OnTap Magazine

MARCEL HARPER COUNTDOWN TO A DISASTER A HOMEBREWER’S COMPETITION DIARY HOMEBRU THERE ISN’T A COMPETITION INCLINED HOMEBREWER OUT THERE WHO WON’T BE ABLE TO RELATE TO AT LEAST SOME OF THIS SIDE SPLITTING ACCOUNT BY MARCEL HARPER . DAYS LEFT TO COMPETITION 60 I'm doing it! I'm officially entering my club's homebrew competition. I'm ready to be judged by my peers and found wanting! This is such a bad idea. DAYS LEFT TO COMPETITION 59 Woke up in a blind panic and cold sweat. Until a few hours ago, I was pretty sure that my Sapporo Light Lager clone was the way to go. After all, everybody at the club tasting last month pronounced it as "A good effort." That means "competition-worthy," right? But now, in my half-fevered state, I'm not so sure. I vaguely recall the brewer at my local craft outfit once telling me that lagers give you nowhere to hide. And given my skills, I need plenty of places to hide. Yip. Lager's out. IPA is in. Maybe I can sleep now. DAYS LEFT TO COMPETITION 50 My research is going well. I've managed to whittle the prospective competition- winning IPA recipes down from an initial 300 to a mere 95. Progress! I should probably also eliminate the ones that require hops that are only grown on the highest slopes of Mt Fuji and cost like a hundred bucks a gram. But then again, winning has no price limit. After thinking things through, I realised that my kids probably do need to go to university. Mount Fuji will have to wait. Down to 80 recipes. More progress! DAYS LEFT TO COMPETITION 43 I've got loads of time in hand, but maybe doing 40 small batch test brews is overkill? Not to mention hell on my ever-expanding, mission-creep budget for this tourney. I've called up a couple of the club's stalwarts and they agree. Some of them aren't even doing trial brews! I'm not sure if that means I'm in with a chance or wildly out of my depth. No time to think about such nuances. I'm doing two test brews. Okay, maybe four. But no more than six and that's final. 56 | Summer 2024 | ontapmag.co.za

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