I am happy to announce the placements of the 2008 Variant Competition winner. The judging had two parts. First there was a BJCP panel judging of the beers to the Mild style profile. We had 5 certified judges evaluate the brews. From this judging, we came out with a rank ordering of the beers. Then, at the Winter Social, participants picked their favorite top three beers from the entries. This also yielded a rank ordering of the beers. We totalled the two orders and the beer with the best combined ranking was determined to be this year's winner.
So, here were the top five beers from the BJCP judging:
1. Sean Russell
2. Kevin O'Keefe
3. Al Cutshall
4. Doug DeVol
5. Doug Buffett
And the top five beers from the People's Choice Judging were:
1. Al Cutshall
2. Doug Buffett
3. Jesse Warner
4. Doug DeVol
5. Sean Russell
Which means that the 2008 Supreme Variant Homebrewer is:
Al Cutshall
Thanks to everyone who participated. Get ready for the 2009 competition this summer.