In a dark and dusty room deep inside the Silver Gulch brewery, 15 judges sat in near-meditative silence. Surrounded by the sweet-sour smell of fermented malt, they carefully pondered each sip they took from the cheap plastic cups lining the tables in front of them.

At the E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition, beer is a serious matter.

"It's not Homer Simpson swilling a beer," said Chérie Stihler, the registrar and "prize goddess" for the event. "These guys are real connoisseurs."

That devotion to the malty beverage has helped make the annual home-brew competition a nationwide attraction for amateur brewers. Now in its eighth year, the event drew entries from 66 competitors in 15 states. Less than a third of the submissions are from Alaska beer makers.

The prize money doesn't hurt, either. Stihler said she doesn't know of a home-brew competition with a bigger payout than the $500 grand prize. Because of that, the submissions aren't just diverse, they're also quite good. And since it's costly to ship beer to Alaska, home-brewers don't bother sending mediocre concoctions.

"The quality was very good this year," said Scott Stihler, who organizes the competition. "The shipping cost weeds out people who aren't serious."

The top beer this year came from Rob Beck, a Kansas City, Mo., home-brewer. His American Pale Ale impressed the judges by providing crisp hop-flavored beer without an overpowering bitterness.

Generally speaking, the tasters aren't an easy group to dazzle. Most of them have passed the Beer Judge Certification Program, an intensive test that gauges their knowledge of beer styles and tastes. Judges came from as far away as Anchorage and Seattle to participate, and the Alaskan Brewing Co. even flew in a judge from Juneau to sample beers at the event.

Between the dominant characteristics of bitter hops and malty sweetness, tasters worked to catch a hint of some of the more subtle flavors hiding in the background of a good beer. A nice hefeweizen often carries an aftertaste of bananas and cloves. Tasty dark beers sometimes have overtones of raisins or other fruits. When something has gone awry, a taste of "Band-Aid" will sometimes poke through, or maybe a strong butterscotch flavor.

Since the taste buds that sense bitter flavors are on the back of the tongue, judges must swallow a beer to appreciate its aftertaste, unlike wine tasters who swirl that beverage in their mouths before spitting it out. To cleanse their palates between samples, tables were loaded with bread, cheese and grapes. There were even thick three-ring binders and calculators to help tally scores during each round of judging.

"A lot of people think it's just drinking beer and tasting it," said Tim Walker, a longtime judge. "It's pretty intense, actually. You want to think about a lot of things when you're doing this."

That approach is a happy one for Scott Stihler, a "beer nerd" according to his wife, Chérie. When he isn't working his day job at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, Scott is enthusiastically pursuing his home-brew hobby.

Since the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce stopped sponsoring the E.T. Barnette Homebrew Competition several years ago, the Stihlers have kept it going, with the help of donated cooler space from Silver Gulch. At $5 per entry, the contest always takes a loss, but Scott said it's a price he's happy to pay.

"We do this because it's fun," Scott Stihler said. "One day I'd like to break even, but it's probably not going to happen."

He said the limitless possibilities of home-brew keep it interesting. Depending on the ingredients, yeast and even type of water used, there are plenty of imaginative styles that a commercial brewer wouldn't consider. One of the winning entries this year was a coconut-flavored beer from Florida.

"With home-brewers, you can try anything," said Tracy Bird, a judge from the Juneau-based Alaskan Brewing Co.

That can be both good and bad. During a previous competition, Chérie Stihler said one beer had a creepy greenish tinge, and a flavor that wasn't much better. In other cases, an experimental blend will wow the judges.

"Some of it, you don't want to drink a lot of it," Scott Stihler said. "Others you taste and say, 'This is really good,' and pass it around for everyone."

Chérie Stihler, however, won't be among those doing the sampling. She gathers donations, keeps track of entries, and even ferries judges who shouldn't get behind the wheel after a day of tasting. Just don't ask her to take a sip.

"I don't even like beer--I think it tastes disgusting," she said with a smile. "But somebody has to drive."