LIFE

Out of 16 beers, this Firestone Walker brew came out on top in Casa Pacifica competition

Firestone Walker's SLOambic ale won the "Best in Fest" award at a recent Casa Pacifica fundraiser.

The winner of a local beer competition is a brew you probably haven't tried before.

Firestone Walker's SLOambic Wild Ale, a brew fermented with blackberries, nabbed the top prize at Casa Pacifica's "Best in Fest" event earlier this week. The two beers that received honorable mention were MadeWest's Prospect Porter and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.'s Point Conception West Coast IPA.

The beer competition, in its sixth year, was held at Oxnard's Bottle and Pint, located in The Annex at The Collection. Proceeds of the event, which was open to the public, will go toward foster and at-risk youth services for Casa Pacifica.

Sixteen breweries, most of them based in Ventura County, competed for the top prize.

A team of judges picked a Firestone Walker beer as the best out of 16 local and regional brews.

Contestants were: 14 Cannons Brewery, Concrete Jungle Brewing Project, Enegren Brewing Company, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Flat Fish Brewing Co., MadeWest Brewing Company, Ojai Valley Brewery, Poseidon Brewing Company, Red Tandem Brewery, Rincon Brewery, Seaward Brewing, Third Window Brewing, Topa Topa Brewing Co., Twisted Oak Tavern & Brewery and Ventura Coast Brewing Co.

Last year, Topa Topa's Chief Peak IPA took home the top prize.

A team of beer aficionados and cicerones judged the competition, including Jorge Alem, owner of the Ojai Beverage Company and Jason Hendricks, general manager of Barrelhouse 101.

Cafe Society:Casa Pacifica 'Best in Fest' brewery winner selected by a show of glasses

The beers featured in the competition will all be poured at the next Casa Pacifica event, the Angels Wine, Food & Brew Festival on June 2. At the CSU Channel Islands event, the winning beer from Firestone Walker will be officially crowned.

SLOambic is part of Firestone Walker's Barrelworks series, or barrel-aged beers brewed in small batches. This beer that took the top prize is their Sour Opal brewed with marionberries and boysenberries and aged in French oak barrels. According to the Firestone Walker website, bottles of SLOambic are extremely limited but it is offered on draft at the brewery's Buellton and Venice locations.

For more information about the next food and brew festival, visit www.cpwinefoodbrewfest.com.

Wendy Leung is a staff writer for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at wendy.leung@vcstar.com or 805-437-0339. You can also find her on Twitter @Leung__Wendy.