Randy Schiltz of Rivertown Brewing, BOS Winner Will Magnuszewski of the CMI, and Craig Johnson of the Cincy Winter Beerfest at Oktobersbest. Photo by Richard Dreyer.
The Cincinnati Malt Infusers's own Will Magnuszewski, won the Best of Show at the Oktobersbest Zinzinnati Homebrew Competition this past October 16th. Will's winning entry was "Ellzebelle", a Belgian Imperial Stout, which won out over more than 200 other fine homebrewed beers entered from around the country. "Ellzebelle" was judged by BJCP-certified judges as the best of the best during the Best of Show round. For those unfamiliar with this process, none of the judges participating have any idea who's beer this is, what club, it come from. All they have is a number assigned the bottle, and knowledge of which category it won. The bottles cannot be marked in any way which would allow them to be distinguished from the rest of the field, or they are automatically disqualified. The best of the best is exactly what the Cincy Winter Beerfest founder and organizer Craig Johnson wanted when he agreed to showcase the winner of Oktobersbest at the 4th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest. Rivertown Brewing's Jason Roeper and Randy Schlitz, former homebrewers who went pro in a big way, also have a great appreciation for what it takes to make a great homebrew and win a competition. Jason saw participating in this as a way to give back to the homebrewing community, while also doing something special for the Cincy Winter Beerfest. The 3rd Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest in January 2010 was Rivertown's first craft beer festival as professional craft brewers. The 3rd Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest at the Hyatt was the first place most craft beer fans finally got the chance to try the offerings of Rivertown Brewing, Cincinnati's newest great craft beer brewery. More than 3,100 people packed into the Hyatt in downtown Cincinnati, for one very special evening and the best compilation of great beer Cincinnati had every seen in a single venue. Because of the tremendous demand for tickets, the Cincy Winter Craft Beerfest has outgrown last year's venue, and hence, the 4th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest has been moved to the Duke Energy Convention Center located in downtown Cincinnnati. The 4th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest date at the Duke Energy Center is set for two days-Friday, February 11th and Saturday, February 12th! Mark those dates down on your calendar, the 4th Cincy Winter Beerfest promises to be truly spectacular! This is one event you do not want to miss!
Will Magnuszewski was amazed that he won, but it was no surprise to the rest of us in the Cincinnati Malt Infusers. We already knew what the rest of the world is just now finding out-Will is a pretty amazing brewer! Below is a picture of Will with Randy from Rivertown and Craig from the Cincy Winter Beerfest. Will had this to say about the photo: "What you can't see in the photo is that I was actually floating around in a cloud of surreal disbelief!" Cincinnati Malt Infuser and BJCP judge Rick Franckhauser had his own views to share after learning the BOS beer he had tasted belonged to Will. Rick said in response to Will's comments "I can believe it – I tasted it. I hope Rivertown can “brew it justice”. I now plan on supporting Rivertown for taking this on and hope all Cincinnati homebrewers and craft beer lovers will join me." The Cincinnati Malt Infusers are confident that the skill of Will, along with Jason and Randy at Rivertown Brewing, will produce an excellent craft brewed example of this great beer. We can't wait to taste it at the 4th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest! We thank the Cincy Beerfest and Rivertown Brewing for supporting us, supporting great beer, and giving us the opportunity to share with fans of great beer everywhere what kind of great beer a fine homebrewer can make. Congratulations again Will! You have earned this and the Cincinnati Malt Infusers are proud of what you have accomplished. Cheers to Will, the Cincy Winter Beerfest, Rivertown and everyone else who volunteered, sponsored and supported Oktobersbest!