Thursday, April 22, 2021
What's Happening? Denver Beer Is Earning Attention
Denver Beer Co. has never been a boring brewery. From its inception, it turned its beers over frequently and came up with new flavors, from its lovingly received Graham Cracker Porter to its divisively delicious William Wallace Scottish Ale. And it won a lot of Great American Beer Festival medals on the way, including a Colorado-high three in 2020.
Still, the brewery never seemed to become a trend-setter — even though it was one of the pioneers of the city's taproom scene when it opened a decade ago — or one of the must-visit beer-geek stops, even as the patio of its original Platte Street location always teemed with people. Because of several things that have happened in recent months, however, that may be changing.
The brewery made a splash on St. Patrick's Day when it opened its third location, this one in a former garage (like its first two taprooms) in south Denver's Rosedale neighborhood. Just having another location isn't gutsy in itself, but the brewery restaurant includes a one-barrel pilot system for making offerings exclusive to that spot, and an opening-day selection that included a balanced black currant kettle sour and a bold-but-not-too-big campfire coffee stout showed that its creative juices already were flowing well.
But what happened about a month-and-a-half before that could be even more impactful to Denver Beer's place in the sprawling, spectacular Front Range scene. In an announcement that seemed to fly too far under the radar, the brewery announced that it had hired Andy Parker (shown below with his lab, Pete) to be its director of innovation — the same Andy Parker that played a major role in gaining national experimental-darling status for Avery Brewing in an 18-1/2-year career there where he launched its barrel program and grew it to a collection of some 4,000 barrels.
Beer geeks might see the move as an odd one, going from a brewery that attracted throngs of devotees each year at GABF to one whose reputation is one that is more for its tasty accessible beers and is concentrated on its Front Range fans. But as Parker said in an interview earlier this year, the jump isn't so strange upon further examination.
While Avery was a smaller and more free-flowing brewery when Parker started there, it blew up in recent years, particularly with the 2015 opening of its $28 million brewery/restaurant in Boulder County featuring not one but two 30-tap tasting rooms. It sold part of the independent brewery two years later to Spanish brewer Mahou San Miguel, which now owns the majority of Avery, and moved a lot of its effort in recent years to more universally drinkable, nationally sold beers.
Denver Beer, meanwhile, has put its efforts into side projects that keep the beer local and ramp up its flavor profiles, such as the mid-2018 opening of Cerveceria Colorado, which offered an entirely new take on Mexican beers, based on the travels of then-head-brewer Jason Buehler, who passed away late last year. Denver Beer has captured five GABF medals in the past two years, including three for its often-overlooked barrel offerings, and its improvements haven't been lost on Parker.
"Just being a beer geek who's interested in beer, I've been watching Denver Beer get better and better for a decade," he said. "I love to focus on a local market, on Colorado's creativity and lifestyle."
And yes, Parker does plan to ramp up Denver Beer's barrel program, though he said he won't do it to Avery-like magnitude. But he also wants to make beers that can be fermented and sold fairly quickly, so he gets to enjoy the feedback of drinkers who are finding new tastes.
That may just include lighter efforts. The Love This City pilsner, which Denver Beer released early last month in collaboration with artist Pat Milbery, is a subtly delicious take on the classic style, hopped a little bit more liberally for late-breaking bite but still tremendously easy and an all-night sipper. When I half-jokingly asked Parker what he will bring to Denver Beer's seltzer program, he said that he's looking a potential tequila-barrel-aged seltzer, which might be the first entry into the genre that could generate a double-take.
Denver Beer founders Charlie Berger and Patrick Crawford (shown below) said they brought Parker in because of his experience but also because of his seamless fit with the laid-back culture of the brewery. They expect passion, they said, and know that what flows from that will make their beer better.
Drinkers, meanwhile, should frankly recalibrate their expectations of Denver Beer, which may produce another raspberry kolsch or may go off on a route it hasn't traversed previously. But at this point, the brewery deserves recognition for being bold in ways that sometimes are hidden, and here's guessing it's going to get more of that in the coming years.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Denver Beer Co, Great American Beer Festival, pilsner
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
5 Things I Learned from the Historic Styles Brewfest
Saturday's Historic Styles Brewfest at History Colorado Center was an eye-opener into both what it is that local breweries consider a historic interpretation of beer and how they re-interpret it through their own craftsmanship.
There were true beers of antiquity, from a recipe molded from residue found in a 2,300-year Hebrew vessel to interpretations of several-hundred-year-old Belgian and French styles. There were a number of pre-Prohibition pilsners, as well as several interpretations on the California Common style that played a major role in early American West imbibing. And then there were a couple of breweries whose "historic" offerings either were beers they made a quarter-century ago or beers they've discontinued (and, no, you get no style points for that).
But beyond the wild variance in how "historic" was defined, there were a couple of stand-out impressions from this unique event.
1) Avery Brewing is far more than a bunch of hop fiends and barrel hoarders.
Overlooked among its aggressively hopped and tart beers is the Dogfish Head-like antiquity beer program that brewer/archaeologist Travis Rupp has established at the Boulder County brewery. And because of that, Avery flat-out won the night with its offerings.
One was the brewery's Beersheba, a (likely improved) re-creation of a beer the 3rd Century B.C. Hebrews would have made by using the bacteria on grape skins to ferment it, giving it a funky, oenobeer-like quality that went beyond standard sour to something bold and unique. Subtler but just as impressive was George Washington's Porter, made from one of the recipes our first president used as an Army general and transporting you back to a time when simple ingredients satisfied enough.
2) If pre-Prohibition pilsners were this much fuller, Carrie Nation should be ashamed.
Sure, maybe alcohol had reached the same scourge levels in America 100 years ago that opioids have reached now, but the re-interpretation of 1900s pilsners universally features a bolder malt base, hopping that adds bite without bitterness and, most importantly, no flavor-stealing adjuncts. Chalk that up in the category of "Another reason activists pushing Prohibition set back our country."
Walter's Beer of Pueblo had the gold standard of the night, an offering it serves as a regular part of its lineup and that comes across as smooth and yet full, reflecting a beer the brewery actually made when it operated in its first incarnation from 1889 to 1975. Renegade Brewing, Tivoli Brewing and AC Golden offered slightly lighter versions - but still things you would not mistake for a Bud Light.
3) Re-creating old American recipes is fun and worthwhile.
Strange Craft Beer unearthed a 1909 Burton Ale recipe that was less aggressive than a standard Old Ale but intriguing in its malt-forward and alcohol-forward body. Kudos also go to Joyride Brewing for putting forward an 1897 English IPA that had the semi-medicinal quality of classical English hops but really offered you a glimpse into the past that was palpable as you sipped it.
4) Modernizing the hell out of old American recipes can be really fun as well.
Woods Boss Brewing created a very nice California Common in the style that western pioneers made the beer, and New Belgium put forward one that seemed a little light and cautious, even if historically accurate. But the best interpretation of the style, frankly, was the Imperial Kentucky Common offered up by Factotum Brewhouse - anti-historical to the point of being almost an oxymoron, yes, but hugely tasty in its penetrating sweetness and maybe the best time-machine link of the festival between historic styles and what their descendants have become.
5) Green chili beers had to be drinkable, no matter the era.
When the extreme heat of Oasis Brewing's offering made my eyes bulge with pain, a brewery with a nearby table at the festival quickly offered me a dump bucket, saying they had seen that reaction all night long. Chili beers may have both historical and very modern qualities, but there must be moderation to the heat (like Walter's Beer offered in its Pueblo Chile Beer) or else it's just a bad dare, no matter whether you're asking a cowboy or an Instagram junkie to take that dare.
Saturday's Historic Styles Brewfest at History Colorado Center was an eye-opener into both what it is that local breweries consider a historic interpretation of beer and how they re-interpret it through their own craftsmanship.
There were true beers of antiquity, from a recipe molded from residue found in a 2,300-year Hebrew vessel to interpretations of several-hundred-year-old Belgian and French styles. There were a number of pre-Prohibition pilsners, as well as several interpretations on the California Common style that played a major role in early American West imbibing. And then there were a couple of breweries whose "historic" offerings either were beers they made a quarter-century ago or beers they've discontinued (and, no, you get no style points for that).
But beyond the wild variance in how "historic" was defined, there were a couple of stand-out impressions from this unique event.
1) Avery Brewing is far more than a bunch of hop fiends and barrel hoarders.
Overlooked among its aggressively hopped and tart beers is the Dogfish Head-like antiquity beer program that brewer/archaeologist Travis Rupp has established at the Boulder County brewery. And because of that, Avery flat-out won the night with its offerings.
One was the brewery's Beersheba, a (likely improved) re-creation of a beer the 3rd Century B.C. Hebrews would have made by using the bacteria on grape skins to ferment it, giving it a funky, oenobeer-like quality that went beyond standard sour to something bold and unique. Subtler but just as impressive was George Washington's Porter, made from one of the recipes our first president used as an Army general and transporting you back to a time when simple ingredients satisfied enough.
2) If pre-Prohibition pilsners were this much fuller, Carrie Nation should be ashamed.
Sure, maybe alcohol had reached the same scourge levels in America 100 years ago that opioids have reached now, but the re-interpretation of 1900s pilsners universally features a bolder malt base, hopping that adds bite without bitterness and, most importantly, no flavor-stealing adjuncts. Chalk that up in the category of "Another reason activists pushing Prohibition set back our country."
Walter's Beer of Pueblo had the gold standard of the night, an offering it serves as a regular part of its lineup and that comes across as smooth and yet full, reflecting a beer the brewery actually made when it operated in its first incarnation from 1889 to 1975. Renegade Brewing, Tivoli Brewing and AC Golden offered slightly lighter versions - but still things you would not mistake for a Bud Light.
3) Re-creating old American recipes is fun and worthwhile.
Strange Craft Beer unearthed a 1909 Burton Ale recipe that was less aggressive than a standard Old Ale but intriguing in its malt-forward and alcohol-forward body. Kudos also go to Joyride Brewing for putting forward an 1897 English IPA that had the semi-medicinal quality of classical English hops but really offered you a glimpse into the past that was palpable as you sipped it.
4) Modernizing the hell out of old American recipes can be really fun as well.
Woods Boss Brewing created a very nice California Common in the style that western pioneers made the beer, and New Belgium put forward one that seemed a little light and cautious, even if historically accurate. But the best interpretation of the style, frankly, was the Imperial Kentucky Common offered up by Factotum Brewhouse - anti-historical to the point of being almost an oxymoron, yes, but hugely tasty in its penetrating sweetness and maybe the best time-machine link of the festival between historic styles and what their descendants have become.
5) Green chili beers had to be drinkable, no matter the era.
When the extreme heat of Oasis Brewing's offering made my eyes bulge with pain, a brewery with a nearby table at the festival quickly offered me a dump bucket, saying they had seen that reaction all night long. Chili beers may have both historical and very modern qualities, but there must be moderation to the heat (like Walter's Beer offered in its Pueblo Chile Beer) or else it's just a bad dare, no matter whether you're asking a cowboy or an Instagram junkie to take that dare.
Labels: Avery Brewing, California Common, Factotum Brewhouse, historic beer styles, History Colorado, Joyride Brewing, Oasis Brewing, Pre-Prohibition pilsner, Strange Craft Beer, Walter's Beer
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
A Historically Different Beer Festival
Yes, beer festivals come and go. And while some distinguish themselves, many do not. But on Saturday night, History Colorado Center will offer a beer event that may be unlike any event that has occurred in this state.
As part of its ongoing exhibit "Beer Here," the state's history museum will put on a Historic Styles Brewfest containing a host of beers that will take you back to a different age. There will be pre-Prohibition lagers galore, pre-Columbian offerings and even beers dating back to the early days of the Jewish people.
The event, which runs from 7 to 10 p.m. at the downtown Denver museum and still has a few tickets for sale, is something that Jason Hanson, History Colorado's chief creative officer, has been mulling almost as long as he was planning "Beer Here," the look at the history of beer in this state. One of the questions he constantly receives from people when he tells them of his shared love of suds and the past is: What do you think beer tasted like back in the early days of this state?
In lieu of time travel, this festival will offer the next best thing: Some 25 of today's expert brewers offering their interpretations of the styles that our grandfathers, forefathers and much more distant relatives quaffed. It is the first time History Colorado Center has run a beer festival - and, Hanson believes, the first time a beer festival devoted exclusively to historic styles has been done in this country.
"I'm super excited. It's been my dream since I started that research on the exhibit," Hanson said over a couple of IPAs Tuesday afternoon at Henry's Tavern downtown. "I'm like everyone else. I think 'What did these beers taste like?' And this is as close as we are ever going to get to knowing."
Hanson (pictured above, with me) and other History Colorado leaders allowed each participating brewery to craft their own definition of historic, and the beers of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century that dotted Colorado taverns were a very popular choice. Beer makers from High Hops Brewery of Windsor to the hidden gem that is Walter's Beer of Pueblo will roll out pre-Prohibition pilsners and other forms of lagers, and Hanson thinks the drinking public could be surprised by the variety of lagers that existed.
Dos Luces Brewery will go a little older still, bringing the centuries-old Pulque beer drinks of Mexico and Chicha offerings from Peru that make the South Broadway brewery one of the more interesting places to try a taster flight in town. And Avery Brewing beer archaeologist Travis Rupp will bust out two rarer offerings from the Boulder icon - George Washington's Porter, which the general and future president made while in the field during the Revolutionary War, and Beersheba, a spontaneously fermented re-creation of a brew made in Israel around the 3rd Century B.C.
I sat on the advisory committee for "Beer Here" and remember the conversations around not only how the exhibit (including the mountains of glasses pictured below) was meant to make people think differently about historical presentations but about how events like this could show people a side of the state's history in a very hands-on way. I'm not sure exactly what Saturday night will produce for the palate or how I may think differently about our imbibing history after it's done, but I for one am eager to see a beer festival take me not only to another place but to another time entirely when our notions of beer were different than they are now.
"One thing we as a history museum want to do is provide these immersive experiences is help you connect with the past in a way you won't do just by looking at a chart upon a wall," Hanson mused. "You're going to taste lagers that were like a revelation to the people who settled Denver."
Yes, beer festivals come and go. And while some distinguish themselves, many do not. But on Saturday night, History Colorado Center will offer a beer event that may be unlike any event that has occurred in this state.
As part of its ongoing exhibit "Beer Here," the state's history museum will put on a Historic Styles Brewfest containing a host of beers that will take you back to a different age. There will be pre-Prohibition lagers galore, pre-Columbian offerings and even beers dating back to the early days of the Jewish people.
The event, which runs from 7 to 10 p.m. at the downtown Denver museum and still has a few tickets for sale, is something that Jason Hanson, History Colorado's chief creative officer, has been mulling almost as long as he was planning "Beer Here," the look at the history of beer in this state. One of the questions he constantly receives from people when he tells them of his shared love of suds and the past is: What do you think beer tasted like back in the early days of this state?
In lieu of time travel, this festival will offer the next best thing: Some 25 of today's expert brewers offering their interpretations of the styles that our grandfathers, forefathers and much more distant relatives quaffed. It is the first time History Colorado Center has run a beer festival - and, Hanson believes, the first time a beer festival devoted exclusively to historic styles has been done in this country.
"I'm super excited. It's been my dream since I started that research on the exhibit," Hanson said over a couple of IPAs Tuesday afternoon at Henry's Tavern downtown. "I'm like everyone else. I think 'What did these beers taste like?' And this is as close as we are ever going to get to knowing."
Hanson (pictured above, with me) and other History Colorado leaders allowed each participating brewery to craft their own definition of historic, and the beers of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century that dotted Colorado taverns were a very popular choice. Beer makers from High Hops Brewery of Windsor to the hidden gem that is Walter's Beer of Pueblo will roll out pre-Prohibition pilsners and other forms of lagers, and Hanson thinks the drinking public could be surprised by the variety of lagers that existed.
Dos Luces Brewery will go a little older still, bringing the centuries-old Pulque beer drinks of Mexico and Chicha offerings from Peru that make the South Broadway brewery one of the more interesting places to try a taster flight in town. And Avery Brewing beer archaeologist Travis Rupp will bust out two rarer offerings from the Boulder icon - George Washington's Porter, which the general and future president made while in the field during the Revolutionary War, and Beersheba, a spontaneously fermented re-creation of a brew made in Israel around the 3rd Century B.C.
I sat on the advisory committee for "Beer Here" and remember the conversations around not only how the exhibit (including the mountains of glasses pictured below) was meant to make people think differently about historical presentations but about how events like this could show people a side of the state's history in a very hands-on way. I'm not sure exactly what Saturday night will produce for the palate or how I may think differently about our imbibing history after it's done, but I for one am eager to see a beer festival take me not only to another place but to another time entirely when our notions of beer were different than they are now.
"One thing we as a history museum want to do is provide these immersive experiences is help you connect with the past in a way you won't do just by looking at a chart upon a wall," Hanson mused. "You're going to taste lagers that were like a revelation to the people who settled Denver."
Labels: Avery Brewing, Beer festivals, Dos Luces Brewery, High Hops Brewery, historic beer styles, History Colorado, Walter's Beer
Saturday, January 05, 2019
Big Beers Has Become the Festival for the Beer Aficionados Who Truly Want to Learn
The Big Beers Belgians & Barleywines Festival has gone through some very noticeable changes in recent years (like moving from Vail to Breckenridge in 2017) and some very subtle ones. But it's those seemingly minor tweaks that this year have added up to making this officially the festival for people who don't just want to drink a lot of beer but who want to sponge up knowledge about the craft at the same rate their liver is processing alcohol.
That's not to say the nationally lauded annual event, now celebrating its 19th year from Jan. 10-12, hasn't always gone the extra yard to imbue knowledge upon its participants. It's always been marked by early-morning seminars on experimental brewing styles, multiple events pairing beer with food and cigars and brewers who are omnipresent at the commercial tasting to explain just how they incorporated an experimental yeast or ingredient.
But those seminars (pictured below) are getting more technical as they are getting more popular - a reason that organizers Laura and Bill Lodge decided for the first time this year to sell $15-$20 tickets to each of the gatherings, since the tracks grew so crowded last year that crowds couldn't fit into the rooms. And this year's slate of 12 talks goes to depths beyond even many of the great seminars in the past, including the start-of-the-morning gathering on Saturday in which Crooked Stave, Mad Fritz and Sierra Nevada delve into the impacts of water on beer by making the same brew with three different water sources.
Laura also wanted to take the welcome reception to a new level - this time without adding the cost of tickets to a beer-and-food pairing that had grown costly to the overall event. So, the 2019 reception (noon to 1 p.m. on Friday at Beaver Run Resort) upped its number of brewer participants to four serving two beers each and replaced the high-end pairings with a nacho bar, so that beer geeks have time to savor new flavors and talk to the men and women who create them.
"I really wanted to do a formal, you've-arrived entrance," Laura told me. "We're really looking to, I guess, polish it up."
To be sure, Big Beers didn't need much polishing. The commercial event alone puts this among the best beer festivals nationally, with the likes of Adam Avery or Sam Calagione pouring rarities and barrel-aged beauties and explaining their qualities to lines of people that stretch sometimes 10 long instead of the around-the-corner queues that can mark the best breweries at Great American Beer Festival.
But as more breweries have tried to get into the event - which, mindbogglingly, still has tickets available - more brewers have agreed to share their table with friends in order to increase the sheer variety of beers that are being poured. This year there will be more than 150 beer makers pouring beer at just 118 tables.
"It's a really great feeling to see the community coming together in that way," Laura said.
What's really begun to separate this festival from others in recent years is the affiliate events happening around Breckenridge as it occurs. Yes, those include special tappings and food pairings.
But there's also a workshop on Belgian beers, an educational discussion on hazy beers and informational pourings and tappings focused on fermentation, blending and randalls. Hell, there's even a special event on low-gravity beers, which is the equivalent of the NFL directing a seminar on the grace and beauty of soccer.
I'm not saying that you'll be so steeped in learning that you won't get drunk at Big Beers. You're at 9,600 feet above sea level, the first seminar on Saturday begins at 9 a.m. and you're drinking beers no less than 7 percent ABV, with the exception of a few lower-alcohol Belgian styles. You're going to feel it, even if the drunkenness is just a byproduct of your activities rather than a goal.
But this festival has gone well beyond a little bit of learning and a lot of beer. It's like an upper-level college course on what makes great beer as great as it is, with the benefits of your being able to taste every bit of that as you are steeping yourself in knowledge. And that's why it's become, in some ways, the absolute must-hit beer event of the year in Colorado.
The Big Beers Belgians & Barleywines Festival has gone through some very noticeable changes in recent years (like moving from Vail to Breckenridge in 2017) and some very subtle ones. But it's those seemingly minor tweaks that this year have added up to making this officially the festival for people who don't just want to drink a lot of beer but who want to sponge up knowledge about the craft at the same rate their liver is processing alcohol.
That's not to say the nationally lauded annual event, now celebrating its 19th year from Jan. 10-12, hasn't always gone the extra yard to imbue knowledge upon its participants. It's always been marked by early-morning seminars on experimental brewing styles, multiple events pairing beer with food and cigars and brewers who are omnipresent at the commercial tasting to explain just how they incorporated an experimental yeast or ingredient.
But those seminars (pictured below) are getting more technical as they are getting more popular - a reason that organizers Laura and Bill Lodge decided for the first time this year to sell $15-$20 tickets to each of the gatherings, since the tracks grew so crowded last year that crowds couldn't fit into the rooms. And this year's slate of 12 talks goes to depths beyond even many of the great seminars in the past, including the start-of-the-morning gathering on Saturday in which Crooked Stave, Mad Fritz and Sierra Nevada delve into the impacts of water on beer by making the same brew with three different water sources.
Laura also wanted to take the welcome reception to a new level - this time without adding the cost of tickets to a beer-and-food pairing that had grown costly to the overall event. So, the 2019 reception (noon to 1 p.m. on Friday at Beaver Run Resort) upped its number of brewer participants to four serving two beers each and replaced the high-end pairings with a nacho bar, so that beer geeks have time to savor new flavors and talk to the men and women who create them.
"I really wanted to do a formal, you've-arrived entrance," Laura told me. "We're really looking to, I guess, polish it up."
To be sure, Big Beers didn't need much polishing. The commercial event alone puts this among the best beer festivals nationally, with the likes of Adam Avery or Sam Calagione pouring rarities and barrel-aged beauties and explaining their qualities to lines of people that stretch sometimes 10 long instead of the around-the-corner queues that can mark the best breweries at Great American Beer Festival.
"It's a really great feeling to see the community coming together in that way," Laura said.
What's really begun to separate this festival from others in recent years is the affiliate events happening around Breckenridge as it occurs. Yes, those include special tappings and food pairings.
But there's also a workshop on Belgian beers, an educational discussion on hazy beers and informational pourings and tappings focused on fermentation, blending and randalls. Hell, there's even a special event on low-gravity beers, which is the equivalent of the NFL directing a seminar on the grace and beauty of soccer.
I'm not saying that you'll be so steeped in learning that you won't get drunk at Big Beers. You're at 9,600 feet above sea level, the first seminar on Saturday begins at 9 a.m. and you're drinking beers no less than 7 percent ABV, with the exception of a few lower-alcohol Belgian styles. You're going to feel it, even if the drunkenness is just a byproduct of your activities rather than a goal.
But this festival has gone well beyond a little bit of learning and a lot of beer. It's like an upper-level college course on what makes great beer as great as it is, with the benefits of your being able to taste every bit of that as you are steeping yourself in knowledge. And that's why it's become, in some ways, the absolute must-hit beer event of the year in Colorado.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Boston Beer Co., Breckenridge, Crooked Stave, Laura Lodge, Mad Fritz Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing
Thursday, November 23, 2017
The Not-So-Subtle Joy of Drinking Imperial Stouts
Wandering through the third floor of the McNichols Civic Center Building last month during Denver Rare Beer Tasting was the equivalent of being trapped in a black hole. Everything being poured was heavy and dense, and no light could shine through any glass.
The biggest difference was, however, that this was an experience you enjoyed so much that you could even begin to pick up subtleties in the booth after booth of the 16- to 19-percent-ABV beers in which you were imbibing. And through that, you could see how far the craft beer industry has come in the past 10 years.
It's not that imperial stouts weren't tasty circa 2007. But those that pushed 10 or 11 percent ABV at the time tended to be beers whose alcohol content was readily apparent. A big beer often brought with it a big, boozy taste. And there was a limit to how many of those you could drink.
Today, however, you can find a beer like Avery Brewing's Black Eye, a 3-year-old rum-barrel-aged imperial stout that grew to 18.8 percent ABV by the time it hit drinkers' glasses last month. Its body was bursting with depth and darkness, but it also was shockingly smooth, using its enormous malt base to cover any residual alcohol burn. It not only was a great beer; it was damn near dangerous.
At just that one event, however, you could also find River North Brewery's 18 percent Vicennial Shadowman, which presented a huge mouthful of almost sooty dark malt that was shockingly drinkable. There was WeldWerks' Medianoche Reserve, which weighed in at 13.5 percent but added an astounding smoothness to its underlying cocoa punch. And even a beer like New Holland Brewing's "Dragon's Milk: Michigan's Winter" added a little burn to its 16 percent body, but not enough to overshadow a bittersweet coffee palate that made you want more.
It isn't just at specialty beer festivals that you find these big-bodied gems, either. Taprooms across the state are featuring experimental and seasonal creations of substantial girth right now, much in the way that virtually every taproom is trying its hand at a New England-style IPA.
So, you can actively seek out a hammer of a beer like Verboten Brewing's Little Nonsense, which packs heavy flavors of both bourbon and vanilla from its barrel aging and manages to be every bit as tasty as it is aggressive.
Or you can find a hidden treasure like Goldspot Brewing's Black Whiskey River Imperial Stout. At 10.5 percent, it's almost a light beer compared to some in this group, and its body isn't as pelting with heaviness as others. But after sitting 5-1/2 months in a Laws Whiskey House barrel, it takes on a lot of warming whiskey flavor but still allows the rough-hewn, slightly mocha edge of the body to take center stage.
And let's not forget, the incomparable Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival - scheduled for Jan. 4-6 in Breckenridge - will be another showcase for the creativity in the imperial stout world.
The joy in drinking these beers is both complex and simple. The flavor profiles they raise bring up tastes ranging from sweetness to heat to bitterness, and picking them out of the big, meaty body is both challenging and satisfying. Yet there is a simplicity in enjoying the idea of a brewer tossing everything they have into one recipe, rolling the dice and letting the experiment end in a boozy, warming toast to their gutsy resolve.
While co-hosting American Craft Beer Radio a couple of weeks ago, I asked Wynkoop head brewer John Sims if I was crazy to think these beers were getting smoother and easier to drink even as they are getting bigger - while we were enjoying his Captain K's Final Daze, an imperial honey brown that offered both depth and a sweetness that was anything but cloying.
He told me that I was not nuts and that brewing techniques have evolved so much in the 24 years he's been in the industry that the methods for making and aging beers have taken off some of their alcoholic roughness while accenting the malts and the occasional additives even more.
To that, I say cheers. And as the nights turn colder, I plan to raise more pints (or smaller servings) of imperial stouts that will intoxicate me as much with their taste as they will with their alcohol content.
Wandering through the third floor of the McNichols Civic Center Building last month during Denver Rare Beer Tasting was the equivalent of being trapped in a black hole. Everything being poured was heavy and dense, and no light could shine through any glass.
The biggest difference was, however, that this was an experience you enjoyed so much that you could even begin to pick up subtleties in the booth after booth of the 16- to 19-percent-ABV beers in which you were imbibing. And through that, you could see how far the craft beer industry has come in the past 10 years.
It's not that imperial stouts weren't tasty circa 2007. But those that pushed 10 or 11 percent ABV at the time tended to be beers whose alcohol content was readily apparent. A big beer often brought with it a big, boozy taste. And there was a limit to how many of those you could drink.
Today, however, you can find a beer like Avery Brewing's Black Eye, a 3-year-old rum-barrel-aged imperial stout that grew to 18.8 percent ABV by the time it hit drinkers' glasses last month. Its body was bursting with depth and darkness, but it also was shockingly smooth, using its enormous malt base to cover any residual alcohol burn. It not only was a great beer; it was damn near dangerous.
At just that one event, however, you could also find River North Brewery's 18 percent Vicennial Shadowman, which presented a huge mouthful of almost sooty dark malt that was shockingly drinkable. There was WeldWerks' Medianoche Reserve, which weighed in at 13.5 percent but added an astounding smoothness to its underlying cocoa punch. And even a beer like New Holland Brewing's "Dragon's Milk: Michigan's Winter" added a little burn to its 16 percent body, but not enough to overshadow a bittersweet coffee palate that made you want more.
It isn't just at specialty beer festivals that you find these big-bodied gems, either. Taprooms across the state are featuring experimental and seasonal creations of substantial girth right now, much in the way that virtually every taproom is trying its hand at a New England-style IPA.
So, you can actively seek out a hammer of a beer like Verboten Brewing's Little Nonsense, which packs heavy flavors of both bourbon and vanilla from its barrel aging and manages to be every bit as tasty as it is aggressive.
Or you can find a hidden treasure like Goldspot Brewing's Black Whiskey River Imperial Stout. At 10.5 percent, it's almost a light beer compared to some in this group, and its body isn't as pelting with heaviness as others. But after sitting 5-1/2 months in a Laws Whiskey House barrel, it takes on a lot of warming whiskey flavor but still allows the rough-hewn, slightly mocha edge of the body to take center stage.
And let's not forget, the incomparable Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival - scheduled for Jan. 4-6 in Breckenridge - will be another showcase for the creativity in the imperial stout world.
The joy in drinking these beers is both complex and simple. The flavor profiles they raise bring up tastes ranging from sweetness to heat to bitterness, and picking them out of the big, meaty body is both challenging and satisfying. Yet there is a simplicity in enjoying the idea of a brewer tossing everything they have into one recipe, rolling the dice and letting the experiment end in a boozy, warming toast to their gutsy resolve.
While co-hosting American Craft Beer Radio a couple of weeks ago, I asked Wynkoop head brewer John Sims if I was crazy to think these beers were getting smoother and easier to drink even as they are getting bigger - while we were enjoying his Captain K's Final Daze, an imperial honey brown that offered both depth and a sweetness that was anything but cloying.
He told me that I was not nuts and that brewing techniques have evolved so much in the 24 years he's been in the industry that the methods for making and aging beers have taken off some of their alcoholic roughness while accenting the malts and the occasional additives even more.
To that, I say cheers. And as the nights turn colder, I plan to raise more pints (or smaller servings) of imperial stouts that will intoxicate me as much with their taste as they will with their alcohol content.
Labels: American Craft Beer Radio, Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Denver Rare Beer Tasting, Goldspot Brewing, imperial stouts, New Holland Brewing, River North Brewery, Verboten Brewing, Weldwerks Brewing, Wynkoop Brewery
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
Monday, September 18, 2017
The Fruited IPA: Can We Just Kill This Trend?
Debate continues to rage after some two years on whether the New England IPA, a hazier take on the style with more citrus and tropical fruit overtones and less bitter bite, is inspired flavor or just laziness. But whether you like this slight variation on America's favorite craft-beer style or not, this discussion serves only to distract from a far more virulent strain of experimentation infecting the IPA.
For two summers, craft beerdom has been inundated with India pale ales inexplicably brewed with additives of fruit that sometimes are subtle and sometimes are really not. And it's time for the drinking public to stand up and say they want their hoppy beers to taste like pine and flowers and occasionally grapefruit but certainly not like a watered-down tangerine or pie-baking experiment gone awry.
These fruited IPAs may be considered gateways to the more acerbic, classically American version of the bitter beer, but in almost every instance they bastardize the heart of the beers that they are riffing on, and not to positive effect. And what you get, in many instances, is a strange knock-off of far better beers that should be left alone to define a brewery.
Example A of this is Weldwerks' Fruity Bits Strawberry Shortcake (right), a New England-style IPA made with strawberry. The brewery's Juicy Bits is Colorado's standard bearer for the hazy IPA, bursting to life with both the sweet and bitter sides of citrus fruit; when it's double-dry-hopped, it becomes simply one of the best beers in the state. But when ingredients as clashing with bitterness as strawberry and vanilla beans are introduced to the beer, it becomes an out-of-place, training-wheels IPA in which the hops become such an afterthought that is seems stylistically misplaced.
Avery's Real Peel IPA, made with tangerine peel, strikes a similar discordant note. Here is one of the chief hop purveyors in the state mixing in one of the most subtle citrus fruits on the planet to the effect that both the hops and the fruit get lost in the blend. Coming from the same brewery that will blow your taste buds out and make you smile with its Maharaja Imperial IPA, there is a disconnect.
New Belgium's range of fruit-accented beers tell a similar story. Its Citradelic tangerine IPA is aloof in both its fruit and hop tastes, and the medium-bodied beer seems unsure of what it wants to be. It sets the stage for its Juicy Mandarina IPA - a wheat IPA that isn't actually infused with fruit additives but leans so much toward fruit tastes in is hop profile that it too loses the flavor of said hops.
I mention these three breweries in particular because they literally are three of the best in Colorado that are taking these strange side roads when they have hit so many times over with full-flavored hop bombs and barrel-aged sours, and even with subtle delights like an Avery Joe's Pils or the sadly discontinued New Belgium Mothership Wit. They clearly know what they're doing.
Not all fruited IPAs miss the mark. Numerous breweries, for example, have used grapefruit to increase the bitterness of the style, appropriate as some hops can taste naturally like the fruit. Sam Adams livened up its Rebel IPA by adding in mango juice, giving it heightened tropical feel even as it did not tone down the natural grassiness of the hops. And Denver Beer scored a surprising victory this summer with its Maui Express Coconut IPA, using the coconut not to add a particular island taste but to calm the hops just enough that you can feel a different element in what may be the closest thing to a summer IPA that the industry has developed.
But the fruited IPAs in general seem so hell-bent on yelling "Look at my creativity!" and trying to lure non-hop heads to the style that they become needless diversions in a genre of bitter beers that still has lots of room to grow without tossing in everything in a grocer's produce aisle. Let's recommit to the idea that IPAs are bitter, piny, earthy, flowery and sometimes naturally citrus-y without the need to introduce flavors that veer these offerings away from what has made the style great.
Debate continues to rage after some two years on whether the New England IPA, a hazier take on the style with more citrus and tropical fruit overtones and less bitter bite, is inspired flavor or just laziness. But whether you like this slight variation on America's favorite craft-beer style or not, this discussion serves only to distract from a far more virulent strain of experimentation infecting the IPA.For two summers, craft beerdom has been inundated with India pale ales inexplicably brewed with additives of fruit that sometimes are subtle and sometimes are really not. And it's time for the drinking public to stand up and say they want their hoppy beers to taste like pine and flowers and occasionally grapefruit but certainly not like a watered-down tangerine or pie-baking experiment gone awry.
These fruited IPAs may be considered gateways to the more acerbic, classically American version of the bitter beer, but in almost every instance they bastardize the heart of the beers that they are riffing on, and not to positive effect. And what you get, in many instances, is a strange knock-off of far better beers that should be left alone to define a brewery.
Example A of this is Weldwerks' Fruity Bits Strawberry Shortcake (right), a New England-style IPA made with strawberry. The brewery's Juicy Bits is Colorado's standard bearer for the hazy IPA, bursting to life with both the sweet and bitter sides of citrus fruit; when it's double-dry-hopped, it becomes simply one of the best beers in the state. But when ingredients as clashing with bitterness as strawberry and vanilla beans are introduced to the beer, it becomes an out-of-place, training-wheels IPA in which the hops become such an afterthought that is seems stylistically misplaced.
Avery's Real Peel IPA, made with tangerine peel, strikes a similar discordant note. Here is one of the chief hop purveyors in the state mixing in one of the most subtle citrus fruits on the planet to the effect that both the hops and the fruit get lost in the blend. Coming from the same brewery that will blow your taste buds out and make you smile with its Maharaja Imperial IPA, there is a disconnect.
New Belgium's range of fruit-accented beers tell a similar story. Its Citradelic tangerine IPA is aloof in both its fruit and hop tastes, and the medium-bodied beer seems unsure of what it wants to be. It sets the stage for its Juicy Mandarina IPA - a wheat IPA that isn't actually infused with fruit additives but leans so much toward fruit tastes in is hop profile that it too loses the flavor of said hops.
I mention these three breweries in particular because they literally are three of the best in Colorado that are taking these strange side roads when they have hit so many times over with full-flavored hop bombs and barrel-aged sours, and even with subtle delights like an Avery Joe's Pils or the sadly discontinued New Belgium Mothership Wit. They clearly know what they're doing.Not all fruited IPAs miss the mark. Numerous breweries, for example, have used grapefruit to increase the bitterness of the style, appropriate as some hops can taste naturally like the fruit. Sam Adams livened up its Rebel IPA by adding in mango juice, giving it heightened tropical feel even as it did not tone down the natural grassiness of the hops. And Denver Beer scored a surprising victory this summer with its Maui Express Coconut IPA, using the coconut not to add a particular island taste but to calm the hops just enough that you can feel a different element in what may be the closest thing to a summer IPA that the industry has developed.
But the fruited IPAs in general seem so hell-bent on yelling "Look at my creativity!" and trying to lure non-hop heads to the style that they become needless diversions in a genre of bitter beers that still has lots of room to grow without tossing in everything in a grocer's produce aisle. Let's recommit to the idea that IPAs are bitter, piny, earthy, flowery and sometimes naturally citrus-y without the need to introduce flavors that veer these offerings away from what has made the style great.Labels: Avery Brewing, Denver Beer Co, Fruit beers, grapefruit IPA, hazy IPAs, IPA, New Belgium Brewing, Sam Adams, Weldwerks Brewing
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
8 Events for the 2nd Half of American Craft Beer Week
Beer events really can sneak up on you these days. Like American Craft Beer Week. Yes, the week that began Monday and runs through Sunday.
Some of you may be up to date on this celebration and may already have begun scratching events off your check list. But for those of you who, hypothetically, may be recovering from covering the brutal final month of the Colorado Legislature, haven't written a blog since early April and are just now waking up to the idea that you need to get out and enjoy the flurry of activities this week, here's a small checklist of things to do.
Thursday
• There are lots of beer-food pairings going on this week. But Joyride Brewing's 7 p.m. tasting with MouCo Cheese not only puts good beer with a great cheese company; at $15 a head, it's also one of the most affordable cheese pairings you will find.
• Cigar City ends its four-day celebration of launching in Colorado with an appropriate party at Star Bar, which has been slinging the Florida beer for years during the Great American Beer Festival. It's worth a stop between 8 and 10 p.m.
Friday
• Avery Brewing releases Reel Peel IPA, a tangerine IPA, at its Boulder County brewery starting at 11 a.m. before canning it in six-packs. I've largely resisted fruit-flavored IPAs as a fad that should go away soon. But if anyone is going to do this well, it's Avery.
• Strange Craft Beer releases its newest annual version of Dr. Strangelove Barleywine, one of the smoothest of its kind, at noon at the brewery.
Saturday
• Durango's sextet of breweries have combined to produce a double IPA to mark the first-ever celebration of Colorado Public Lands Day. This seems a good reason to stop by any of the six breweries and try it out.
• At noon, Strange ends not just its ACBW celebrations but its 7th-anniversary celebration with a 10-brewery Backyard BBQ celebration at the brewery. For $35 at the door, this could be the bargain of the week.
• Also at noon, Westfax Brewing of Lakewood taps its Cilantro Lime Ale. I don't know that cilantro is a viable ingredient to add to beer. But then, I said the same thing about rosemary, habaneros and a whole lot of other ingredients and been proven wrong on that.
• At 1 p.m., Upslope Brewing is having a music festival complete with new beers at its Flatiron Park Brewery. That sounds Boulder-tastic.
Beer events really can sneak up on you these days. Like American Craft Beer Week. Yes, the week that began Monday and runs through Sunday.Some of you may be up to date on this celebration and may already have begun scratching events off your check list. But for those of you who, hypothetically, may be recovering from covering the brutal final month of the Colorado Legislature, haven't written a blog since early April and are just now waking up to the idea that you need to get out and enjoy the flurry of activities this week, here's a small checklist of things to do.
Thursday
• There are lots of beer-food pairings going on this week. But Joyride Brewing's 7 p.m. tasting with MouCo Cheese not only puts good beer with a great cheese company; at $15 a head, it's also one of the most affordable cheese pairings you will find.
• Cigar City ends its four-day celebration of launching in Colorado with an appropriate party at Star Bar, which has been slinging the Florida beer for years during the Great American Beer Festival. It's worth a stop between 8 and 10 p.m.
Friday
• Avery Brewing releases Reel Peel IPA, a tangerine IPA, at its Boulder County brewery starting at 11 a.m. before canning it in six-packs. I've largely resisted fruit-flavored IPAs as a fad that should go away soon. But if anyone is going to do this well, it's Avery.
• Strange Craft Beer releases its newest annual version of Dr. Strangelove Barleywine, one of the smoothest of its kind, at noon at the brewery.
Saturday
• Durango's sextet of breweries have combined to produce a double IPA to mark the first-ever celebration of Colorado Public Lands Day. This seems a good reason to stop by any of the six breweries and try it out.
• At noon, Strange ends not just its ACBW celebrations but its 7th-anniversary celebration with a 10-brewery Backyard BBQ celebration at the brewery. For $35 at the door, this could be the bargain of the week.
• Also at noon, Westfax Brewing of Lakewood taps its Cilantro Lime Ale. I don't know that cilantro is a viable ingredient to add to beer. But then, I said the same thing about rosemary, habaneros and a whole lot of other ingredients and been proven wrong on that.
• At 1 p.m., Upslope Brewing is having a music festival complete with new beers at its Flatiron Park Brewery. That sounds Boulder-tastic.
Labels: American Craft Beer Week, Avery Brewing, Cigar City Brewing, Durango breweries, Joyride Brewing, Star Bar, Strange Craft Beer, Upslope Brewing, Westfax Brewing
Wednesday, January 04, 2017
Big Beers Has Some Big Changes
For 16 years the Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival was synonymous with drinking in Vail. And now, for its 17th edition, it's being almost completely reborn - in a new city, in a new format, in a changing craft beer universe.
That kind of massive change would be enough to ruin some other festivals, or at least leave them caught in an identity crisis. But for Big Beers, whose festivities officially kick off Thursday evening (and whose tasting and seminar tickets are, shockingly, still available), it appears at first glance to be giving what already is one of America's best beer festivals a shot in the arm that allows organizers Laura and Bill Lodge to re-imagine the gathering in a whole new way.
Moving 38 miles down the road, the three-day celebration of the finest envelope-pushing beers in the state and the country lands this year at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge. There the main tasting event on Saturday will be split between two ballrooms in order to accommodate all of the breweries clamoring to pour their wares at the event - more than 150 will be in attendance, even as roughly 40 more beer makers had to be put onto a waiting list this year/
But, much like with the Great American Beer Festival, not all of the action will be on the floor of the event anymore. When Laura Lodge went searching for a city to replace Vail because the former host hotel is in the midst of massive renovations, one of the things she found was a willingness on the part of Breckenridge restaurants and bars not just to embrace the beer geeks coming into town but to line up a whole series of special events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings to give visitors a chance to experience great beers outside of just the grand tasting.
From rare tappings by the likes of Odell and Avery to tap takeovers of luminaries like Melvin and Casey to beer dinners themed around everything from burgers to exotic small plates, Big Beers attendees almost could skip the festival and still have their palates sated. Then again, no one really would want to do that.
The festival, after all, remains a showcase of barrel-aged rarities (such as a Law’s Rum Barrel-Aged Sour Ale with Pluots and Elephant Heart Plums from Black Project), full experimental lines (the Metallurgy Sour Collection of beers aged in stainless steel barrels from Destihl Brewing), beers that have been cellaring for years and are impossible to find outside this event (2009 Fort from Dogfish Head) and a collection of breweries (Jester King, Surly, Troegs) whose beers can't be found elsewhere in Colorado. (See the program here.)
In fact, there's a good chance that this wholly new Big Beers festival will be its best one yet and lay a foundation for even more innovation to come. And Lodge feels very fortunate that she has this opportunity, even if it means having to leave her hometown for the weekend.
"It's been very gratifying to find out that not only is there a great beer culture here but everyone's very enthusiastic," she said. "We didn't lose any enthusiasm."
For 16 years the Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival was synonymous with drinking in Vail. And now, for its 17th edition, it's being almost completely reborn - in a new city, in a new format, in a changing craft beer universe.
That kind of massive change would be enough to ruin some other festivals, or at least leave them caught in an identity crisis. But for Big Beers, whose festivities officially kick off Thursday evening (and whose tasting and seminar tickets are, shockingly, still available), it appears at first glance to be giving what already is one of America's best beer festivals a shot in the arm that allows organizers Laura and Bill Lodge to re-imagine the gathering in a whole new way.
Moving 38 miles down the road, the three-day celebration of the finest envelope-pushing beers in the state and the country lands this year at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge. There the main tasting event on Saturday will be split between two ballrooms in order to accommodate all of the breweries clamoring to pour their wares at the event - more than 150 will be in attendance, even as roughly 40 more beer makers had to be put onto a waiting list this year/
But, much like with the Great American Beer Festival, not all of the action will be on the floor of the event anymore. When Laura Lodge went searching for a city to replace Vail because the former host hotel is in the midst of massive renovations, one of the things she found was a willingness on the part of Breckenridge restaurants and bars not just to embrace the beer geeks coming into town but to line up a whole series of special events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings to give visitors a chance to experience great beers outside of just the grand tasting.From rare tappings by the likes of Odell and Avery to tap takeovers of luminaries like Melvin and Casey to beer dinners themed around everything from burgers to exotic small plates, Big Beers attendees almost could skip the festival and still have their palates sated. Then again, no one really would want to do that.
The festival, after all, remains a showcase of barrel-aged rarities (such as a Law’s Rum Barrel-Aged Sour Ale with Pluots and Elephant Heart Plums from Black Project), full experimental lines (the Metallurgy Sour Collection of beers aged in stainless steel barrels from Destihl Brewing), beers that have been cellaring for years and are impossible to find outside this event (2009 Fort from Dogfish Head) and a collection of breweries (Jester King, Surly, Troegs) whose beers can't be found elsewhere in Colorado. (See the program here.)
In fact, there's a good chance that this wholly new Big Beers festival will be its best one yet and lay a foundation for even more innovation to come. And Lodge feels very fortunate that she has this opportunity, even if it means having to leave her hometown for the weekend.
"It's been very gratifying to find out that not only is there a great beer culture here but everyone's very enthusiastic," she said. "We didn't lose any enthusiasm."
Labels: Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Black Project, Casey Brewing, Destihl, Dogfish Head, Jester King Brewing, Melvin Brewing, nitro, Odell Brewing, Surly Brewing
Friday, January 15, 2016
Top 10 Colorado Beers of 2015
First, I have to apologize to all of you — and yes, I mean both of you — who have been asking what's happened to my blog as of late. Between the Jan. 3 due date for my book and Jan. 16 due date for my second child, I've had to pull my attention elsewhere. But, hey, nothing gets a writer like me going quite like a deadline.
That said, 2015 as a whole was another year of experimentation by Colorado breweries but also a year of taking simple styles and just making them ridiculously good. And with that, you will see that the following list contains a little of both, with a complete rainbow of flavors that show once again how the biggest experiments can have some of the biggest payoffs.
10) Odd 13 Humulus Kalecumber
Few breweries took as giant a leap forward this year as this Lafayette beer maker, which dialed in on its sours and increased distribution in the metro area. But nothing was as shockingly tasty as this Berliner Weisse brewed with kale, cucumber and mint - tart and yet undefinable.
9) CaseyBrewing & Blending Saison
Troy Casey is building a cult following with the tart and fruit-infused beers he is putting together in Glenwood Springs. But his greatest feat was offering a clean and crisp saison that jumped to the top of its style in Colorado — and one that appeals to both edgier and more traditional palates.
8) Mockery Brewing Lapsang Souchong
This brewery tucked around the corner from Great Divide's Barrel Bar made its name in 2015 with beers that were made perfectly and had just a little twist. None was more satisfying that this smoked tea lager that was light-bodied but permeated the palate completely.
7) Ska Estival Cream Stout
Ska took your expectations and tossed them out the window twice with this masterpiece. First, it made its primary summer seasonal a stout — and one that was easy to drink even in the warmest weather. And then it added cream and orange zest and made a dark beer smooth and slightly fruity.
6) Avery Antonius' Carmen
The opening of Avery's destination brewery in Boulder County gave it more taps to dole out its growing barrel-aged collection. The biggest and best surprise of the year there was this dark sour ale aged in Madeira barrels, beautifully chewy and bright.
5) River North Third Anniversary Ale
A 17 percent saison designed to celebrate an anniversary of these Denver auteurs sounded at first like a gimmick that would backfire. On the contrary this was bold and sweet and shockingly smooth, and the alcohol was muted enough to make it both delicious and dangerous.
4) Horse & Dragon Sad Panda Coffee Stout
The best thing to come out of the craft-beer mecca that is Fort Collins this year not only was introduced originally in 2014 but was made by one of the smallest and newest breweries in the city. Yet, this coffee stout with a hint of sweetness drank like one of the most perfect blends of big and accessible in Colorado, and the hope is that it gets more widespread distribution this year.
3) Ratio New Wave
Arguably the best new Colorado brewery of 2015 opened in Denver's RiNo neighborhood with a saison and a scotch ale that tasted like the works of seasoned veterans. But what announced Ratio's presence with authority was this summer-released strawberry Berliner Weisse that sizzled with tartness and big, juicy fruit. It was a combo that worked with a touch of genius.
2) Dry Dock Whiskey Barrel-Aged Double Hazlenut Brown Ale
Dry Dock's introduction of a series of barrel-aged big beers at the start of 2015 was the herald of what already one of the state's best breweries turning a corner toward a whole new level. In this effort especially, the barrel didn't assault your taste buds; it blended remarkably with the muted alcohol and stunning malty sweetness of the beer to take a complex experience and make it more pleasing.
1) Strange Craft Beer/Copper Kettle Brewing Basil Kriek Blonde
Collaboration Fest ranked as one of the best beer festivals of 2015, largely because of the wide variety of experiments that worked so well. But the one that soared above the rest - and continued to strike wonder as Strange and Copper Kettle served it throughout the year was this combination of Strange's Cherry Kriek and Copper Kettle's Basil Blonde. Two beers that are laud-worthy in their own right took seemingly clashing strong flavor profiles and turned them into a blended burst of fruit and spice with a soft blonde base beer that fortified it without overpowering it. It was a truly memorable effort from a truly memorable event that proved its mettle as more than a 2-ounce one-off creation.
First, I have to apologize to all of you — and yes, I mean both of you — who have been asking what's happened to my blog as of late. Between the Jan. 3 due date for my book and Jan. 16 due date for my second child, I've had to pull my attention elsewhere. But, hey, nothing gets a writer like me going quite like a deadline.
That said, 2015 as a whole was another year of experimentation by Colorado breweries but also a year of taking simple styles and just making them ridiculously good. And with that, you will see that the following list contains a little of both, with a complete rainbow of flavors that show once again how the biggest experiments can have some of the biggest payoffs.
10) Odd 13 Humulus Kalecumber
Few breweries took as giant a leap forward this year as this Lafayette beer maker, which dialed in on its sours and increased distribution in the metro area. But nothing was as shockingly tasty as this Berliner Weisse brewed with kale, cucumber and mint - tart and yet undefinable.
9) CaseyBrewing & Blending Saison
Troy Casey is building a cult following with the tart and fruit-infused beers he is putting together in Glenwood Springs. But his greatest feat was offering a clean and crisp saison that jumped to the top of its style in Colorado — and one that appeals to both edgier and more traditional palates.
8) Mockery Brewing Lapsang Souchong
This brewery tucked around the corner from Great Divide's Barrel Bar made its name in 2015 with beers that were made perfectly and had just a little twist. None was more satisfying that this smoked tea lager that was light-bodied but permeated the palate completely.
7) Ska Estival Cream Stout
Ska took your expectations and tossed them out the window twice with this masterpiece. First, it made its primary summer seasonal a stout — and one that was easy to drink even in the warmest weather. And then it added cream and orange zest and made a dark beer smooth and slightly fruity.
6) Avery Antonius' Carmen
The opening of Avery's destination brewery in Boulder County gave it more taps to dole out its growing barrel-aged collection. The biggest and best surprise of the year there was this dark sour ale aged in Madeira barrels, beautifully chewy and bright.
5) River North Third Anniversary Ale
A 17 percent saison designed to celebrate an anniversary of these Denver auteurs sounded at first like a gimmick that would backfire. On the contrary this was bold and sweet and shockingly smooth, and the alcohol was muted enough to make it both delicious and dangerous.4) Horse & Dragon Sad Panda Coffee Stout
The best thing to come out of the craft-beer mecca that is Fort Collins this year not only was introduced originally in 2014 but was made by one of the smallest and newest breweries in the city. Yet, this coffee stout with a hint of sweetness drank like one of the most perfect blends of big and accessible in Colorado, and the hope is that it gets more widespread distribution this year.
3) Ratio New Wave
Arguably the best new Colorado brewery of 2015 opened in Denver's RiNo neighborhood with a saison and a scotch ale that tasted like the works of seasoned veterans. But what announced Ratio's presence with authority was this summer-released strawberry Berliner Weisse that sizzled with tartness and big, juicy fruit. It was a combo that worked with a touch of genius.
2) Dry Dock Whiskey Barrel-Aged Double Hazlenut Brown Ale
Dry Dock's introduction of a series of barrel-aged big beers at the start of 2015 was the herald of what already one of the state's best breweries turning a corner toward a whole new level. In this effort especially, the barrel didn't assault your taste buds; it blended remarkably with the muted alcohol and stunning malty sweetness of the beer to take a complex experience and make it more pleasing.
1) Strange Craft Beer/Copper Kettle Brewing Basil Kriek Blonde
Collaboration Fest ranked as one of the best beer festivals of 2015, largely because of the wide variety of experiments that worked so well. But the one that soared above the rest - and continued to strike wonder as Strange and Copper Kettle served it throughout the year was this combination of Strange's Cherry Kriek and Copper Kettle's Basil Blonde. Two beers that are laud-worthy in their own right took seemingly clashing strong flavor profiles and turned them into a blended burst of fruit and spice with a soft blonde base beer that fortified it without overpowering it. It was a truly memorable effort from a truly memorable event that proved its mettle as more than a 2-ounce one-off creation.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Casey Brewing, Copper Kettle Brewing, Dry Dock Brewing, Horse and Dragon Brewing, Mockery Brewing, Odd 13 Brewing, Ratio Beerworks, River North Brewery, Ska Brewing, Strange Craft Beer
Friday, January 08, 2016
5 Tips for Enjoying Vail Big Beers
For the first time in 10 years, I won't be attending the Vail Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival this year. The impending birth of our daughter had to trump plans to indulge in beautiful, high-alcohol beer all weekend — though don't think I didn't have to pause at least a little bit before making the decision to stay home.
For those of you lucky bastards who will be headed up Interstate 70 for the festivities, however, a world of tasting and pairing opportunities awaits you over the next two days. And if I might be so bold as to offer a few suggestions, here are the tips from a veteran on how to get the most out of the experience.
1) Start Saturday at the experimental tasting seminar.
One of the best things about the festival is that it allows you to start your day Saturday by tasting beer at 9:30 a.m. without anyone casting aspersions on your character. These seminars — which have ranged from barrel-aged beers to saisons and which this year focuses on Koelschips — feature the best brewers from Colorado and the country expounding on daring ways to make their beer. And, yes, you get to be trying a sour ale at the same time that most people are pouring milk on their Fruit Loops. But it feels less like an early-morning tailgate and far more more like a fine-dining experience.
2) Ask what they made for the show.
Few Colorado beer festivals inspire brewers to create products specifically for that show. But breweries from Great Divide to Grimm Brothers have been known to bust out barrel-aging experiments just to try them out on the crowd. Hell, Crazy Mountain Brewery debuted at the 2010 festival just to get reaction to its first beers. If something doesn't look familiar at a booth, ask about it and try it; it just may be the best thing you find there.
3) One (pseudo)-secret brewery is a must-stop.
Brewers from Sam Calagione to Adam Avery will be the people actually pouring the beer for you, and that is a wonderful perk to Big Beers. You can ask them about their experiments and try the latest thing in their arsenals, and the national places you love should be on your hit list. (See my wife, Denise, above, loving her Rumpkin in 2015.) But the smaller brewers in attendance are there for a reason, and there are some diamonds among them.
It was about three or four years ago at this festival that Three Barrel Brewing of Del Norte stopped being the best-kept secret in Colorado brewing and just became one of the up-and-coming sour makers in the state. Owner John Bricker typically brings up between five and 10 experiments that may involve chili, chocolate or other ingredients not often found in the genre. And chances are that at least one of them will be among the most talked-about offerings of the event.
4) Stop afterward at the Fireside Bar.
The bar at the Vail Cascade, home resort of the event, is one of the great craft-brewing outposts off of the Front Range. Featuring a beer program launched by festival co-founder Laura Lodge (pictured above), it's a place that has a cellar list, taps from mountain craft breweries and a good range of options. Plus, this is where the brewers themselves hang out when not serving up their creations, so it's a good chance to talk beer with the biggest experts in the industry.
5) Attend a dinner.
Beer dinners abound, both those arranged by the festival and more that are just popping up at locations around Vail. If there ever was a festival meant to pair beer and food, it's one that showcases the highest-ABV creations that are not 12-ounce bar beers so much as they are perfect to sample in smaller portions with, say, wagyu beef sushi. The dinners are incredibly chill events and, as this picture from 2015 demonstrates, even infants can sneak in if you're polite to the organizer. But this is a chance to experience and enjoy beer in a new way.
For the first time in 10 years, I won't be attending the Vail Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival this year. The impending birth of our daughter had to trump plans to indulge in beautiful, high-alcohol beer all weekend — though don't think I didn't have to pause at least a little bit before making the decision to stay home.
For those of you lucky bastards who will be headed up Interstate 70 for the festivities, however, a world of tasting and pairing opportunities awaits you over the next two days. And if I might be so bold as to offer a few suggestions, here are the tips from a veteran on how to get the most out of the experience.
1) Start Saturday at the experimental tasting seminar.
One of the best things about the festival is that it allows you to start your day Saturday by tasting beer at 9:30 a.m. without anyone casting aspersions on your character. These seminars — which have ranged from barrel-aged beers to saisons and which this year focuses on Koelschips — feature the best brewers from Colorado and the country expounding on daring ways to make their beer. And, yes, you get to be trying a sour ale at the same time that most people are pouring milk on their Fruit Loops. But it feels less like an early-morning tailgate and far more more like a fine-dining experience.
2) Ask what they made for the show.
Few Colorado beer festivals inspire brewers to create products specifically for that show. But breweries from Great Divide to Grimm Brothers have been known to bust out barrel-aging experiments just to try them out on the crowd. Hell, Crazy Mountain Brewery debuted at the 2010 festival just to get reaction to its first beers. If something doesn't look familiar at a booth, ask about it and try it; it just may be the best thing you find there.
3) One (pseudo)-secret brewery is a must-stop.
Brewers from Sam Calagione to Adam Avery will be the people actually pouring the beer for you, and that is a wonderful perk to Big Beers. You can ask them about their experiments and try the latest thing in their arsenals, and the national places you love should be on your hit list. (See my wife, Denise, above, loving her Rumpkin in 2015.) But the smaller brewers in attendance are there for a reason, and there are some diamonds among them.
It was about three or four years ago at this festival that Three Barrel Brewing of Del Norte stopped being the best-kept secret in Colorado brewing and just became one of the up-and-coming sour makers in the state. Owner John Bricker typically brings up between five and 10 experiments that may involve chili, chocolate or other ingredients not often found in the genre. And chances are that at least one of them will be among the most talked-about offerings of the event.
The bar at the Vail Cascade, home resort of the event, is one of the great craft-brewing outposts off of the Front Range. Featuring a beer program launched by festival co-founder Laura Lodge (pictured above), it's a place that has a cellar list, taps from mountain craft breweries and a good range of options. Plus, this is where the brewers themselves hang out when not serving up their creations, so it's a good chance to talk beer with the biggest experts in the industry.
5) Attend a dinner.
Beer dinners abound, both those arranged by the festival and more that are just popping up at locations around Vail. If there ever was a festival meant to pair beer and food, it's one that showcases the highest-ABV creations that are not 12-ounce bar beers so much as they are perfect to sample in smaller portions with, say, wagyu beef sushi. The dinners are incredibly chill events and, as this picture from 2015 demonstrates, even infants can sneak in if you're polite to the organizer. But this is a chance to experience and enjoy beer in a new way.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Beer dinners, Big Beers, Crazy Mountain Brewing Company, Dogfish Head, Great Divide, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Three Barrel Brewing, Vail Cascade
Thursday, September 17, 2015
What to Do During GABF Week 2015
The time has come again to put down your instruments of work, abandon your everyday life and prepare your taste buds for adventure. Yes, it's Great American Beer Festival week. And activities continue to multiply even faster than the breweries that are opening at a rate of more than one a week in Colorado.
Once again, I offer a summary of some of the highlight and can't-miss events leading up to and going around the four sessions of the GABF, which happens from Sept. 24-26 at the Colorado Convention Center. To get the rundown of absolutely everything that's on the calendar, I'd suggest you check out the good work being done by my friends at Porch Drinking, Brewtally Insane and Westword. But if you, like I, have a little less time to try to plan out a full week, let this serve as the 30,000-foot-level directory to the things you should consider hitting.
Without further ado, enjoy. And if you see me out at any of these places during the week, please say hi - and tell my wife and son back at home that I love them and will see them soon.
Friday, Sept. 18
5:15 p.m.: Denver Mayor Michael Hancock officially kicks off the 10-day celebration known as Denver Beer Fest at Factotum Brewhouse, with about 20 other brewers present. He promises to don his "brewing attire." Bring a camera.
Saturday, Sept. 19
* All day: Many bars will have tap takeovers throughout the week. But on the Saturday before the festival, I like to recommend the Thirsty Lion by Denver Union Station, as it's arguably the best sports bar in town to start. And for the next week, it is featuring six Odell beers.
* 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Flying into town for the event? Running today through Sept. 27, you don't even need to hop in a car before you start your beer journey. For $10, you get 10 2-oz. pours from your choice of 20 Colorado breweries right at Denver International Airport, ranging from Fate's easy-drinking Laimas Kolsch to Telluride's barrel-aged double IPA.
* 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Golden's Barrels and Bottles has carved a unique niche by serving its own beers and an outstanding cadre of outside beverages. Today, it turns two and celebrates with barreled and sour beers galore.
Sunday, Sept. 20
* 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.: The first specifically sour event of the increasing number is happening at Backcountry Pizza in Boulder. It promises 55 taps of sour beer of both the Belgian and American variety, some of which will be out before people finish lunch.
* 11 a.m.: Trinity Brewing of Colorado Springs starts a ridiculous week of events with a tapping of its Red Swingline wild ale raised on peaches and apricots. This precedes its Swingline horizontal tapping at noon Wednesday, its sour beer tapping at noon Thursday and its big beer tapping at noon Friday.
* 6 p.m.: Fiction Brewing of Denver taps its Sunny Boy Saison - a Brett saison brewed with rose hips - to launch a week of experimental tappings. Watch out too for a salted caramel wee heavy on Tuesday and a 100% Brett raspberry quad on Thursday.
Monday, Sept. 21
* 5 p.m.: The GABF kickoff party at Falling Rock Taphouse represents the unofficial shotgun start to the week. There will be vintage beers and beers made just for the occasion by local brewers. Just as fun, there will be a heck of a lot of brewers here.
* 6 p.m.: Those who live in Denver or may be flying in for the festival may not know that the city's south suburbs are going through a revolution in terms of craft beer. Living the Dream Brewing will be holding a bomber release party for its Bourbon Barrel Aged Helluva Caucasian Stout, and this may be a good time to check out it and its neighboring breweries.
* 7 p.m.: Freshcraft will kick off its week with a massive sour tapping. No, I don't have the exact list yet. But this is one of Denver's premiere beer bars, so expectations should be set very, very high.
Tuesday, Sept. 22
* All day: It takes some guts to open up your beer bar during GABF week. But that's exactly what Henry's Tavern, a Portland-based small chain promising 100 beers on tap, is doing in the old Virgin Megastore space in the Denver Pavilions after a few days of soft openings.
* 5 to 8 p.m.: Miss the Falling Rock party last night? Paramount Cafe is offering a slightly smaller one with 20 breweries expected but with a $15 cover charge that will get you access to good beers and good brewers wanting to talk about their beer.
* 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Want to really talk about beer? I will be moderating a panel discussion/debate at RiNo's Industry workspace about which European country has the best craft beer culture - Belgium, Germany or Italy. A suggested $20 donation gets you access to international beers plus locally made foreign-style ales from debate participants Grimm Bros. Brewhouse and Lost Highway Brewing. And I promise to keep this event, sponsored by the Belgian Consulate, lively.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
* 3 p.m: Those who live outside Denver may not realize that River North Brewery is one of the hidden gems of the city. This afternoon it offers up vertical tastings of its barrel-aged Avarice, a Russian imperial stout. And at noon Thursday, it will serve up its Quad five different ways, including four types of barrel aging.
*4:30 p.m.: Focus on the Beer has come up with one of the most unique annual events around the festival. Beers Made by Walking showcases libations made by brewers who were inspired to use wild ingredients they discovered on hikes. This year's showcase takes place at Our Mutual Friend, and tickets are $30.
* 6 to 10 p.m.: You should drink enough beer during GABF week to think everyone around you is funny. But Renegade Brewing teams with Sexpot Comedy to offer two hours of sampling beer, followed by two hours of brewers and brewery workers actually taking the stage and giving their best to be comedians. Tickets cost $45.
* 6:15 to 10 p.m.: Another great tradition is one put on by the folks at Crooked Stave Artisans. What the Funk? offers some 60 of the country's most experimental breweries dishing up their rarest and wildest offerings. VIP tickets are sold out, but regular-entrance passes can still be had for $90.
* 6:30 p.m.: The craft beer rock stars from Avery, Allagash, Dogfish Head, Lost Abbey and Russian River are teaming up to put on a five-course beer-pairing meal in the restaurant at the new Avery Brewing facility. At $125, it might be a bargain.
Thursday, Sept. 24
* 11 a.m.: Evil Twin Brewing has built a cult of followers around its variety of specialized and often wonderfully weird experiments like its Imperial Biscotti Break. Today it takes over every tap at World of Beer LoDo to show them off.
* 2 p.m.: Melvin Brewing of Jackson, Wyoming may make the best hoppy beers in America. Good luck trying to find them most of the time outside of the country's smallest state, however. Today, though, Falling Rock will be featuring them for an hour.
* 7 p.m. to midnight: Epic Brewing's 50 Firkin Fiasco is exactly what it seems - more than four dozen firkin barrels mixed with every ingredient the brewery can find to blend with its voluminous offerings. And the fiasco part? Well, many people do drop in after the GABF session ends.
*10 p.m.: Dogfish Head will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in style at Avanti Food & Beverage. Sam Calagione will break out 2006 vintages of 120 Minute IPA and Raison D'Extra, among other goodies, for the occasion.
* 10:30 p.m.: Avery's midnight breakfast at Euclid Hall is the stuff of legend after the first GABF session. It's $125, so, like the Brett Pack dinner, it's not for the light of wallet. But you will not leave hungry or thirsty.
Friday, Sept. 25
* Noon to 4 p.m.: Pints for Prostates puts on its annual Rare Beer Tasting at the McNichols Civic Center Building, offering 50 of the country's best breweries the chance to dust off long-forgotten beers from their cellars and pour them for charity. The event is sold out, however, so you'll need to find someone with tickets and kiss a lot of ass to get into this one.
* 1 to 4 p.m.: Ratio Beerworks (with its owners shown above) is considered by many (including me) to be the best new Denver brewery of 2015. It will be busy all week in its River North taproom. But today, it does a special tap takeover just a few miles away at Avanti Food and Beverage that will show off its range.
* 2 p.m.: Colorado Plus offers the largest selection of only-Colorado beers in the area. And today it will put on the "Co-loveration Saisonation," a celebration of saison collaborations led by Trinity Brewing, in its Wheat Ridge brewpub.
* 3 to 9 p.m.: Denver Beer Co. once again hosts its Collaboration Celebration, offering up beers that it made with five breweries stretching from Montana to Michigan to upstate New York. The block is closed down, so the atmosphere should be lively.
* 10:30 p.m.: By the time Friday night rolls around, a lot of people will start to wind down their weeks with mellower but still beer-laden after parties. Left Hand Brewing and Fremont Brewing of Washington will host just such a gathering at Monkey Barrel.
Saturday, Sept. 26
* 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m: Need to get out of Denver at this point? Oskar Blues is offering excursions up to its facilities in Lyons and Longmont by bus on Wednesday and Friday too. But today's field trip - which features stops at both the Lyons and Longmont breweries, as well as the CyclHOPS Cantina and Homemade Liquids & Solids restaurant, may be the crown jewel for $100.
* Noon: Did you know that Upslope Brewing has become one of the 10 largest craft breweries in Colorado? Its tap takeover at Hops & Pie will give you a chance to experience an often-overlooked brewery at a west-of-downtown gem of a beer bar/pizza joint.
* 5 p.m.: Speaking of harder-to-find gems, Casey Brewing and Blending (that's Troy Casey pouring for me in the below picture) will be pouring its exquisite saisons at Falling Rock Taphouse. Faced with the choice between hitting the Saturday-night GABF session or coming to this, skip the GABF in a heartbeat.
Sunday, Sept. 27
* If you still have any taste buds left, you're among the lucky ones. But there are a couple of brunches and recovery parties across town that are worth checking out. Among the two best-looking: A special menu at Brazen with River North at 10 a.m. for $30 and a general recovery effort at 11 a.m. at Avanti, which features seven restaurants to help you claw back into normal life.
The time has come again to put down your instruments of work, abandon your everyday life and prepare your taste buds for adventure. Yes, it's Great American Beer Festival week. And activities continue to multiply even faster than the breweries that are opening at a rate of more than one a week in Colorado.
Once again, I offer a summary of some of the highlight and can't-miss events leading up to and going around the four sessions of the GABF, which happens from Sept. 24-26 at the Colorado Convention Center. To get the rundown of absolutely everything that's on the calendar, I'd suggest you check out the good work being done by my friends at Porch Drinking, Brewtally Insane and Westword. But if you, like I, have a little less time to try to plan out a full week, let this serve as the 30,000-foot-level directory to the things you should consider hitting.
Without further ado, enjoy. And if you see me out at any of these places during the week, please say hi - and tell my wife and son back at home that I love them and will see them soon.
Friday, Sept. 18
5:15 p.m.: Denver Mayor Michael Hancock officially kicks off the 10-day celebration known as Denver Beer Fest at Factotum Brewhouse, with about 20 other brewers present. He promises to don his "brewing attire." Bring a camera.
Saturday, Sept. 19
* All day: Many bars will have tap takeovers throughout the week. But on the Saturday before the festival, I like to recommend the Thirsty Lion by Denver Union Station, as it's arguably the best sports bar in town to start. And for the next week, it is featuring six Odell beers.* 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Flying into town for the event? Running today through Sept. 27, you don't even need to hop in a car before you start your beer journey. For $10, you get 10 2-oz. pours from your choice of 20 Colorado breweries right at Denver International Airport, ranging from Fate's easy-drinking Laimas Kolsch to Telluride's barrel-aged double IPA.
* 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.: Golden's Barrels and Bottles has carved a unique niche by serving its own beers and an outstanding cadre of outside beverages. Today, it turns two and celebrates with barreled and sour beers galore.
Sunday, Sept. 20
* 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.: The first specifically sour event of the increasing number is happening at Backcountry Pizza in Boulder. It promises 55 taps of sour beer of both the Belgian and American variety, some of which will be out before people finish lunch.
* 11 a.m.: Trinity Brewing of Colorado Springs starts a ridiculous week of events with a tapping of its Red Swingline wild ale raised on peaches and apricots. This precedes its Swingline horizontal tapping at noon Wednesday, its sour beer tapping at noon Thursday and its big beer tapping at noon Friday.
* 6 p.m.: Fiction Brewing of Denver taps its Sunny Boy Saison - a Brett saison brewed with rose hips - to launch a week of experimental tappings. Watch out too for a salted caramel wee heavy on Tuesday and a 100% Brett raspberry quad on Thursday.
Monday, Sept. 21
* 5 p.m.: The GABF kickoff party at Falling Rock Taphouse represents the unofficial shotgun start to the week. There will be vintage beers and beers made just for the occasion by local brewers. Just as fun, there will be a heck of a lot of brewers here.* 6 p.m.: Those who live in Denver or may be flying in for the festival may not know that the city's south suburbs are going through a revolution in terms of craft beer. Living the Dream Brewing will be holding a bomber release party for its Bourbon Barrel Aged Helluva Caucasian Stout, and this may be a good time to check out it and its neighboring breweries.
* 7 p.m.: Freshcraft will kick off its week with a massive sour tapping. No, I don't have the exact list yet. But this is one of Denver's premiere beer bars, so expectations should be set very, very high.
Tuesday, Sept. 22
* All day: It takes some guts to open up your beer bar during GABF week. But that's exactly what Henry's Tavern, a Portland-based small chain promising 100 beers on tap, is doing in the old Virgin Megastore space in the Denver Pavilions after a few days of soft openings.
* 5 to 8 p.m.: Miss the Falling Rock party last night? Paramount Cafe is offering a slightly smaller one with 20 breweries expected but with a $15 cover charge that will get you access to good beers and good brewers wanting to talk about their beer.
* 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Want to really talk about beer? I will be moderating a panel discussion/debate at RiNo's Industry workspace about which European country has the best craft beer culture - Belgium, Germany or Italy. A suggested $20 donation gets you access to international beers plus locally made foreign-style ales from debate participants Grimm Bros. Brewhouse and Lost Highway Brewing. And I promise to keep this event, sponsored by the Belgian Consulate, lively.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
* 3 p.m: Those who live outside Denver may not realize that River North Brewery is one of the hidden gems of the city. This afternoon it offers up vertical tastings of its barrel-aged Avarice, a Russian imperial stout. And at noon Thursday, it will serve up its Quad five different ways, including four types of barrel aging.
*4:30 p.m.: Focus on the Beer has come up with one of the most unique annual events around the festival. Beers Made by Walking showcases libations made by brewers who were inspired to use wild ingredients they discovered on hikes. This year's showcase takes place at Our Mutual Friend, and tickets are $30.
* 6 to 10 p.m.: You should drink enough beer during GABF week to think everyone around you is funny. But Renegade Brewing teams with Sexpot Comedy to offer two hours of sampling beer, followed by two hours of brewers and brewery workers actually taking the stage and giving their best to be comedians. Tickets cost $45.
* 6:30 p.m.: The craft beer rock stars from Avery, Allagash, Dogfish Head, Lost Abbey and Russian River are teaming up to put on a five-course beer-pairing meal in the restaurant at the new Avery Brewing facility. At $125, it might be a bargain.
Thursday, Sept. 24
* 11 a.m.: Evil Twin Brewing has built a cult of followers around its variety of specialized and often wonderfully weird experiments like its Imperial Biscotti Break. Today it takes over every tap at World of Beer LoDo to show them off.
* 2 p.m.: Melvin Brewing of Jackson, Wyoming may make the best hoppy beers in America. Good luck trying to find them most of the time outside of the country's smallest state, however. Today, though, Falling Rock will be featuring them for an hour.
* 7 p.m. to midnight: Epic Brewing's 50 Firkin Fiasco is exactly what it seems - more than four dozen firkin barrels mixed with every ingredient the brewery can find to blend with its voluminous offerings. And the fiasco part? Well, many people do drop in after the GABF session ends.
*10 p.m.: Dogfish Head will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in style at Avanti Food & Beverage. Sam Calagione will break out 2006 vintages of 120 Minute IPA and Raison D'Extra, among other goodies, for the occasion.
* 10:30 p.m.: Avery's midnight breakfast at Euclid Hall is the stuff of legend after the first GABF session. It's $125, so, like the Brett Pack dinner, it's not for the light of wallet. But you will not leave hungry or thirsty.
Friday, Sept. 25
* Noon to 4 p.m.: Pints for Prostates puts on its annual Rare Beer Tasting at the McNichols Civic Center Building, offering 50 of the country's best breweries the chance to dust off long-forgotten beers from their cellars and pour them for charity. The event is sold out, however, so you'll need to find someone with tickets and kiss a lot of ass to get into this one.
* 2 p.m.: Colorado Plus offers the largest selection of only-Colorado beers in the area. And today it will put on the "Co-loveration Saisonation," a celebration of saison collaborations led by Trinity Brewing, in its Wheat Ridge brewpub.
* 3 to 9 p.m.: Denver Beer Co. once again hosts its Collaboration Celebration, offering up beers that it made with five breweries stretching from Montana to Michigan to upstate New York. The block is closed down, so the atmosphere should be lively.
* 10:30 p.m.: By the time Friday night rolls around, a lot of people will start to wind down their weeks with mellower but still beer-laden after parties. Left Hand Brewing and Fremont Brewing of Washington will host just such a gathering at Monkey Barrel.
Saturday, Sept. 26
* 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m: Need to get out of Denver at this point? Oskar Blues is offering excursions up to its facilities in Lyons and Longmont by bus on Wednesday and Friday too. But today's field trip - which features stops at both the Lyons and Longmont breweries, as well as the CyclHOPS Cantina and Homemade Liquids & Solids restaurant, may be the crown jewel for $100.
* Noon: Did you know that Upslope Brewing has become one of the 10 largest craft breweries in Colorado? Its tap takeover at Hops & Pie will give you a chance to experience an often-overlooked brewery at a west-of-downtown gem of a beer bar/pizza joint.
* 5 p.m.: Speaking of harder-to-find gems, Casey Brewing and Blending (that's Troy Casey pouring for me in the below picture) will be pouring its exquisite saisons at Falling Rock Taphouse. Faced with the choice between hitting the Saturday-night GABF session or coming to this, skip the GABF in a heartbeat.
Sunday, Sept. 27
* If you still have any taste buds left, you're among the lucky ones. But there are a couple of brunches and recovery parties across town that are worth checking out. Among the two best-looking: A special menu at Brazen with River North at 10 a.m. for $30 and a general recovery effort at 11 a.m. at Avanti, which features seven restaurants to help you claw back into normal life.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Barrels and Bottles, Denver Beer Co, Epic Brewing, Factotum Brewhouse, Fiction Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Oskar Blues, Ratio Beerworks, River North Brewery, Trinity Brewing
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Behold the Future of Rock-Star Craft Breweries
Walking through the new Avery Brewing facility in Boulder County, one feels like they are not in a manufacturing plant so much as in a museum.
That's not to say the $28 million facility is stuffy. Rather, everything from the 30-beer tap list to the casual-but-gourmet restaurant to the gift shop that is the size of the bar in Avery's previous brewing facility just shouts that you're in the presence of a legend instead of some ordinary beer maker.
But what may seem daring or even ostentatious to people who spent considerable time in the cramped back-alley Boulder location that housed Avery for two decades may not even be eye-popping for much longer. Next month, Breckenridge Brewery opens its new brewery on a 12-acre complex in Littleton that will include farm area and an event space. And next year, Great Divide will bust down the doors on a $38 million facility in Denver's River North neighborhood that will include fewer amenities than the aforementioned two locations but will have incredible creekside views and production space.
This trend, then, toward more expansive, customer-friendly brewing facilities seems less like a novelty than a near necessity for breweries that have reached the upper echelon of craft-beer stardom nationally, both in terms of production and critical praise. Call it the "Stoning" of the craft-beer industry — Stone Brewing, after all, kicked off this trend with a bistro and gardens area that is one of the most visited locations in San Diego County — but it really shows where the industry stands.
Breweries no longer are simple factories to produce the suds that salve the working class, as they were in their first hey-day in the late 19th century. They are now tourist magnets, drawing in both the day-trippers bouncing between a couple of beer purveyors and out-of-state visitors who are viewing Colorado as a place for a full-on beer-themed vacation and want to stop at the most famous of hop temples.
And under that notion, Avery — we were talking about that, weren't we? — is quite a special stopping ground. Four years in the planning, the 5.6-acre campus that opened in February includes a massive taproom, a pork-themed restaurant, space for tours through the brewery and enough patio area to make it the perfect stop for a spring day.
The tap list includes everything you can buy in the stores, as well as rare beers that are limited or completely unavailable outside the brewery. While there last month, I eschewed the Maharaja for gems like Bad Karma, their Belgian ale re-fermented with Brett and aged in neutral barrels, and Antonius' Carmen, an unbelievably smooth dark sour ale aged in Madeira barrels.
And if you get a chance to take the tour, it makes you appreciate the craftsmanship and nuances at hand even more. Guide Walter Becker (pictured above) analogized the amount of hops Avery uses in its IPAs to the band Rush ("You either love them or you hate them") and noted that the Germans who sold the brewery its hop-dosing vessels thought no brewery could need equipment that large.
If you haven't been up to the new Avery home yet, get up there when you can. But don't stop there. Pretty soon the state's best-known craft breweries all will have evolved from bars to experiences. And all of us will benefit.
That's not to say the $28 million facility is stuffy. Rather, everything from the 30-beer tap list to the casual-but-gourmet restaurant to the gift shop that is the size of the bar in Avery's previous brewing facility just shouts that you're in the presence of a legend instead of some ordinary beer maker.
But what may seem daring or even ostentatious to people who spent considerable time in the cramped back-alley Boulder location that housed Avery for two decades may not even be eye-popping for much longer. Next month, Breckenridge Brewery opens its new brewery on a 12-acre complex in Littleton that will include farm area and an event space. And next year, Great Divide will bust down the doors on a $38 million facility in Denver's River North neighborhood that will include fewer amenities than the aforementioned two locations but will have incredible creekside views and production space.
Breweries no longer are simple factories to produce the suds that salve the working class, as they were in their first hey-day in the late 19th century. They are now tourist magnets, drawing in both the day-trippers bouncing between a couple of beer purveyors and out-of-state visitors who are viewing Colorado as a place for a full-on beer-themed vacation and want to stop at the most famous of hop temples.
And under that notion, Avery — we were talking about that, weren't we? — is quite a special stopping ground. Four years in the planning, the 5.6-acre campus that opened in February includes a massive taproom, a pork-themed restaurant, space for tours through the brewery and enough patio area to make it the perfect stop for a spring day.
The tap list includes everything you can buy in the stores, as well as rare beers that are limited or completely unavailable outside the brewery. While there last month, I eschewed the Maharaja for gems like Bad Karma, their Belgian ale re-fermented with Brett and aged in neutral barrels, and Antonius' Carmen, an unbelievably smooth dark sour ale aged in Madeira barrels.
If you haven't been up to the new Avery home yet, get up there when you can. But don't stop there. Pretty soon the state's best-known craft breweries all will have evolved from bars to experiences. And all of us will benefit.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Breckenridge Brewery, brewery tours, Great Divide
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
A Big Beers History
The throngs of people who will flock to the 15th annual Vail Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival this weekend might have a hard time picturing it being anything other than a magnet for some of the boldest beer in the country and most serious beer geeks in Colorado. But festival coordinator Laura Lodge can remember a time when Big Beers wasn't quite so big.
In 2001, Lodge's brother, Bill Lodge owned distributor High Point Brewing Co. and had a portfolio of imported European beers and American craft beer that was one of the finest in the area. But in those days he also had a problem convincing bars and stores and restaurants to buy the beer because, even though they liked what they tasted, they couldn't get customers to pay more for the offerings.
So Bill decided to hold a trade show above the Hubcap Brewery where he would gather 20 to 25 of the different brewers and importers in his portfolio and have them pour their products for the people who could put them on their menus and shelves. And what's more, Bill and Laura decided it would be a good idea to invite the public so that they could, as Laura now says, "sample an ounce of this crazy beer and then decide if they'd pay a little more for it."
What happened next is what you might expect. Nearly 200 people showed up. Their eyes bulged at the assortment of flavors available to them. And they begged the Lodges to do it again. And again.
Today, it is arguably the best beer festival in Colorado, rivaled only by the girth and variety of flavors at the Great American Beer Festival but having a per-pour quality level that is unmatched anywhere.
"Big Beers has never had a marketing budget," Laura (at right) said. "It was built by the brewers. They'd say 'I'll see you in Vail.' And the people who figured it out have come."
There have been changes, mind you. But each one has added onto the appeal of what is now a full four-day weekend of taste exploration.
Just one year later, the Big Beers homebrew contest came to bear. It now draws entries from across the country.
In 2005, Adam Avery talked Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head into coming out, but they insisted they do a beer-pairing dinner together. They offered one of the first double-pairing suppers in beer-dinner lore, with each course coming with high-gravity pearls from both breweries, and this year the now-annual "calibration dinner" sold out in 15 seconds.
Around that time, Lodge added what might be the most unique feature of the festival - an early-morning Saturday seminar (starting at 9:30 a.m. this year) in which brewers come to talk about an experimental genre. Tables are set with white cloths and 8-10 beers are poured into small snifters to remind attendees that it's an educational forum rather than a tailgating-style morning chugfest. But it still is a place where you can enjoy a barrel-aged imperial stout while others are eating breakfast and no one will look down upon you.
In 2013, the festival's main tasting session sold out for the first time, like a long-held secret that finally had to be passed around. Last year the Lodges moved it to a more spacious area on the Vail Cascade property, but this year Laura had to limit the number of vendor tables at 126, creating her first-ever wait list for breweries to get into it.
The reason for the limit is simple: Laura refuses for it to become one of those festivals where lines get 10 people deep and breweries send marketing reps to pour the beer rather than brewers.
This, after all, is not just a festival where you can sip a one-off, taproom-only barrel-aged beer from Great Divide and then turn around and discover the latest experiment from Bell's Brewery. This is a festival where the people who continue to pour and explain your beers are Avery and Calagione - brewing-industry rock stars who settle upon this ski town once a year because they know they can learn as much about the brewing art as the patrons trying to sip up every ounce they can.
"I don't want it to get any bigger," Laura said. "I want to keep it a small, connected opportunity for the people who are there. And I want to make sure we have brewmasters and owners attending ... It is the brewers who have made this event happen."
(The general tasting session once again is sold out. But if you have not gotten tickets for this year, I can't recommend enough that you plan to make this festival in 2016.)
The throngs of people who will flock to the 15th annual Vail Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines Festival this weekend might have a hard time picturing it being anything other than a magnet for some of the boldest beer in the country and most serious beer geeks in Colorado. But festival coordinator Laura Lodge can remember a time when Big Beers wasn't quite so big.
In 2001, Lodge's brother, Bill Lodge owned distributor High Point Brewing Co. and had a portfolio of imported European beers and American craft beer that was one of the finest in the area. But in those days he also had a problem convincing bars and stores and restaurants to buy the beer because, even though they liked what they tasted, they couldn't get customers to pay more for the offerings.
So Bill decided to hold a trade show above the Hubcap Brewery where he would gather 20 to 25 of the different brewers and importers in his portfolio and have them pour their products for the people who could put them on their menus and shelves. And what's more, Bill and Laura decided it would be a good idea to invite the public so that they could, as Laura now says, "sample an ounce of this crazy beer and then decide if they'd pay a little more for it."
What happened next is what you might expect. Nearly 200 people showed up. Their eyes bulged at the assortment of flavors available to them. And they begged the Lodges to do it again. And again.
Today, it is arguably the best beer festival in Colorado, rivaled only by the girth and variety of flavors at the Great American Beer Festival but having a per-pour quality level that is unmatched anywhere.
"Big Beers has never had a marketing budget," Laura (at right) said. "It was built by the brewers. They'd say 'I'll see you in Vail.' And the people who figured it out have come."
There have been changes, mind you. But each one has added onto the appeal of what is now a full four-day weekend of taste exploration.
Just one year later, the Big Beers homebrew contest came to bear. It now draws entries from across the country.
In 2005, Adam Avery talked Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head into coming out, but they insisted they do a beer-pairing dinner together. They offered one of the first double-pairing suppers in beer-dinner lore, with each course coming with high-gravity pearls from both breweries, and this year the now-annual "calibration dinner" sold out in 15 seconds.
Around that time, Lodge added what might be the most unique feature of the festival - an early-morning Saturday seminar (starting at 9:30 a.m. this year) in which brewers come to talk about an experimental genre. Tables are set with white cloths and 8-10 beers are poured into small snifters to remind attendees that it's an educational forum rather than a tailgating-style morning chugfest. But it still is a place where you can enjoy a barrel-aged imperial stout while others are eating breakfast and no one will look down upon you.In 2013, the festival's main tasting session sold out for the first time, like a long-held secret that finally had to be passed around. Last year the Lodges moved it to a more spacious area on the Vail Cascade property, but this year Laura had to limit the number of vendor tables at 126, creating her first-ever wait list for breweries to get into it.
The reason for the limit is simple: Laura refuses for it to become one of those festivals where lines get 10 people deep and breweries send marketing reps to pour the beer rather than brewers.
This, after all, is not just a festival where you can sip a one-off, taproom-only barrel-aged beer from Great Divide and then turn around and discover the latest experiment from Bell's Brewery. This is a festival where the people who continue to pour and explain your beers are Avery and Calagione - brewing-industry rock stars who settle upon this ski town once a year because they know they can learn as much about the brewing art as the patrons trying to sip up every ounce they can.
"I don't want it to get any bigger," Laura said. "I want to keep it a small, connected opportunity for the people who are there. And I want to make sure we have brewmasters and owners attending ... It is the brewers who have made this event happen."
(The general tasting session once again is sold out. But if you have not gotten tickets for this year, I can't recommend enough that you plan to make this festival in 2016.)Labels: Avery Brewing, Big Beers, Dogfish Head, Festivals, Vail Cascade
