Calhoun wins Snowdown homebrewing competition

Clancy Calhoun of Aztec, N.M., won the Snowdown Homebrewing Competition last weekend at Ska Brewing Co.

Calhoun's "Best of Show" entry was Clancy's Black Beer, a classically styled schwarzbier. Schwarzbiers are dark, malty German-style lagers.

"I just named them all after me just in case one of them won," Calhoun said.

Calhoun will now brew his beer with Ska for release in the Durango brewery's Local Series. It will be entered in the Great American Beer Festival's Pro-Am category in September.

A BPAmerica oil worker, Calhoun brewed his schwarzbier with half Pilsener and half Munich malt. It was hopped with Hallertauer, a traditional German hop variety.

Last year's winner, Chris Vest, brewed a "Merlo Stout" with Ska.

Calhoun said he has been homebrewing for 25 years. "My goal of brewing is to put Aztec on the brewing map," he said.

Good luck with that, Clancy.

In any case, a schwarzbier should be an interesting Local Series offering. Most Local Series beers use some sort of special or experimental ingredients, but it sounds like Calhoun's schwarzbier is brewed to style. Still, it's not a style that's readily available in bars and liquor stores, so I'm looking forward to trying it.