Denali Brewing contest brings in dozens of homebrewers

This past weekend home-brewers from across the Valley and Anchorage came to Talkeetna to participate in the Second Annual Golden Carboy contest at Denali Brewing Company.

Boe Barnett, brewery manager at Denali Brewing, said it was a great success.  He said between 50 and 55 people came to the event, a definite increase over last year.  The event is co-sponsored by Great Northern Brewers Club.

Entries were up slightly from last year with 30 beers entered.  Winner of the contest was Aaron Christ  of Anchorage with his Vienna lager He’ll get to come to the brewery later and use his recipe to brew his beer in quantity at Denali Brewing.  The lager will get tapped at next year’s carboy event.

Runners up in the blind-taste contest were also Christ and Houston resident Chad Ross.

Dr. Fermento of Anchorage Press fame was on hand to be one of the  judges, take photos and write about the event.

Barnett said they expanded the event this year, adding an event at Mountain High Pizza and the Talkeetna Roadhouse. Four special beers were brewed for the pizza event.  Barnett says only one of those beers, a lager, will actually go into production in the future.

The plan is to continue holding the annual event in downtown Talkeetna and partnering with local businesses.