Fourth Annual Hops Connect Cup

by Jeremy Nemanishen

  

November 17, 2016

Olds College takes home the coveted trophy at the 4th Hops Connect Cup

The Hops Connect Cup University Brewing Club competition wrapped up on Saturday November 12th at Big Rock Urban Eatery.  This year the big winner was the home brewing club from Olds College in Alberta.  The Alberta team was unable to attend and pick up their awards but they have successfully wrestled the trophy from British Columbia.  Our local teams will have to fight to get it back next year.

The Hops Connect Cup awards university brewing clubs for excellence in five specific categories of beers.  Each club submits their brews to be judged by a panel of experts.  This year the clubs were challenged to develop recipes and submit one brew each of Pilsner, Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA, and Stout.

Brewing teams are also eligible for prizes awarded for the best beer name and the best overall beer. The Hops Connect Cup is awarded to the brewing club with the most awards in the beer styles categories.

Local BC breweries supplied the prizes for the different categories, and the winners of Best Beer get to brew their beer at Moody Ales in Port Moody.

The recipes for the beers are created by the students themselves, and Hops Connect supplies the hops to each team to create their beers.  The judging panel rated each beer and gave plenty of feedback to each team for their efforts.  For many of these aspiring brewers, this feedback is as valuable as the prizes.

Pretending they won the coveted trophy!

Past winners of the Hops Connect Cup include Dirk Slot and Kerry Dyson, both recently profiled here on Beer Me BC.  Check out their stories to see what they’re up to now.

This year’s entrants included teams from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, and Olds College.  Sadly Simon Fraser University was unable to participate this year but they hope to be back at full strength next year and challenging for the top prize.

Winners this year received prize packs from Deep Cove Brewers & Distillers, Main Street Brewing, Moody Ales, Parkside Brewing, and R&B Brewing.

This year’s entrants were definitely of a high calibre making it difficult for the judges to do their work with so many excellent brews submitted.

Look for the Eh.P.A. on location at Moody Ales in the coming months.

Congratulations to all these aspiring, up-and-coming brewers!

And now the winners

Pilsner:

Strathcona Pilsner by Olds College ( Curtis Metzger )

Pale Ale:

Eh.P.A. by UBC ( Mark Adams, Philipp Gagel, and Kevin Dhir )

IPA:

Hot Tub Hopper IPA by UVic ( Ben Eaton and Dirk Slot )

Double IPA:

Impaired Judgement by KPU ( Mark Boucher, Sean Tanner, and Teaghan Mayers )

Stout:

Breakfast Stout by Olds College ( Dan Lake and Carson Petersen )

Best Name:

Grim Grizzly Extra Stout by UBC ( Tristan Wilson, Will and Gefan Wang )

Best Beer:

Eh.P.A. by UBC ( Mark Adams, Philipp Gagel, and Kevin Dhir )

Hops Connect Cup

This year’s winner is Olds College

The team from UBC will be able to work directly with the folks at Moody Ales to make their winning beer on the pilot system at Moody Ales with an eye to learn about a production brewery and the difference of brewing on a large system versus the standard home brew setup.  Keep your eyes on Beer Me BC as we follow the UBC team in their journey.