10th Annual O’Connor’s West Michigan Brew Off

Thanks to all who participated in the 10th Annual O’Connor’s West Michigan Brew Off.

There were 123 entries judged and 133 registered participants, judges, and stewards.

Best of Show Winners

Best of Show – Beer

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Craig Buno	Billy The Bladesman	11B: Best Bitter	Rivertown Homebrewers
2nd	Chris Hewitt	Roas Razza Sour	29A: Fruit Beer	Brewsquitos Homebrewing Club
3rd	Charles Gies	Gies Island	20C: Imperial Stout	Brewers On The Lake (BOTL)

WMBO Champion Club (23 Participating Clubs)

Place	Club	1st	2nd	3rd	Score
1st	Rivertown Homebrewers	1	3	4	13.00
2nd	Keepers of Craft	1	3	2	11.00
3rd	PrimeTime Brewers	2	0	3	9.00
4th	Brewsquitos Homebrewing Club	3	0	0	9.00
5th	Morris Area Society of Homebrewers	2	0	1	7.00
6th	Cass River Home Brew Club	1	1	1	6.00
7th	Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU)	1	1	1	6.00

Scores and tie-breakers have been applied in accordance with the scoring methodology. Numbers reflected are rounded to the hundredth place. Hover over or tap the question mark icon () for the actual calculated value.

Winning Entries

Table 1: Pale lager (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Keith Blanchard	Ich Bin Ein Pilsener	5D: German Pils	Morris Area Society of Homebrewers
2nd	Matthew Bair MHP	International Pale Lager	2A: International Pale Lager	Rivertown Homebrewers
3rd	Timothy Wicklund MHP	Weird American Lager Thing	27A6: Pre-Prohibition Lager	Keepers of Craft

Table 2: American IPA and Barleywine (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Paul Jones MHP Co-Brewer: Khal Weir	Franc-Ly An IPA	21B1: Belgian IPA	Morris Area Society of Homebrewers
2nd	Marcus Payne	Made East IPA	21A: American IPA
3rd	Mark Hofmann	IPA	21A: American IPA	Rivertown Homebrewers

Table 3: Hazy and Rye IPA (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Kyle Dubiak	Temple Of Haze	21C: Hazy IPA	Brewsquitos Homebrewing Club
2nd	Andrew Perry MHP	Christmas IPA	21C: Hazy IPA	Rivertown Homebrewers
3rd	Jeff Pregenzer	East Met West In Michigan	34B: Mixed-Style Beer	Keepers of Craft

Table 4: Amber ale and lager (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Gregory Sanial MHP	Spies Among Us	7A: Vienna Lager	PrimeTime Brewers
2nd	Lawrence Poleski	Marzen Madness	6A: Märzen
3rd	Nicholas Andary	TC Nomad	19B: California Common

Table 5: Dark lager (10 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Benjamin Royster Co-Brewer: Matt Bigellow	Wedding Beer	9C: Baltic Porter	Scioto Olentangy Darby Zymurgists (SODZ)
2nd	Will Moreau	This Pint Is On Me	8B: Schwarzbier	Cass River Home Brew Club
3rd	Will Moreau	Dragon Knuckles	2C: International Dark Lager	Cass River Home Brew Club

Table 6: Wheat Beer and Pale American ale (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Scott Mars	Pale Morning Ale	18B: American Pale Ale
2nd	Chad Faulstick MHP	The 304	18A: Blonde Ale	Wheeling Alers
3rd	Ian Purvis	Old School Hefeweizen	10A: Weissbier	PrimeTime Brewers

Table 7: Belgian Strong and Monastic Ales (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Nathan Kanous	Saison 2023	25B: Saison	Keepers of Craft
2nd	Dominick Dufner MHP	New Hit Single 2	26A: Belgian Single	STLBrewhogs
3rd	Mark Rocheleau	Golden Strong Ale	25C: Belgian Golden Strong Ale	Rivertown Homebrewers

Table 8: British Bitters and Belgian Pale (6 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Craig Buno MHP	Billy The Bladesman	11B: Best Bitter	Rivertown Homebrewers
2nd	Dominick Dufner MHP	You Bitter? Yup, Bit Him Too.	11A: Ordinary Bitter	STLBrewhogs
3rd	Ian Purvis	Best Bitter	11B: Best Bitter	PrimeTime Brewers

Table 9: British, Irish, and American stout (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Charles Gies	Gies Island	20C: Imperial Stout	Brewers On The Lake (BOTL)
2nd	Bryan Fischer MHP	The Big Leb-Oatski	16B: Oatmeal Stout	Keepers of Craft
3rd	Kyle Ernsberger MHP	From Ireland	16A: Sweet Stout

Table 10: American Porter and Brown ale; Spiced Beer (10 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Chad Banks	Pumpkin Pie Ale	30B: Autumn Seasonal Beer	PrimeTime Brewers
2nd	Phillip Reik	Barrington Brown Ale	19C: American Brown Ale
3rd	Art Kim MHP	Tempus Fugit	20A: American Porter	Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU)

Table 11: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Art Kim MHP	Tempus Fugit Coffee	30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU)
2nd	David Maurer MHP	Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges	30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	Illiana Beer Rackers Union (IBRU)
3rd	Paul Jones MHP Co-Brewer: Khal Weir	Dark Pools	30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer	Morris Area Society of Homebrewers

Table 12: Mixed Fermentation and Wild Ale (6 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Jeffrey Bair	Squire Park Blackberry Lambic	23F: Fruit Lambic
2nd	Brian Stephens MHP	Petrification - Purple	28C: Wild Specialty Beer	Keepers of Craft
3rd	Zak Slagle	Freestone	28C: Wild Specialty Beer	Firelands Homebrew Club

Table 13: Fruit Beer (9 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Chris Hewitt	Roas Razza Sour	29A: Fruit Beer	Brewsquitos Homebrewing Club
2nd	Keegan Kalisek Co-Brewer: Julia Malysh Jackson Chenett Dylan Froling	Man O'Passion	29A: Fruit Beer
3rd	Chad Banks	POG Milkshake IPA	29C: Specialty Fruit Beer	PrimeTime Brewers

Table 14: Wood Aged, Alternative Sugar, and Smoked beer (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Paul Curran	Cherrywood Smoked Porter	32A: Classic Style Smoked Beer	Brewsquitos Homebrewing Club
2nd	Eric Slater	No Minors Allowed - Peanut Butter Cup	33B: Specialty Wood-Aged Beer	Rivertown Homebrewers
3rd	Steve Morren	Mama Said Knock You Stout	31B: Alternative Sugar Beer	Rivertown Homebrewers

Table 15: British and Scottish ale (8 entries)

Place	Brewer	Entry Name	Style	Club
1st	Lori Kula	Windsor Harvest Porter	13C: English Porter	Cass River Home Brew Club
2nd	Brian Stephens MHP	Why Do All Dwarves Have Scottish Accents?	14B: Scottish Heavy	Keepers of Craft
3rd	Craig Buno MHP	Northern Stronghold	13B: British Brown Ale	Rivertown Homebrewers

Account Registration Closed

Account registrations accepted 11/25/2023 8:00 AM, EST through 01/20/2024 10:00 AM, EST.

Registrations for judges or stewards accepted 11/25/2023 8:00 AM, EST through 01/20/2024 2:00 PM, EST.