Tuesday, October 24, 2017
It's the Same Great Pumpkins, Charlie Brown
This set out to be a column about the newest and boldest pumpkin beers on the market, the ones that 12 friends haven't already recommended to you for several years in a row.
The problem is, however, that those particular beers that pair well with black cats and slasher movies have earned their reputations for a reason - they're the ones that are made well, year after year, even as the quality of other beers of this style can vary pretty widely. And at a time when fewer new breweries seem to be attempting to make potables out of hoards of gourds, the chasm between great pumpkin beers and others seems to be widening, leaving the classics on an island of their own.
Is that a sign that the style is losing popularity? Not necessarily, as pumpkin beers always have been polarizing and some brewers have never liked trying to assemble them at all. Not just that, but while some breweries are avoiding the genre, others (see Southern Tier Brewing) are making multiple versions using the same seasonal ingredient, almost single-handedly pumping up the style.
Or does it mean that we've run out of original ideas for how to mix together pumpkins, spices and malts to create something new and interesting? It doesn't have to, although some of the most creative beers at the recent Great American Beer Festival were meant to be year-round pleasers, not those narrowed to an annual release.
But the best of the style simply remain the best of the style. And it is to those beers that tribute should be paid.
Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Ale remains the most creative and compelling pumpkin creation out there, a virtual pumpkin pie in a glass. You're struck immediately by the scent of pie crust with just a hint of mixed spices, and the creamy nature of the beer gives a distinct impression of pie filling. Plus, the alcohol is extremely subdued for an 8.6% ABV beer.
Nearly as compelling - but, sadly, not available in Colorado - is Schlafly Pumpkin Ale out of St. Louis. There is a full malty body with both sweet and subtly spice-laced undertones here, and it's a complex adventure for one beer. Pressure needs to be exerted to get it here more than just during GABF.
In Colorado, you can't do better than 4 Noses Brewing's Pump Action, an also not-so-alcohol-apparent imperial pumpkin ale that comes on with a full mouth of spice but less of residual hot back taste than many others of the ilk. It uses its amber body particularly well as a cushion to smooth out the tastes of nutmeg and cinnamon, leaving them pleasing without being acerbic.
Neck and neck with it in Colorado is Upslope Pumpkin Ale, which, like Pump Action, has taken home GABF medals. This cranks up the six spices in the beer a little bit and tones down the sweetness of the pumpkin but settles with a bready, heavy body that zings you without overpowering.
One of the most improved pumpkin beers in the state is Denver Beer Co's Hey! Pumpkin, a smooth and almost creamy offering that goes lighter on the spices and heavier on the pie-like baking sugar. There's barely any bitterness on the back end, leaving it more approachable while still full of flavor.
And maybe the one surprise of the season was Uinta Brewing's Funk'n Patch Brett Pumpkin Ale, a beer that adds enough to perk up the lively, funky characteristics of the beer while pushing it just slightly into the category of sour. The Utah brewery's beers tend to vary wildly in terms of hitting the mark, but this one delivers in a differentiated, put-the-fun-back-in-pumpkin-ales way.
There's a chance that none of that is news to you. But it's worth reiterating all the same that there are breweries, even if a select number of them, that are doing pumpkin beers well and giving you incentive to reach out and try some before the calendar turns to November.
This set out to be a column about the newest and boldest pumpkin beers on the market, the ones that 12 friends haven't already recommended to you for several years in a row.
The problem is, however, that those particular beers that pair well with black cats and slasher movies have earned their reputations for a reason - they're the ones that are made well, year after year, even as the quality of other beers of this style can vary pretty widely. And at a time when fewer new breweries seem to be attempting to make potables out of hoards of gourds, the chasm between great pumpkin beers and others seems to be widening, leaving the classics on an island of their own.
Is that a sign that the style is losing popularity? Not necessarily, as pumpkin beers always have been polarizing and some brewers have never liked trying to assemble them at all. Not just that, but while some breweries are avoiding the genre, others (see Southern Tier Brewing) are making multiple versions using the same seasonal ingredient, almost single-handedly pumping up the style.
Or does it mean that we've run out of original ideas for how to mix together pumpkins, spices and malts to create something new and interesting? It doesn't have to, although some of the most creative beers at the recent Great American Beer Festival were meant to be year-round pleasers, not those narrowed to an annual release.But the best of the style simply remain the best of the style. And it is to those beers that tribute should be paid.
Southern Tier's Pumking Imperial Ale remains the most creative and compelling pumpkin creation out there, a virtual pumpkin pie in a glass. You're struck immediately by the scent of pie crust with just a hint of mixed spices, and the creamy nature of the beer gives a distinct impression of pie filling. Plus, the alcohol is extremely subdued for an 8.6% ABV beer.
Nearly as compelling - but, sadly, not available in Colorado - is Schlafly Pumpkin Ale out of St. Louis. There is a full malty body with both sweet and subtly spice-laced undertones here, and it's a complex adventure for one beer. Pressure needs to be exerted to get it here more than just during GABF.
In Colorado, you can't do better than 4 Noses Brewing's Pump Action, an also not-so-alcohol-apparent imperial pumpkin ale that comes on with a full mouth of spice but less of residual hot back taste than many others of the ilk. It uses its amber body particularly well as a cushion to smooth out the tastes of nutmeg and cinnamon, leaving them pleasing without being acerbic.
Neck and neck with it in Colorado is Upslope Pumpkin Ale, which, like Pump Action, has taken home GABF medals. This cranks up the six spices in the beer a little bit and tones down the sweetness of the pumpkin but settles with a bready, heavy body that zings you without overpowering.
And maybe the one surprise of the season was Uinta Brewing's Funk'n Patch Brett Pumpkin Ale, a beer that adds enough to perk up the lively, funky characteristics of the beer while pushing it just slightly into the category of sour. The Utah brewery's beers tend to vary wildly in terms of hitting the mark, but this one delivers in a differentiated, put-the-fun-back-in-pumpkin-ales way.
There's a chance that none of that is news to you. But it's worth reiterating all the same that there are breweries, even if a select number of them, that are doing pumpkin beers well and giving you incentive to reach out and try some before the calendar turns to November.
Labels: 4 Noses Brewing, Denver Beer Co, Fall seasonals, Great American Beer Festival, Pumpkin beers, Schlafly Beer, Southern Tier Brewing, Uinta Brewing, Upslope Brewing
Monday, October 09, 2017
Best of Great American Beer Festival 2017
The phrase "best Great American Beer Festival ever" is so trite that it could rightfully stop people from listening to the rest of the conversation. But this year, it just might have been true.
Over three days at the Colorado Convention Center and six days at events around town, the beer poured was so daring, so unique, so full of life that it elicited smiles and compliments around every corner, even from the harshest beer critics. From audacious fruit sours with boundary-bending flavors to juicy hop bombs to the bevy of 18% ABV barrel-aged imperial stouts that went down like cocoa at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting, brewers upped the bar on almost every style.
Choosing beers to highlight from both the convention floor and outside events then is difficult - not because there's not enough to make this list but because there's too many that are being left off. But once again, here is one blogger's thoughts on the best creations at the best beer festival in the world.
Best in Show: Speciation Artisan Ales Rhubarb Vanilla Incipient
Former Black Project brewer Mitch Ermatinger put together a tart, intriguing and yet smooth wild yeast golden sour made with rhubarb and Mexican vanilla beans that was the closest thing to a perfect combination of unusual tastes at a festival full of them. And if that wasn't enough, he also was pouring a Tequila-barrel-aged Incipient with blood orange, guava, limes and salt that was the closest thing you'll taste to a beer version of a margarita.
Best Outside the GABF: Ozark Beer Co. Onyx Bourbon Double Cream Stout
Arkansas isn't known for being a brewing mecca. But one sip of this 10.2% stout with flavors of big coffee and fluid cream will make you rethink your visions of the state, as well as of how easy it can be to drink a beer like this.
Best Hop Bomb: Great Notion Brewing Juice Jr.
Even at just 6% ABV, this New England IPA towered over competitors in taste, imbued with Mosaic hops that offered overtones of citrus and melon, all in an incredibly smooth body. Not far behind was Melvin Brewing 2x4, a double IPA so steeped in flowery citrus (yes, that's possible) that you're halfway through the glass before you realize how quickly you've been imbibing this.
Best Dark Treat: Mountain Sun Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout
Everything was here: Sweet chocolate, smooth milk, a slight alcoholic bite but one that was far less than you could have expected. Bring on February, as Stout Month at the Denver/Boulder restaurant has never seemed so exciting.
Best Sour Not Made with Rhubarb: Bruery Terreux Oude Tart with Raspberries
In a world where the newest brewery and newest taste sometimes steals the show, this beer demonstrated why a known entity making twists on its classic offering - in this, case, adding raspberries to its Flemish red ale in the final stages of barrel aging to create a simultaneously tart and refreshing beverage - should never be ignored.
Best Lager: Lone Tree Brewing Mexican Lager
Things like simplicity and crispness with just enough of a slightly sweet malt backbone to give a beer heft often are overlooked at a festival of wild and crazy standouts. The gold medal this south Denver brewer won for this subtly brilliant creation (seen at right) shows it should not be forgotten.
Beer That Shouldn't Have Worked But Did: Wiley Roots Brewing Cinna(man)bun
This was a cinnamon vanilla sour. Think about it for a second. Then run up to Greeley to get a shockingly blended barrel-aged golden sour that used the cinnamon to zingy rather than clashing effect, and taste great craftsmanship.
Beers That Everyone Talked About: Weldwerks Medianoche/Medianoche Reserve
One of the simplest tastes from this complex Colorado brewery is its imperial stout, which received a deserved gold medal for presenting a dark, smooth body with notes of chocolate that seemed far too easy to drink. But when it aged said creation for 17 months in bourbon barrels with toasted coconut, vanilla beans and cacao nibs, as it did for Denver Rare Beer Tasting, it became unforgettable.
Beer That Everyone Wondered About: Haw River Farmhouse Ales Sazerac
This North Carolina brewery offered a rye Belgian tripel that tasted eerily similar to the cocktail after which it was named due to the addition of fennel, allspice, star anise and lemon peels to the rye whiskey barrels in which it aged. The common reaction at Rare Beer Tasting: "That was fascinating, though I probably don't need a second." And to clarify, that's a compliment to its creativity.
The phrase "best Great American Beer Festival ever" is so trite that it could rightfully stop people from listening to the rest of the conversation. But this year, it just might have been true.
Over three days at the Colorado Convention Center and six days at events around town, the beer poured was so daring, so unique, so full of life that it elicited smiles and compliments around every corner, even from the harshest beer critics. From audacious fruit sours with boundary-bending flavors to juicy hop bombs to the bevy of 18% ABV barrel-aged imperial stouts that went down like cocoa at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting, brewers upped the bar on almost every style.
Choosing beers to highlight from both the convention floor and outside events then is difficult - not because there's not enough to make this list but because there's too many that are being left off. But once again, here is one blogger's thoughts on the best creations at the best beer festival in the world.
Best in Show: Speciation Artisan Ales Rhubarb Vanilla Incipient
Former Black Project brewer Mitch Ermatinger put together a tart, intriguing and yet smooth wild yeast golden sour made with rhubarb and Mexican vanilla beans that was the closest thing to a perfect combination of unusual tastes at a festival full of them. And if that wasn't enough, he also was pouring a Tequila-barrel-aged Incipient with blood orange, guava, limes and salt that was the closest thing you'll taste to a beer version of a margarita.
Best Outside the GABF: Ozark Beer Co. Onyx Bourbon Double Cream Stout
Arkansas isn't known for being a brewing mecca. But one sip of this 10.2% stout with flavors of big coffee and fluid cream will make you rethink your visions of the state, as well as of how easy it can be to drink a beer like this.
Even at just 6% ABV, this New England IPA towered over competitors in taste, imbued with Mosaic hops that offered overtones of citrus and melon, all in an incredibly smooth body. Not far behind was Melvin Brewing 2x4, a double IPA so steeped in flowery citrus (yes, that's possible) that you're halfway through the glass before you realize how quickly you've been imbibing this.
Best Dark Treat: Mountain Sun Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout
Everything was here: Sweet chocolate, smooth milk, a slight alcoholic bite but one that was far less than you could have expected. Bring on February, as Stout Month at the Denver/Boulder restaurant has never seemed so exciting.
Best Sour Not Made with Rhubarb: Bruery Terreux Oude Tart with Raspberries
In a world where the newest brewery and newest taste sometimes steals the show, this beer demonstrated why a known entity making twists on its classic offering - in this, case, adding raspberries to its Flemish red ale in the final stages of barrel aging to create a simultaneously tart and refreshing beverage - should never be ignored.
Best Lager: Lone Tree Brewing Mexican Lager
Things like simplicity and crispness with just enough of a slightly sweet malt backbone to give a beer heft often are overlooked at a festival of wild and crazy standouts. The gold medal this south Denver brewer won for this subtly brilliant creation (seen at right) shows it should not be forgotten.
Beer That Shouldn't Have Worked But Did: Wiley Roots Brewing Cinna(man)bun
This was a cinnamon vanilla sour. Think about it for a second. Then run up to Greeley to get a shockingly blended barrel-aged golden sour that used the cinnamon to zingy rather than clashing effect, and taste great craftsmanship.
Beers That Everyone Talked About: Weldwerks Medianoche/Medianoche Reserve
One of the simplest tastes from this complex Colorado brewery is its imperial stout, which received a deserved gold medal for presenting a dark, smooth body with notes of chocolate that seemed far too easy to drink. But when it aged said creation for 17 months in bourbon barrels with toasted coconut, vanilla beans and cacao nibs, as it did for Denver Rare Beer Tasting, it became unforgettable.
Beer That Everyone Wondered About: Haw River Farmhouse Ales Sazerac
This North Carolina brewery offered a rye Belgian tripel that tasted eerily similar to the cocktail after which it was named due to the addition of fennel, allspice, star anise and lemon peels to the rye whiskey barrels in which it aged. The common reaction at Rare Beer Tasting: "That was fascinating, though I probably don't need a second." And to clarify, that's a compliment to its creativity.
Labels: Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Great American Beer Festival, Great Notion Brewing, Lone Tree Brewing, Mountain Sun, Ozark Beer Co., Speciation Artisan Ales, The Bruery, Weldwerks Brewing, Wiley Roots Brewing
Thursday, October 05, 2017
30 Colorado Beers You Have to Try at GABF 2017
America's most stunning beer festival is upon us, showing off 800 breweries from across the nation, some you will never find in Denver outside of their spotlights in the Colorado Convention from Oct. 5-7. But it is only the fool who would enter those hallowed halls and ignore this state's own fruits.
For Colorado brewers - and there are 161 of them that will be pouring at the Great American Beer Festival - are coming in from parts of the state you've likely never visited, and they are breaking out some one-offs and rarities you've certainly never tried. And there frankly might be a higher concentration of blow-your-taste-buds-out-with-delight offerings in the Mountain section of the great hall than in any other area - yes, even more than the Pacific.
With that in mind, here is an alphabetical list for locals and visitors alike of the beers you absolutely should stop by to try while you meander through the festival. A few you'll know; many you will not. This is the great joy of the event. (And big props to PorchDrinking.com for putting together its pre-GABF pour list that makes possible the study needed to compile this.)
* 4 Noses Experimental Double IPA: The Broomfield brewery has rocketed into the conversation of best IPAs in Colorado with its 'Bout Damn Time IPA. When it offers offer something bigger, hoppier and edgier, it's simply a must-try.
* AC Golden Colorado Native Kriek Noir: A stunningly tart beer (left) aged two years with cherries and then bottle-conditioned for another two, It will take your taste buds to the edge with its complexity and ultimately reward them.
* Avery Promiscuus: Very few brewers have used Madeira and port barrels to age their wares, and it's a shame. This beer, which I've only had in the Boulder Brewery's taproom, is bold and funky, and you'll swirl it around again and again to discern the flavors.
* Black Project Cygnus Double Montmorency: The great joy of Black Project is never quite knowing what its spontaneous fermentation will produce. But when the brewery takes three different years of barrel-fermented coolship ale and tosses them together with pounds and pounds of cherries, you know it will be special.
* Boulder Shake Chocolate Porter: America's oldest microbrewery may have hit on the best recipe in its 38-year history when it created this creamy, sweet and full chocolate porter that will give you a different taste to consider.
* Broken Compass Coconut Porter: This mountain-town brewery not only cemented its reputation by winning a medal for this at its first GABF, it actually started to draw people out of the Denver area up to Breckenridge to seek this out.
* Caution Brewing The Earl: Lakewood's finest brewery employs a lot of unusual ingredients in its beer, but its use of Earl Grey tea to add a leafy presence to a surprisingly full-bodied English mild creates the most unique taste in its portfolio.
* City Star Belle: Arguably no brewery in Colorado has improved as much this year as City Star, which wowed earlier this year with its Wood Belly barrel-aged imperial IPA. So when the brewery decides it's going to uncork a barrel-aged sour oatmeal pale ale aged with passion fruit, you just want to see what it can do with that combination.
* Comrade Fresh Hop Superpower IPA: The year-round version of this beer is becoming the Colorado standard-bearer IPA for some hop heads. And this is the kicked-up version that is only available for a limited time.
* Copper Kettle Snowed In Mocha: Snowed In, a bourbon-barrel imperial oatmeal stout, is one of the finest Christmastime beers in the state. So, what will a little coffee and chocolate do to the body? That's kind of the point to buying tickets to the GABF.
* Crooked Stave Trellis Buster: These guys are some of Colorado's sour kings. But when they pour a beer they describe as their hoppiest beer ever, you eagerly ask for this dry-hopped double IPA.
* Dry Dock Pumpkin Double Porter: The double hazelnut brown ale and the double hazelnut coffee porter were out of this world. This is the next iteration of the concept, and appropriate for the season.
* Fate Brewing Pinot Noir Gose: Take one of your signature beers, age it with pinot noir grape must, sit back and enjoy.
* Funkwerks Nelson Sauvin: This beer combines one of the most appealing hops available today with the body of a saison to produce a rainbow of flavors.
* Great Divide The Smoothness: First offered last year, this Jameson-barrel-aged dark lager has enough body to stand up to Irish whiskey overtones but not too much to render the barrel moot.
* Horse & Dragon Sad Panda Coffee Stout: As good a year-round dark beer as is made in Colorado, this gives you not just the roasted taste of the coffee but also the vanilla mouthfeel of a creamer that was placed into it.
* Jagged Mountain Grouse Mountain Gose: The underlying beer is good, but when it's made with blood oranges, coriander and sea salt, it becomes damn good.
* Jessup Farm Cross-Drinker: Whiskey Sour: Strong ale aged in whiskey barrels, blended with a dark sour, all mashed up with lemon puree. Expect this to be maybe the most complex Colorado beer at the festival.
* Locavore Two Fingers IPA: This is the IPA that you're not drinking but should be. Hints of orange and mango highlight a full body that won Beer Fight Club II, defeating some of the state's best IPAs in the process.
* Mountain Sun Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout: Stout Month comes just once a year at the Mountain Sun pubs, so when they take some aged stash of one of their monster darks and offer it up more than half a year later, it's worth a visit.
* New Belgium Le Terroir with Amarillo and HBC #522: It's the brewery's phenomenal hopped sour ale, barrel aged and then dry-hopped with experimental hops. Just say that over and over again while you wait for the line to subside.
* New Image East Coast Transplant: This hazy double IPA from the under-the-radar Arvada brewery is no less than the second-best Colorado example of this hot style. And it's a brewery to know.
* Odell-Avery Collaboration Stout: Made specifically for GABF, this white stout/dark stout combo is only the product of two of the best breweries in Colorado. How could you go wrong?
* Ratio Beerworks New Wave Strawberry Berliner Weisse: Arguably the most tart yet approachable Berliner Weisse made in Colorado, this summer seasonal had a too-short stint on the brewery's menu, but now it's back.
* Ska Brewing Tart Mexican Logger: Ska's new Mod Project is all about creating experimental new flavors. And here's guessing this may be the only sour Mexican lager on the GABF floor.
* Strange Craft Beer Strangely Epic: This blend shouldn't work. Yet, the combination of Strange's Cherry Kriek and Epic Brewing's Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout does, and it's memorable.
* Telluride Face Down Bourbon Brown: The beer that kick-started Colorado's brown ale revolution is served up after aging in bourbon barrels. Bring it on.
* The Intrepid Sojourner Basil IPA: Though a recent addition to the Colorado portfolio, this Denver brewery quickly has gained a reputation for thoughtful and unusual beers. This is a combination that someone should have thought of before.
* Verboten Little Nonsense: This whiskey-barrel-aged imperial oatmeal stout is a dangerous beer, so smooth and tasty at 11% ABV that you may think you can drink several. Good thing it comes in a one-ounce sample for GABF.
* Weldwerks Extra Extra Juicy Bits: The key phrase you need to know about this New England-style double IPA is "more than 11 pounds of Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado hops per barrel." Read it and weep for joy.
America's most stunning beer festival is upon us, showing off 800 breweries from across the nation, some you will never find in Denver outside of their spotlights in the Colorado Convention from Oct. 5-7. But it is only the fool who would enter those hallowed halls and ignore this state's own fruits.
For Colorado brewers - and there are 161 of them that will be pouring at the Great American Beer Festival - are coming in from parts of the state you've likely never visited, and they are breaking out some one-offs and rarities you've certainly never tried. And there frankly might be a higher concentration of blow-your-taste-buds-out-with-delight offerings in the Mountain section of the great hall than in any other area - yes, even more than the Pacific.
With that in mind, here is an alphabetical list for locals and visitors alike of the beers you absolutely should stop by to try while you meander through the festival. A few you'll know; many you will not. This is the great joy of the event. (And big props to PorchDrinking.com for putting together its pre-GABF pour list that makes possible the study needed to compile this.)
* 4 Noses Experimental Double IPA: The Broomfield brewery has rocketed into the conversation of best IPAs in Colorado with its 'Bout Damn Time IPA. When it offers offer something bigger, hoppier and edgier, it's simply a must-try.
* AC Golden Colorado Native Kriek Noir: A stunningly tart beer (left) aged two years with cherries and then bottle-conditioned for another two, It will take your taste buds to the edge with its complexity and ultimately reward them.
* Avery Promiscuus: Very few brewers have used Madeira and port barrels to age their wares, and it's a shame. This beer, which I've only had in the Boulder Brewery's taproom, is bold and funky, and you'll swirl it around again and again to discern the flavors.
* Black Project Cygnus Double Montmorency: The great joy of Black Project is never quite knowing what its spontaneous fermentation will produce. But when the brewery takes three different years of barrel-fermented coolship ale and tosses them together with pounds and pounds of cherries, you know it will be special.
* Boulder Shake Chocolate Porter: America's oldest microbrewery may have hit on the best recipe in its 38-year history when it created this creamy, sweet and full chocolate porter that will give you a different taste to consider.
* Broken Compass Coconut Porter: This mountain-town brewery not only cemented its reputation by winning a medal for this at its first GABF, it actually started to draw people out of the Denver area up to Breckenridge to seek this out.
* Caution Brewing The Earl: Lakewood's finest brewery employs a lot of unusual ingredients in its beer, but its use of Earl Grey tea to add a leafy presence to a surprisingly full-bodied English mild creates the most unique taste in its portfolio.
* City Star Belle: Arguably no brewery in Colorado has improved as much this year as City Star, which wowed earlier this year with its Wood Belly barrel-aged imperial IPA. So when the brewery decides it's going to uncork a barrel-aged sour oatmeal pale ale aged with passion fruit, you just want to see what it can do with that combination.
* Comrade Fresh Hop Superpower IPA: The year-round version of this beer is becoming the Colorado standard-bearer IPA for some hop heads. And this is the kicked-up version that is only available for a limited time.
* Copper Kettle Snowed In Mocha: Snowed In, a bourbon-barrel imperial oatmeal stout, is one of the finest Christmastime beers in the state. So, what will a little coffee and chocolate do to the body? That's kind of the point to buying tickets to the GABF.
* Crooked Stave Trellis Buster: These guys are some of Colorado's sour kings. But when they pour a beer they describe as their hoppiest beer ever, you eagerly ask for this dry-hopped double IPA.
* Dry Dock Pumpkin Double Porter: The double hazelnut brown ale and the double hazelnut coffee porter were out of this world. This is the next iteration of the concept, and appropriate for the season.
* Fate Brewing Pinot Noir Gose: Take one of your signature beers, age it with pinot noir grape must, sit back and enjoy.
* Funkwerks Nelson Sauvin: This beer combines one of the most appealing hops available today with the body of a saison to produce a rainbow of flavors.
* Great Divide The Smoothness: First offered last year, this Jameson-barrel-aged dark lager has enough body to stand up to Irish whiskey overtones but not too much to render the barrel moot.
* Horse & Dragon Sad Panda Coffee Stout: As good a year-round dark beer as is made in Colorado, this gives you not just the roasted taste of the coffee but also the vanilla mouthfeel of a creamer that was placed into it.
* Jagged Mountain Grouse Mountain Gose: The underlying beer is good, but when it's made with blood oranges, coriander and sea salt, it becomes damn good.
* Jessup Farm Cross-Drinker: Whiskey Sour: Strong ale aged in whiskey barrels, blended with a dark sour, all mashed up with lemon puree. Expect this to be maybe the most complex Colorado beer at the festival.
* Locavore Two Fingers IPA: This is the IPA that you're not drinking but should be. Hints of orange and mango highlight a full body that won Beer Fight Club II, defeating some of the state's best IPAs in the process.
* Mountain Sun Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout: Stout Month comes just once a year at the Mountain Sun pubs, so when they take some aged stash of one of their monster darks and offer it up more than half a year later, it's worth a visit.* New Belgium Le Terroir with Amarillo and HBC #522: It's the brewery's phenomenal hopped sour ale, barrel aged and then dry-hopped with experimental hops. Just say that over and over again while you wait for the line to subside.
* New Image East Coast Transplant: This hazy double IPA from the under-the-radar Arvada brewery is no less than the second-best Colorado example of this hot style. And it's a brewery to know.
* Odell-Avery Collaboration Stout: Made specifically for GABF, this white stout/dark stout combo is only the product of two of the best breweries in Colorado. How could you go wrong?
* Ratio Beerworks New Wave Strawberry Berliner Weisse: Arguably the most tart yet approachable Berliner Weisse made in Colorado, this summer seasonal had a too-short stint on the brewery's menu, but now it's back.
* Ska Brewing Tart Mexican Logger: Ska's new Mod Project is all about creating experimental new flavors. And here's guessing this may be the only sour Mexican lager on the GABF floor.
* Strange Craft Beer Strangely Epic: This blend shouldn't work. Yet, the combination of Strange's Cherry Kriek and Epic Brewing's Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout does, and it's memorable.
* Telluride Face Down Bourbon Brown: The beer that kick-started Colorado's brown ale revolution is served up after aging in bourbon barrels. Bring it on.
* The Intrepid Sojourner Basil IPA: Though a recent addition to the Colorado portfolio, this Denver brewery quickly has gained a reputation for thoughtful and unusual beers. This is a combination that someone should have thought of before.
* Verboten Little Nonsense: This whiskey-barrel-aged imperial oatmeal stout is a dangerous beer, so smooth and tasty at 11% ABV that you may think you can drink several. Good thing it comes in a one-ounce sample for GABF.
* Weldwerks Extra Extra Juicy Bits: The key phrase you need to know about this New England-style double IPA is "more than 11 pounds of Citra, Mosaic and El Dorado hops per barrel." Read it and weep for joy.
Labels: AC Golden, Avery Brewing, Caution Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Mountain Sun, Ratio Beerworks
Sunday, October 01, 2017
It’s Time to GABF!
The Great American Beer Festival is the best gathering of
brewers in America. But, nearly as important, it’s turned into a catalyst for
what is arguably the greatest set of fermented-beverage events in one week
anywhere in the world. And it is for the enjoyment of that week that this
column is written.
Those who have visited this blog before know this annual
column is not meant to be the catch-all, everything-that-is-happening listing
of some 250 events like Westword or PorchDrinking.com offer. Instead, this is a
curated list of some of the most interesting events that will take place across
the next seven days, meant to help you – and me – determine how to spend your
entirely too-limited time when there are so many options.
Monday
· Noon to 8 p.m.: It’s been a number of years
since Great Divide Brewing churned out a new style of its signature Yeti
Imperial Stout. That drought ends today, when Denver’s largest brewery rolls
out Chai Yeti at its Barrel Bar.
· Noon: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project has a
jaw-droppingly impressive line-up of beers slated for release this week. It
begins with today’s release in bottle and draught of Nightmare on Brett
Marionberry Harvest 2016, a blend of dark sour barrel-aged beers with a serious
boost of this unique blackberry.
· 4 p.m.: Diebolt Brewing, which seems to get a
little more experimental each year, also is busting out a barrel-aged treat –
or, more specifically, five of them. The fun starts with its brandy-barrel-aged
C'est la Saison-Imperial French Saison, then proceeds to the same beer aged in
rye, bourbon and Cabernet barrels before rolling out a 100% Brett version.
· 5 p.m.: Few events during the week are as iconic
as the Falling Rock kickoff party. Horse & Dragon and Upslope will have
special tappings, and pretty much everyone from the industry who is in town
will stop by at some point during the night.
· 7 p.m.: “Why not blow out your taste buds to
start the week?” should be the informal name of the Sour Party at Freshcraft.
Treats from Almanac, Black Project, Captain Lawrence and more will be on tap.
Tuesday
· 2 p.m.: Strange Craft Beer has created such a
bounty of beers that several years ago it took one of its truly eye-opening
offerings, its Zora Rosemary Pale Ale, out of its rotation. Today it brings it
back for a limited time.
· 2 to 6 p.m.: Tapping Crooked Stave is one thing.
But when you offer up pretty much all of Crooked Stave Artisans' distribution list at
once – as Crafty Fox will do here – that means the likes of Two Roads, Prairie,
Perennial and more are up for grabs.
· 5 p.m.: Goed Zuur will be featuring California
breweries that you normally wait in line at GABF to try: Russian River
(including Supplication), Rare Barrel, Port Brewing and more.
· 5 to 11 p.m.: Southside Bar and Kitchen is
hosting a night of specialty brews from Loveland and Longmont breweries that is
the finest-named event of the week: Love you Long time. Grimm Brothers,
Loveland Aleworks, Verboten Brewing and more will pour.
· 6 to 9 p.m.: Beers Made by Walking may be one of
the most unique events of the week – a tapping of ales made just for the event
by brewers using ingredients inspired by their hikes. This year’s event,
courtesy of Colorado Springs’ Focus on the Beer, is at the Denver Museum of
Nature & Science, and tickets are $40.
· 7 p.m.: Freshcraft, a long-time supporter of
up-and-coming Colorado brewers, turns its focus tonight to local offerings with
gems from Weldwerks, Black Shirt, Lost
Highway and more.
· 7:30 p.m.: There are lots of beer dinners this
week, but very few at restaurants that just undertook a complete menu revamp to
keep it fresh. The Corner Office just did that, and tonight it will pair five
courses with five Strange Craft Beer rarities, as well as one staple, for $50.
Wednesday
· 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Toppling Goliath brewery is the hottest thing
to come out of Iowa since … well, pretty much ever. LowDown Brewery of Denver
will be tapping its nationally renowned PseudoSue, as well as nine other beers,
until they’re gone.
· Noon to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.: Want to see what
breweries are lighting up Colorado without getting nationwide distribution? NewImage Brewing will host two intimate mini festivals with five other breweries that
are grabbing attention – including WeldWerks, Odd 13 and Wiley Roots – for the
price of $35 per person.
· 2 p.m.: The best beer Strange Craft Beer ever
made was a one-off for the 2015 Collaboration Fest with Copper Kettle Brewing
called Basil Kriek Blonde that combined Copper Kettle’s Basil Blonde with its
Cherry Kriek. It makes a rare re-appearance today.
· 3 to 5 p.m.: Local[ish] Market is a new store at Denver Union Station that sells local food and products and has a small bar of
Colorado beers. But today it veers away from its model for just a short time as
it offers a tap takeover by Two Roads Brewing of Connecticut, which makes one
of the best krieks in America.
· 4 to 7 p.m.: Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA is one
of the rare hop bombs that can stand up to aging, and today Avanti F&B will
be pouring vintages from 2014 through 2017, plus a couple other Dogfish Head
gems. Oh, and some guy named Sam Calagione will be there too.
· 5 to 7 p.m.: One of the truest geek-out
experiences of the week is Wynkoop Brewery’s Beer Drinker of the Year contest,
which will feature judges in funny wigs tossing out-of-left-field beer
questions at three finalists for the award. And the beer will be flowing.
· 5 p.m.: Ska Brewing has ramped up its experimentation
in the past year through its Mod Project. Those beers – Pink Vapor Stew, Tart
Mexican Logger, Sour Apple Gose and more – will take over the rooftop taps of
Tap XIV tonight.
· 6 p.m.: The What The Funk? Invitational, hosted
by Crooked Stave, is truly a jaw-dropping collection of barrel-aged and other
experimental beers. This year’s event is at the Studio at Overland Crossing,
though tickets are sold out, so it’s time to call in those favors to
beer-industry friends.
· 9:30 p.m.: Falling Rock hosts an All-Star IPA
Throwdown that includes everyone from Melvin to Lawson’s and Breakside to La
Cumbre. Your taste buds will love you or possibly hate you.
Thursday
· 11:30 a.m.: Sun King is an Indianapolis brewery
that doesn’t distribute in Colorado, robbing you of the opportunity to enjoy
gems like its Cherry Busey Oud Bruin Ale. Today it will be pouring at Hops& Pie.
· Noon/5 p.m.: One of Crooked Stave’s most
intriguing releases of the week is its Mama Bear’s Burgundy Sour Cherry Pie
Harvest 2016, a burgundy sour ale aged in oak barrels with Colorado cherries.
It taps at noon, and two whiskey-barrel-aged varieties go on tap at 5.
· 3 to 7 p.m.: Skip the lines at these booths at
the GABF tonight and go instead to Goed Zuur, which is hosting a Small Batch
Thursday featuring Black Project, Amalgam Brewing, Red Fox Cellars and more.
· 4 to 9 p.m.: River North Brewery may not be
located in the River North neighborhood this year (thank you very much,
heartless landlord), but the brewery is doing things worth traveling to north
Denver for. Today it opens up it cellar to release 2016 versions of its
Decennial Series – a quad, an imperial stout and an old ale all weighing in at
more than 15 percent ABV.
· 6 p.m.: Freshcraft concentrates for a few hours
on the brilliant offerings of Casey Brewing and Blending. Go now or go after
the GABF session; just get there.
· 7 p.m.: A now annual tradition, Epic Brewing
again offers its 50 Firkin Fiasco, for which the brewery has tossed the likes
of gummy bears and breakfast cereals into its bevy of beers and come up with
some real surprises in the past. Tickets are $35.
· 8 p.m.: Asbury Provisions says it will be
the first bar in Colorado to host a tap takeover with Captain Lawrence Brewing –
a statement that seems hard to believe, but I’ll still trust them. Sours and
IPAs will rain down.
· 10 p.m.: Speaking of breweries that you don’t
find often in Colorado, Rare Barrel will offer up a number of its mind-blowing
selections at Falling Rock after the GABF session.
· 10 p.m.: After-parties rock following festival
sessions. Left Hand will be serving up a lot of good stuff at a rooftop party
at Tap XIV.
Friday
· Noon to 4 p.m.: The single best event of the
week outside of the Colorado Convention Center is the Pints for Prostates DenverRare Beer Tasting at the McNichols Building, where some of the best breweries
in America pour some of their rarest beers while screeners beg to take a test
to make sure you don’t have the same cancer that led Rick Lyke to found this
event. The $115 ticket is, if anything, underpriced (though sold out).
· Noon to 3 p.m.: If you don’t have the Rare Beer
ticket, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better alternative activity than a
tapping featuring Captain Lawrence, Great Divide – and the beer Great Divide
made in conjunction with Jameson Irish Whiskey.
· 2 p.m.: Breweries that offer tap takeovers to
out-of-town breweries should get a special place in heaven. Today, MockeryBrewing does just that for Virginia’s Adroit Theory, which will be bringing out
an Oud Bruin collaboration they made earlier this year.
· 2 to 9 p.m.: Speaking of collaborations, DenverBeer Co. will host a mini festival featuring collaboration beers that it made
with breweries throughout Colorado, the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. Tickets are
$30.
· 3 to 11 p.m.: Call it “underrated Colorado
breweries day” at Crafty Fox. Wiley Roots Brewing and Outer Range Brewing take
over the taps, offering up treats like Cinnamon/Vanilla Pastry Stout and Final
Summit French saison.
· 5 p.m.: After a week of drinking, you might want
to eat a little, so do it in style. Goed Zuur is offering a beer and food
pairing with Casey Brewing and Blending, Jester King and Side Project supplying
the beer. There will be four two-hour sessions, and tickets for each of them
are $60.
· 6 p.m.: Highland Tap & Burger offers up four
Midwest breweries – Jolly Pumpkin, New Holland, RhineGeist and MadTree Brewing –
that are either not available in Colorado or available in limited sites. It’s a
good chance to enjoy the brewing world coming here.
· 7:30 p.m.: Want something a little more literary
than you’ve had the rest of the week? BookBar in northwest Denver is hosting an
event in which staffers pair their favorite beers with books and lead a beer
tasting. Not sure how bitter the hops in a beer have to be to pair with, say,
Tess of the D’Urbervilles.
Saturday
· 8 a.m.: How do you want to start the final day
of the festival? How about Breakfast with the Bruery at Freshcraft, where the
California artists will whip out perfect breakfast pairings, like Midnight
Autumn Maple and Chocolate Rain (its 20% ABV vanilla/cacao bourbon-barrel-aged
imperial stout).
· 9:30 a.m.: Oh, I’m sorry, you want something
lighter with your fifth-straight-day-of-hangover breakfast? Denver Beer Co. is
offering a barleywine/smothered breakfast burrito combination for $18.
· Noon: Ratio Beerworks taps its New Wave
Strawberry Berliner Weisse, a summer seasonal back for a limited run. This is,
in my opinion, the hands-down best Berliner Weisse made in Colorado, and
probably one of the state’s 10 best beers, period.
· Noon to 8 p.m.: Bruz Beers will be tapping from
its reserve – 15 beers from its reserve. This is the proper way to blow out the
festival at a brewery that’s been doing some daring things.
· 9 p.m.: It’s been a long week. Let loose at the
Ratio Beerworks karaoke after-party, which will involve some surprise tappings
as well as some pretty awful, overconfident ballad performances.
· 9:30 p.m.: Falling Rock will tap a pucker-load of
sours from Crooked Stave Artisans' distribution list. If you’re still drinking at this
time of night, that may be the only thing that can resurrect your taste buds.
· 10 p.m.: Some people swear by going light-bodied
at the end of the week, however. If that’s your choice, you might want to check
out Tap XIV, where attention-grabbing German-style brewer Wibby Brewing of
Longmont will be pouring dunkels, a helles and an IPL on the rooftop.
Labels: Crooked Stave, Denver Beer Co, Falling Rock Taphouse, Freshcraft, Great American Beer Festival, Great Divide, Ratio Beerworks, Strange Craft Beer
