Second Annual Fort Worth Weekly Homebrew Throwdown
We’re excited to be hosting the head brewers of HopFusion Ale Works, Rabbit Hole, Revolver, Rahr & Sons, and Wild Acre on our judge panel. Contestants have until the 15th to enter. Due to demand, we’re opening the competition to any homebrewers in North Texas. For our big beer bash on the 20th (12 to 6pm at Panther Island Pavilion’s Shack), we have another great lineup of brewery owners for our Q&A panel: Adam Gonzales (Chimera Brewing Company), Macy Moore (HopFusion Ale Works), Fritz Rahr (Rahr & Sons), and more.
The $20 cover ($15 in advance) gives you a tasting card for our lineup of brewery vendors (Community Beer, Deep Ellum, Rabbit Hole, Revolver, Rahr & Sons, and Wild Acre), Dallas Cowboys on the Big Screen, and beer-themed games (giant Jenga, corn hole, beer pong). World of Beer will be selling beer and grub and hosting our after-party. Tickets are available here.
Champion Homebrewer Clifton Ellis
Fort Worth homebrewer Clifton Ellis (pictured above) has had a good year. After winning Best of Show at last year’s Homebrew Throwdown, he went on to win gold at the 2016 Bluebonnet Brew-Off and Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am competition. I called him recently to talk beer.
Fort Worth Weekly: What got you into homebrewing?
Ellis: I started back in 2012. It was something that fascinated me. I was just getting into craft beer, and as an engineer by trade, I’m more interested in making things. I guess it was a natural progression.
Weekly: Why do so many engineers take to homebrewing?
Ellis: There are tangible numbers and formulas involved. It lets them express themselves in a process that is extremely numerical. And the outcome, instead of some obscure object, is something tangible you can drink.
Weekly: Which of your beers have won medals recently?
Ellis: Last year at the Homebrew Throwdown, we entered an unfiltered wheat IPA called I-B-U-tiful. That won best of show. Then we entered a citra rye pale ale for Bluebonnet which won first place in the alternative grain category. We secured second place at Austin Zealot Homebrew Inquisition with a stout called Bigger, Blacker, Badder, Better Baltic. At Labor of Love we took first place with Just Rye’te in the specialty beer category. I-B-U-tiful took second place. Just Rye’te won first at GABF. At Pride of Southside we got third in the people’s choice with a wheat wine called Beaucoup de Ble.
Weekly: Do you work within traditional styles?
Ellis: I’m notorious for having to reverse engineer styles. I entered a stout into a stout category once and was told it was more of a baltic porter. For me, styles are a great benchmark, but I’m more interested in the expression of a beer. I like to corner my beer into one word when I’m designing the recipe.
Weekly: Explain what you mean by that.
Ellis: I’m sure you can understand this as a writer. Sometimes the fewer words you use the more complex the thought process is. Maybe I want a beer to be sunshine or cut grass. I try to associate the experience of a beer with the feeling or emotion you might get when you have those things, like when you smell fresh cut grass. I don’t want my beer to taste like fresh cut grass, but I want a beer I’d want after I get done mowing.
Weekly: Do you ever reach a point where you feel a recipe is complete?
Ellis: It never really stops. Initially, most of my beers take two to three weeks and another two weeks to drink. It gets put into a loop, and then I brew it as soon as I can again. The reason I like competitions is it puts me on a timeline. It really forces me to get out and brew when I’d rather watch “Game of Thrones” or something.
Weekly: Have you thought about brewing professionally?
Ellis: It’s always in the back of your head as a homebrewer. I guess the main thing going forward is there’s a lot of beer out there already. You don’t want to be part of the problem if there’s a shakeup. But it’s not something I’m actively pursuing.
Weekly: Which of your beers are your favorite right now?
Ellis: I really like I-B-U-tiful. It’s an IPA. It’s the most popular in the Ellis household. The exposure with Just Rye’te has been incredible. The beers I enjoy the most are session and light beers. As we go forward, there are a lot of Miller/Budweiser drinkers to convert. I think you’ll see a lot more light beers hit the market.
Weekly: We’re excited to have you enter our Homebrew Throwdown again. What did you enjoy about it last year?
Ellis: Last year, it was a cool event. The thing I liked was having the homebrew presence there and being able to mingle with the professional brew scene. At a normal beer festival you don’t necessarily have the brewers and homebrewers there. The focus on the homebrewing made it feel like a homebrewing convention or mingling-type thing.
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