Elusive Brewing 9th Birthday Home Brew Comp – The Results
Back again for 2025, the Elusive Brewing Birthday Home Brewing Competition – and here are the results and feedback.
First off, a huge thank you to everyone who entered this year’s competition – we had an incredible 55 entries in total, which is no small feat for a brief that challenged brewers to create something full of flavour while keeping the ABV below 4%.
The variety and creativity on display were inspiring, and it’s clear that homebrewing continues to thrive with a wealth of talent, innovation, and dedication in the community.
About This Year’s Brief
We left the style option entirely open this year to allow each brewer’s personality and strengths to shine through, with the only caveat being that the beer needed to come in at 4% ABV or below. This opened the door to an exciting array of styles – from Grisette to Stout and everything in between – making for a fun afternoon working our way through the entries.
Judging Process
With slightly fewer entries this year, we had three judges assess the beers: Andy from Elusive, his long-standing brewer Ricky, and Stiffo from the team here at The Malt Miller.
The first round focused on identifying any faults that would exclude beers from progressing. A total of 25 entries made it through to Round 2.
In Round 2, each beer was judged on its own merits using a scoring system similar to that found in BJCP competitions. We assessed Aroma, Appearance, Flavour, Mouthfeel, and Overall Impression, with a maximum of 50 points available. Each judge scored independently, and the scores were then aggregated.
From there, the highest-scoring beers were discussed, and six were selected to move on to the third and final round. During Round 3, the judges openly discussed each beer, considering its commercial viability and overall merits side by side – with Andy having the final say on the winners.
Andy’s Insights
“The standard in this year’s competition was very high and it was great to see brewers really embrace our brief of brewing something full of flavour at no more than 4% ABV. We had beers from all across the style spectrum with some impressive brewing skills on display!
Accessing Your Score Sheets
We know how valuable feedback is, so all score sheets are now available for entrants to download and whilst there are not comprehensive comments on all entires, we hope this feedback can provide insight as to what the judges found within each beer.
When you entered, your entry number was your original order number. For easier tracking during judging, we renumbered all entries from 1 to 55.
To find your feedback:
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Open the results document.
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On the first page, you’ll see a table matching your entry number (in the first column) to your competition number.
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Make a note of your competition number – this is the number used on your score sheets.
Results
After a tough final round of judging, here’s how the top spots landed:
Winner: Richard Roseblade – Dark Mild
A stand-out beer that impressed the judges with its well balanced aroma and flavour, comprising enough malt character whist remaining sessional and refreshing .
Second Place: Richard Woolliss – Hazy Pale Ale
Showed an abundance of hop character in the aroma and flavour and also maintained body to compliment the style, which is harder at lower ABV’s.
Third Place: Chris Beale – Golden Ale
A beautifully presented Golden ale, beautifully sessional and well balanced.
Honorable Mention: James Krassowski – Coconut & Chuckleberry Berliner Weisse
We’d like to once more thank everyone who entered – whether you made the final table or not, your beers brought a huge amount of enjoyment to the judging process and showcased just how much talent is out there in the homebrewing community.
We can’t wait to see what you all create for next year’s competition!
