By Joe Gray

Rodney Kibzey of Lombard, Ill., got hooked on making beer during a brewery tour in Milwaukee a few years back.

"The aroma hit me," said Mr. Kibzey. For six years he has been home brewing in his garage and entering contests. Last year his efforts paid off in liquid gold.

Mr. Kibzey won the Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest with his weizenbock, a dark, German wheat beer. The beer was recently released as part of Samuel Adams' LongShot six-pack, which includes three bottles of Mr. Kibzey's beer, emblazoned with a stylized image of him, and three bottles of a grape pale ale created by Lili Hess, a Sam Adams employee.

The victory has brought Mr. Kibzey praise from friends (co-workers keep asking him to bring the beer to work) and family, but perhaps most gratifying has been the reaction from beer lovers, such as in comments on Web sites like BeerAdvocate.com.

"I'm very happy with the beer Sam Adams made" using his recipe, Mr. Kibzey said. "It makes me feel even better when I see the reviews for my beer. Wow, I made something in my garage and everybody likes it."

More than 2,000 entries in four regions were judged for the contest. Mr. Kibzey put eight beers up for judging in the Midwest region. An unprecedented five of them made best of show in the region, and he took first, second, third and fifth place. He submitted a six-pack of his top beer for tasting in Boston by Sam Adams founder Jim Koch and other judges. Then Sam Adams flew the four finalists to Denver for the announcement of the winner at the Great American Beer Festival. Mr. Kibzey took home $5,000 in prize money.

His weizenbock has no special ingredients, he said, deriving its flavors and aromas from the yeast he used. The aroma has notes of cloves, banana, dark fruit, such as plums or raisins, which come through in the flavor too. It has an alcohol level of 7.2 percent and a medium to full body.