L-R: Competition co-ordinator Mike Leupold with Steve Parr, assistant director American Homebrewers Association

Updated Monday October 17: Scroll down for list of winners.

For amateur brewers around Australia, Thursday October 13 was a day of reckoning, with the annual Australian Amateur Brewing Championship (AABC) taking place at the German Club in Adelaide.

This year’s event received 361 entries, spanning 18 style categories (20 if you include meads and ciders).

To say the volunteer run event is highly organised is an understatement. Behind the bar, ‘retrieval’ staff make sure entries are picked in the correct order, before stewards deliver them to individual tables each consisting of three qualified judges. A brains trust then compiles the scores, crunching numbers, and entering details into a computer.

Scores and evaluation notes are later supplied to individual brewers, allowing them to further hone their craft, providing them with a valuable source of feedback.

Each beer is individually evaluated (in triplicate) based on the characteristics of Bouquet/Aroma, Appearance, Flavour, Body, and then Overall Impression. These characteristics vary by style, and have been published and agreed to by the AABC organising committee and based on the internationally accepted Beer Judge Certification Program guidelines (AABC guidelines can be downloaded from www.aabc.org.au).

Having three judges per table ensures the judging process is as fair as possible, and after each judge has evaluated the same beer, scores are compared amongst the three judges to ensure consistency, before finalisation and total averages for each beer are then calculated.

The judging tables for the non-beer categories of mead and cider have been located at the far extreme of the room, to make sure there is no aroma drift occurs to the beer area, being another indicator of the attention to detail that has gone into the planning of the event.

To the discerning ear, the low tones of judges discussing the merits of each beer can be heard around the room, while swirling samples in clear plastic cups can be seen en masse, some even ‘probing’ the brews to make sure they are at the optimal temperature before tasting.

“Unlike a wine competition a sample of the beer must be consumed by each judge to properly evaluate it,” says competition Co-ordinator Mike Leupold. “Although almost every beer drinker would love to be on the judging panel, finding the 60 qualified judges required to do the job, and bringing them together in one room is quite a challenge,” he said.

The competition is open to any amateur brewer residing in Australia that has first qualified at their relevant state comp earlier in the year. Approved qualifying competitions were this year run in NSW, QLD, Victoria, WA, SA, Tasmania, and the ACT. It is anticipated that in the future the Northern Territory will come on board.

While the event is only open to amateur brewers, the bragging rights of placing in either the state or national comp are not only a testament to the skills of the brewer, but in past competitions, have also been the catalyst for brewers turning their hobby into a job and turning professional.

The AABC prefaced the Australian National Home Brewing Conference (ANHC5), which kicked off on Friday 14th October.

AABC winnersThe AABC results wereannounced at a Gala Dinner on Friday October 14 at the Adelaide Town Hall.

The overall best beer was awarded to Mikko Pludra (for his entry below), while best overall brewer was Bernie Glass.

Fittingly, the champion state was South Australia.The complete list of winners is as follows, withnames in order (ie 1st, 2nd & 3rd for each category).

Category: 1. Low Alcohol (<4% ABV)Ian Parr (TAS) 1.3 Scottish Light AleIan Triggs (NSW) 1.5 Mild AleRob Vanstone (QLD) 1.5 Mild Ale

Category: 2. Pale LagerBernie Glass (WA) 2.2 Australian Premium LagerAdam Beauchamp (SA) 2.5 DortmunderGeoff Donnellon (VIC) 2.2 Australian Premium Lager

Category: 3. Pilsener (sponsored by Australian Brews News)Scott Eckford (QLD) 3.3 Bohemian PilsnerIan Mooney (NSW) 3.2 German PilsnerPaul Main (ACT) 3.1 Classic American Pilsner

Category: 4. Amber & Dark LagerMatthew Wood (SA) 4.4 North German AltbierBernie Glass (WA) 4.5 Munich DunkelAdam Beauchamp (SA) 4.5 Munich Dunkel

Category: 5. Strong LagerBrad Donaldson (SA) 5.4 DoppelbockCraig Dunbar (NSW) 5.2 Maibock/HellesbockDaniel Court (VIC) 5.4 Doppelbock

Category: 6. Pale AleMatt Bradford (QLD) 6.3 KölschAdrian Ison (ACT) 6.3 KölschLachlan Johnson (SA) 6.5 Australian Pale Ale

Category: 7. American Pale AleShaun Lawson (VIC) 7.1 American Pale AleAdrian Reich (SA) 7.1 American Pale AleJohn Dykes (VIC) 7.1 American Pale Ale

Category: 8. Bitter AleSimon Batty (SA) 8.4 American Amber AleJames Gallagher (WA) 8.3 English Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB)Bruce Tonkin (SA) 8.3 English Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB)

Category: 9. Brown AleMatthew Kennedy (SA) 9.3 Scottish AleBob Paniak (WA) 9.5 American Brown AleBen Willing (NSW) 9.2 Irish Red Ale

Category: 10. PorterPaul Main (ACT) 10.2 Robust PorterPaul Moseley (WA) 10.1 Brown PorterShaun Murphy (VIC) 10.1 Brown Porter

Category: 11. StoutNed Summerhayes (WA) 11.3 Oatmeal StoutPhillip Kennedy (QLD) 11.2 Sweet StoutBen Lugg (QLD) 11.3 Oatmeal Stout

Category: 12. Strong Stout (>6% ABV)Karl Robinson (QLD) 12.3 Russian Imperial StoutDavid Tetley (NSW) 12.3 Russian Imperial StoutGreg Butters (TAS) 12.1 Australian Stout/ Foreign Extra Stout

Category: 13. India Pale AleAndrew Freeman (NSW) 13.2 American IPABill Swancott (ACT) 13.2 American IPALuke Ronalds (QLD) 13.3 Imperial IPA

Category: 14. Strong Ale (>6% ABV)Matt Spencer (SA) 14.4 American Barley wineStephen Lawford (ACT) 14.3 English Barley wineJohn Sheehan (VIC) 14.1 Old Ale (English Strong Ale)

Category: 15. Belgian Strong Ale (>6% ABV)Tim Byrne (TAS) 15.4 DubbelRoger Duncan (QLD) 15.5 Belgian Dark Strong AleKent Getsinger (SA) 15.5 Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Category: 16. Wheat & Rye BeerBryce van Denderen (VIC) 16.2 Weizen/Weißbier (Wheat)Luke Scrivens (SA) 16.2 Weizen/Weißbier (Wheat)Mark Bedford (QLD) 16.1 American Wheat or Rye Beer

Category: 17. Farmhouse Ale & Wild BeerNick Potter (ACT) 17.1 Witbier (White Beer)Craig Ditcham (VIC) 17.4 Flanders Red AleJeff McGrath (WA) 17.9 Fruit Lambic

Category: 18. Specialty BeerMikko Pludra (VIC) 18.1 Fruit BeerBen Willing (NSW) 18.2 Spice/Herb/Vegetable BeerNigel Graham (TAS) 18.1 Fruit Beer

Category: 19. MeadDarren Blackhurst (ACT) 19.6 Other MeadBen Harmer (ACT) 19.2 Sweet MeadJeff McGrath (WA) 19.4 Metheglin

Category: 20. CiderCalum Maxwell (WA) 20.2 English CiderMitch Willebrand (QLD) 20.3 Other CiderNeal Kavanagh (VIC) 20.3 Other Cider