Early morning smoke in Grand Junction, Colorado

We had beautiful early fall weather at the Pork n Hops BBQ competition in Grand Junction, CO. It was warm, but not too hot, during the day and crisp and cool at night. The organizer, Arlie Bragg, puts on a great contest and this year's event was no exception. The cooks are well taken care of with carts coming around frequently distributing ice and water. The contest was a little smaller this year with only 38 teams, down from 48 last year. The competion was no less intense, however, with top teams like Smokin' Triggers, Rhythm n Que, 4 Legs Up, Sweet Peppers, Burnin' Bob's Butts and Bones, and Smoke N The Rockies in attendance.

We finished 3rd in chicken, 7th in ribs, 3rd in pork, 10th in brisket,  and 3rd overall, the same as our overall finish last year. We were the only team to finish in the top 10 in all 4 categories, but a couple of other teams managed to take some firsts and seconds and beat us out on overall points. Congratulations to Smoke N The Rockies for Reserve and Webber's Old West BBQ from Craig, CO for their first Grand Championship.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Bert Fraser, and his lovely daughter Christina, from our sponsor Fruita Wood Chunks. Our scores have improved this year and their excellent quality fruit wood chunks have certainly helped.

Click here for more pictures