This spring, I was traveling home from dropping Henry off at school, and made a detour to Mt. Horeb for a visit to Brix Cider. I love hard cider, and had seen an interview with the owner of Brix on an episode of Around the Farm Table. The Brix storefront was a combination bar/restaurant, and also sold the Brix line of bottled ciders and swag such as shirts and glasses. As I was exploring the store, I came across a small display of news clippings and awards Brix had won. Many artisanal food businesses have similar displays, and I almost walked by when the wording on one of the medals cause my eye. It was a medal awarded to one of their ciders by the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition (GLINTCAP). Several thoughts passed through my mind - there was a competition just for ciders and perrys? And it was based in the Great Lakes region?
When I got home, I Googled GLINTCAP out of curiosity, and found that the competition was run out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The deadline for the 2022 competition was a few weeks away, and they had an entry category for non-commercial ciders and perrys from homebrewers like me. I had made a small batch of perry last year that came out really well, and wondered if I should try and enter it in the competition. Figuring that my odds of winning anything were small, I thought it would be nice to get some professional feedback so I could improve my cidermaking. I paid the $25 entry fee, filled out the form, and shipped three bottles of perry to be judged. I has to send the bottles through UPS, as there is apparently some rule against shipping alcoholic beverages through the US postal service.
May rolled around and the judging events came and went. A week later I got an email from GLINTCAP. My perry had won a silver medal! Out of 16 entries in the combined modern/traditional perry categories, the competition awarded five gold medals, five silver medals, and five bronze medals. A couple of weeks later, I received scoresheets from the three judges. Points were awarded based on bouquet/aroma; appearance; and taste/mouthfeel. The scores from each judge were averaged, and the number of points determined what medal category my entry placed. My perry had 'funky' notes, but also good pear aroma and color. My medal came in the mail at the end of July.
Hopefully we will be able to continue producing at least a little cider each year. I recently bought a new reference, The Big Book of Cidermaking, which has been an interesting read. There are apples and pears on the trees. The biggest hinderance is that by the time cider season arrives, it is at the end of canning season, which can be exhausting. Maybe the silver medal will be motivating.
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