In the spring of 2026, when the club wanted to add a new intra-club competition to encourage club participation, we did what any reasonable homebrew club would do for a hot weather competition – we decided to have a malt liquor brew off.
Matt Johnsen, our 2026-27 president, bought a vintage acrylic Schlitz Malt Liquor tap handle from eBay and crafted a wooden base with a “2026 Rock Hoppers Brew Club Malt Liquor Champion” inscription. The trophy made the competition official and gave our members a tangible reason to participate.
To allow time for brewing and lagering, Chris Burgess, the club’s 2026-27 Competition Director, announced the competition in March with the beers due for judging in the July club meeting. Club officers decided to have two separate competitions – one for the beer voted as the best malt liquor and one for the best beer label or presentation. A people’s choice vote in the July club meeting decided the winners. Due to the strength of the beers, the club encouraged members to arrange transportation or use ride share services to get home after the meeting.
Overall, members in attendance at the July 2026 meeting were very impressed at the quality of the beers and agreed the craft malt liquors our brewers made were multiple steps up from convenience store malt liquor products. Brewers also created custom labels to promote their entries. Many used repurposed 40 oz bottles from commercial products, which are becoming harder to find in that size, to increase authenticity. One entrant even included edible glitter in his malt liquor to enhance the presentation.
“I know our club has talented brewers, so I was excited to see what they would do with a style like malt liquor. The beers far exceeded my expectations. Our brewers took a beer style with a poor reputation and made versions that were enjoyable to drink. There wasn’t anything close to a bad beer, and it was very difficult to pick a winning malt liquor,” Chris remarked.
Voting results were tight, and it took multiple voting rounds to decide both the best malt liquor and label winners. In the end, Matt Lawlor won the prize for the best malt liquor with his Sterling 85 glitter-infused concoction.
Mike Koehler was voted as the best label creator for his Flightless Forty branding, a play on the club’s rockhopper penguin mascot.
For their efforts, Lawlor took home the Malt Liquor Champion trophy, and Koehler won a Quirky gift card.
“To win in a room full of accomplished brewers I deeply respect is an absolute honor,” said Matt. “I took a creative risk with the glitter presentation that didn’t win over the crowd, but having the technical execution recognized by this club means the world to me. I’m proud to bring home the Schlitz tap handle trophy from such a talented field.”
Feedback from the club was overwhelmingly positive, and the competition will likely become a recurring club event. American lagers, light lagers, and similar beers have a variety of low cost, vintage tap handles on the resale market that could be turned into great trophies for future competitions.
