Ear to the ground

“It is weird that I love miniature animals but not miniature people.”

– A Durango woman hobnobbing at a Memorial Day barbeque about her aversion to children

and little people

Best in brew

A basement brewer is off to the big time. Colorado homebrewer Seth Townsend took “Best in Show” in Ska Brewing’s recent GABF Pro-Am Homebrew Competition. Townsend’s Organic Dubbel was entered in the competition’s Belgian Strong Ale category and took the gold medal there as well.

Winning the overall earns Townsend the chance to have his beer entered in the Pro-Am category of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) – the nation’s largest beer competition and festival. The beer will also be brewed on a commercial scale for release as part of Ska’s popular Local Series, which is distributed around Durango and Southwest Colorado. Townsend will participate in the commercial scaling and production of his recipe for the Local Series.

Ska started the competition because the craft brewery has its own roots in homebrewing. All three Ska co-founders got their start brewing in buckets. “Homebrewers have the kind of DIY spirit that drove us to keep growing and improving,” said Dave Thibodeau, Ska president and co-founder.

As for Townsend, he’s understandably excited at the leap his homebrewing career has just taken. “The best part of this is that I’ll get to work with one of my favorite breweries,” he said. “I can’t think of a more fun brewery to be collaborating with to scale up my Organic Dubbel.”

Second place in the competition went to Herb Baker and his Mad Bull Stout, and Sherwin Antonio and his Infinity Red rounded out the podium with the bronze.

Durango’s Deck

Durango shuffles into something unique this week. Durango’s Deck, an event that showcases 54 artists from the area, goes on show at the First Friday Block Party on June 3. Contributing artists, including painters, sculptors and welders, each created a piece to represent a playing card that they randomly selected.

The First Friday Block Party is an outgrowth of the Summit’s longstanding, monthly pairing of live musicians and artists which has met on the first Friday of each month for several years now. The family-friendly street fair will run from 2-10 p.m. in the 600 block of Main Ave., and Durango’s Deck will eventually be auctioned off to raise funds for the Mountain Mayhem Art Coalition. Local art buyers of modest means are also welcome to participate. Actual 54-card decks (including a pair of jokers) displaying each piece of art will be available for $20. An after-party will follow at the Summit with music from Rass Kass and the Insects.