Pilsner Urquell Crowns Three Winners in Its Inaugural Master Homebrewer Competition

CHICAGO, Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pilsner Urquell, the world's first golden beer, announced the winners of its 2011 Master Homebrewer competition at events held in New York City, Washington DC and Chicago last week. The homebrewers were tasked with re-creating the iconic Czech-style pilsner made famous by Josef Groll in 1842. Out of 125 competitors, only three were able to claim the title of Pilsner Urquell Master Homebrewer.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110816/NY53270 )

The winning homebrewers were:  Philip Jensen of State College, Pennsylvania, Aaron Hermes of Leesburg, Virginia and Jeff Lewis of Hilliard, Ohio. Each winner will travel to Plzen, Czech Republic later this year to tour the historic brewery and attend the International Master Bartender Competition in Prague.

"It was amazing to see the enthusiasm these homebrewers had for this competition," said Vaclav Berka, Pilsner Urquell's sixth brew master in the brand's 169-year history. Along with a panel of experienced beer judges, Berka judged the homebrews at each event. "I can tell you that some of the homebrews were spot-on when it came to the Czech-style pilsner. This is not an easy style to recreate. These homebrewers are truly skilled at what they do, and it's very exciting to see this community growing throughout the United States."

The Master Homebrewer judging panel selected the top three at each event. Here are the final results:

The judges sampled each beer and selected the winners based on the following criteria:

• 70% -- Accuracy to BJCP style (Czech-style pilsner)
• 15% -- Cleanliness (absence of off flavors)
• 15% -- Artistic impression

"Since 1978, when the homebrewing bill was signed, there has been a steady, growing interest in homebrewing in the United States," said New York event judge Samuel Merritt, Certified Cicerone and president of Civilization of Beer Inc. "The American Homebrewers Association estimates that some 750,000 homebrewers brew beer at least once a year in the US and, having tasted these Czech-style Pilsner homebrews in New York, there are many people doing it quite well."

The Pilsner Urquell Master Homebrewer competitors were equally excited about the competition.

"It was truly a thrill to have the brew master of Pilsner Urquell taste my beer and an even bigger thrill to have him proclaim it as the best of the New York competition," said Philip Jensen, New York Master Homebrewer. "The fellow brewers were great, the venue was great, but the beer was best of all. I started exploring beer making in the mid 1980s and over the years, I've been able to brew good lagers, but struggled with Czech-style lagers until recently.  Winning the Pilsner Urquell Master Homebrewer contest is an honor. I can now say with confidence I CAN brew a Czech-style pilsner, one of the most difficult styles in the world."

Washington DC winner Aaron Hermes was equally thrilled with his victory.

"As a homebrewer, I've always found it incredibly challenging to recreate the subtle complexity of a Czech-style Pilsner," Hermes said. "It was an honor to have my interpretation of the style judged by none other than Vaclav Berka, the brew master of Pilsner Urquell. I'm tremendously flattered to have been selected as a winner in the Master Homebrewer competition. As an added bonus, I'm hoping this will also give me some measure of credibility with my Czech in-laws!" 

Chicago winner Jeff Lewis may have summed it up best when he said, "I'm speechless."

Event photos and additional details are available at Facebook.com/PilsnerUrquellUSA.

About Pilsner Urquell

Created in Plzen, Czech Republic in 1842, Pilsner Urquell revolutionized the brewing industry as the world's first golden beer, creating a new style of beer that became known as pilsner, named after its city of origin.  For more than a century and a half, Pilsner Urquell has been offering discerning beer drinkers a balanced and refreshing beer that has become the standard against which all others are compared.  Nearly 90 percent of the world's beer is a variation of the original golden beer, making pilsner the most popular beer style in the world and further establishing Pilsner Urquell as a true original.  For more information visit www.pilsnerurquell.com.

For more information, contact:
Thomas Ryan
312-496-2970
[email protected]

Jim Furrer
212-994-7559
[email protected]

SOURCE Pilsner Urquell