Dalton Home Brew Contest Shows Changing Industry
Photo courtesy of Kellyspackagestore.com
First place went to Mark Bevan of Cummington with his Rye IPA. He is pictured here (holding the glass trophy), next to his wife, with Andrew Kelly, John Kelly, and a representative from Boston Beer Co.
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On Sunday, May 20, the store held its first home-brew contest, which attracted more 300 craft beer drinkers and brewers from all over the region. Brewers came from nearly every border state and as far east as Boston. But the biggest surprise for the store managers was the number of home brewers in the county who made their presence known.
"We never gave a lot of thought about about how many people are doing it," owner John Kelly said on Tuesday. "It's a much larger number than we ever imagined."
The contest was not just for professional beer brewers, though there were some of those, but also for local hobby brewers, Kelly said. A total of 34 beers from more than 20 different brewers were entered in the contest. And the hobby brewers didn't just bring enough for the professional tasters, they brought enough for everyone, Kelly said.
The store charged $5 for admission and hoped to break even — with any profit being donated to local food pantries — but ended up losing money. Undeterred, they already planning the next competition.
"It was the first one for us but this is definitely going to be annual," Jason Dennis, one of the store's managers, said. "Next year it will be at least double the size."
They hope to add a component for nonprofessional tasters to have a say and give away more rewards.
The concept for the festival originated from some customers who bring their homemade beer in for the clerks to try. The managers figured a festival would allow the customers to share with each other. As the planning went on, they got in touch with Boston Beer Co., brewers of Sam Adams, which "jumped all over it."
Boston Beer donated tasting cups, printed banners and sent a professional taster to evaluate the brews. Sam Adams also donated glass trophies and the top four brewers won a private tasting with Boston Beer President Jim Koch.
 The organizers said home brewers were excited to be behind the counter and talking to others about how they brew. |
"We were excited about this event and that translated," Kollin Kozlowski, Kelly's wine director, said. "The craft beer market is what the wine industry was 10-15 years ago."
Kozlowski said Wine Spectator magazine was a boon for that industry. He is seeing the same interest in the beer market now. Seeing that growing niche of craft brewing in the last five years, Kelly's realigned its business model after a renovation a year ago.
"We're not your granddaddy's liquor store," Kelly said. "These people have an unquenchable thirst for new and exciting."
A home brew contest is one of many things the store is hoping to do to fit into that niche. Kelly hired his son Andrew to do what some might consider a dream — to find more beer. Andrew Kelly is now tasked with finding and filling the store with different types of specialty beers. The goal is to become a regional destination.
"I saw how the business ran through the' 70s and '80s and saw how this business transitions," John Kelly said. "We're facing a graying population and a declining population. We need to become a regional store."
Part of becoming that destination is to create a fun atmosphere, he said.
"We have a Wiffle Ball tournament coming up in our parking lot. Why would a liquor store have a Wiffle Ball tournament? Because we can, damn it," Kelly said.
Tags: beer, brewing,
