Beer Info

Beer News, Beer Releases and New Breweries

From the Garage to the Podium: A History of Homebrewers Who Medaled at the U.S. Open Beer Championship

by

A History of Homebrewers Who Medaled at the U.S. Open Beer Championship

From the Garage to the Podium: A History of Homebrewers Who Medaled at the U.S. Open Beer Championship

Every year since 2009, thousands of beers from professional breweries around the world pour into the U.S. Open Beer Championship for blind judging. But there’s a twist that sets the U.S. Open apart from nearly every other major beer competition: it’s the only major championship that invites gold-medal-winning homebrewers from the American Homebrewers Association’s National Homebrew Competition to enter their beers against the pros — same categories, same blind judging, no special treatment.

Since the competition’s founding in 2009, dozens of homebrewers have taken that invitation and walked away with medals, occasionally even gold, standing shoulder to shoulder with breweries that have full-time brewers, commercial equipment, and years of production experience. Here’s a look back at every homebrewer who’s medaled at the U.S. Open over the years.

The Full Medal Roll

2009

  • Gold, Strong Scottish Ale — Phil Ferrall (Cumming, GA), The Next to Last King of Scotland
  • Bronze, Specialty/Anything Goes — Kevin Cosentino, Kevin’s Wild Ale

2010

  • Bronze, ESB — Jimmy Vervaecke, Pub Ale
  • Bronze, English Brown Ale — Jake Ocque & Tom Ocque, Mutter 5

2011

  • Silver, English Pale Ale — Matt Tucker & Jake Tucker (Oviedo, FL), Pale Ale
  • Bronze, Rye/Roggen — Stacy Myers, Horseman of the Hopocalypse
  • Bronze, French/Belgian Ale — Phil Sullivan, Sully’s Belgian Blonde

2012

  • Gold, Barley Wine — Michael Habrat, Chris Bartik, Brett Goldstock & Suzy Pessutti (San Diego, CA), Nevral Rust
  • Silver, German Alt — Kent Shultz, Alt
  • Bronze, ESB — David Motter, Crown Jewels ESB

2013

  • Silver, German Lager/Pilsener — Gautam Bagchi (Ohio), Barky Pilsner
  • Bronze, American IPA — Kelsey McNair, Hop-Fu! IPA
  • Bronze, German Alt — Mark Girard, Ctrl+Alt+Delete
  • Bronze, Herb and Spice Beer — Andrew Mitchell, Hibiscus Saison

2014

  • Silver, Altbier — Jeffrey Jantz (Albuquerque, NM), Rauch Katze
  • Bronze, Schwarzbier — Jeff Lewis (Hilliard, OH), Brandy’s Black Lab Lager

2015

  • Silver, German Wheat — Scott Hixson (Mississippi), YYY’s Man Says
  • Bronze, Marzen/Oktoberfest — Nick Rodammer (Michigan), Rodtoberfest
  • Bronze, Spice Cider — Jeff Carlson (Michigan), Westside Sweet Heat

2016

  • No homebrewer medalists recorded.

2017

  • Silver, American Amber/California Common — Keith Eisel (North Carolina), Dream Steam
  • Bronze, American Light — Derrick Flippin (North Carolina), Pinky Restraint
  • Bronze, Vienna — Derrick Flippin (North Carolina), Thanks for the Decoction Pot

2018

  • Silver, Imperial IPA — Randy Sauter (South Dakota), Double IPA
  • Silver, American Stout — David Byer (North Carolina), Session RIS

2019

  • Bronze, English Barley Wine Ale — David Byer & John O’Brien (Hot Springs, NC), Don’t Swallow the Cap

2020

  • Bronze, Baltic-Style Porter — Justin McClenahan (Silver Spring, MD), Odin’s Beard

2021

  • No homebrewers competed — the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition was canceled that year due to COVID-19, leaving no gold-medal homebrews eligible to enter.

2022

  • Gold, American Wheat — Caleb Meinke (Cambridge, WI), Willow Run
  • Bronze, Heller Bock/Maibock — Jeff Klatt, Perfidious Bock

2023

  • Silver, French/Belgian Ale (Belgian Session Ale) — Joseph Belevender (Warren, MI), North Biere
  • Silver, Light Lager — Caleb Meinke (Cambridge, WI), Len’s Light Lager
  • Bronze, American Barley Wine — Alex Cigan (Brooklyn, NY), Contrived Spontaneity

2024

  • Gold, Brut IPA — Christopher Burgess (Castle Rock, CO), Like Falling Off a Bike
  • Gold, Strong Scottish Ale — Lucas Orr (San Diego, CA), Kilt Dropper
  • Bronze, Belgian Pale Ale — Mark Kunzelmann (St. Louis, MO), Belgian Pale Ale

2025

  • Gold, Historical Beer — LaVaughn Barker (Wisconsin), Sheba’s Nectar

2026

  • Gold, American Lager — Wayne Doucette (Big Lake, MN), Lynn’s Lager
  • Gold, English Barley Wine Ale — Joe Skiles (Carol Stream, IL), Calculating Infinity

A Few Standouts

Caleb Meinke of Cambridge, Wisconsin has quietly built one of the best track records of any homebrewer at the U.S. Open, medaling in three separate years — 2022, 2023 (twice, in different categories the same year), making him one of the most decorated homebrewers in the competition’s history.

David Byer of North Carolina also medaled multiple times, first solo in the American Stout category in 2018, then teaming up with fellow homebrewer John O’Brien for a bronze in English Barley Wine Ale the following year.

2024 stands out as a banner year for homebrewers, with two gold medals awarded to homebrewed beers — Christopher Burgess’s Brut IPA and Lucas Orr’s Strong Scottish Ale — tying the U.S. Open’s single-year record for homebrewer medals.

Why It Matters

The U.S. Open’s decision to let homebrewers compete against professional breweries isn’t just a nice gesture — it’s a genuine test. These aren’t novice recipes; every homebrewer on this list had already won gold at the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition, the most competitive amateur brewing contest in the country, before ever setting foot in the U.S. Open’s blind judging room. Standing toe-to-toe with commercial breweries and walking away with a medal is proof that great beer really can come from anywhere — including a five-gallon carboy in someone’s garage.

For Brewing fun fact, trivia, movies and more, Click Here.