New Hampshire homebrewer Rob North triumphed over nearly 200 other entrants to win the third annual Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew contest. His winning brew, a Rauchbier, meaning “smoke beer” in German, will be served and sold at Gillette Stadium during the upcoming Patriots season. Hailing from Manchester, New Hampshire, North beat out entries from all six New England states.

“Rob’s Rauchbier is well balanced and has a perfect blend of smoke and malt, reminding me of the traditional Rauchbiers I’ve enjoyed while visiting Germany every year during hops selection,” said Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. “Its sweet and smoky aroma and flavor will make this beer a perfect complement to the sausages and bold, full flavored grilled fare that people love during football season.”
 

Along with bragging rights, Rob’s prize includes the opportunity to come to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery and brew his winning beer with support from the Samuel Adams team of brewers. Rob’s brew will be served alongside the traditional Samuel Adams beers at the Samuel Adams Brewhouse® in Gillette Stadium during the entire 2010-2011 football season.

Rob has been actively homebrewing for the past three years, and is a member of the homebrew club, Brew Free or Die based in New Hampshire. He has entered a few other homebrew competitions over that course of time, and was crowned "Brewer of the Year" at the New England Regional Homebrew Competition in the fall of 2009. Today, he adds another big win to his list. “I had planned to enter one of my homebrews into the 2008 Patriot Homebrew Contest, but because of an ice storm in New Hampshire, I couldn’t get the beer to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery in time. Winning the contest this year definitely makes up for it!” Rob said. “It is such an amazing feeling to know that my Rauchbier will be served at Gillette Stadium this year. Rauchbiers are not a common beer style and I’m excited to have the opportunity to put a beer like this in front of people who haven’t tried it before and open up their eyes to something different. What’s even better, this is a fantastic beer to enjoy during football season!”

The origin of Rauchbiers dates back to the 1500s in the town of Bamberg, Germany. Even today, the best known Rauchbiers are found in the historical brewpubs in Bavaria. Rauchbiers are typically dark amber in color and have a smoky aroma and flavor that varies in intensity depending on the smoked malts used in the brewing process.

Twenty five 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. “I’m looking forward to working with Rob and brewing his recipe in Boston,” said Jim. “Every year since the inception of the Patriot Homebrew Contest, we’ve had the opportunity to introduce thousands of football fans to interesting styles of craft beer, from a Double IPA to an Oatmeal Stout’s and now a Rauchbier. For years, Patriots fans have been coming to the stadium in hopes of witnessing a great game, and thanks to Rob and the homebrewing community in New England, they also get to enjoy some really great beer.”

The Samuel Adams Patriot Homebrew Contest, now in its third year, kicked off in August 2007 encouraging New England football fans to brew their own beers and submit them for judging. The preliminary judging took place at Gillette Stadium on January 23, where five 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, Jason and Todd Alström of Beer Advocate, Wally Brine of WROR-FM, Gail Ciampa of The Providence Journal, Carolyn Faye Fox of The Improper Bostonian, Dan Hausle of WHDH-TV, Norman Miller of the MetroWest Daily News, and David Rosenbaum, winner of the 2008 Patriot Homebrew Contest.

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY BACKGROUND:

The Boston Beer Company began in 1984 with a generations-old family recipe that founder and brewer Jim Koch uncovered in his father’s attic. After bringing the recipe to life in his kitchen, Jim brought it to bars in Boston with the belief that drinkers would appreciate a complex, full-flavored beer, brewed fresh in America. That beer was Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and it helped catalyze what became known as the American craft beer revolution.

Today, the Company brews more than 21 styles of beer. The Company uses the traditional four-vessel brewing process and often takes extra steps like dry-hopping and a secondary fermentation known as krausening. It passionately pursues the development of new styles and the perfection of its classic beers by constantly searching for the world’s finest ingredients. While resurrecting traditional brewing methods, the Company has earned a reputation as a pioneer in another revolution, the “extreme beer” movement, where it seeks to challenge drinkers’ perceptions of what beer can be. The Boston Beer Company strives to elevate the image of American craft beer by entering festivals and competitions the world over, and in the past five years it has won more awards in international beer competitions than any other brewery in the world. The Company remains independent, and brewing quality beer remains its single focus. While Samuel Adams is the country’s largest-selling craft beer, it accounts for only about one-half of one percent of the U.S. beer market. For more information, please visit www.samueladams.com.