2nd Annual Snowdown/Pro-am Homebrew Competition

Ska Brewing announced the return of the Snowdown Homebrew Competition for 2010. The event will take place on January 30th at the Ska Brewing World Headquarters in Durango, during “Snowdown”—Durango’s annual winter festival. The event is also a preliminary for the 2010 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) Pro/Am category, and will be an AHA/BJCP certified competition. Entry opens December 15th, and closes on January 15th. Beer entries must be in Ska’s possession no later than January 18th. You can register and find competition details at the Snowdown Homebrew Competition’s website.

The winning recipe will be brewed in a Ska “Local Series” batch, to be sold at the brewery and in stores around Southwest Colorado. The homebrewer who submits the winning beer will also help oversee large scale production of the brew at Ska’s state-of-the-art brewing facility in Durango. In addition, the professionally-brewed version of the recipe will be entered into the Pro/Am category at the 2010 GABF in Denver. GABF is the nation’s largest beer festival and competition.

2008 marked the inaugural Snowdown Homebrew Competition, and according to Ska Co-Founder and President Dave Thibodeau, its success ensured that it would become an annual event. “Last year Chris Vest of the Mesa Verde Mashers won this competition with Merlo Stout, which went on to become a very popular release in our Local Series (#12).” Thibodeau also notes that this is not Ska’a only collaboration with homebrewers. “We started out as homebrewers, and we strive to keep that spirit alive, even in a professional craft-brewing operation. Between this event and our recently announced beer blogger collaboration, we hope to support the homebrewing community and stay close to our roots.”

Ska Brewing recently announced another collaboration—perhaps a first in the craft-brewing world—with two local Durango beer bloggers. “Soggy Coaster”, the blogger behind beerat6512, and Jeff Hammett of bikesnbeer, have each been invited to collaborate with Ska’s Head Brewer Thomas Larsen on a recipe of their choosing, brew a batch of the beer on Ska’s pilot system, and document the experience in their blogs.

Based in Durango, Colorado, Ska Brewing was founded in 1995 and now produces over a dozen award-winning beers including the Pinstripe Red Ale, True Blonde Ale and Steel Toe Stout. Three Ska beers are now widely available in cans: ESB Special Ale, True Blonde, and Modus Hoperandi India Pale Ale.