2025 Bluegrass Cup Homebrew Competition
The Bluegrass Cup is the premiere Central Kentucky Homebrew Competition. Every summer the competition attracts the best brewers and judges from around the country to the beautiful Bluegrass region of Central Kentucky. The 2024 Bluegrass Cup is happening on February 8th, 2025 at Shrewsbury Hall at Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co.. Check out the Bluegrass Cup competition website for details.
2025 Bluegrass Cup Sponsors
Thanks to our wonderful sponsors! https://bluegrasscup.brewingcompetitions.com/index.php?section=sponsors
2023 Bluegrass Cup Winners
Table 1: Dark and Strong European Beer (14 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Timothy Bickel | Good Dog Baltic Porter | Baltic Porter | Red Earth Brewers |
| 2nd | Timothy Bickel | We Are Looking At Now, Now | Schwarzbier | Red Earth Brewers |
| 3rd | Gerad Miller | I'm A Loner, Dottie, A Rebel | Eisbock | Dayton Regional Amateur Fermentation Technologists |
Table 2: Brown British Beer (16 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Gary O'Gorman | Browntown Ale | British Brown Ale | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 2nd | Dirk Franzen | Whitechappel Nights | Dark Mild | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 3rd | Clay Bunn | Not Your Taddy's Porter | English Porter | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| HM | David Moss | Bbb | British Brown Ale | Brewers Anonymous |
Table 3: Dark and Strong British Beer (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Ryan Harding | Taste Old To Me | Old Ale | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 2nd | Fredrick Montgomery | Jeff's Not Heavy | Wee Heavy | Red Earth Brewers |
| 3rd | Chuck Beardslee | House Beardslee Old Ale | Old Ale | Butler County Brewing Society (BCBS) |
| HM | Nate Weisenberger | Wee | Wee Heavy |
Table 4: Pale and Strong American Ale (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Kevin Wagner | One. Ping. Only. | American Pale Ale | |
| 2nd | Dirk Franzen | Across The Rubicon | Wheatwine | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 3rd | Kevin Brazell | Glitter And Gold | Blonde Ale |
Table 5: Amber and Brown American Beer (12 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Lee Solomon | Old Hound Dog | Pre-Prohibition Porter | Barley Mob Brewers |
| 2nd | Jed Lengerich | Elektron | American Amber Ale | MASH Fort Wayne Homebrew Club |
| 3rd | Jeffrey Rocker | Stonington Steamship | California Common |
Table 6: American Porter and Stout (14 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Carl Teachey | Double Ebony | Imperial Stout | Winston-Salem Wort Hawgs Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Clay Bunn | Am Stout V2 | American Stout | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 3rd | Jerry Ruff | William's Best Christmas | American Stout | North Georgia Malt Monkeys |
| HM | Dan Acheson | First Times The Charm? | American Stout | Urban Knaves of Grain |
Table 7: IPAs (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Dirk Franzen | Zombified | American IPA | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 2nd | Gerad Miller | The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning | Specialty IPA | Dayton Regional Amateur Fermentation Technologists |
| 3rd | Joe Brewer | Brown Madness | Brown IPA | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| HM | Adrian Sutherland | Amerihaze | American IPA | Carolina Brewmasters |
Table 8: Smoked and Wood Aged (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Michael Rensing | Dan Flashes | Specialty Wood-Aged Beer | Cincinnati Malt Infusers |
| 2nd | Joshua Jackson | Smoked English Porter | Classic Style Smoked Beer | Mid-State Brew Crew |
| 3rd | Craig Gardone | Oak Aged Barleywine | Specialty Wood-Aged Beer | Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society, LTD |
Table 9: Belgian Ales (14 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Fritz Schanz | Stearman's Saison | Saison | Denton County Homebrewers Guild |
| 2nd | Erik Gruber | Sunny Side Up | Saison | |
| 3rd | Michael Rensing | Lisa Frank's Trapper Keeper | Bière de Garde | Cincinnati Malt Infusers |
Table 10: Spiced Beer (13 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Adrian Sutherland | Holy Hibiscus | Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | Carolina Brewmasters |
| 2nd | Tim Miller | Buck Jaw Winter Scottish Ale | Winter Seasonal Beer | Mid-State Brew Crew |
| 3rd | Timothy Bickel | Pretty In Pink | Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | Red Earth Brewers |
Table 11: Cider (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Jed Lengerich | All Hopped Up | Cider with Herbs/Spices | MASH Fort Wayne Homebrew Club |
| 2nd | Nik Volkert | Cranapple Cider | New World Cider | Scioto Olentangy Darby Zymurgists (SODZ) |
| 3rd | Timothy Wicklund | Apple Fest | Specialty Cider/Perry | Keepers of Craft |
Table 12: Mead (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Bill Boyer | The Black Knight V2 | Berry Mead | North Georgia Malt Monkeys |
| 2nd | Bill Boyer | Turkish Bazaar Pomegranate Tea | Fruit and Spice Mead | North Georgia Malt Monkeys |
| 3rd | Ben Hoh | Skinny Dog Buckwheat Honey Mead | Semi-Sweet Mead | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
Table 13: Standard American Beer (16 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Scott Steenburg | El Dorado American Lager | American Lager | Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI) |
| 2nd | Jeremiah Baer | Corny Baer | Cream Ale | East Side Brewers [IL] |
| 3rd | Guy Grady | Shrub Light | American Light Lager | Central Arkansas Fermenters |
| HM | Timothy Bickel | Skinny Pete | American Wheat Beer | Red Earth Brewers |
Table 14: International and Czech Lager (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Dan Acheson | Fun With Sinamar | International Dark Lager | Urban Knaves of Grain |
| 2nd | Adrian Sutherland | Golden Skies | Czech Premium Pale Lager | Carolina Brewmasters |
| 3rd | Joshua Thorsen | Krásná Temný (Beautifully Dark) | Czech Dark Lager | Mid-State Brew Crew |
| HM | Fritz Schanz | Stearman's International Pale Lager | International Pale Lager | Denton County Homebrewers Guild |
Table 15: Pale Malty European Lager (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Scott Steenburg | Munich Helles | Munich Helles | Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI) |
| 2nd | Paul Cahill | Bier At The Fest II | Festbier | Barley Mob Brewers |
| 3rd | Chad Medford | The Bridesmaid | Munich Helles | Red Earth Brewers |
Table 16: Pale Bitter and European Lager and Ales (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Joshua Cooper | Pilsener | German Pils | |
| 2nd | Ben Sookying | Kings Gold | Kölsch | Crown of the Valley Brewing Society |
| 3rd | Guy Grady | Leichtsaber | German Leichtbier | Central Arkansas Fermenters |
| HM | Kevin Brazell | Exit 14 | British Golden Ale |
Table 17: Amber Malty European Lager (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Fritz Schanz | Stearman's Dunkels Bock | Dunkels Bock | Denton County Homebrewers Guild |
| 2nd | Gerad Miller | There Can Be Only One | Dunkels Bock | Dayton Regional Amateur Fermentation Technologists |
| 3rd | Chad Medford | Fo' Schnitzel | Märzen | Red Earth Brewers |
| HM | Deborah & Marc Prichard | John Miller | Rauchbier | Kansas City Bier Meisters |
Table 18: Amber Bitter European Lager (7 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Timothy Wicklund | Sump Pump Water | Altbier | Keepers of Craft |
| 2nd | Ben Sookying | Hodl My Beer Bro | Vienna Lager | Crown of the Valley Brewing Society |
| 3rd | Dan Acheson | Jeff's Vienna | Vienna Lager | Urban Knaves of Grain |
Table 19: German Wheat Beer (7 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Jeremiah Baer | Dunkels Weissbaer | Dunkels Weissbier | East Side Brewers [IL] |
| 2nd | Craig Gardone | Belgian Triple In Disguise | Weizenbock | Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society, LTD |
| 3rd | Gary O'Gorman | Choose Your Weiss | Weissbier | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
Table 20: British Bitter (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Scott Steenburg | Version #5 | Strong Bitter | Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI) |
| 2nd | John Walker | Marston's Pedigree Clone | Ordinary Bitter | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 3rd | Kevin Wagner | Extra Sensory Beerception | Strong Bitter | |
| HM | Dan Acheson | Not Your Bitter Daughter In-Law | Ordinary Bitter | Urban Knaves of Grain |
Table 21: Sour and Wild Ales (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Jeremiah Baer | Ambaer Cherry Hibiscus | Wild Specialty Beer | East Side Brewers [IL] |
| 2nd | Clay Bunn | I'll Be Your Blackberry | Wild Specialty Beer | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 3rd | Craig Gardone | Jean Claude Van Damn! | Flanders Red Ale | Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society, LTD |
| HM | Joe Brewer | 19 Bbf Flanders | Flanders Red Ale | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
Table 22: Scottish and Irish Beer (15 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Kristopher Hopper | Is Something Burning? | Scottish Light | Ferm [IL] |
| 2nd | Dirk Franzen | Pub Crawl Stout | Irish Stout | Brewers of Central Kentucky (BOCK) |
| 3rd | Jonathan Wurth | Irish Stout | Irish Stout | Louisville Area Grain and Extract Research Society, LTD |
| HM | Joshua Cooper | Big Daddy | Irish Stout |
Table 23: Monastic Ales (13 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Jeremiah Baer | Baer Trapp | Belgian Single | East Side Brewers [IL] |
| 2nd | Glenn Thompson | Dubble | Belgian Dubbel | Mid-State Brew Crew |
| 3rd | Lee Solomon | Third Triple | Belgian Tripel | Barley Mob Brewers |
Table 24: Fruit Beer (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Glenn Thompson | No Fizzy Poison Summer | Fruit Beer | Mid-State Brew Crew |
| 2nd | Paul Tagert | Mangose | Fruit Beer | Battleground Brewers Guild |
| 3rd | Joshua Thorsen | Strawberry Lager | Fruit Beer | Mid-State Brew Crew |
Table 25: Miscellaneous (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
| 1st | Fritz Schanz | Stearman's Roggenbier | Roggenbier | Denton County Homebrewers Guild |
| 2nd | Fritz Schanz | Stearman's Rye Amber | Alternative Grain Beer | Denton County Homebrewers Guild |
| 3rd | Tim Miller | Buck Jaw Peppermint Stout | Experimental Beer | Mid-State Brew Crew |