We’re pleased to announce the results of the Summer of Saison competition, including both the People’s Choice and Pro tastings! But before we get to the winners, I’d like to thank everyone involved in organizing the competition, including:
- Our pro judges: John Rowley, Averie Swanson, and Pat Fahey
- Our prize donors: YETI, Escarpment Labs, Omega Yeast, White Labs Yeast, Lallemand, and Five Star Chemical
- Tumbleroot and Rowley Farmhouse Ales: For hosting the events
- The SDCCB club members who helped me facilitate the event: Michael James, Brandon O’Brien, and Ken Reese
- Jason Paschen from the Worthogs and Nate Caswell from the Dukes: For helping coordinate our ABQ entries
- Southwest Grape and Grain: For serving as the drop-off point for our ABQ entries
- The attendees at our People’s Choice event: For making it such a success (and such a good time)
- Everyone who entered a beer in the competition: 17 entries is a great success in today’s homebrewing landscape!
We appreciate you all! But now, on to what everyone is waiting for: the winners!
PRO TASTING
The Pro tasting took place at Rowley Farmhouse Ales on the afternoon of Sunday, June 23rd. The 17 entries were flighted into three flights, roughly organized around straight saisons, alternative saisons (Brett, koji, and alternative grain bills), and fruited or spiced saisons. The pro judges unanimously expressed how impressed they were with the array of quality beers on offer.
Ultimately four beers made their shortlist for a mini Best of Show round, and these were the results:
Thomas Moppert (Dukes of Ale) – “Saison, 2024”
Ben Keough (SDCCB) – “Kojira”
Gordon Monaghan (Dukes of Ale) – “Saison Sturcklefrat”
Honorable Mention: Michael James (SDCCB) – “Monkey”
Congrats to all the winners!
Delivery of prizes from the Pro Tasting can be arranged with me (Ben Keough) via email. In addition, the judges were kind enough to provide feedback for each beer, so I’ll email entrants directly with that info in the coming days.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Our People’s Choice tasting took place at Tumbleroot’s Bisbee Court location on Saturday, June 22nd. We had a nice turnout, with plenty of snacks, and a great time was had by all. After the ballots were tallied, the winners were:
Jason Paschen (Worthogs) – “Dark Saison” (20 points)
Brandon O’Brien (SDCCB) – “Out of the Saddle” (17 points)
George Candal (SDCCB) – “Twin Cobra” (16 points)
If you attended the People’s Choice tasting and want to know whose beer corresponded to what number, you can check out our entry spreadsheet (specifically, the “Sorted by RNG” tab). This spreadsheet also includes the brewers’ notes for each beer, in case you want to double-check what you were tasting.
People’s Choice winner Jason Paschen with (some of) his prizes!
And for those of you who enjoy a bit of extra useless stats, here’s where our Pro winners placed in the people’s choice rankings:
- Thomas Moppert: 5th with 11 points
- Ben Keough: 8th (tie) with 7 points
- Gordon Monaghan: 6th (tie) with 9 points
Cheers, and thanks again to everyone who entered beer, judged beer, or otherwise helped in making this such a success! Maybe next summer will be a summer of saison, too?
Sangre de Cristo Craft Brewers 