VENTURA COUNTY MEN BREWING UP SUCCESS : TWO REACH SEMIFINALS IN NATIONAL BEER COMPETITION.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer For Jonathan Rocks, the World Homebrew Contest is a chance to grasp his 15 minutes of fame. ``I think the most exciting thing will be seeing my beer in the stores,'' the Camarillo man said. And just days before the final judging, Meleq Kacani of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. is calm as can be, figuring that as one of nine national semifinalists in three categories he's already a winner. ``It's a good contest,'' said Kacani, 23. ``Even the six people who don't make the finals get a really nice prize. It's no loss.'' The two Ventura County men are among nine semifinalists spread across three categories in the second annual home brew Products that are developed at home by hobbyists. contest sponsored by the Boston Beer Co. Winners in each category - ale, lager and specialty brew - will be announced Friday. Top winners in each category get an expense-paid, two-week trip to anywhere in the world that has a brewing history, such as Germany or Belgium. Their brews will also be bottled and distributed under Boston Beer's Long Shot label. The six runners-up will get $2,000 in travel vouchers to be applied toward a trip to the 1997 Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is a three-day annual event hosted by the Brewers Association held at the end of September or the beginning of October in Denver, Colorado. in Denver, Colo., in the fall, or the American Homebrewers Association The American Homebrewers Association is a division of the Brewers Association focused on homebrewers of beer, cider, and mead. The AHA was founded in 1978 by Charlie Papazian in Boulder, Colorado. National Homebrewers Conference slated for July in Cleveland. Rocks' Belgian Strong Ale and Kacani's Traditional German Bock Noun 1. bock - a very strong lager traditionally brewed in the fall and aged through the winter for consumption in the spring bock beer lager beer, lager - a general term for beer made with bottom fermenting yeast (usually by decoction mashing); originally competed against 800 entries during a first round of judging July 27-28 and Aug. 3-4, said contest spokeswoman Kate Begley. ``We have it down to nine finalists and each of the nine finalists came down to Boston to our brewers and they brewed a 10-barrel batch of their recipes,'' she said. Rocks, who is in his 20s, said he has always been interested in beer brewing but got into it in earnest only a little more than two years ago. ``I used to watch my dad brew when I was a little kid, he was always making root beer and beer in the garage and I thought `Hey, I want to do that,' '' said Rocks, who is a part-time student at Oxnard College Oxnard College is a California-state funded community college located in Oxnard, California. It was established in 1975. It serves the Oxnard Plain cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, and Port Hueneme. . Kacani, who started brewing his own beer about five years ago, said he was stunned to learn he was a semifinalist because he found out about the contest shortly before the July 12 entry deadline. ``I didn't have much time to prepare for it, it was kind of a rush entry,'' Kacani said. ``But everyone that tasted my beer before I got the news was pretty thrilled with it. I was pretty shocked when I got the call.'' BEST BREWS Here are the nine semifinalists, divided into three categories, in the World Homebrew Contest sponsored by Boston Beer Co. Ale Belgian Strong Ale - Jonathan Rocks, Camarillo. English Strong Bitter - Robert Gordash, Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale (lô`dərdāl), residential, commercial, and resort city (1990 pop. 149,377), seat of Broward co., SE Fla., on the Atlantic coast; settled around a fort built (c.1837) in the Seminole War, inc. 1911. , Fla. Irish-style Dry Stout - Derek Day Derek Malcolm Day (born November 29, 1927) was a British field hockey player who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the British field hockey team, which won the bronze medal. He played two matches as goalkeeper. External links
LAGER Traditional German Bock - Meleq Kacani, Simi Valley. Munich Dunkel (German Dark Lager) - David Cinquina, Allendale, N.J. Muncher-style Helles (German Light Lager) - Thomas Sallese, Baltimore. SPECIALTY Molasses molasses, sugar byproduct, the brownish liquid residue left after heat crystallization of sucrose (commercial sugar) in the process of refining. Molasses contains chiefly the uncrystallizable sugars as well as some remnant sucrose. Coffee Stout - Paul and Kari Karasiewicz, Dayton, N.J. Bamberg-style Smoked Beer - Carlos Kelley, Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas, 18th-largest city in the United States[1], and voted one of "America’s Most Livable Communities. . California Common - Beverly and David Graham, Park Ridge, Ill. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--ran in SIMI and CONEJO editions only) ) Johnathan Rocks of Camarillo picked up a passion for brewing from his father. Tina Gerson/Daily News (2--ran in SIMI and CONEJO editions only) ) Meleq Kacani of Simi Valley is happy his beer has made it this far in the contest. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News Box: BEST BREWS (see text) |
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