Thanks to all the homebrewers who recently entered our contest to win one of four “free malt” prizes, by way of taking an online survey. Here are the four lucky winners with a bit about their homebrewing hobby. Congrats, winners!

Kyle and his son Cooper.

Kyle Hall –
North Carolina

“I have been brewing since 2002 when I couldn’t find enough good beer variety in Kill Devil Hills. Outer Banks Brewing’s Lemongrass Wheat was certainly some inspiration. I recently converted to an electric brewery and I have been working out the kinks of changing up my brewing process. Historically I have brewed mostly ales with Porters, Stouts and Wheat being the primary but in the past few years I have been running through some sour beer recipes and I have inoculated some 5 gallon whiskey barrels to be a source of wild bugs moving forward. I brew 10 gallon batches and either fill the barrels or split batches with different yeast to compare the results. Thanks for the opportunity to grab some good grain and increase my production!”

Here’s Jim with Kona, his daughter’s dog.

Jim Hinken – Washington

Member of two clubs in the Seattle area, the Brews Brothers and the Impaling Alers.

“I started homebrewing in 1978 and have been enjoying the hobby since then. I primarily brew beers that my friends, family and I enjoy (this allows me to brew any style I’d like to).”

Mark Holland

Mark Holland – Georgia

“I started brewing about four years ago and probably brew about once a month on average. I’m a member of the American Homebrewers Association and am a certified BJCP judge. I’m not a member of a club but brew with a few other friends sometimes. We’re all ex-Air Force pilots so I came up with the BrewSkies Brewing Squadron… a club in the planning stages (hasn’t really taken off yet!). I brew a wide variety of beer styles seasonally. For instance, I’m brewing an Octoberfest Lager today with Briess Munich, Briess Goldpils® Vienna, and Briess Caramel Vienne malts. Looking forward to a great Octoberfest party! I always have great results with Briess malts and I appreciate the great work you all do to provide homebrewers with premium ingredients. Thank you!”

Tiffany Strauss and Eric.

Tiffany  Strauss — Indiana

Tiffany and her husband, Eric, try to make it to as many of the Friday Night Club gatherings at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis as possible, but isn’t a homebrew club member at the time.

“Eric started brewing in 2011, because I got him a beginning brewing kit and class for Fathers Day.  He was hooked.  He’s an engineer, so the technical nature of the process really appealed to him. I get to assist with various tasks on brew day as well as being an official taste tester.  Our favorite recipes have been our own Strausstoberfest (Oktoberfest), a Berliner Weisse, a Cream Ale and our absolute favorite, a Munich Dunkel.  We’ve even started a blog about the equipment my husband makes, fermware.com.