WINONA LAKE – At 7 p.m. Saturday during the Homebrew Fest with the Kosciusko Kettleheads, club President Jason Rich gave the annual toast. He thanked Cerulean for hosting, Maple Leaf for this year’s bigger tent and a variety of other sponsors and supporters. But then he gave his biggest thanks to Combined Community Services, which is the recipient of all the funds raised from the beer festival. “But I want to thank CCS for giving us an excuse to pour beer for you all,” Rich said with his glass in the air. “You can have a golf outing, a triathlon or something, or a big beer festival. So cheers to you all!” CCS Director Steve Possell said the funds raised from ticket sales and the auction will go toward utility assistance. Many families will be able to keep their utilities on thanks to the funds raised at the Fest. Cerulean owner Caleb France said his business has been involved with Homebrew Fest for six years. “Obviously, we love finding the best ingredients that we can find and the best drinks and the best food that we can find. When we found this group of guys in the county, brewing the best beer that they could brew, it just made sense for us to partner with them for a great cause like Combined Community Services,” France said. “What I think is really neat is these guys are doing all this and they’re supplying it all for free. Of anyone here, they’re sacrificing the most and they’re giving the most of their time and talent. It’s just really fun for us to partner up with guys that are that passionate about what they do. It’s an easy one for us.” France said the turnout this year was great. “Every year it builds, every year it grows, and I think, obviously, the beer culture in the United States is growing and in our county. It just shows how many people really care about things that are really good,” he said. Kathy and Dana Cone were serving up their go-to beer, “Cone’s Own.” Dana said it was Kathy’s formula. In making the beer, Kathy said they grind the grain, there’s mashing, it gets boiled and put in fermentation buckets – all of which takes about four hours. While it’s brewing, hops are added. After it cools, it’s put in fermentation buckets and yeast is added. “That’s where the magic starts to happen,” she said. It’s then put in a cool place for one or two weeks before it’s put into kegs. “We do make a lot of different styles, but this is our specialty,” she said. Pius Werner brought his Baltic Porter and Amber Ale to the event. “I’ve been brewing for about six years. I mostly started because I couldn’t find the beers I liked in this area. I came from L.A.” He said he started brewing his own beer after his brother-in-law gave him a kit for Christmas. The Baltic is a favorite of his, but every time he brews some, he does something a little different so he’s not making the same beers repeatedly. By mixing it up, he said he also learns what ingredients work and which ones don’t. Mike Miller and Mark Jackson are friends who brew together. They were providing attendees with their Mint Chip Milk Stout. “We were looking for a beer that would be off the beaten path that would appeal to people normally not into stouts,” Miller said. A milk stout is sweet and smooth, not bitter, he said. But he said they don’t just do milk stouts. “We do everything that comes to our heads. Whatever we like,” Miller said. Eric Jacko, Warsaw, has been brewing for about four years and brought a Double IPA and an Espresso Milk Stout, which he brewed up especially for his wife who only loves stouts. Jacko said he likes the IPAs. Mike Gumz, Milford, has been brewing for about five years and he had his American IPA he called ’Merica on hand. It is a clone of Bells Two Hearted out of Kalamazoo, Mich. “Lots of people make clones of their favorite beers which are well known,” he stated. Gumz also offered a summer ale made with raspberries which was a lighter, fruity drink. “I wanted a lighter beer because I knew it would be a hot day and I didn’t want anything to weigh people down on a hot day,” Gumz said. He said the raspberries used to make his beer were grown by himself and he likes to use what he grows. Participants at the festival could vote on their favorite beer, with the winning homebrewer taking home the traveling trophy. Everyone had their opinion on which were the best. “I tend to like the stouts. They’re sweeter,” said Brett Claxton, Warsaw, who has attended the festival every year. His brother, Andrew Claxton, Indianapolis, came up to Winona Lake just for the event. His early favorite was Not Your Mother’s Tang made by Kelley McGuire. He said it was a pale ale with an orange flavor. “It’s very good,” he said. Joe Casper, Brett’s father-in-law, also was voting for McGuire’s brew. “It’s a good beer. I don’t think anyone will top it,” he said. Meghan Martin, Pierceton, liked the stouts, while Daniel Ramsey, Pierceton, liked the lighter beers. It was their first year of attending the festival and they said they were there because they like beer. Kile Brown, Warsaw, also was at the festival for his first time. “I just heard about it from word of mouth. Everyone said it was an awesome place to be and I needed to come try it out,” he said. After trying 15 to 20 of the beers, Brown said his favorite was “Bankrupt” because it was very hoppy and he loves IPAs.
