Thanks to everyone who joined us at Counterbalance Brewing! Fantastic night!
Highlights
Beer for Boobs:
We had 165 judged entries, and the club did pretty well! Congrats to Jared Parko, Bill Koeppen, Chris Mullinax, Nik Volkert, Jim Sudduth, and Peter Daniels on their medal! And a special thank you to Scott Elliott, Kelly Woods, and Buddy Fryer for their hard work!
Taste Discrimination:
The idea for the next taste discrimination event was presented as “Dry January”. Jeremy and his wife are expecting their 2nd child, so a triangle test of some non-alcoholic vs alcoholic brews was the inspiration for this.
We’re planning to cover ~ 4 commercial examples, including Heineken, Guinness, Blue Moon, and La Chouffe.
We’re looking for a potential host for this in January. If you can host up to 12 people and would like to volunteer (and earn Volunteer of the Year points!), please let Jeremy (vice.president@sodz.org) or Sandy (president@sodz.org) know.
Homebrew Tour:
Aaron Davis has volunteered to organize a “progressive dinner” type event touring members’ homebreweries. Reach out to Aaron if you are interested in being one of the stops!
Club Competition – “Smoke & Roast” – 7 entries
1st: Mike Noonan w/ his Smoked Kolsch
2nd: Aaron Davis w/ his American Brown Ale
3rd Sean Madigan w/ his Foreign Extra Stout
A live update of the Brewer of the Year leaderboard can be found here:
2026 Brewer of the Year Leaderboard
| Place | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Bill Koeppen | 10 |
| 2nd | Peter Daniels | 7 |
| 3rd | Victor Aume | 4 |
| 4th (tied) | John Boker | 3 |
| 4th (tied) | Jim Sudduth | 3 |
| 4th (tied) | Jared Parko | 3 |
| 4th (tied) | Chris Woodley | 3 |
| 4th (tied) | Mike Noonan | 3 |
| 4th (tied) | Ron Sleppy | 3 |
| 5th (tied) | David Curran | 2 |
| 5th (tied) | Seth Bland | 2 |
| 5th (tied) | Aaron Davis | 2 |
| 6th (tied) | Nik Volkert | 1 |
| 6th (tied) | Christopher Mullinax | 1 |
| 6th (tied) | Sean Madigan | 1 |
| 6th (tied) | Christoph Lepper | 1 |
Upcoming Meetings
- Dec 15 – Holiday Meeting @ Combustion, Clintonville
- Jan 19 – Grove City Brewing
- Feb 16 – Barleys
Don’t forget our NEW Volunteer of the Year Award!
Earn points for club-related volunteer activities (judging, stewarding, setup, giving a talk at monthly meetings, educational presentation, etc.). Top 2 volunteers win gift cards to Buckeye Brew Craft + custom medals. More information on the Competitions Page of the website https://sodz.org/competitions/ and this doc: https://sodz.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SODZ_Volunteer_of_the_Year_Award.pdf