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Saturday, March 20, 2010
'Beer Snob's' Brew Is Longshot Winner
By Andrea Schoellkopf
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
Ben Miller mixed his first batch of home-brew three years ago with a refund check from his tax return.
On April 1, his picture will appear on special bottles of Samuel Adams containing his prize-winning barleywine that beat out 1,300 other entries across the country for the honor.
"It was totally random," the 34-year-old Rio Rancho resident said. "I was trying to find something fun to spend it on."
Starting with a basic mix — a beginner's home-brew kit where you "basically add water" and boil — he and his friends found that home-brew was not only drinkable, but actually pretty good.
Then he got the bug.
By day, Miller works in computer support at Sandia National Laboratories. In his off time, he's brewing two to three batches a week in his River's Edge garage, which is a lot in the world of home-brewing, said Jeff Erway, a former award-winning home-brewer who became the Chama River head brewer and is now opening his own brewery.
"It seems to me that every few years a home-brewer comes around in this area that, quite frankly, just brews a heck of a lot more often than anybody else does," Erway said.
He said his friend Bill Aimonetti of Tijeras won a bunch of awards in the early 2000s, and then Erway himself caught the bug and took home a bunch awards before going pro. Now it's Miller's turn.
Shortly after he made his first batch, Miller started attending meetings of the Dukes of Ale, a local home-brewers club, where his recipe won a club contest during his second meeting.
"I was just blown away," Miller said. "I was so surprised, and all over again I got hooked on it. I am actually making good beer. It's not just my friends who liked it."
He started entering competitions and building his palate. He got lessons from The Brewing Network, an Internet resource. He also took courses on how to judge beer and became certified as a judge, so he could learn how to correct his own blends. He hosted a study group for beer tasting.
He had become, in his own words, "a beer snob."
He's won Best of Show at the State Fair, and last year he was a finalist for the Samuel Adams Longshot.
Miller received $5,000, in addition to having the brewery bottle his beer in a special limited release six-pack with two other winners.
Where to buy winning brew
Local stores that will carry the special Samuel Adams Longshot winners starting April 1:
Jubilation; The Bird of Paradise; Whole Foods Wyoming and Whole Foods in Santa Fe; all Sunflower Markets; Kelly's on Coors and on San Mateo; and Quarters — Wyoming, Yale and West Side locations.
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