Home brew Competition

Home Brew Team Wins Big Sky Competition With Earthy ESB

By Marley McKenna, 3-13-07

	Above: The hops are all measured out and ready to go into the brew. Below: The winning team, including Mike Hoffer, Amber and David Blake.

“It’s my favorite beverage…after water,” says Mike Hoffer.

Naturally, Hoffer, the winner of this year’s Big Sky Brewery home brew competition is talking about beer.

Hoffer’s beer is now on sale at Big Sky after being selected in early December by a panel at Big Sky Brewery and later that month re-brewed at Big Sky. Hoffer brewed the beer with partners Amber and David Blake for the Zoo City Zymurgists home brew club. The crew first brewed its winning beer for the Montana State Fair to promote the Homebrew Club. It’s simple to become a member of the club: just attend a meeting and pay five dollars for membership and you’re in. Blake and Hoffer both agree that most people in the club just love beer, drinking it, talking about it, and yes, brewing it. 

Starting last year, Big Sky Brewery decided to host a competition for home brewers to show their stuff and promote the club while contributing half the proceeds of the winning beer’s profit to a local charity. Since last year was the first go around, the kinks were still being ironed out and the judges had the difficult duty of choosing between a plethora of different kinds of home brews.  This year however, they standardized it so as to see the best of a specific kind – an English pale ale Extra Special Bitter (ESB). 

Hoffer says the ESB is “a session beer”—one you you could drink for a long time.  The alcohol content is relatively low although according to the Beer Judge Certification Program: “Since beer is sold by strength in the UK, these beers often have some alcohol flavor (perhaps to let the consumer know they are getting their due).” However, in general, the beer is a golden color, bitter, moderately hoppy with just a slight alcoholic warmth in the flavor and aroma. 

Blake and Hoffer worked within these style constraints to create their best interpretation of the ESB.  What emerged was a beer that was easy to drink with a fresh clear taste.  The color was darker than the usual ESB but the flavor was very drinkable, a key component of the beer.  Before knowing the criteria of the beer the distinguishing characteristics popped on the palate and it was clear why this beer had taken home first prize. 
Hoffer says, “I don’t buy very many ESBs. It’s not what I’m gonna pull off the shelf.” And while both prefer porters and stouts to lighter beers they really enjoy their ESB. 

At first, Big Sky Brewery brewed only five gallons of the ESB but it later brewed six hundred gallons, tweaking the recipe slightly to give it a cleaner finish. Each growler is sold for ten dollars, double the regular growler price. Half the profit, however, goes to Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD), the nonprofit selected by the club. MUD works toward promoting engagement in the community to further sustainable living.

Weather you prefer dark or light, the earthy flavor of home brew or polished beers on tap, the ESB is interesting and flavorful and straight from the heart of Missoula.

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