Lexington homebrewer wins ninth annual Kentucky Ale Pro-Am Brew-Off

Raise your glasses, craft beer fans, to a new limited edition brew from a Lexington home brewer. A light, sessionable IPA recipe created by homebrewer Keith Rodenhauser will hit the local market later this summer for a limited time after it is scaled up and produced by Alltech Lexington Brewing and Distilling Co. The easy-drinking but flavorful brew pleased the judges’ palettes for the ninth annual Kentucky Ale Pro-Am Brew-Off. The win will send Rodenhauser to the largest beer event of the year with his winning beer – the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Supporting local homebrewers and fostering a local craft brewing community is important, said Jonathan Lang, general manager of Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.

“Being the oldest craft brewery in Lexington, we really enjoy getting other people with a passion and love for craft beer together and giving them the chance to be creative and produce something unique,” he said. “It’s such an important event not only for the homebrewers whose careers this has helped launch but also for those who simply love to try new local brews.”

Rodenhauser’s beer will be brewed and enjoy a limited commercial release regionally in late summer. He began home brewing two years ago, he said, and has enjoyed experimenting with different styles and ingredients, as well as the access to beer that might not otherwise be commercially available.

“This is very exciting…I didn’t expect to win,” said Rodenhauser, who works as a planner for an architectural and engineering firm and entered the brew-off for the first time. “I’ve really enjoyed the whole process and look forward to experiencing the whole process of brewing the beer at the brewery. I hope people like the beer. I’ve never had this scale of people tasting my beer before.”

Rodenhauser’s beer won against 15 other brews created by home brewers around the region on its flavor, appearance, aroma and mouthfeel. A panel of Alltech brewing experts and master distillers served as judges in the competition and assigned each beer entry a scaled rating for flavor, aroma, appearance, color, mouthfeel and overall likeability. The beers were brewed at Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. during Lexington Craft Beer Week in May. Home brewers provide all equipment and materials, except water and yeast, which are provided by Alltech.

Recent winning entries of the Kentucky Ale Pro-Am Brew-Off include last year’s Pikeville Porter, Kentucky Black Mountain IPA, Hopfield and McCoy Imperial India Pale Ale and Kentucky Appalachian Ale.