153393071

(Getty Images / iStockphoto)

The Genesee Brewing Co. of Rochester and the F.X. Matt (Saranac) Brewing Co. of Utica are rivals for space on beer shelves.

This year's New York State Fair Homebrew Competition is bringing them together.

Sean Coughlin, a Genesee employee who manages the company's online store, won the top honor -- Best of Show -- is this year's homebrew contest, beating out 278 other entries from amateur brewers. (He is not a brewer for Genesee).

His winning entry was a Belgian Strong Dark Ale called Abbey Cat.

In addition to his blue ribbon, as the top winner Coughlin gets to have a batch of his beer brewed and bottled by the professionals at Matt/Saranac. That beer will then be entered in the Great American Beer Festival's national competition in Colorado this fall.

This is the second year that F.X. Matt is boosting the fair's top homebrew by brewing a batch. Last year, they did it for winner Carl Woodward of Panther Lake in Oswego County. (His beer was a German style called Gose).

F.X. Matt/Saranac will produce about 4 kegs of the beer in its pilot brewery (not its giant brewhouse). Some will be sent to the GABF contest, but at least one keg will be on tap at the brewery.

Overall, the fair received 279 beer entries from 96 different brewers in 25 categories, according to competition coordinator Jeff Simonds.

The contest awarding first through third place in each category, plus the four tops in Best of Show. Winners came from across the state, but many are from the Syracuse-based Salt City Brew Club.

Coughlin was also a volunteer judge when the homebrew competition took place this spring -- but he did not judge in the categories he entered. He was also disqualified from judging the Best of Show.

"I was pretty shocked to win," said Coughlin, who in addition to running Genesee's online store also provides in-house beer education. He has been a volunteer judge for the State Fair contest for three years.

Here's what one judge wrote about Coughlin's Abbey Cat: "An excellent beer. No technical flaws were noticed. A nice malt profile draws you to the beer. The flavors with the malt, phenols and esters are well balanced." Coughlin's beer had been aging for about a year and a half by the time of the contest.

The New York State Fair runs Aug. 21 to Sept. 1.