For the 3rd year in a row, our friends from NZ Home Brewers Conference and Brewshop.co.nz brought the infamous Beat the Brewer competition to Beervana.
The rules were simple:
- participants receive original beer recipes from actual, real-life breweries, scaled down to homebrew batch sizes
- they brew the beer in the comfort of their home
- their clone beer joins the line up of other cloned homebrewed beers to be blind judged by the brewer of that beer at Beervana
- plot twist: their own beer is also hidden in the lineup
- if the brewer picks their entry as their own, they have Beaten the Brewer!
For the 2020 editions, home brewers participants gave a hard time to six professional brewers. Here is the list
Special congratulations to Marcus Ferguson taking out the Best of the Best award for his version of Razzle Dazzle Pilsner by Te Aro Brewing. And to the Beat the Brewer Runner Up, James Ivey who won best clones with both his Iron Sands Oat Rye Stout by North End Brewery and Highwayman APA by Shining Peak Brewing.
| Prize type | Beer | Brewery | Winner | Prize Sponsor | Prize | |
| Overall Best of the Best | Razzle Dazzle Pilsner | Te Aro Brewing | Marcus Ferguson | Brewshop and Fermentis | $500 shop voucher from Brewshop.co.nz + $500 worth of Fermentis product | |
| Runner up | Iron Sands Oat Rye Stout and Highwayman APA | North End Brewery and Shining Peak Brewing | James Ivey | Lallemand and Braumeister | Lallemand Prize Pack ($250 cash and $250 Lallemand product) + $50 Braumeister voucher | |
| Best Clone | Hazy 1 | Abandoned Brewery | Trevor Masters | Gladfield Malt | 1kg hop assortment sponsored by Grain2Glass + 1 x Beverage Doctor pH Meter incl 1 x Replacement probe sponsored by League of Brewers + $50 Braumeister.nz voucher + Abandoned Brewery merchandise | |
| Best Clone | Something Hoppy IPA | Behemoth Brewing | Chris Hayton | Cryer Malt | The Fermzilla 30L All Rounder Pressure Rated Keg/Fermenter with Pressure Kit sponsored by Brewers Warehouse + $50 Braumeister.nz voucher + $100 store voucher sponsored by Brewers World Great Expectations + Behemoth Brewing merchandise | |
| Best Clone | Iron Sands Oat Rye Stout | North End Brewery | James Ivey | Cryer Malt | Mangrove Jack's Hop Spider, Refractometer and a 2L Grainfather Growler sponsored by Your Shout + Fermenter King Junior sponsored by Brew House + $50 Braumeister.nz voucher + North End Brewery Cap | |
| Best Clone | Highwayman APA | Shining Peak Brewing | James Ivey | Home Brew West and Shining Peak Brewing | $250 store voucher sponsored by Home Brew West + $50 Braumeister.nz voucher + Shining Peak Brewing merchandise + Limited Release Bourbon BA Vintage Stout from Shining Peak Brewing + Free brewery tour and tasting when visiting Shining Peak Brewing brewpub in New Plymouth | |
| Best Clone | Razzle Dazzle Pilsner | Te Aro Brewing | Marcus Ian Ferguson | Lallemand Brewing | $500 yeast voucher sponsored by Lallemand + $50 Braumeister.nz voucher + $100 store voucher sponsored by Brewtopia + $100 store voucher sponsored by Hauraki Homebrew + $100 store voucher sponsored by Brewers Coop |
Thanks to the NZ Home Brewers Conference and Brewshop.co.nz for another great Beat the Brewer event.
