Max Nitsche Wins 2026 Mikkeller Homebrew Competition With Award-Winning Saison

Max Nitsche, a 45-year-old AI Program Director from Hørsholm, won Mikkeller's 2026 homebrew competition with Saison du Val'de Rød, a golden 7.2% ABV saison brewed under his Philwill Brew label. The win is notable for a brewer whose reputation north of Copenhagen is built on hop-forward New England Pale Ales, not farmhouse ales.

Judging was conducted as a blind tasting in Copenhagen in February 2026, with only the beer's name and style provided to the judges. The prize includes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve the beer at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2026 (MBCC, May 22-23), along with exclusive perks as an official MBCC brewer. The winner also gets the opportunity to have the recipe made into a commercially available homebrew kit through official competition partner Lallemand Inc.

Nitsche brings serious reps to the competition floor. With around ten years of homebrewing experience and more than 120-130 batches behind him, he is a seasoned brewer known for his German brewing roots and hop-forward New England Pale Ales. One of them, "Freitag," also known as "Fredagsslik," has become something of a local favorite in certain circles north of Copenhagen.

The winning beer's name is vintage homebrew wordplay. "It's a little wordplay on Vallerød, the area where I live and brew," Nitsche said. The saison is inspired by Brasserie Dupont's classic Saison Dupont, a benchmark Nitsche holds in high regard despite not being its biggest consumer: "I'm not actually the biggest saison drinker myself, but I've brewed the style a few times because I really admire the balance and elegance in a Saison Dupont. For me, that beer is the benchmark for the entire style."

The recipe leans on a deliberate fermentation strategy. Nitsche's version pours a classic golden yellow and clocks in at around 7.2% ABV, with a crisp, clean, and fairly dry character. "I use some sugar during fermentation to help build the alcohol and allow the yeast to ferment fully, creating that dry, refreshing finish I love in a saison," he explained. It's a technique with deep roots in Belgian tradition, using simple adjunct sugars to thin the body and push attenuation, and Nitsche executes it with enough precision to beat a blind judging panel.

As for what comes next at MBCC in May, Nitsche is keeping his cards close. "I'm working on a few ideas that reflect my style, maybe something more hop-forward, and the direction I want to take Philwill Brew," he said. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

For a brewer who built his name on lupulin-heavy NEIPAs, winning on a bone-dry saison is the kind of range that makes a homebrew résumé worth paying attention to.