(Boston, MA) – The Boston Beer Company announced today that Matthew Welz of Vermont is the winner of the fifth annual Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest. His winning brew, a Robust Smoked Porter, will be poured at Gillette Stadium during the upcoming New England Patriots season.
“I’ve been homebrewing for years and am thrilled to have received such a high honor from Jim Koch and the rest of the judges,” said Welz of Cornwall, Vermont.
Matthew’s beer is a dark mahogany porter, brewed with 5 varieties of malt. The beer’s robust smoky flavor from the smoked malt is balanced by the roasted espresso character of carafe malt, making it an ideal brew for the football season.
“We’ve had a great time brewing Matt’s beer and look forward to sharing it with drinkers at Gillette Stadium this year,” said Jim Koch. “Over the last five years, we’ve had the opportunity to introduce thousands of football fans to some really unique and enjoyable beers and are excited to introduce Welz’s Robust Smoked Porter this season.”
The Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest began in August 2007 and each season encourages New England football fans to brew their own beers and submit them for judging. This season’s preliminary judging took place at Gillette Stadium on January 28th, after which six finalists advanced to the final round. The final judging was hosted by Jim Koch at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. The judging included the fine beer palates of notable beer tasters Mike Adams of WEEI-AM, Brian Bell, Loren Owens, Wally Brine and Lauren Beckham Falcone of WROR-FM, Kerry Byrne of the Boston Herald, Gail Ciampa of the Providence Journal, Norman Miller of MetroWest Daily News, Carolyn Faye Fox of Improper Bostonian, Jen Harmon of Yankee Brew News, and Dan Hausle of WHDH-TV.
Twenty-eight years ago, Jim Koch brewed the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager® in his kitchen. At a time when high-quality, flavorful beer was unavailable in the Boston area, Jim dreamed of bringing fresh, flavorful beer to local beer lovers. That first brew, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, went on to help start the craft beer revolution.
Over the years, Jim has helped other aspiring homebrewers realize their brewing dreams through the Brewery’s nationwide homebrew contest, Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest and locally through the Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest, giving a nod to the Company’s Boston roots.
Now, with the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream® microloan program open to craft brewers nationwide, Jim is helping those passionate brewers who have taken the next step from homebrew to microbrew by offering loans as well as coaching and mentoring. In addition to funding made available through Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, craft brewers nationwide have the opportunity to apply for the Samuel Adams Brewing & Business Experienceship. The Experienceship provides one craft brewer annually with educational or enrichment experiences that positively impact their craft or the success of their brewery.
