@ TAIT, 401 W Lincoln Ave. Lititz, PASaturday, September 23rd3pm - 6pmIncludes Homebrew Competition
The May’s Service Center Homebrew Tent will return to the Ninth Annual Lititz Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, September 23rd, 2023. We will again invite the brewers of the top 10 entries to our Homebrew Competition to pour their beers for three public vote prizes, and three brews will be reproduced in commercial breweries.




Important Dates
- Entries due Saturday, July 22nd. Drop submissions at Lancaster Homebrew anytime they are open by the end of their operating hours the day of the deadline. Cold storage is available for submissions that require it.
- Top 10 announced on or by Friday, July 28th
- Ten finalists pour at Lititz Craft Beer Fest 2023 on Saturday, September 23rd alongside more than 80 commercial breweries in the May’s Service Center Homebrew Tent, where a public vote will determine the winners of three prizes in addition to three Brewer’s Choice prizes.
How to Enter
Drop off beers with this beer ID form attached to each container plus $5 per entry by the deadline.
- Entries due Saturday, July 22nd.
- $5 per entry. Limit 6 entries per person. Beers only. No pros. Payment due at drop-off. If paying by check, please make it payable to “Lititz Craft Beer Fest”
- Two (2) 12 oz. bottles, two (2) 22 oz. bombers, two (2) cans, or one (1) growler per entry. Please provide this beer ID form with your entries. Skip all other labels–entries will be identified by number and style only.
- Please identify the style of beer you submit on the beer ID form using the 2021 BJCP style guidelines.
- Drop off your entries at Lancaster Homebrew. Contact us at [email protected] if you need help submitting your entries or alternate drop-off accommodations. Cold storage is available for submissions that require it. All entries will be chilled before judging.
- The preliminary judging will take place the week following our submission deadline. The ten (10) best beers, as determined by a panel of judges, will be announced on or by Friday, July 28th.
- This is not a BJCP event. However, our judges will be using the same scoring system.
- At least five (5) gallons, bottled or kegged, are required for the finalists to pour the day of our festival in our Homebrew Tent. There are nine weeks between the date the finalists are chosen and the festival. (July 22nd to September 23rd is 63 days.) Our competition is popular. Votes are collected for the first two hours or until half the finalists run out, whichever comes first. We count votes and award prizes on stage at the conclusion of the three-hour session. If you make the top 10, you can serve from kegs or bottles at the event, no big deal. We will provide a tent, table, ice, and rinse stations.
No Pros
Homemade beers only. No entry will be accepted from any person that our committee determines, in our sole discretion, is submitted by a person or entity that is a licensed brewer or is in the process of attempting to obtain a license. No entries will be accepted that were brewed in a commercial brewery. Brewery employees are welcome to enter as long as they are not brewing as part of their job.
Prizes
A public vote at the Lititz Craft Beer Fest determines first, second, and third place, and the winners will be announced at the end of the festival. Three brews will be worthy of a nod from local professionals. Cox Brewing Company of Rheems, Pour Man’s Brewing Company of Ephrata, and Big Dog Craft Brewing of Lancaster will each make a homebrewer’s dream come true by offering the opportunity to brew in their commercial breweries, and each collaboration will be served on draft until they’re sold out.
- Each top 10 finalist will receive:
- Complimentary ingredients from Lancaster Homebrew (up to $40 total) to be used in the competition. Any finalist who wishes to re-brew after being selected can bring their recipe to Lancaster Homebrew and secure regularly-stocked items at no cost (up to $40 total).
- Two (2) free tickets to the event. Each finalist brewer will receive free entry to the beer fest and can distribute their complimentary tickets amongst friends and family.
- Prizes to be awarded at Lititz Craft Beer Fest 2023:
- Cox Brewing Company Brewer’s Choice: Brew at Cox Brewing Company in Rheems & your beer served on tap until it’s gone
- Pour Man’s Brewing Company Brewer’s Choice: Brew at Pour Man’s Brewing Company in Ephrata & your beer served on tap until it’s gone
- Big Dog Craft Brewing Brewer’s Choice: Brew at Big Dog Craft Brewing in Lancaster & your beer served on tap until it’s gone
- 1st Place Vote: $500 Pre-paid VISA
- 2nd Place Vote: $250 Gift card to Lancaster Homebrew
- 3rd Place Vote: $100 Gift card to Lancaster Homebrew

If you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].
2023 Finalists
Mike Adair
Smooth Operator
Oatmeal Stout w/ chocolate
Mike Adair
Ruby Slippers
Red IPA
Michael Blose
Mom’s Peach Cobbler
Sour
Brooks Edman
Lucy’s Irish Stout
Irish Extra Stout
Jeff Delaney
Slap Hands w/ Nectaron
American Pale Ale
Doug Keenen
Headless Horseman Rides Again
Autumn Seasonal Spiced
Brian Mills
Cerveza de Lititz
Mexican Lager
Dave Taylor
Something Blueberry
Experimental: GF Sorghum, Honey, Blueberry
Dave Taylor
Cruella DuBel
Belgian Dubbel
Kyle Trunk
Treasure Trove
Weissbier w/ pineapple, mango, strawberry, and passionfruit
History
Here are the top 10 finalists from each of our previous competitions. Lititz Craft Beer Fest began in 2014. There is no significance to the order of these lists after the placeholders.
2022 Finalists
1st Place Public Vote
Michael Blose
Blueberry Limon
Sour
2nd Place Public Vote
Chris Swentner
Coconut Joe
Coconut Coffee Stout
3rd Place Public Vote, Big Dog Craft Brewing Brewer’s Choice
Kyle Trunk
Riptide
Weissbier with pineapple, mango, and peaches
Pour Man’s Brewing Company Brewer’s Choice
Mike Fegely & Alastair Peters
Dark Mild
Cox Brewing Company Brewer’s Choice
Mike Adair
Just a Hare
Belgian style amber with coriander and orange peel
Starview Brews Brewer’s Choice
Josh Turner
Half Day Hazy
Hazy IPA
John Scanlon
Welcome to Earf
IPA
Kiel Fisher
Rom Baro Märzen
Jake Gross, Tom Bavaria, & Andy Lacek
Cream Ale
Jesse Stoner
Blondé Rosé
Belgian blonde ale with strawberry and raspberry
2021 Finalists
- 1st Place Public Vote, Mad Chef Craft Brewing Brewer’s Choice
Mango Habanero Sour - Tony Morrell
- 2nd Place Public Vote
Vacay Bay Bay, Apricot Amber Ale - Ed Herbert
- 3rd Place Public Vote
Chocopolte, Imperial Oatmeal Stout with chocolate and chipotle peppers - Matthew Campbell
- Pour Man’s Brewing Brewer’s Choice
Munich Dunkel - Eric Fletcher
- Big Dog Craft Brewing Brewer’s Choice
Tripel Crown, Belgian Tripel - Kyle Criste
- Cox Brewing Company Brewer’s Choice
Alter the Sound, New England IPA - Josh Shock & Dave Hume
- Jules & Vincent, Imperial Stout with coffee
- Josh Ford
- Route 10 IPA, American IPA
- Josh Turner
- She Said Somewhere Different, Sour Blonde with Blackberry
- Josh Shock & Dave Hume
- Every Damn Time!, Blood Orange Hefeweizen
- John Shirk, Jerry Zimmerman, & Howard Fryberger
2019 Finalists
- 1st Place Public Vote, Cox Brewing Company Brewers Choice
Clockwork Oransje, Gose - Matthew Campbell
- 2nd Place Public Vote
Did It All For Chinookie, American IPA - Steve Palmer
- 3rd Place Public Vote
Mid-Day Mango, Pale Ale - Bill & Steph Hapenovich
- Pour Man’s Brewing Brewers Choice
One Way or Another, American Blonde Ale with Orange Peel - Josh Shock, Dave Hume & Zach Shock
- Spring House Brewing Brewers Choice
What’s Wrong With Cloud 8?, Hazy Double IPA - Wayne Swartz & Jason Bartch
- Wee Special, Wee Heavy with Coffee aged on Bourbon Oak
- Paul Cowan
- Rye Altbier
- Mike & Amber DeGrace
- Tropical Stout
- Mike & Amber DeGrace
- Cadillac Tire, American Amber Ale
- Steve Wakefield
- Ascending Arc, New England IPA
- Bill Balistreri
2018 Finalists
- 1st place, Chocolate Chips in My Pancakes
- Step Brothers Brewing, Porter
- 2nd place, Strawberry Not Darryl
- Steve Nott, Milkshake IPA
- 3rd place, It’s 10:33
- John Scanlon, American IPA
- JoBoy’s Brewpub Brewer’s Choice, WTHelles
- Brian Mills, Helles Lager
- Cox Brewing Company Brewer’s Choice, New American Slang
- Josh Shock, Dave Hume & Zach Shock, American Pale Ale
- From Moscow With Love
- Josh Shock, Dave Hume & Zach Shock, American Strong Ale
- At The Garden’s Edge
- Jared Wolfe, Hibiscus Saison
- Lime Cucumber Blonde Ale
- Dave Timblin & Ryan White, Blonde Ale
- Blue Harvest
- Brooks Edman, Berliner Weisse
- Mango Lassi
- Brooks Edman, Berliner Weisse
2017 Finalists
- 1st place, Creamsicle Blonde Ale
- Matthew Campbell, Blonde Ale
- 2nd place, Breakfast in the Dark
- Adam Chamberland, Imperial Stout w/ Maple Syrup
- 3rd place, Zephyr
- Mike Fegely & Alastair Peters, Pale Ale
- JoBoy’s Brewpub Brewer’s Choice, Zephyr
- Mike Fegely and Alastair Peters, Pale Ale
- Second Glances – Head Rush
- Nehemiah Talbott, American Amber Ale
- High Amplitude
- Bill Balistreri, Imperial Stout
- Descending Arc
- Bill Balistreri, IPA
- Raspberry Beret
- Kristen Richards, Milkshake IPA
- Touch of Rye
- Mike Adair, Brett Saison
- Easy Come, Easy Gose
- Josh Shock, Dave Hume & Zach Shock, Gose
- Hazy With a Chance of Hops
- Brian Wagner, Imperial IPA
2016 Finalists
- 1st place: Maple Bacon Coffee RIS
- Chris Harvey & Caitlin Miletto
- 2nd place: Yuzu Session Milkshake IPA
- Derek Wolf, Brad Moyer & Dean Pierce
- 3rd place: Goin’ Broke IPA
- Ryan Foltz & Sam Son
- Hop! In the Name of Love
- Matthew Kupchinsky
- Hazy Shade of Summer
- Craig Fahnestock & Mike Baer
- Red Craic
- Brian Wagner
- Melon Felony
- Tim Myers
- Blood Orange Wheat
- Mike Adair
- Slice of Life/Blood Orange
- John Scanlon
- Moral Dilemma
- Matt Topper
2015 Finalists
- 1st place: The Gourd, The Bad, The Ugly
- Steve Anderson
- 1st place: Stowaway Stout
- Adam Chamberland
- 2nd place: Solar Terminator
- Derek Markel
- 3rd place: Surfboard Session IPA
- Matt Ranauro
- Pumpkin Pecan Pie Porter
- Travis Markel & Damien Garloff
- Double West Coast IPA
- John Palmer
- Hop Along IPA
- Steve Foose
- Batch 40 Pale Ale
- Andy Good
- The Rites of Signage
- Shane Pawelczyk
- Tropical Implants w/Citra
- Derek Markel
2014 Finalists
- 1st place: Scottish Ale
- Kathy Yellets & Kelly Fedin
- 1st place: Smoked Chipotle Porter
- Brian Thomas, Jason Clement & Will Meiser
- 2nd place: Smashed Wolf
- Allen Arslanian
- 3rd place: Bride of Zombie
- Harold Ford
- 4th place: Pale Ale
- Brian Wagner
- California Blonde
- Craig Fahnstock & Mike Baer
- Sour Cherry Berliner
- Jon Briggs
- Italian Breakfast
- Dean Pierce & Steve Buller
- Post Ride Pale
- Eric Stoffer
- Hot Pine IPA
- Michael Foster