Iron Brew Challenge Culminates this Weekend

Local beer connoisseurs rejoice.

On Saturday Holy City Brewery and will host the first round of judging in the Iron Brew 2012 competition, and after the judges finish sampling beer brewed by 60 homebrew teams, the general public will get its own chance to taste what the teams have cooked up.

"The competitors have been brewing for the past month," Mellow Mushroom Avondale General Manager Claire Smith said. "About a month from now the winner's beer will be on tap at both Mellow Mushrooms (Avondale and Downtown) until it runs out."

The initial round of judging on Saturday at Holy City Brewery at 4155 Dorchester Road will winnow the field to the judges' top 10. When the competition opens to the public from 3 - 8 p.m. attendees will select a peoples' choice to join the top 10 in a final round of judging on Sunday at Mellow Mushroom Avondale. Judges for the competition are Holy City Brewery owners Chris Brown, Sean Nemitz Joe Carl and Mac Minaudo, and beer enthusiast and restaurant critic, Eric Doksa.

Tickets for the Saturday round are $10, and proceeds from the sales will go to the Gavalas-Kolanko Foundation, a charitable organization set up to help students with disabilities succeed at the College of Charleston. The entrance fee will come with 20 sample cups to try out many of the home brews, Smith said.

Holy City Brewery beers will be on tap during the event for $3 and Mellow Mushroom will offer pizza for $2 a slice at the event as well.

Mellow Mushroom Avondale will host the final round on Sunday from 3 - 7 p.m. The judges will decide an overall winner from among the top 10 they selected and the peoples' choice brew. The winner will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday's round is open to the public without an admission charge.

The winning team's brew will be produced and tapped and sold exclusively at Mellow Mushroom locations in Avondale and downtown. A second place team will receive the Best of the Rest award and one team will get the award for the most original name for their brew.

"A month from now, when they're done brewing, the winner's beer will be on tap," Smith said.