The Fall Beer Exchange is at TrueBrü Homebrew Supply on Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 11am.

This page will serve as the home base for the exchange. It will be updated as we move through registration, beer information, the exchange itself, voting, feedback, and winner announcements.

Feedback Area Group #1 

Voting Link Group #1

Feedback Area Group #2

Voting Link Group #2

How the exchange works

Each group has 13 brewers.

Every participant brings 12 bottles or cans of the same homebrew. You will exchange with the other 12 brewers in your assigned group and leave with 12 different beers.

Group 1 exchanges at Table 1, Group 2 exchanges at Table 2. 

One month to sample all and vote for your favorite of the 12 (10/5/26)

Links to feedback areas are above.
Links to vote are above.

GROUP #1 

1. Jack Hughes

Beer style: Barrel Aged Oktoberfest
Beer name:
ABV: 5%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients:Oktoberfest aged in a bourbon barrel for 4 months. 

2. Jonathan Greene

Beer style: Nut Brown Ale with Chai Spices
Beer name:
ABV: 4.5%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Nut brown ale with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and peppercorn.
Recipe here

3. Mike Borchert

Beer style: Marzen
Beer name: Mike's Marzen
ABV: 6.3%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: German Lager with a toasty, bready malt flavor. Pilsner and Munich make up the majority of the grain bill.

4. Tyler

Beer style: American Amber 
Beer name:
ABV: 5.3% 
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients. A modern twist on the classic American Amber Ale. I used traditional American hop character with Cascade, but instead of leaning heavily on caramel/crystal malts like a lot of classic ambers, I layered several specialty malts to create more malt complexity, toast and depth while keeping the beer balanced and drinkable. The hops and bitterness are still very much present, but the malt profile gives it a fuller flavor that feels especially fitting as we transition from summer into fall. 5.3% ABV, 32 IBU, 12.5 SRM.

5. James Werner

Beer style: Pumpkin Beer
Beer name: Pumpkin Pie Ale
ABV: 7.5%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: An Amber Ale with added dark brown sugar and pumpkin pie spices.

6. Rich Venske

Beer style: Wee Heavy Scotchie
Beer name: Cruiser’s Cairn
ABV: 6.6%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Raised with a patient hand and a touch of Highland tradition, Cruiser’s Cairn layers toasted grain, kettle caramelization, and quiet craftsmanship into a Wee Heavy worthy of lingering beside a stone hearth. Rich aromas of warm toffee, toasted bread, dark fruit, and a whisper of vanilla lead into a velvety palate of caramel, biscuit, roasted oats, and subtle maple, finishing smooth with gentle warmth. Like the old cairns scattered across the Scottish glens, every layer has a purpose, rewarding those who take the time to discover what lies beneath.

7. Ed Frank

Beer style: Oktoberfest
Beer name: Franktoberfest
ABV: 5.2%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Multi step mashed, first wort hopped with 10% smoked malt. German and Polish malts make up the malt bill. Omega Bayern Lager yeast, 3L starter. I get bread / toast malt forward beer with a soft bitter finish. Brewed 8/1/26.

8. John David Michels

Beer style: German style amber
Beer name: Bernstein ale
ABV: 6.5%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Amber ale brewed with saltzgetter pilsner malt, munich malt, caramel 60, cascade hops, and kolsch yeast. Fermented for 5 weeks at 66° keged and carbed to 2.5  volume co2. Cheers enjoy!

9. Joel Aldinger

Beer style: Fruit Beer
Beer name: Cherries in the Snow
ABV: 6.3%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: My own all grain version of the classic recipe from "Joy of Homebrewing"
Bitterness: 28 HBU
Color: Rose
Malt: Briess 12 pounds 2 row pale
Hops: Citra (boiling); Mt. Hood (aroma/finishing)
Special ingredients: 10 pounds Door County Montmorency cherries (2026 crop) added to primary fermentation.

Tasting notes: It's not a Kriek, lambic, or Gueze; rather, the sour cherry acidity slices through a subtle malt base that leaves an unforgettable flavor impression. According to the recipe, this beer has the potential to age like wine, but I've never been able to keep bottles around long enough to find out if this is true. Enjoy!

10. Ludwig Enghofer

Beer style: Oktoberfest
Beer name:
ABV: 6.3%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: A pretty OFest. Rich copper color with creamy head. Mostly malty. Light and dark Munich, Vienna, Pils, and a bit of caramel malts. German Hallertau hops and aged for 5 months. Probst.

11. Jerry Stoecklein

Beer style: Scotch ale 
Beer name: Scorched Earth 
ABV: Unknown 
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Scotch, touch of peat.

12. John Mooney

Beer style: Czech Amber Lager
Beer name: Czech Norris
ABV: 6%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Welcome to my insanity...I've been wanting to brew this for a long time and finally mustered up the courage. Brew day went long with multiple mash steps (the hard way) including double decoction. Prostejov malt, Czech Saaz and Budejovice (Budvar) yeast. I really hope you enjoy the results of this arduous batch. Looking forward to your feedback.

13. Rahshal Kowal

Beer style: Munich Helles
Beer name: A Trip to Hydra for a Helles
ABV: 5.1%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Tasting notes: Soft malty with a rounded finish and low hops. That's all your getting. :). Recently a few fellow home brewers have been telling me to use water chemistry, and that "it" would take my beers to the next level... whatever that means. ;).

I'm giving you two beers, both the SAME except for water chemistry. Beer #1 was brewed with RO H2O. Beer #2 was brewed with RO H2O and 1 pack of Instant Water MALTY from Cellar Science. I'll be interested to hear which one you prefer and why.

Here come 2 shameless plugs: 1. for Tyler: All Grain kits are available at TrueBrü along with Instant Water from Cellar Science. 2. For me: You can see a video regarding these 2 beers on my YouTube channel Lady Fermenter. Thanks A Pint!

GROUP #2 

14. Mark Dufek

Beer style: Czech Dark Lager
Beer name: Bohemian Night
ABV: 5.6%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: My dad and I have been brewing together for the past ~15 years and this beer will be served at our 38th Annual Family Oktoberfest party in late September. We both love dark lagers and we have Czech heritage, so this beer made too much sense not to brew, even though it isn't German for Oktoberfest.

This beer is malt-forward with a slight to moderate roast character accented by spicy noble hops, while still remaining drinkable. It is essentially a cross between a Munich Dark Lager and a Schwarzbier. Prost!

15. Matthew Dietsch

Beer style: Hefeweizen
Beer name: The Wise Heifer
ABV: 5.5% abv
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Medium bodied, smooth, slight acidity, bursting with banana and bubble gum with a touch of clove on the finish.

16. Adam olson

Beer style:
Beer name:
ABV:
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients:

17. Stan walter

Beer style: Belgian DUBBEL
Beer name:
ABV: 6.7%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: STONE FRUIT AND BANANA

18. philip blaise pham

Beer style: Märzen
Beer name: Prost! Oktoberfest
ABV: 5.6
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: A simple three grain recipe from the Apartment Brewer for the Märzen style Oktoberfest using all Tettnanger hops per his recipe. I like the bready smell and malt flavor without being cloyingly sweet. The color fits style guidelines yet may be lighter than some others. The hops are in balance for my taste. I pressure fermented with Omega Oktoberfest yeast then lagered in my fridge. 
VIDEO HERE

19. Scott May

Beer style: Brown Ale 
Beer name: Browndo
ABV: 6.1%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: A brown ale with five malts and flaked oats, Fuggles hops to 26 IBU.

20. Jason Geidel

Beer style: Marzen 
Beer name: Dia de los Octubres
ABV: 5.6%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients:Decocted Octoberfest with Baja yeast, lagered for 2 months.

21. The dude

Beer style: Not so red Irish red ale
Beer name: The other stuff
ABV: 5.6%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Mmm Mmm Toasty

22. Todd Kreisler

Beer style: Dunkelweizen
Beer name: Dunkel das Pretzel Brew
ABV: 6.3%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: A rich, traditional Bavarian-style dark wheat ale brewed with a generous blend of Munich malt and Prairie wheat malt. Layers of fresh-baked bread crust, toasted caramel, and hints of cocoa provide a smooth malt backbone, while classic weizen yeast contributes notes of ripe banana, clove, and a touch of vanilla.

Hallertau hops lend a delicate floral and herbal character with just enough bitterness to balance the malt sweetness without overshadowing the yeast-driven complexity. Medium-bodied with a creamy, pillowy mouthfeel and a crisp, refreshing finish, this Dunkelweizen is both comforting and remarkably drinkable. abv 6.3%

23. Mike Andes

Beer style: Munich Dunkel
Beer name:
ABV: 6.4
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: 1.072 OG finished at 1.024. I tried pressure fermenting for the first time and I didn't get to 1.016.

24. Don Wick

Beer style: Berliner Weisse
Beer name:
ABV: 5.78%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Brewed with grapefruit, orange, lemon rinds and Citra hops in the boil, and dry-hopped with whole cone Cascade hops grown in Muskego, WI.

25. Jonathan Meade

Beer style: Blonde Ale 
Beer name: Caramel apple blonde 
ABV: 5.25%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: Slight green apple with a light creamy caramel  finish.

26. Eric A Heiser

Beer style: 16c Tropical Stout
Beer name: Shellback Stout
ABV: 7.5%
Description/tasting notes/special ingredients: A pinch of molasses for dark sugar flavor and Motueka hops for the flavoring hop