March Mashness emerges as nationwide contest

For the past 15 years, beers made in each of the continental 48 states have been shipped to St. Cloud.

They are entries in the annual March Mashness home brewing contest organized by the Cloudy Town Brewers, a Central Minnesota home brew club.

"It's pretty exciting to see this contest grow all over the country," said Cloudy Town Brewers president Joe Leuthner. "It takes a lot of hard work, but it's a very rewarding event for the group."

Organizers are expecting about 200 entries in 2015.

"Over the last three or four years, the quality level has really gone up," said Chris Smith, one of the contest judges from the Minneapolis-based home brew supply store Northern Brewer.

"The average beer entered is much better than just a few years ago. More people are getting into it. The learning curve is steeper these days. People are learning much more quickly and there is just more information out there."

Entries for the 2015 contest are accepted until March 1 at MINCO Technology Center, 3333 Division St. in St. Cloud, at Midwest Homebrew Supplies in Minneapolis, and at Northern Brewer locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Entries can also be mailed to those locations.

Entries were also accepted Feb. 7 at the 2015 Great Northern Brew-Ha-Ha banquet.

A March Mashness awards ceremony will be at 6 p.m. March 14 at Michael's Restaurant, 510 U.S. Highway 10. The event will feature guest speakers Nick Barth and Chris Laumb from the Beaver Island Brewing Co.

Awards ceremony attendance costs $25 and includes a meal and homebrew samples.

Leuthner said judging starts March 9.

Judging is completed over about five sessions and each entry is examined for a minimum of 15 minutes. Each category has a specified grading checklist.

"Everything goes into the judging process — literally everything," said Bruce LeBlanc, a Cloudy Town Brewers member who helped found the event. "Aroma and taste are some of the biggest ones. We also have to make sure it fits the category it's entered. It has to be right on the mark."

The majority of the March Mashness judges are certified.

To earn beer judge certification, one must complete a basic beer knowledge written test and an oral tasting exam. To pass the tasting exam, one's comments and beer grades must match those of certified judges.

And the March Mashness judges are now expecting their most competitive field yet, with entries from all around the country.

"It's fun to see how this event has just taken off," LeBlanc said. "Craft beer has just grown so much."

Follow Jake Laxen on Twitter @jacoblaxen

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