Home winemakers, brewers and bakers offer their best at County Fair

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On Sept 30, volunteer judges at the San Benito County Fairgrounds had the enviable task of sorting through and deciding which of the 124 cakes, pies, cookies, breads and other baked items, plus over a dozen different wines and beers submitted by over 95 residents, would take First Place, Best in Show or even Best in Fair. 

“For the baking alone,” said competition organizer Emily Skow, “we have entries from about 90 individuals in 13 divisions. About 60% of them are returning, so there is a lot of experience there, for sure.”

There were three teams of two judging baked goods, one clerk and one judge per team, and two judges for beer and wine. Various attributes, including taste and appearance, were judged, with first, second, third and honorable mentions chosen. At the end of the individual judging, a Best in Show was selected from each category, and one entry was selected as Best in Fair.  

A similar process takes place for junior baking and preserves.

The first event to be completed that afternoon was beer and wine, as judged by Ralph Chavez and Brian Kennedy. Along with Cuco Chavez, they produce beer for their label, code3brewing, and for the Damm Family as Pinnacles Brewing.

“It’s a lot of fun coming out and judging for the community here,” Kennedy said. “We’ve been brewing beer for a very long time, so we enjoy beer and the process. We remember what it was like to start home brewing in tiny little buckets and coolers and making mistakes.”

Chavez said that homebrewers are not held to the same standards as commercial brewers because of the limitations on home brewing equipment and lack of strict temperature control. 

“Fermentation may not be 100% controlled,” he said. “They might have some off-flavors and perhaps not be true to the style, but it’s expected. Home brewing should be fun, with the goal of making drinkable beers. And these were all drinkable.”

Some standouts

Porter  “This beer was awesome,” Kennedy said. “It was roasty with a little sweet chocolate in there. It had great color and great head retention. It’s a great campfire beer.”

Mexican Lager  “It’s light and had a light sweet corn taste to it,” Kennedy said. “It just needed a little more carbonation and time to clear out. If it were conditioned a little better, it would be tap-ready. But it was a good, refreshing lager.”

Wild Yeast Saison  “The benefit to this one is that it is a good, bright-fruited sour, without being too sour,” Kennedy said. “It was right on the money and held its spot very well.” The beer was entered by Adrian Masoni, who took three First Place awards in the competition last year.

Dunkel Dark Lager  Chavez and Kennedy had no hesitation in declaring this the Best in Show. “The alcohol, being high, matches its sweetness,” Kennedy said. Chavez said it tasted very clean and had a nice chocolatey backbone. “I picked up on the roastiness of malts,” he said. “It had perfect carbonation and was nice, easy drinking, and enjoyable.”

(While it only took second place, I found a Mango Pale ale that had been submitted was eminently drinkable: light, with a lovely fruit flavor that did not overpower the brew and a very clean finish; a perfect afternoon beer.) 

Among the wines, a Bordeaux blend took the Best in Show award. “This is something I would want to enjoy every day,” Kennedy said. “It had a little sweet cherry, a good finish and was a little dry on the end, which made me keep coming back for more.”

One near miss was an extraordinary Apricot Port which, while it was the only wine offered in its class, was awarded Second Place due to the high alcohol content. 

“I’m a big fan of this port,” Kennedy said. It has a great flavor, and once it gets done finishing, it’s going to be killer. I can calm it down now with some water, but I think it will be amazing in a year or two.”

The judging of the baking took over four hours because of the number of entries—not that any of the three judges and three clerks were complaining. And it was easy to see, in some cases, which dessert item was a crowd-pleaser. Half of the tiramisu cake that won Best of Fair was gone by the time the judges, volunteers and hangers-on (including this reporter) each had a slice of it.

“The judges are considering many things,” Skow said. “They are looking at the flavor, whether it was baked correctly, undercooked, the quality of the frosting, and the texture—things like that.”

It is a rigorous process: the judges sample and consider, the clerks record their comments, and a host of volunteers whisk finished entries off the table as they replace them with something new.

Judge Kara Loupe commented on a few of the best of show entries:

Sour Dough Bread  “What made this the best in show was the loaf itself,” she said. “Besides having a great taste, it was just beautiful. It was baked perfectly.”

Orange Cranberry Bread  “This just tasted like Christmas to me,” she said. “It has cinnamon and orange; you can taste all the flavors. A lot of quick breads get overcooked because the baker is so concerned about the center. But this one is moist, and she made a lot of effort to make it pretty.”

Sandwich Bread  “This is in the ‘family’ category,” she said, “so this one is a mother and son baking together. It has a nice crust, it is evenly baked, and it has a nice butter flavor to it. It’s really nice bread.”

Apple Pie  “This was definitely a contender for Best of Fair,” she said. “It was really a toss-up between this and the tiramisu cake. It is an excellent apple pie.” While I hate to cast doubt on the judges’ decision, the cake was amazing but that apple pie is exactly what country fairs are about. It had a beautiful crumble topping, and the apple flavor was deep and rich. America in a pie pan.

Sadly, none of the items in the competition will be available for the public to try. But the names of the bakers, brewers and winemakers will be displayed with their wares, and you can always hope to be lucky enough to have one of them in your circle of friends!

The San Benito County Fair starts at noon Oct. 4 and closes at 10 p.m. On Oct. 5 it’s open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Oct. 6 it’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are available on the fair’s website.

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