Washington locals brew up winners at the Washington County Fair

Bottles were lined up on a table as guests sampled locally made wine and beer during the third annual BBQ, salsa, wine and beer competition that kicked off at Washington County Fair on Friday, July 19.

Amanda Russell, a board member with the Washington County Fair Association, said unfortunately there were no BBQ entries this year and credited it to the heat, which reached 90 degrees by the time of judging at 5:30 p.m. There was one entry for salsa, eight for both dry and sweet wine and three for both light and dark beer.

She said the numbers were down from last year, but was glad there were still entries. Creating an event that would encompass different talents of people in Washington, she said, was the goal of the competition in the first place.

'(We want) to get all the individuals of the community involved in some way,” she said.

'It's not just agriculture people we want to bring in,” agreed fellow board member, Craig Wright.

John TeBockhorst, of Washington, has participated in the beer brewing competition since it began. As a home brewer, he was interested in the opportunity to show off what he's created and share with locals.

'I enjoy making beers and I just wanted to share them and let people try them and just wanted to compete,” he said. 'I think it's cool that they are doing it at the county fair.”

He said he has entered the state fair every year since they began their competition, but to be able to share his product with friends and neighbors is special.

W. Yoder, head brewer at the Kalona Brewing Company, has been a judge for the beer competition for the past three years. As a professional brewer himself, he was glad to see others coming out and getting involved in the craft.

'For people that like beer, it's a connection that they can make with people in the area,” he said. 'It's just an exchange of ideas as well. We're all home-brewers at heart.”

Don Pfeiffer, of Washington, has been making homemade wine for the past nine years and entered three in the competition this year. He said he got into making his own after he retired and when he decided he had too many grapes for jelly or grape juice.

He began giving them away to other people when he realized he could pick up the hobby for himself. He also collected gooseberryies and rhubarb from his garden and began mixing flavors together. At the fair this year, his concord grape wine took home first prize.

Participating in the fair was a no-brainer for him, he said, because he was the one pushing for it for years.

'I said you've got to have a contest. There's more winemakers in this town and this community than just two of us here and they all make good wines and it would be good just to spread the word,” he said.

The first two years, Pfeiffer was the only competitor but his year he had competition. Seeing more people get involved and watching the competition slowly grow was exciting, he said, because it's an opportunity for the community to showcase their talents.

'To me, it's a hobby that people have and if you can have them show their talents, that's good,” he said. Anything that brings interest and other people can see and show or do something about, that's what the county fair is for, and I think we've got a great one in Washington County.”