Keeneland Spring Lager Clone Competition

Every year since 1936, the Spring Race Meet at Lexington, Kentucky‘s Keeneland thoroughbred racing track has been a sign that another April has arrived. Similarly, each year since 2021, the arrival of Country Boy Brewing’s Keeneland Spring Lager signifies that springtime has arrived in our corner of the world.

This year, to commemorate both the 2026 spring meet and the coming of the our spring season, a beer competition will be held on April 28 in Charleston, West Virginia. The Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club expects 10 brewers to enter their lager beer that is brewed using the same base ingredients as are found in the Keeneland Spring Lager. The entered Keeneland Spring Lager clones will be judged against the commercial Keeneland Spring Lager (4.5% ABV) to determine how closely the entries match the original (appearance, flavor, and body).

Enter Now

As of this article’s posting, there are still some entry spots open. To see entry details, interested Kanawha Valley homebrewers should check this link right away. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.

Sponsors of the club competition include Riverbend Malt House of Asheville, NC, which is providing the Avalon pilsner malt to the brewers, and BrilliantStream.com, which is providing prizes for the winning brewers. The homebrew club is providing the necessary hops and the brewers will provide their own lager yeast.

This clone brewing competition is an event organized by the Kanawha Valley Homebrew Club and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Country Boy Brewing or is in any way affiliated with Keeneland races. Find information about Country Boy Brewing and its beer at this link. More info on the Keeneland races can be found at https://keeneland.com