If you missed it Saturday, the first annual Treasure Valley Organic Homebrew Challenge at the Ram was a rip-roaring success.

I bet 150 people turned out to taste the libations of 21 brave homebrewers who competed against each other to see who could make the best American-Style pale ale with organic ingredients.

Travis Schaff’s Birkenstock Pale Ale was anointed the best beer of the competition from a panel of Boise’s most experienced certified beer judges, and it was a pretty sweet moment for Travis.

Surrounded by his crew, who burst into applause when he won, Schaff was visibly thrilled with the win and spent at least 20 minutes shaking hands and getting props from other beer lovers about the Birkentsock Pale Ale.

Since part of the first place prize is having the guys from Sockeye brew it up and put it on tap in the near future, you will be able to enjoy Schaff’s balanced and smooth pale ale for yourselves. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know where and when.

Second place went to Derek Anderson for his Tree City Pale Ale, and Jeremy Gramkow of Horseshoe Bend won third for his Q’s Nectar.

Those were the judge’s picks. The public got to pick their favorites as well after the official judging was done.

Approximately 50 beer enthusiasts — many of whom lined up at the Ram’s Stonehouse an hour early — sampled the 21 homebrews entered in the contest and filled out score cards. The winners of the public tasting were:

First place — Jeremy Gramkow, for the Q’s Nectar.
Second place — Jordan Ragsdale, for the Poncie Pie Pale Ale.
Third place — Derek Anderson, for the Tree City Pale Ale.

It was a bummer that Jeremy Gramkow couldn’t make it to Boise for the contest. I would have liked him to be there so he could have experienced the thrill of having a bunch of beer nuts applaud his effort.

It was a great event and a great value — a mere $15 to taste the homebrews and then enjoy some of Ram’s excellent beers (Tail Dragger IPA, anyone?) and some barbecue. You won’t find a better deal than that. People were having a blast, which is what drinking craft beer is all about.

Lets give some props to the folks at Boise Co-Op (Ander Sundell, Matt Gelsthorpe, and others) for coming up with the idea of the contest and running with it, and the people from the Ram — brewmaster Kevin Bolen and the rest of their staff — for hosting the party and making it such a cool and affordable event.

The folks at Sockeye and homebrew stores Brew Connoisseurs and Nampa Brewers Center also deserve credit for their support.

Homebrewing has driven the craft beer scene for the last 30 years or so and Boise has a vibrant homebrewing community, so it is nice to see that celebrated.

You can read much more about the event, the winners, and the beers themselves in this Friday’s Scene Magazine in my monthly beer column.