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Hoppy Ending: BC Brewer Nets Sam Adams Prize |
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Friday, 02 May 2008 |
With just six months of home brewing under his belt, a Boston College senior took the top prize in the Boston Beer Co.'s Patriot Homebrew Contest.
Adam Walsh's Patriot Homebrew IPA will be made at the company's Boston brewery and served on draft at the Samuel Adams Brewhouse at Gillette Stadium during the New England Patriots' 2008-'09 season. The 22-year-old, who beat out almost 200 other contestants from New England, also won $2,000 in cash.
"Adam's IPA is terrific," Boston Beer founder Jim Koch said in a statement. "It's not easy to brew an IPA that has a lot of flavor and maintains its balance, but Adam got it just right."
Walsh became interested in brewing his own beer after studying in Spain last year. "I got to do a lot of traveling in Europe and got to sample beers in Belgium, England and Germany," he said. "When I got back, I wanted to find some beers that tasted like that."
Walsh tested beers from American microbreweries and discovered that many of their founders started in the business by home brewing.
"I thought, if they could do it why couldn't I?" he said.
Walsh developed his award-winning recipe from scratch by sampling commercial India pale ales and learning what hops were used and which ones he enjoyed. He did his brewing in the back yard of his Chestnut Hill apartment.
"The IPA was actually one of my first batches that I brewed," he said. "I came back to it and changed around the recipe and perfected it. I enjoyed drinking my beer, but I never thought it would be the one that would be picked."
Now the job-hunting English major is hoping to land a marketing, sales or management position at the Boston Beer Co. or another American craft brewer.
As for his cash prize, paying off student loans wasn't top-of-mind.
"I haven't decided actually yet how I'll spend it, but I'll probably brew a couple of more batches to share with my friends and family and throw a party," he said.
(C) 2008 Boston Herald. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved |
