50 local and national businesses including breweries, craft beer pubs, homebrew supply shops, distributors, and beer equipment manufacturers.