Winners announced at the 2025 National Homebrew Competition

Image credit: American Homebrewers Association.

Winners from the final round of the 2025 National Homebrew Competition (NHC) were announced tonight at a ceremony taking place in Kansas City, Missouri.

Put on by the American Homebrewers Association, this year's event was the 47th annual edition of the NHC. A total of 1,086 homebrewers located worldwide entered the competition, submitting 2,974 beers for judging across 40 categories covering homebrewed beer, cider (and perry) and mead.

The list of honorees from North Texas includes a number of names familiar to the local homebrewing community, as most have made appearances on the roster of medalists going back a number of years.

As for this year's NHC, winning beers from North Texas are summarized below. You can also click here to be taken to a full competition summary.

Nicholas McCoy of Sachse, with Jeff Poirot.

• Go Big! - Bronze in the Specialty IPA category.
• Club Affiliation: Draft Punk.

Jarrett Long of Arlington, with Amanda Long.

• Foreign & Dark - Bronze in the Irish & British Stout category.
• Club Affiliation: Horsemen of the Hopocalypse.

Cheers and congratulations to all!

Local artist nabs Platinum Crushies for Odd Muse label designs

Image credits: Craft Beverage Marketing Awards, Odd Muse Brewing Co.

Winners from the 2025 Craft Beverage Marketing Awards (CBMA), a.k.a. "The Crushies," have been announced, with a local artist's work for a North Texas brewery recognized among the winners.

Now in its sixth year, the CBMAs "serve as the ultimate platform for honoring outstanding marketing achievement in the global craft beverage industry." Prizes are awarded across 12 different categories, with entries open to companies producing craft beer, cider/mead, craft hard seltzer, non-alcoholic craft beer, ready-to-drink cocktails and THC-infused beverages.

Matthew Scott, a Dallas-based artist who goes by the Instagram handle @greetings_from_the_not_dead, was honored with Platinum Crushies for two packaging labels designed for Odd Muse Brewing Co. of Farmers Branch (details below). Scott has been creating art for Odd Muse since the brewery opened in 2019, and you can purchase prints of his work in various sizes at the taproom.

For more on the 2025 Crushies, click here to visit the official competition website.

Matthew Scott for Odd Muse Brewing Co., Farmers Branch

• Platinum Crushie for Public Domain Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout - Best Bottle Label Design: Craft Beer.
• Platinum Crushie for Primrose Path Hazy IPA - Best Can Label/Printed Design: Craft Beer.

Cheers and congrats to Matthew Scott and Odd Muse Brewing Co.!

Beer is back at Landon Winery in Greenville

Image credit: Landon Winery.

A longtime local winemaker has rejoined the roster of North Texas beer brands, as Landon Winery is once again serving house beers at its location in Greenville.

Owned by Bob Landon, the winery originally opened in Mckinney in 2005, with Greenville coming online as the primary production facility in 2010. Beer was then added to the mix in Greenville during the summer of 2017, the motivation being to provide another beverage option for tasting room visitors seeking to enjoy something other than wine.

As it turned out, Landon's first foray into beer was somewhat short-lived, with brewing operations ending by early 2019. Now that beer is back, the winery has both an American Lager and a Mexican Lager on tap in Greenville.

As for other locales, house beers are also distributed to Landon's site in Downtown Gainesville, which opened last fall and is billed as a winery/brewery/distillery.

Locals line up for a taste of Forney's first brewery

Forney Brewing Co.'s taproom, tapwall, German hefeweizen, 10-bbl brewhouse, cobb salad (All photos: © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D).

If the steady line of locals visiting on opening day is any indication, the first brewery to do business in the City of Forney should be well on its way to realizing the goal of being a go-to entertainment destination for area residents.

Owned and operated by Eric Britton, Forney Brewing Co. is located at 203 E. Main St. in the heart of Downtown Forney. Method Architecture did the work to renovate and modernize an existing structure on the site, which has around 5,000 square feet of interior space supplemented by a 1,500 square foot covered patio outdoors.

Inside, patrons seated in the taproom are surrounded by a variety of visuals. Windows on one end of the building provide views of the production space, while a wall on the opposite end is adorned with vintage photos paying homage to the city's history. Then, of course, there's the requisite array of widescreen TVs.

A full kitchen is also among the amenities, and Britton - a confessed foodie - says an attention to detail will be applied to the food offerings as well as the beer. At a glance, the focused menu has an elevated pub fare feel, featuring starters (deviled eggs, nachos, wings), salads, sandwiches, smash burgers, and kids items, not to mention Sticky Toffee Pudding for dessert.

Liquid options naturally begin with the beer, but Forney Brewing also serves wine, cocktails and sodas. Flights and full pours are filled from a 17-handle tapwall, with four house beers and five guest offerings from Manhattan Project Beer Co. now on tap. The context there is Britton worked at the Dallas-based firm before taking the leap to open a brewery of his own.

On the current beer lineup, Britton is quick to emphasize it's in the introductory stage. He says "the fun stuff will come out once production gets going," but at the outset, the idea is to get a feel for Forney's flavor preferences. So, for now, his recipes include standards like an American light lager, a German hefeweizen, a juicy IPA and a hoppy brown ale.

And therein lies another bit of insight into Britton's approach, as new beers will debut with style nomenclature only. "Our beers will have names, but they have to earn a name first," explains Britton. In other words, both he and his customers will have to be happy with a beer before it assumes any sort of identity. That said, the hoppy brown could be a nominee, at least based on favorites discussed with fellow drinkers seated at the bar.

As for other things to look forward to, Britton says the "just getting started" thing really applies to the whole operation. On top of expanding the house beer portfolio, they'll add events, kids games and more as they work to further establish Forney Brewing Co.'s family-friendly atmosphere.

For more on Forney Brewing Co., including updates on operating hours going forward, follow the brewery's social media channels on Facebook and Instagram.