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Last year, the Inaugural Iron Brew Competition at Holy City Brewing was a huge hit. There were over 30 teams registered that brewed up some fantastic beers. Teamed up with Mellow Mushroom Charleston and Avondale, the guys at Holy City opened registration for the second Iron Brew competition on April 22nd. President of the Brewer’s Association, Charlie Papazian, joined the kickoff by meeting with home brewers and signing books at the brewery.

Each team that’s registered for Iron Brew will have until between July 15th and July 29th to brew and submit a beer brewed with a secret ingredient. Over the course of two weeks, judges will sample each of the beers and determine which beer showcases the ingredient to its fullest, and the winner will be announced at an Iron Brew Festival at Holy City Brewing on August 3rd. The winning beer will be brewed in a 15 barrel system onsite at Holy City and will be sold at both Mellow Mushroom Charleston and Mellow Mushroom Avondale.

Tonight, contestants met at Mellow Mushroom Avondale for the big [secret ingredient] reveal. Last year, large sheets were pulled off of a covered table to reveal several varieties of honey. This year, the home brewers were surprised with a special video from Charlie Papazian. Here’s the lowdown:

YouTube video

And with that, we’d like to say good luck to all contestants. Happy Brewing!


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