The 2021 QCBF Best of Show final results

The 2021 QCBF Best of Show final results

With 100% of entries collected for judging, this year’s QCBF Best of Show competition was the most closely contested yet. A HUGE thank you goes to the QCBF event staff team for their relentless pursuit of Court Shoes Only offerings spanning the Charlotte area from New Sarum Brewing in Salisbury down to Slow Play in Rock Hill; Southern Range in Monroe and across to Cavendish in Gastonia. Forty entries (including collaboration beers) were collected and here’s the sequence of how it all played out.

In round 1, we set up five pairs of judges to taste 7-8 beers with the task of advancing their top two selections. The 10 breweries to advance were:

  1. Amor Artis Brewing
  2. Catawba Brewing Company – Charlotte
  3. Edge City Brewery
  4. Heist Brewery / Salud Cerveceria – collaboration beer
  5. Lore Brewing Company
  6. Protagonist
  7. Resident Culture Brewing Company
  8. Southern Range Brewing Co.
  9. Sugar Creek Brewing
  10. Wooden Robot Brewery / Petty Thieves Brewing Co. – collaboration beer

In the final round of judging by the Cheers Charlotte panel the blind tasting analysis was thorough, careful and confident. The final placements included three exceptional IPA variations, and the winners are:

Southern Range Brewing’s Court Shoes Only variant is an 8% ABV hazy double IPA that was double dry hopped with El Dorado, Simcoe, and Citra.
Heist Brewery and Salud Cerveceria’s Court Shoes Only collaboration beer is a double IPA hopped with Citra, Simcoe, Azacca, and El Dorado, then conditioned on yuzu fruit at 8.0% ABV.
Catawba Brewing – Charlotte’s Court Shoes Only interpretation is an approachable west coast style IPA at 7.2 % ABV.

While there can only be one champion, we can agree that every Court Shoes Only beer has been a clear winner. Congratulations to all! Enjoy the outstanding variations while they last and soon to be announced: an invitation that raises a racket in support of ACEing Autism. Cheers!