Austin Home Brewer Honored

Home brewers all over Austin envy Kerry Martin right now. That's because sometime in the next year, his very own weizenbock recipe will be enjoyed by considerably more than just his drinking buddies. Martin, a member of the Austin Zealots Home Brewers (www.austinzealots.com), beat out 66 other brew-your-own types in the 13th annual Big Batch Brew Bash in Houston and will be honored by having his beer sold in stores as part of Saint Arnold Brewing Co.'s Divine Reserve series. That's a high honor – the Divine Reserve series features a different beer style each year and focuses on bold flavors highly prized by beer connoisseurs. The Divine Reserve No. 4 from 2005 was a magnificent Scotch ale that won a gold medal at this year's World Beer Cup. Martin's weizenbock – a higher-alcohol version of a bock brewed with 50% wheat malts – will be No. 7 in the series (No. 6, an American barley-wine, should be available in June). "It's hard to believe," said the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality employee of his sudden elevation into the commercial brewing world. "It's something else. Every brewer aspires to have their own brewing company or pub, but it doesn't usually happen. There was a lot of competition." "It is hard to describe how satisfying it is to go into the grocery store and see a bottle of your beer made with your recipe on the shelf for the first time – it's something few people ever experience," said Saint Arnold founder and CEO Brock Wagner, who started home brewing in his Rice University dorm room. "We will also be entering this beer in the Pro-Am category at the Great American Beer Festival this year, which would make Kerry eligible for one of the highest honors in brewing."