If you’ve ever wanted to brew a batch of beer with Wayne Wambles, Cigar City Brewing brewmaster, now’s your chance – kind of.

Wambles has partnered with VetterBrew HomeBrew Supply in Clearwater for the inaugural Pilot This! homebrew kit and competition. The winner of the contest will have his or her recipe brewed on the Tampa brewery’s 15-barrel system and have it served in the tasting room.

Michael Vetter initially approached Wambles about having his shop create and distribute kits for homebrewers based on recipes created by local breweries, but the brewmaster said he wanted to take it a step further.

“I wanted to create something that was more challenging instead of just giving away one of our recipes,” Wambles said. “I thought about it for several weeks, and ended up coming up with the Pilot This! concept.”

The concept works like this: The beer must be hop-centric and must use only the ingredients in the kit, which is designed for all-grain brewing. The brewer is required to use a hop extract included in the kit, and one of three specified yeast strains. Otherwise, the brewer has free rein to us as much or as little of the other ingredients in the kit, which includes seven ounces of various hops and 15 pounds of various grains. No additional ingredients are allowed, other than fining agents.

“The flexibility part was, in my opinion, necessary in order to create more overall possibilities for a final product because I wanted people to learn something from the kit,” Wambles said. “If we continue to do it, which will be based on the success of this first round, I want each kit to have a different challenge, to challenge people in different ways. That way I think it benefits the brewery, it benefits Michael and his homebrew shop, and it benefits the homebrewers.”

Entries are due no later than October 2, 2015, and must be shipped or dropped off at VetterBrew. Judging will take place at Cigar City Brewing, and the winner will be announced by October 16. NOTE: The contest is not limited to Floridians. The kit will be shipped to you, and you just need to find a way to get the bottles back to VetterBrew before the deadline.

The winning recipe will be brewed and served at the brewery, and the winner is welcome to help, but he or she must cover all travel, lodging and other associated expenses.

Vetter said only about half of the original 300 kits, which will ship or be available for in-store pick up the week of August 3, are still available. Each costs $49.99, which includes the contest entry. Purchasers are not required to enter the contest.

For full details and official rules, visit VetterBrew.com.



