Homebrew Contest

What do Holdenites do on a cold and snowy March evening? We have a homebrew contest. We all gathered in Chalet 1 to taste and test out the results of this winter's brewing efforts. Several homebrews were entered (even those from folks who had left the village) along with a large variety of "store bought" bottled beer. We had 33 of us sampling 26 different beers.

Each of us had a glass, a pen and a piece of paper all numbered to 26. The ratings were from one to ten, one being the lowest and ten the best. We were encouraged to make comments on each entry as we tried them. We were poured very small samples of each beer, we sniffed and tasted, commented and compared and then tasted again. Each round was ended with a drink of water to clear our taste buds before the next trial.

The results were surprising. The best homebrew was made by Julia H. and Nick B. with Eric H. coming in second. The best bottled beer was a dark brew called, Brother David's Abbyey Style Ale. Beers that I thought that I enjoyed like Mirror Pond and Corona rated rather poorly.

All in all it was a fun evening with both staff and guests mingling together.