'Iron Brew' giving a secret ingredient challenge to Charleston home brewers (Judgement day approaches)

Image by Flickr user the_photographer

Update: Check out the winners.

The beer lovers at Holy City Brewing and Mellow Mushroom on King and at Avondale have teamed up for a competition that blends the spirit of Iron Chef with home brewing: Iron Brew.

Teams of up to two will have a month to brew the best beer they can with a yet-to-be announced secret ingredient.

Head on over to the Charleston City Paper to read the release with all the details about how to register.

Update June 5: Mellow Mushroom Charleston and Holy City Brewery will reveal the highly anticipated mystery ingredient on Thursday, June 14, at 5 p.m. at the Iron Brew Home Brewing Competition Launch Party at Mellow Mushroom Avondale.

Home brewers from across the Lowcountry will gather to size up the competition, enjoy drink specials during a Holy City Brewing tap takeover, and find out what the mystery ingredient for the competition is. All teams must have a representative present at the launch party to move on to the next stage. After the ingredient is revealed, participants will have the opportunity to buy home brew products from the on-site Holy City Brewery store.

Teams are limited to four people, and the free registration can be done in person at the Holy City Brewery, Mellow Mushroom Avondale and Mellow Mushroom King St, or online on the Mellow Mushroom Avondale Facebook page.

Update August 30: On Saturday, September 8 at Holy City Brewery, over 60 home brewer teams from across the Lowcountry will compete in the area’s first Iron Brew Competition.

Between 3 and 7 p.m., each home brewing team will present their beer that they made using the official ingredient, honey, to a panel of five judges: Holy City Brewery owners: Chris Brown, Sean Nemitz, Joe Carl, and Mac Minaudo, along with beer enthusiast and restaurant critic, Eric Doksa. The judges will score based on the beers aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall impression.

The teams will be narrowed down to the top 10 home brews, and the winner of the Iron Brew will be revealed at 4 p.m. on Sunday September 9 at Mellow Mushroom Avondale.

The public is also invited to be a judge in Iron Brew, and vote for the “People’s Choice”. A recommended $10 donation to the Gavalas-Kolanko Foundation, a public charity established to help students with disabilities reach their secondary educational goals at College of Charleston, will allow guests to sample the home brews, and vote for their favorite brewer to advance to the finals.

At Iron Brew, Mellow Mushroom Charleston will also have a food truck on site where they will be selling $2 slices of the gourmet pizzas, and Holy City will be selling $3 beers from their beer truck. There will also be live music by South Street and Champagne with Friends, as well as other entertainment.

The team that has the best home brew will win a Mellow Mushroom/Holy City Brewing prize pack. The prize pack includes the winning brew being produced and tapped then sold exclusively by Mellow Mushroom Avondale and Mellow Mushroom King Street. There will also be a second place prize which will be called “The Best of the Rest” and also a separate prize for the team with the most original beer name.