By Vanessa Cavasinni, editor Australian Hotelier
Beer DeLuxe has crowned its winner of the inaugural Home Brew Heroes competition, with Wangaratta resident Lindsay Steer taking out the Grand Final at the Federation Square venue.
The national competition launched in February, with Beer DeLuxe encouraging home brew enthusiasts to enter their best beers into the competition. Qualifying rounds were held throughout February and April at all Beer DeLuxe venues, with a total of 97 entrants. The 12 finalists from across the country were flown to Melbourne to battle it out in the Grand Final.
Steer (pictured right) took out the Best Overall Beer prize with his British Mild Dark Ale – a beer he made in collaboration with his son-in-law Grant Jones (left) – and will now take an all-expenses paid trip to the Stone & Wood brewery in Byron Bay to brew his recipe. His winning beer will be on tap in all Beer DeLuxe venues for six months.
“Their Mild Dark Ale hit a chord with judges for being true to style, balanced and, above all, a very enjoyable beer to drink. We can’t wait to get them up to the Stone & Wood’s brewing facility and on our taps at Beer DeLuxe – we think it’ll be a hit with our customers,” said Tom Allan, national marketing manager for Beer DeLuxe.
Steer, who as part his win will also attend Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) presentation dinner, was very excited to claim victory.
"It has been a tremendous thrill to win such an event. Privately you might believe you have created a good product, but when you get public acknowledgement like this, it is hugely rewarding."
Allan suggested that the response to the competition was outstanding: “We were blown away with the quality and variety of entrants to our inaugural Home Brew Heroes competition. Being able to put our finalists on a pedestal at the Good Beer Week festival hub Beer DeLuxe Fed Square, was particularly exciting – as was the turnout from the public who showed up to taste some of the best home brewing in Australia.”
Due to the success of the competition, Beer DeLuxe plans to continue the competition in coming years.