If you didn’t know, last weekend was the big Blue Ridge Brew Off (BRBO), hosted by our local homebrew club, Mountain Ale & Lager Tasters (MALT). Out of nearly 500 entries, MALT members are represented well on the list of winners and we congratulate our homebrewing customers on their most excellent skills. We love the name Alex gave to his DIPA: No Hop Left Behind. Ah, beer humor.

Tony Kiss wrote about the trials and tribulations of beer judging today after his BRBO experience, and we agree: It is not as easy as one might think. We know our beer, but we know so little about homebrewing. Learning the subtleties of beer is an art.