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
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Toasting the Beers of Summer 2014
As hard as our current weather makes it seem to believe, summer officially ends Monday. And so, it is with a tear in my eye and a buzzy smile on my face that I give a last shout to the best beers of the summer of 2014 and a few bold ideas that just missed — hoping that drinkers can pick up some of the last of the offerings of this season and start lobbying brewers on what to bring back next year.
The Winners
FOCOllaboration Ale
Maybe it should come as no shock that when New Belgium and Odell combined to make an beer, their union produced a stunningly good American pale ale — one that brought a big, grassy hop taste with almost no residual bitterness. The only surprise was that I had so many people asking me which brewery's version I tasted; it was the Odell product, and that one at least was great.
Super Juice Solution
Trinity Brewing's sour session IPA was easily the most interesting beer of the summer. It was head-scratching in both its complexity and in how much flavor it could pack into so little ABV. The best news: It's still out there on liquor-store shelves.
Franklin's Belgian-Style Strong Golden
Mountain Sun's big-bodied offering was both smooth and surprisingly alcoholic, sweet and solidly clean. And it served as a reminder that a brewery known best for its stouts and IPAs can do some pretty impressive things in other styles as well.
Oats McGoats Oat Malt Rye Stout
Brewery Rickoli won a national "Brewing the American Dream" competition last year that allowed it to learn from and then make a beer with Boston Beer Co. What came from that was the young brewery's best effort yet - a thick, dark ale with a creamy center that combines both warming malt with easy drinking and resembles no gluten-reduced beer that you have tried before.
Barefoot Runaway
Odd 13's summer IPA was a great example of how to tone down the hops but make a beer smooth and light and appropriate for the weather. At 5.6% ABV, it was the right beer for the right time; if this had come out in the winter, it would have seemed too light.
Heyday
As usual, Great Divide put out some seriously challenging seaonsals, including a sharp rye IPA and the always burly Oatmeal Yeti. But the summer star was a Belgian white ale that came with just a hint of orange zest and was as good a patio sipper as any new creation.
Honorable Mentions
Spontaneous Saison
Strange Craft Beer and five other breweries participated in an experiment by where they all brewed saisons with similar recipes but slightly different additives at the same time. Loved the idea. And the lemongrass backtones make Strange's offering spunky, though a bit short of spectacular.
Buddha's Hand Witbier
Breckenridge Brewery's experimentation created one of the most interesting summer beers of the past half-decade in 2011: The Cabernet-barrel-aged Summer Cab Ride. This year's new creation, made with the Buddha's Hand fruit, is mundane in comparison to that masterpiece - admittedly a high bar to reach - but zingier than most of the summertime ales on the market.
As hard as our current weather makes it seem to believe, summer officially ends Monday. And so, it is with a tear in my eye and a buzzy smile on my face that I give a last shout to the best beers of the summer of 2014 and a few bold ideas that just missed — hoping that drinkers can pick up some of the last of the offerings of this season and start lobbying brewers on what to bring back next year.
The Winners
Maybe it should come as no shock that when New Belgium and Odell combined to make an beer, their union produced a stunningly good American pale ale — one that brought a big, grassy hop taste with almost no residual bitterness. The only surprise was that I had so many people asking me which brewery's version I tasted; it was the Odell product, and that one at least was great.
Super Juice Solution
Trinity Brewing's sour session IPA was easily the most interesting beer of the summer. It was head-scratching in both its complexity and in how much flavor it could pack into so little ABV. The best news: It's still out there on liquor-store shelves.
Franklin's Belgian-Style Strong Golden
Mountain Sun's big-bodied offering was both smooth and surprisingly alcoholic, sweet and solidly clean. And it served as a reminder that a brewery known best for its stouts and IPAs can do some pretty impressive things in other styles as well.
Oats McGoats Oat Malt Rye Stout
Brewery Rickoli won a national "Brewing the American Dream" competition last year that allowed it to learn from and then make a beer with Boston Beer Co. What came from that was the young brewery's best effort yet - a thick, dark ale with a creamy center that combines both warming malt with easy drinking and resembles no gluten-reduced beer that you have tried before.
Barefoot Runaway
Odd 13's summer IPA was a great example of how to tone down the hops but make a beer smooth and light and appropriate for the weather. At 5.6% ABV, it was the right beer for the right time; if this had come out in the winter, it would have seemed too light.
Heyday
As usual, Great Divide put out some seriously challenging seaonsals, including a sharp rye IPA and the always burly Oatmeal Yeti. But the summer star was a Belgian white ale that came with just a hint of orange zest and was as good a patio sipper as any new creation.
Honorable Mentions
Spontaneous Saison
Strange Craft Beer and five other breweries participated in an experiment by where they all brewed saisons with similar recipes but slightly different additives at the same time. Loved the idea. And the lemongrass backtones make Strange's offering spunky, though a bit short of spectacular.
Breckenridge Brewery's experimentation created one of the most interesting summer beers of the past half-decade in 2011: The Cabernet-barrel-aged Summer Cab Ride. This year's new creation, made with the Buddha's Hand fruit, is mundane in comparison to that masterpiece - admittedly a high bar to reach - but zingier than most of the summertime ales on the market.
Labels: Boston Beer Co., Breckenridge Brewery, Brewery Rickoli, Great Divide, Mountain Sun, New Belgium Brewing, Odd 13 Brewing, Odell Brewing, Strange Brewing, Summer beers, Trinity Brewing
Friday, July 11, 2014
4 Ways to Reward Your Palate and Destroy Your Liver This Weekend
There are good beer-drinking weekends, there are great beer-drinking weekends and there are those weekends when you're just faced with making painful choices. This weekend is one of the latter.
1) Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
The 18th annual collection of 75 Colorado brewers squeezing into Salida's main city park and doling out some of their oddities is one of the best beer gatherings of the year. Tickets are just $40 and well worth it. If you don't have a hotel reserved by now, however, it would be wise to start begging friends for some space on their motel floors.
2) Breckenridge Brewery 24th Anniversary Hootenanny, 11 a.m. Saturday
The word "hootenanny" is fun to write. But it's not as fun as seeing what Todd Usry and the rest of the Breck bunch pull out for their rare beer tasting as they close down Kalamath Street in front of their soon-to-be-former main brewery before they move to Littleton. (If we're lucky, they may haul out some of the Barleywine pictured above.) And if you haven't had the BBQ here before, that alone is worth the $30 ticket.
3) Freshcraft Rare Beer Tasting, 11 a.m. Saturday
You have to love a beer bar that gives everyone a reason to get up (relatively) early on Saturdays. This week, Denver's Freshcraft is busting out an Alaskan Brewing 25th Anniversary Stout that's been cellared for three years, as well as a 2008 Barley Wine from the same brewery. And Alaskan representatives will be there to help you savor the goodness.
4) Avery releases Black Eye, 11 a.m. Sunday
If the screaming hangover doesn't keep you in bed Sunday, head up to Boulder, where the Front Range's pre-eminent experimental beer auteurs bust out an imperial stout aged in rum barrels. Bottle sales don't begin until 1, which only gives you two hours to try a couple of these and decide if you want to invest more - assuming you're still standing.
There are good beer-drinking weekends, there are great beer-drinking weekends and there are those weekends when you're just faced with making painful choices. This weekend is one of the latter.
1) Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
The 18th annual collection of 75 Colorado brewers squeezing into Salida's main city park and doling out some of their oddities is one of the best beer gatherings of the year. Tickets are just $40 and well worth it. If you don't have a hotel reserved by now, however, it would be wise to start begging friends for some space on their motel floors.
2) Breckenridge Brewery 24th Anniversary Hootenanny, 11 a.m. Saturday
The word "hootenanny" is fun to write. But it's not as fun as seeing what Todd Usry and the rest of the Breck bunch pull out for their rare beer tasting as they close down Kalamath Street in front of their soon-to-be-former main brewery before they move to Littleton. (If we're lucky, they may haul out some of the Barleywine pictured above.) And if you haven't had the BBQ here before, that alone is worth the $30 ticket.
3) Freshcraft Rare Beer Tasting, 11 a.m. Saturday
You have to love a beer bar that gives everyone a reason to get up (relatively) early on Saturdays. This week, Denver's Freshcraft is busting out an Alaskan Brewing 25th Anniversary Stout that's been cellared for three years, as well as a 2008 Barley Wine from the same brewery. And Alaskan representatives will be there to help you savor the goodness.
4) Avery releases Black Eye, 11 a.m. Sunday
If the screaming hangover doesn't keep you in bed Sunday, head up to Boulder, where the Front Range's pre-eminent experimental beer auteurs bust out an imperial stout aged in rum barrels. Bottle sales don't begin until 1, which only gives you two hours to try a couple of these and decide if you want to invest more - assuming you're still standing.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Beer calendar, Breckenridge Brewery, Freshcraft
Friday, March 21, 2014
Love to the Lovibond Series
Heard about Collaboration Fest yet? Or the Lovibond series in general? If not, it's worth getting up to speed on one of the cooler new innovations to the Colorado beer festival scene this year.
The Colorado Brewers Guild is working together with event creator Imbibe! to produce four new beer gatherings, each focusing on a different aspect of the brewing scene than one typically finds celebrated. And the first one, Collaboration Fest, goes off Saturday at The Curtis Hotel to kick off Colorado Craft Beer Week.
This initial party is a celebration of the cohesiveness and willingness to work together within the craft beer community. Beer makers from both within and outside of Colorado have combined to make 41 beers that have never been released to the public before. And if you don't catch them at Collaboration Fest, you may have a hard time finding them elsewhere.
The idea for Collaboration Fest actually rose out of last year's Colorado Craft Beer week (a springtime celebration that is different than Denver Beer Fest, which occurs in the week surrounding the Great American Beer Festival, for those of you following along at home). A number of out-of-state breweries wanted to be involved, but organizers didn't want to water down the all-Colorado feel of the tappings and tastings, said Steve Kurowski, CBG marketing director.
So, letting them work in conjunction with Centennial State beer makers to do something truly unique not only brings more of a focus to Colorado, but it also shows off the ties between brewers that still bind the industry.
"We consider Colorado to be an epicenter of the craft beer revolution that's going on throughout the country," Kurowski said. "We think this event will have a national feel that people will want to come to the state to explore it."
And what kind of collaborations will be served from 3 to 7 p.m.? To understand their breadth and depth, just look at all that Breckenridge Brewery is doing.
Along with the four other Summit County breweries, it's collaborated on a black saison. And in conjunction with the other "Beermuda Triangle" brewers - those on the south end of downtown Denver - it's made a black IPA aged with rum (not rum barrels, just plain old rum). But it's also got one of its brewers participating in a collaboration brew made by all of the former beer makers from Mountain Sun who have staked out on their own. And, finally, it worked with Sweetwater Brewing of Atlanta to create a red wheat wine ale.
"I just love the whole camaraderie of the whole thing. It speaks to the spirit of craft beer," said Todd Thibault, the eponymous marketing director for the brewery. "I think more people in the industry are excited about this festival than possibly consumers."
But it doesn't stop there for the Lovibond series. There also will be a Brewery 5K this summer in Fort Collins, a Sesh Fest highlighting session beers during the summer in Denver and a fresh hop festival in September.
"These will be unique events in unique places. They will not be the typical beer festival in a square room with breweries around the room," Kurowski said. "We want to create something much different for the Colorado beer drinker."
Sign me up.
Heard about Collaboration Fest yet? Or the Lovibond series in general? If not, it's worth getting up to speed on one of the cooler new innovations to the Colorado beer festival scene this year.
The Colorado Brewers Guild is working together with event creator Imbibe! to produce four new beer gatherings, each focusing on a different aspect of the brewing scene than one typically finds celebrated. And the first one, Collaboration Fest, goes off Saturday at The Curtis Hotel to kick off Colorado Craft Beer Week.
This initial party is a celebration of the cohesiveness and willingness to work together within the craft beer community. Beer makers from both within and outside of Colorado have combined to make 41 beers that have never been released to the public before. And if you don't catch them at Collaboration Fest, you may have a hard time finding them elsewhere.
The idea for Collaboration Fest actually rose out of last year's Colorado Craft Beer week (a springtime celebration that is different than Denver Beer Fest, which occurs in the week surrounding the Great American Beer Festival, for those of you following along at home). A number of out-of-state breweries wanted to be involved, but organizers didn't want to water down the all-Colorado feel of the tappings and tastings, said Steve Kurowski, CBG marketing director.
So, letting them work in conjunction with Centennial State beer makers to do something truly unique not only brings more of a focus to Colorado, but it also shows off the ties between brewers that still bind the industry.
"We consider Colorado to be an epicenter of the craft beer revolution that's going on throughout the country," Kurowski said. "We think this event will have a national feel that people will want to come to the state to explore it."
And what kind of collaborations will be served from 3 to 7 p.m.? To understand their breadth and depth, just look at all that Breckenridge Brewery is doing.
Along with the four other Summit County breweries, it's collaborated on a black saison. And in conjunction with the other "Beermuda Triangle" brewers - those on the south end of downtown Denver - it's made a black IPA aged with rum (not rum barrels, just plain old rum). But it's also got one of its brewers participating in a collaboration brew made by all of the former beer makers from Mountain Sun who have staked out on their own. And, finally, it worked with Sweetwater Brewing of Atlanta to create a red wheat wine ale.
"I just love the whole camaraderie of the whole thing. It speaks to the spirit of craft beer," said Todd Thibault, the eponymous marketing director for the brewery. "I think more people in the industry are excited about this festival than possibly consumers."
But it doesn't stop there for the Lovibond series. There also will be a Brewery 5K this summer in Fort Collins, a Sesh Fest highlighting session beers during the summer in Denver and a fresh hop festival in September.
"These will be unique events in unique places. They will not be the typical beer festival in a square room with breweries around the room," Kurowski said. "We want to create something much different for the Colorado beer drinker."
Sign me up.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado Brewers Guild, Colorado Craft Beer Week, Festivals, Imbibe
Monday, March 17, 2014
Breckenridge Invents a Whole New Barleywine
A confession to start this post: I'm not the world's biggest barleywine fan. The whole genre can tend toward the overboard, either with an insensitively overbearing prune taste or an overdose of hops that seems out of place.
So, walking into Breckenridge Brewery's release party Saturday for Barleywine Batch #1, there was trepidation that the old-school Denver brewery had, like many others, made an old-school, too-big-to-enjoy beer.
As it turns out, that trepidation was wildly misplaced.
Instead, what Breck has created is maybe the most drinkable barleywine served in Colorado - and one that is still bold enough to please both those looking for something to push their taste-bud envelopes and those wanting something more evenly enjoyable.
What appears on the palate with this beer is not a big raisin taste but something that tends more toward black cherry. A beer relying on malt characteristics is dark and thick, but it's also approachably sweet-tinged - offering lots of different levels of flavor, none of which is overpowering.
The secret to its easiness, said brewmaster Todd Usry, was the decision first to keep it in cold fermentation for an unusually long three months, smoothing out the rough alcoholic edges in the same way the brewery makes its similarly 10% ABV 471 Double IPA easy to enjoy. Then it spent another six to seven months in oak barrels, adding just a hint of woodiness to give the body enough gravitas to make an impact.
Said Katie Nierling, co-host of American Craft Beer Radio: "A lot of barleywines get too malty, too raisin-y. I can't finish them. I can finish this."
I couldn't have said it better. In fact, I had to pry myself away after two snifters of the barleywine, as its alcohol was hidden deceptively well.
If you're a barleywine fan, grab a 22-oz. bomber of this to appreciate its difference. And if you're not, grab one anyway; it might surprise you how tasty one of these monster styles of beer can be when it's brewed so well.
A confession to start this post: I'm not the world's biggest barleywine fan. The whole genre can tend toward the overboard, either with an insensitively overbearing prune taste or an overdose of hops that seems out of place.
So, walking into Breckenridge Brewery's release party Saturday for Barleywine Batch #1, there was trepidation that the old-school Denver brewery had, like many others, made an old-school, too-big-to-enjoy beer.
As it turns out, that trepidation was wildly misplaced.
Instead, what Breck has created is maybe the most drinkable barleywine served in Colorado - and one that is still bold enough to please both those looking for something to push their taste-bud envelopes and those wanting something more evenly enjoyable.
What appears on the palate with this beer is not a big raisin taste but something that tends more toward black cherry. A beer relying on malt characteristics is dark and thick, but it's also approachably sweet-tinged - offering lots of different levels of flavor, none of which is overpowering.
The secret to its easiness, said brewmaster Todd Usry, was the decision first to keep it in cold fermentation for an unusually long three months, smoothing out the rough alcoholic edges in the same way the brewery makes its similarly 10% ABV 471 Double IPA easy to enjoy. Then it spent another six to seven months in oak barrels, adding just a hint of woodiness to give the body enough gravitas to make an impact.
Said Katie Nierling, co-host of American Craft Beer Radio: "A lot of barleywines get too malty, too raisin-y. I can't finish them. I can finish this."
I couldn't have said it better. In fact, I had to pry myself away after two snifters of the barleywine, as its alcohol was hidden deceptively well.
If you're a barleywine fan, grab a 22-oz. bomber of this to appreciate its difference. And if you're not, grab one anyway; it might surprise you how tasty one of these monster styles of beer can be when it's brewed so well.
Labels: barleywines, Breckenridge Brewery
Saturday, February 22, 2014
A Blizzard of Early-Season Surprises
Traditionally, the months of January and February have not been kind to craft beer drinkers. After breweries start to phase out burly winter warmers, they often put creativity on hiatus or turn to "spring beers" which seem like slightly duller summer brews.
But the past month-and-a-half in Colorado has been a time in which a number of breweries have tried to find a new taste. And there is a lot worth shouting about.
First, there are what you might call the winter beer extensions - big, tasty and dark with a little more creativity than you find in some of the oatmeal malt bombs that define the Christmas season. The best of the bunch is Denver Beer's Cocoa Creme Porter, a rich beer in which none of the flavors - chocolatey cocoa, sweet cream - are subtle, leaving a truly unique taste. Odell Brewing created something similar in its Sweet Elevation Creme Brulee Porter (pictured above), a slightly more subtle blend of warming and sweet-tooth-satisfying flavors that could be found only at the taproom. Finally, there also is Fate Brewing's Chocolate Pretzel Porter, which is made with actual pretzels in the brew but leaves a salty, pleasant taste most apparent.
Great Divide Brewing went in a different direction for its unique early-winter beer, Lasso IPA, a "session IPA" that rings in at 5% ABV. To be sure, the beer feels more like a watered-down version of its much better Titan IPA, and with the ABV being as high as it is, I'd prefer just to drink a Titan. But it's a worthy effort that should spur some thinking in the industry about what can constitute a beer that's both lower-alcohol and hoppy.
Then there's one of the more interesting combinations of traditional lighter beers and experimentation — Breckenridge Brewery's Ophelia Ale, a style the brewery describes as a hoppy wheat. Looking like a cloudy hefeweizen but containing a zing that is surprising and a nice bump up from the style, this isn't for wheat fans so much as it is for hop fans and people wanting something new.
And therein is the heart of some of this season's surprises - they are, at the very least, something new. But, even more than that, they are efforts to ramp up a slow time for taste buds, and are quite successful at it.
Traditionally, the months of January and February have not been kind to craft beer drinkers. After breweries start to phase out burly winter warmers, they often put creativity on hiatus or turn to "spring beers" which seem like slightly duller summer brews.
But the past month-and-a-half in Colorado has been a time in which a number of breweries have tried to find a new taste. And there is a lot worth shouting about.
First, there are what you might call the winter beer extensions - big, tasty and dark with a little more creativity than you find in some of the oatmeal malt bombs that define the Christmas season. The best of the bunch is Denver Beer's Cocoa Creme Porter, a rich beer in which none of the flavors - chocolatey cocoa, sweet cream - are subtle, leaving a truly unique taste. Odell Brewing created something similar in its Sweet Elevation Creme Brulee Porter (pictured above), a slightly more subtle blend of warming and sweet-tooth-satisfying flavors that could be found only at the taproom. Finally, there also is Fate Brewing's Chocolate Pretzel Porter, which is made with actual pretzels in the brew but leaves a salty, pleasant taste most apparent.
Great Divide Brewing went in a different direction for its unique early-winter beer, Lasso IPA, a "session IPA" that rings in at 5% ABV. To be sure, the beer feels more like a watered-down version of its much better Titan IPA, and with the ABV being as high as it is, I'd prefer just to drink a Titan. But it's a worthy effort that should spur some thinking in the industry about what can constitute a beer that's both lower-alcohol and hoppy.Then there's one of the more interesting combinations of traditional lighter beers and experimentation — Breckenridge Brewery's Ophelia Ale, a style the brewery describes as a hoppy wheat. Looking like a cloudy hefeweizen but containing a zing that is surprising and a nice bump up from the style, this isn't for wheat fans so much as it is for hop fans and people wanting something new.And therein is the heart of some of this season's surprises - they are, at the very least, something new. But, even more than that, they are efforts to ramp up a slow time for taste buds, and are quite successful at it.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Denver Beer Co, Fate Brewing, Great Divide, Odell Brewing
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Making Colorado Proud
Two weeks ago, the Colorado Department of Agriculture launched the "Choose Colorado" state tour, promoting local agriculture and products. There was talk of local cantaloupes and corn. But make no mistake, this tour is laden with beer as well.
The 14-year-old "Colorado Proud" program is set up to promote all food and beverage products grown and made in Colorado, and it is heading out on statewide tour for the first time this year. And state officials have not been shy about pointing out the advantage of locally grown hops, barley and additives that make locally brewed beverages especially special.
Take, for example, Breckenridge Brewery's Agave Wheat, a beer made with a key cactus ingredient that Breck brewers picked up at Sprouts grocery stores throughout the Denver area. They created the beer, labeled it proudly as a Colorado ale and watched sales of the tangy wheat with a stronger punch than most of its ilk grow across the country.
And, said marketing director Todd Thibault (pictured to left), he and brewer Todd Usry used the Colorado label to promote it, especially when growing into a new market in South Carolina some seven years ago.
"We'd walk in bars and say 'We're Todd and Todd from Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado. And people would say, "Hey, Colorado?'" he said.
Doug Hyndman, head brewer at Dry Dock Brewing, went to Clemson University in that very same state of South Carolina, and he (pictured below) followed the Colorado reputation across the country. Dry Dock just recently joined Colorado Proud to support Colorado's efforts to promote its homegrown products, he said. (And we all know how well that brewery promotes Colorado beer.)
So, what does this program really mean for the average beer geek, who already tends to search out Colorado brews and promote the state's brewing scene? Probably not a whole lot to the learned.
But what can it do for businesses that are considering whether to invest more in Colorado products, including Colorado beers, as well as their customers? Well, just ask Rob Lanphier, owner of the Handlebar bar/restaurant and Pour Kids Bar Group.
Pour Kids is a "statetriotic" effort that promotes not just Colorado beer, wine and liquor but Colorado-raised produce and Colorado-made products. People may not think about ordering Colorado-specific when they come in, but when presented with a menu full of state-centric options, they tend to gravitate toward them and support local products, Lanphier said.
"There's really a heightened interest in buying local. I've noticed this trend the last couple of years," he said.
And that's a goal that all Colorado beer drinkers can support.
Two weeks ago, the Colorado Department of Agriculture launched the "Choose Colorado" state tour, promoting local agriculture and products. There was talk of local cantaloupes and corn. But make no mistake, this tour is laden with beer as well.
The 14-year-old "Colorado Proud" program is set up to promote all food and beverage products grown and made in Colorado, and it is heading out on statewide tour for the first time this year. And state officials have not been shy about pointing out the advantage of locally grown hops, barley and additives that make locally brewed beverages especially special.
Take, for example, Breckenridge Brewery's Agave Wheat, a beer made with a key cactus ingredient that Breck brewers picked up at Sprouts grocery stores throughout the Denver area. They created the beer, labeled it proudly as a Colorado ale and watched sales of the tangy wheat with a stronger punch than most of its ilk grow across the country.
"We'd walk in bars and say 'We're Todd and Todd from Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado. And people would say, "Hey, Colorado?'" he said.
Doug Hyndman, head brewer at Dry Dock Brewing, went to Clemson University in that very same state of South Carolina, and he (pictured below) followed the Colorado reputation across the country. Dry Dock just recently joined Colorado Proud to support Colorado's efforts to promote its homegrown products, he said. (And we all know how well that brewery promotes Colorado beer.)
So, what does this program really mean for the average beer geek, who already tends to search out Colorado brews and promote the state's brewing scene? Probably not a whole lot to the learned.
But what can it do for businesses that are considering whether to invest more in Colorado products, including Colorado beers, as well as their customers? Well, just ask Rob Lanphier, owner of the Handlebar bar/restaurant and Pour Kids Bar Group.
Pour Kids is a "statetriotic" effort that promotes not just Colorado beer, wine and liquor but Colorado-raised produce and Colorado-made products. People may not think about ordering Colorado-specific when they come in, but when presented with a menu full of state-centric options, they tend to gravitate toward them and support local products, Lanphier said.
"There's really a heightened interest in buying local. I've noticed this trend the last couple of years," he said.
And that's a goal that all Colorado beer drinkers can support.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado Brews, Dry Dock Brewing
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The Best Beer Day of 2013?
Yes, that distinction normally goes to opening night of the Great American Beer Festival, with its pageantry and pre-parties and expectations. But the truth is, if you're in downtown Denver - and your liver is prepared - you can catch most of the action in that 24-hour period.
This Saturday, however, even Superman couldn't fly fast enough to get up and down the Front Range and soak in all of the beer celebrations going on. Here's a quick look at your choices, all of which are happening over an 11-hour period in what might be the best beer day of the year.
* Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, Salida
From 1 to 5 p.m., Riverside Park will be flooded with 73 brewers, from both craft breweries big and craft breweries small, to celebrate the Colorado Brewers Guild. And for $35 at the door, you too can get in.
This is one of the finest Colorado festivals of any given year, both because of the breadth and depth of who is serving and the good quality of the beer that brewers bring to impress each other. But also, there's just a spirit of collegiality at what is essentially a CBG rally that you don't find at a lot of other festivals. This is where the Beer Geekette and I will enjoy the day.
* American Homebrewers Association rally, Left Hand Brewing
Those who haven't been to an AHA rally are missing out on a great collection of beer geeks hanging out, commenting on the massive tanks at the host brewery and just chilling. This particular rally, scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Longmont brewery, is free to AHA members and costs only the price of AHA membership to anyone else wanting to get in (though RSVPs are preferred here.)
Plus, host breweries always break out the good stuff for the AHA crowd. In this case, Left Hand will be tapping a vintage Wake Up Dead (rumored to be circa 2010) and holding a q-and-a with everyone present.
* Breckenridge 23rd anniversary block party, Denver
Seriously, the guys who make 471 IPA and Vanilla Porter are old enough to drink and almost old enough to rent a car. And from noon to 6 p.m., they're closing down the roads around their Kalamath Street location and celebrating in style.
A $23 ticket gets you four full beers, unlimited tasters of rare and unique beers, barbecue and music. And those rare beers include Belgian Double IPA, Barrel Aged Belgian Oatmeal Stout, Double Belgian Agave Wheat and "471 on the Moon" - three-quarters 471 IPA and one-quarter Oatmeal Stout, aged in a Cabernet barrel.
* Twisted Pine 18th anniversary, Boulder
As far as anniversaries go, this one is a little more celebratory. Twisted Pine beers can now vote, go to R-rated movies and date their former teachers without legal consequences.
To celebrate, they'll have samples of more than 30 beers, including their 16th anniversary barleywine and 10 small-batch experiments. Tickets are $25, and the party goes from 2 to 7.
* 17th Annual Biergarten Festival, Morrison
This one actually starts Friday night and extends through Sunday, so it gives you a little flexibility. Colorado's German American Chamber of Commerce serves up German music, a German buffet (plus a bratwurst-eating contest at 4 p.m. Saturday) and beer from the likes of Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.
Eight bucks gets you in Friday (4-10) or Saturday (11-10), and the Sunday (10-2) festivities at TEV Edelweiss Pavilion are free. And if you're ambitious, you can wake up from one of the other four Saturday events and shake off your hangover here.
Yes, that distinction normally goes to opening night of the Great American Beer Festival, with its pageantry and pre-parties and expectations. But the truth is, if you're in downtown Denver - and your liver is prepared - you can catch most of the action in that 24-hour period.
This Saturday, however, even Superman couldn't fly fast enough to get up and down the Front Range and soak in all of the beer celebrations going on. Here's a quick look at your choices, all of which are happening over an 11-hour period in what might be the best beer day of the year.
* Colorado Brewers Rendezvous, Salida
From 1 to 5 p.m., Riverside Park will be flooded with 73 brewers, from both craft breweries big and craft breweries small, to celebrate the Colorado Brewers Guild. And for $35 at the door, you too can get in.
This is one of the finest Colorado festivals of any given year, both because of the breadth and depth of who is serving and the good quality of the beer that brewers bring to impress each other. But also, there's just a spirit of collegiality at what is essentially a CBG rally that you don't find at a lot of other festivals. This is where the Beer Geekette and I will enjoy the day.
* American Homebrewers Association rally, Left Hand Brewing
Those who haven't been to an AHA rally are missing out on a great collection of beer geeks hanging out, commenting on the massive tanks at the host brewery and just chilling. This particular rally, scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Longmont brewery, is free to AHA members and costs only the price of AHA membership to anyone else wanting to get in (though RSVPs are preferred here.)
Plus, host breweries always break out the good stuff for the AHA crowd. In this case, Left Hand will be tapping a vintage Wake Up Dead (rumored to be circa 2010) and holding a q-and-a with everyone present.
* Breckenridge 23rd anniversary block party, Denver
Seriously, the guys who make 471 IPA and Vanilla Porter are old enough to drink and almost old enough to rent a car. And from noon to 6 p.m., they're closing down the roads around their Kalamath Street location and celebrating in style.
A $23 ticket gets you four full beers, unlimited tasters of rare and unique beers, barbecue and music. And those rare beers include Belgian Double IPA, Barrel Aged Belgian Oatmeal Stout, Double Belgian Agave Wheat and "471 on the Moon" - three-quarters 471 IPA and one-quarter Oatmeal Stout, aged in a Cabernet barrel.
* Twisted Pine 18th anniversary, Boulder
As far as anniversaries go, this one is a little more celebratory. Twisted Pine beers can now vote, go to R-rated movies and date their former teachers without legal consequences.
To celebrate, they'll have samples of more than 30 beers, including their 16th anniversary barleywine and 10 small-batch experiments. Tickets are $25, and the party goes from 2 to 7.
* 17th Annual Biergarten Festival, Morrison
This one actually starts Friday night and extends through Sunday, so it gives you a little flexibility. Colorado's German American Chamber of Commerce serves up German music, a German buffet (plus a bratwurst-eating contest at 4 p.m. Saturday) and beer from the likes of Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.
Eight bucks gets you in Friday (4-10) or Saturday (11-10), and the Sunday (10-2) festivities at TEV Edelweiss Pavilion are free. And if you're ambitious, you can wake up from one of the other four Saturday events and shake off your hangover here.
Labels: American Homebrewers Association, Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado Brewers Guild, Left Hand Brewing, Twisted Pine Brewing
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Craft Lagers' Success Recipe: Doing It DifferentlyMy first inkling of the coming craft lager movement came in early 2010, when I was interviewing Adam Avery, he of the Avery Brewing fame, for my book, "Mountain Brew." He mentioned he was getting ready to make a pilsner, and when I seemed shocked, he responded that he was getting older and just couldn't handle drinking double IPAs every night anymore.
What his Boulder brewery produced, of course, was arguably the hoppiest lager ever made in Colorado, Avery Joe's Pilsner. And as other notable breweries have begun churning out their own pilsners and other styles of craft lagers, it bears noting that the formula for success has seemed to lay in the roots of Adam's idea: If you're going to do something lighter, at least do something different.
Now you can get pilsners from some of the state's best breweries that remind you of Germany, feel like a kicked-up American lager or frankly taste like nothing of the style. But it is those that fall into the latter category that really seem to strike the chord that reminds us of why craft beer is craft beer.
Now you can get pilsners from some of the state's best breweries that remind you of Germany, feel like a kicked-up American lager or frankly taste like nothing of the style. But it is those that fall into the latter category that really seem to strike the chord that reminds us of why craft beer is craft beer.
Take Breckenridge's Regal Double Pilsner, a double-hopped sensory assault that has the sweet aroma of a Belgian-style beer and the mouthfeel of some kind of honey ale. Is this going to win any awards for being on style? No. But it will make you admire its originality and reach for another bottle to figure out what it is that's throttling your tastebuds.
Or there's Denver Beer Co's Smoked Lager, which doesn't carry the heft and satisfaction of its recent William Wallace Scotch Ale but zips a light, lingering mesquite presence into a still thoroughly drinkable beer. This is a malt-heavy Bavarian-style lager, but one with an unusual twist.
Yes, there are good representations of traditional lager styles. Steamworks Brewing's Colorado Kolsch is the cleanest, crispest beer of its kind on the market. And Upslope's Craft Lager carries with it a vaguely toasty taste that lets the drinker know they weren't tossing corn and rice in to lighten the body, as major American breweries do.
Sometimes breweries miss when shifting into the lager style. Great Divide Brewing, which hits just about everything big and bold that it makes out of the park, produced an overly heavy and surprisingly bitter Bohemian-style pilsner called Nomad in late December.
But while these lagers open the craft genre to a greater range of drinkers and show off breweries' ability to diversify, the art of craft brewing lies still in doing things differently than U.S. beer makers did for most of the 20th Century. So, when you're looking at where the craft lager movement goes, bets here are that it succeeds in producing styles that aren't found worldwide rather than in taking styles the rest of the world knows and trying to reproduce them for a domestic audience.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Breckenridge Brewery, Denver Beer Co, Great Divide, lager, Steamworks Brewing, Upslope Brewing
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Top 10 Colorado Beers of 2011The past year has been an exciting and experimental year for Colorado beers, even by its lofty standards. And so, to try to categorize the best offerings from 2011 is no easy task.
This list is not necessarily a list of the best beers you could buy at any moment in the state - don't worry, Avery Maharaja, I haven't forgotten about you - but a list of the most exciting beers of the past 12 months. These are the brews that inspired conversation in just the past year, excited taste buds and made you appreciate the brewing craft of this state so much that you wanted to share it with everyone.
10) Cherry Bomb Belgian Stout - Strange Brewing
This fascinating combination of roasted malt and tart cherries is not a new brew. But in the past year, the evolution of the beer to a happy medium between the stout and Belgian fruit styles, as well as the decision to keep it smoothly on nitro, has continued to make it one of Denver's most fascinating brews.
9) Steamworks Berliner Weisse - Steamworks Brewing
Many breweries experimented ) - and did very well - with this previously little-produced German sour wheat beer in the past year. But none made anything quite as tasty as the Durango brewery that is continuously experimenting and coming up with options like this that strike the interest of the palate without beating it to death with tartness.
8) Belgian Yeti - Great Divide Brewing
Great Divide has made a small amount of beers better than Belgian Yeti. But it's been a while since the last time it made something so provocative to combine Belgian yeast with its already bold and flavorful imperial stout recipe. And the fact that Great Divide was ballsy enough to release this in the summer lets you know how countercultural a good beer can be.
7) Summer Cab Ride - Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge's SummerBright Ale was a run-of-the-mill light offering - right up until the brewery decided to age it in cabernet sauvignon barrels and turned it into a fascinating and complex lighter beer with wine skin and slightly sour overtones. Now it's one of the most approachable and enjoyable barrel experiments in this state.
6) Mexican Chocolate Stout - Copper Kettle Brewing
Copper Kettle opened in late April and won a Great American Beer Festival medal in late September - a gap that brewery owners believe to be the shortest in history. But it was well-deserved for a beer that so artfully combined spice, cinnamon and dark malt that it felt like you were drinking dinner, not an aperitif.
5) Le Terroir - New Belgium Brewing
New Belgium had displayed Le Terroir in its taproom and at the GABF before. But it wasn't until this year that the dry hopped sour ale became a part of its Lips of Faith series that received general distribution. Tart like a cherry and yet grassy in its hops, it combines the best of Belgian and American brewing and gives you a beer that warms your cockles.
4) Brain of the Turtle - Trinity Brewing
Colorado complexity reached its peak in this sour ale aged with cherries, coffee and almonds - Jason Yester's latest freak show of a beer that conforms to no style but just turns heads and makes experimental beer fans smile. Nothing was talked about more among Colorado beer geeks at the Great American Beer Festival. And no other new beer deserves a statewide release so much in 2012.
3) Myrcenary Double IPA - Odell Brewing
Colorado has become the king state of double IPAs, which makes it particularly hard for a newcomer to break into its market. But Myrcenary, released at the end of 2010, ranks with its best products as a sharply hoppy offering with enough of a malt backbone to make it grassy without being overbearing. It's a four-pack worth picking up.
2) Nitro Milk Stout - Left Hand Brewing
No Colorado beer has been more hyped in its release than this one - which makes it incredibly impressive that the Longmont brewery not only met but exceeded expectations with a magically carbonated and sweet stout that may well the most drinkable beer in Colorado right now. I have turned IPA drinkers into stout drinkers with this selection, and Left Hand's influence is likely to turn a lot of typical dark beer producers into auteurs who put their beer on nitrogen to make it more interesting.
1) Buddha Nuvo - 14 breweries, led by Rockyard Brewing
Collaboration beers are, by their nature, complex and full of flavors that everyone wants to contribute. But no beer pushed the taste envelope so much to the edge - without sailing over it - as this collaboration saison from 14 breweries that presented drinkers with the combined tastes of grape skin, plum, pumpkin and a perfume-like overtaste that fades into simple fascination at the realization of what is in here. One of the highlights of my year as a writer was the opportunity to participate in a multiple-blog collaboration review of this masterpiece. But nothing we said could equal the melange of flavors cavorting in your mouth and making you realize that Colorado beer is producing experiments that will push it further up the charts as the state that should attract national attention both this year and in the future.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Copper Kettle Brewing, Great Divide, Left Hand Brewing, New Belgium Brewing, Odell Brewing, Rockyard Brewery, Steamworks Brewing, Strange Brewing, Trinity Brewing
Friday, December 23, 2011
Holiday Beer Week, Part Four: Nowhere Near Style
There isn't an official style for "Christmas Ale." But if there was, there are several beers that it would not include - some of which should feel very proud to be outside the lines.
Firs
t among them is Jolly Pumpkin's Noel de Calabaza Special Ale, a beer that combines so many different flavors that trying to tie any description to it would do it injustice. But know this: This might be the most appealing beer yet produce by the Michigan brewer of barrel-aged ales.
t among them is Jolly Pumpkin's Noel de Calabaza Special Ale, a beer that combines so many different flavors that trying to tie any description to it would do it injustice. But know this: This might be the most appealing beer yet produce by the Michigan brewer of barrel-aged ales.Noel, like most Jolly Pumpkin beers, has a wild-yeast sour flavor to it. But this version backs it with a malt body that lays down such a solid cushion to the tart character that it evens out the bite and spreads it across the entire palate. This really is an extraordinary beer, one that defies any expectations of a Christmas beer - like most of what comes out of the brewery - but manages to be extremely pleasing despite the complex body.
Gift of the 
Magi, Lost Abbey's Christmas offering, serves up Brettanomyces, but not in as palatable an offering. This one is equally style-breaking, but more sharply alcoholic. And its fairly translucent amber body gives way to a sharp ale that presents itself more as a melange of flavors than as a coherent taste profile, leaving it too open to interpretation to make it an easily enjoyable package.
Magi, Lost Abbey's Christmas offering, serves up Brettanomyces, but not in as palatable an offering. This one is equally style-breaking, but more sharply alcoholic. And its fairly translucent amber body gives way to a sharp ale that presents itself more as a melange of flavors than as a coherent taste profile, leaving it too open to interpretation to make it an easily enjoyable package.Then there's Breckenridge Christmas Ale, a beer that very well could have gone into the first part of this series as a dark, wonderful ale. But it has such a cult following that you feel it really ought to stand out somewhere else. This is a beer that blends malt darkness with just a touch of hops to make one of the most balanced beers of the year. It is dark, yet it is special. And that's how a beer goes beyond any particular labels.
This is day four of a five-part series examining the beers of this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy new beer!
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Holiday beers, Jolly Pumpkin, Lost Abbey
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Breck's Barreled GemBreckenridge Brewery wasn't always an envelope pusher. As brewmaster Todd Usry told me for "Mountain Brew," it went through a period of complacency before realizing that the industry was making strides that it was not making in 2005. From there, it started producing gems like its 471 IPA and its Vanilla Porter that gained it its well-earned current reputation for excellence.
But in Summer Cab Ride, which the brewery served on tap this summer and released in limited-edition bottles Saturday, Breck has come up with the most unique beer its put out since it started bottling Vanilla Porter in 2007. And Colorado beer drinkers can only hope that it pushes the now-21-year-old brewery toward more barrel-aging experiments in the future.
Summer Cab Ride is the brewery's seasonal SummerBright Ale aged in Cabernet wine barrels. SummerBright, the brewery's lightest offering, arguably is also its least head-turning. But the wine barrel-aging does something truly special to it.
The golden-colored ale takes on a slightly sour, almost pungently Belgian quality, with a grape-skin taste jutting into the beer's qualities at every sip. This is not a strong barrel edge but more one that presents itself around the edges and then seeps gently into every pore of the ale.
In doing so, Summer Cab Ride doesn't leave summer ale style so much as it infuses it with a hell of a lot of personality. There's just enough acidic fruit on here to let you know you've found something special without crossing the line into making this an actual fruit beer.
During Saturday's sale of bombers, the brewery was also pouring a Vanilla Porter and an Oatmeal Stout that it had aged in whiskey barrels; the Vanilla Porter in particular created a new, mellower taste to the beer. Now that such aging has begun, we can only encourage Breck to continue to do more of it, as the results are eye-opening and continue to redefine one of the state's oldest breweries as one that is willing - and very able - to perfect new tricks.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery
Monday, August 30, 2010
Summer Beers 2010: The Pure RefreshersThe Beer Geekette yelled at me the other day about something I've posted and talked much about since. When I explained that Avery's hop-forward Joe's American Pilsner was my favorite summer beer in recent memory, she asked: "Can't you just enjoy something that isn't hopped, sour or amazingly strong?"
I thought about it, and the answer, truthfully, was "no." For the most part, a good beer should be like a good movie: Stacked with layers of complexity, throwing in a few surprises around selected turns and leaving an impression well after you've finished it. But then I began thinking that maybe a good beer sometimes could just be like a quality comedy: Pleasing without being challenging, satisfying without being sharp. And that's when I thought about a whole new breed of summer beers.
There are certain beverages out there made for the hot and sticky season that go down easy and leave you with a smile on your face. And to a few of them this column is dedicated - the lighter beers made with just enough heft to keep them interesting but still appealing to everyone.
1) Manana - Del Norte Brewing
No beer captures the enjoyment of the much belittled Mexican lager style more than this creation from Colorado's only all Mexican-style brewer. As an amber lager, it fills the mouth with a malty, slightly caramel feel but backs it with a smooth and deceptively easy body. Most beers shipped north from south of the border can only wish they were this enjoyable.
2) Newcastle Summer AleThe wet-rope taste that defines the most mediocre English beers is gone from this creation, replaced by a citrus hop zing that is terribly easy on the mouth but tasty enough to maintain interest. It carries a slight more copper hue than many of its summer brethren, and the color reflects a commitment to more flavor than many breweries' summer renditions.
3) SummerBright Ale - Breckenridge Brewery
Poured with a hazy gold consistency and minimal head, the light citrus aroma in this seasonal from the Denver brewer belies a pleasant body. What you have is a slightly dusty but very refreshing golden ale with a background hint of lime that splashes up its personality just enough. This is a beer that cools you without challenging you, a summer edition that really should be sipped at a grill or after mowing the lawn.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Del Norte Brewing, Newcastle Brown Ale, Seasonal
Monday, December 14, 2009
The 12 Beers of Christmas: Day 12Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Note: I'm a fan of holiday ales, and I want to use this forum this year to lay out 12 beers that just seem essential for holiday party drinking. Plus, I want to actually see if I can sit down and write for 12 days in a row, a feat I've never pulled off on this blog.
Breckenridge Christmas Ale is a curious hybrid - the caramel malt-heavy classic American microbrew winter creation with just a tinge of dusty English characteristics to it.
Few holiday beers seem to create as much of a following as this offering, a relatively big (7.4% ABV) mouth-filler that takes on a distinctly more old-school feel than many of this daring brewery's newer creations.
And while I might not put it, say, alone in a pear tree as the top beer of Christmas, it's still a must-have for any holiday party, both for its popular sentiment (both beer snobs and casual beer-drinkers have broken this out at gatherings the Beer Geekette and I have attended this year) and its chewy wintry quality that makes it a great beverage to warm the person who just had to park halfway down the street and trudge back to the party in ankle-deep snow.
Get a dozen, but certainly don't try to drink them in one night.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Holiday beers
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Breckenridge Beer Festival 2009The sun shined down as always on Breckenridge's Main Street Station for its annual summer beer festival this past weekend. Here's one man's scribblings-turned-into-opinions about the events.
The Good
Beer of the Festival: One of the joys of the event was getting to pit Breckenridge's 471 Double IPA against Great Divide's Hercules Double IPA head to head. And what I and others realized was the same fact that began to creep up at last year's Great American Beer Festival - that Breck's whammer may be less well known but just may be the best big IPA in Colorado, if not America. That's not to discount Hercules, which remains gruff and strong and challenging in its enormous hoppiness. But the 471 is one of the most stunningly drinkable ales in America for its size, sweet and natural and borderline soothing in its grassy splendor without going soft on the hops. Let's hope more festivals offer us the opportunity to make this comparison.
Surprise Beer of the Festival: All I'd heard about Ska's Mexican Logger before the show was that some Hispanics did not appreciate the picture of a sleeping Mexican beside a chainsaw on the label, feeling it might be stereotypical. The only place my mind went after sipping this, however, was to the sharp smoothness and great malt texture that made this seem like a totally different beer than other Mexican lagers, which can look and taste shockingly similar to urine in a bottle.
Sam Adams booth: Boston Beer Company once again brought two new creations to let the crowd rate and vote on them. While the Fearless Tasting Crew generally agreed that neither the pils nor the pale ale should be added to Jim Koch's permanent collection, true interactive relationships between the brewers and crowd at these gatherings are always appreciated.
The little guys: Beer festivals are partly about finding that unknown brewery. For this one, Grand Lake Brewing came strong with three offerings just as their product is starting to circulate statewide. And tiny Aspen Brewing showed off a very impressive Brown Ale teeming with nuttiness and body, enough to make you want to stop by the brewery the next time you're skiing.
The Bad
Festival organizers and their poor advertising: Check out the website for the festival and tell me where on it you can find that the show was only open to VIP ticket purchasers (at $75 a pop) until 2 p.m. Yet, that is exactly what ticket takers said to the crowds pulling up shortly after 1 p.m. and wondering why they couldn't get in. Organizers added that they had mentioned the VIP pricing on flyers around town. Well, for everyone who came from out of town - most of the crowd, I'd wager - it was a rude shock to find out the discrepancy. It was, at best, a poor job of conveying festival details to people who had traveled hours to get there and, at worst, a fraudulent way of trying to extract more money from the crowd.
The humdrum beer booth selections: Some festivals around the state inspire brewers to bring their most experimental wares, or at least something a little off the beaten path. For the most part, this wasn't the one. Kudos to Breck and Great Divide for going big, Flying Dog for having an imperial porter and a Belgian-style wit and Ska for saving a keg of double blonde for when its first tap blew. Otherwise, there were standard offerings from the big craft breweries that could be found on bar taps pretty much anywhere in the area. And, while we're bringing a more diverse beer selection, a few rinsing pitchers would be nice too, folks.
Labels: Breckenridge, Breckenridge Brewery, Festivals, Great Divide, Ska Brewing
Monday, February 02, 2009
Five Beers for Apres-SkiThere are few times that feels as appropriate for a beer as those first moments after you take off your skis. You've spent the day working your muscles, you in all likelihood don't have to head off to work and you're ready to celebrate.
But you're also dehydrated, tired and probably somewhat cold - conditions that don't lend as well to the beer-drinking experience. So, you have to choose well to get the full enjoyment you're seeking. What do you do?
After being faced with this dilemma just this past weekend, I've spent far too much time thinking about the balance of lightness on the palate with heft of winter warming needed to pull off the perfect combo. I think I've come up with a few ideas. And, in keeping with the ski season, I've tried to confine this list to Colorado beers.
1) New Belgium Mothership Wit
No beer I've had seems to blend such an unfathomable lightness of body with the full heft of taste so much as a Mothership. This is thin and light like those beers you'd never consider drinking, yet it lands in your mouth with a citrus-coriander bite of a classic Belgian white. While you're sweating and slouching into a chair, this beer will go down smoothly but remind you that you can't celebrate without enjoying taste as well.
2) Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale
All things being equal, I prefer my hoppy beers of the double IPA variety, so thick and sweet that they serve as both a drink and dinner. But when you're exhausted and parched, all things are not equal. A Maharaja, for example, could leave me asleep within an hour in the post-skiing state. So, I'll go for a full-flavored pale that is less alcoholic and significantly lighter in body but still fills the taste buds with flowery enjoyment and presents itself with a backbone.
3) Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Though any thick, dark beer will warm your frostbitten toes, not all of them will roll so easily over your dry taste buds. But this one adds a kick that is sweet and pleasant while still being warming. You may not want to drink it all night after a hard day on the slopes, but it's like that wake-up call to let you know there will be bold flavor ahead.
4) Boulder Singletrack Copper Ale
In what amounted to unknowing preparation for this column, I spent two days in the hot sun at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival eight years ago drinking nothing but Singletrack. I was dancing and panting and probably should have consumed less alcohol. But the Singletrack was just bold enough to give me some hopped comfort while its medium body flowed through me easily. Heck, I imagine this is the beer I would want with me on the ski slopes . . . if, you know, that kind of thing were allowed.
5) Backcountry Telemark IPA
OK, this one breaks the pattern by tossing some bullying hops into an otherwise mellow category. Maybe it's just that I've stopped by the Frisco brewery so many times on my way home that this is the Pavlovian apres-ski beer of choice for me. But there's also a tangy, accessible quality to the hops that leave them less battering on your taste buds than they should be. Reward yourself. You've earned a beer this big and drinkable.
Anything I overlooked?
Labels: Backcountry Brewery, Boulder Beer, Breckenridge Brewery, New Belgium Brewing, Odell Brewing
Sunday, October 12, 2008
GABF: Best of the Fest
If 2005 was the apex of extreme beers, as Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian said in a talk this weekend, then the 2008 Great American Beer Festival showed that beer makers are toning down their experimentation but getting better at what they've concocted.
Sour beers and big IPAs once again seemed to be the talk of the festival, but those that drew the most raves were not pushing the alcohol boundary as much as smoothing out their bold tastes without mellowing them. You didn't see chai and green tea ending up in every conceivable style of beer anymore, but the coffee beers that used to be hit and miss seemed more universally to be filled with java flavor.
Trying to encapsulate all that happened and was learned over the three best beer days in America isn't easy. Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing multiple pieces about trends and beer books and even optimism that the craft brewing industry will survive this recession with a measurable dent.
But to start with, I just want to rattle off one man's impression of the absolute best of this year in just a few categories. And then you can either tell me that I'm a genius or that my taste buds should be cast aside into the seventh level of hell. Sound fair?
Best in show: In a year of high-minded sour ales, Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Cassee reached the highest point. This barrel-fermented wild sour ale from Massachusetts came onto you with a sour cherry nose but evolved several times in your mouth, finishing with a bold green apple pucker. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I urged nearly everyone I was with to try it as well, and I got the same reaction. There was nothing gutsier or as well done as this gem.
Best porter/stout: Bluegrass Brewing's Kick in the Baltic Porter was four things at once: Chocolatey, smooth, warming and even slightly sweet. I never knew beer this well-crafted could come out of a state (Kentucky) that I've only associated with whiskey.
Best hoppy beer: After drinking Breckenridge 471 IPA, I hit as many great IPAs and double IPAs as I could in succession, wanting to put them up against each other. While Great Divide's Hercules Double IPA came close, nothing equalled this double's combination of flowery goodness and a sweet back taste that makes it dangerously easy to drink.
Best Scottish/red ale: Texas-based Real Ale Brewing's Real Heavy is a big, big take on the Scottish style that amps up everything in even measure and leaves you surprised and how nice it can turn out.
Best wheat: Few things are as enjoyable as the way that New Belgium's Mothership Wit glides over your tongue. This organic wheat beer touches several taste buds but does so in a gentle way, leaving you wanting more.
Best eye-opener: There are so many to choose from here. But to my mind, nothing bends a style better than Papago Brewing's Orange Blossom. The Arizona brewery's orange wheat beer tastes somewhat like a cream soda with a kick and with a fine yeast profile to boot. Friends who dislike wheats and dislike fruity beers admitted to me that this is something they would drink.
If 2005 was the apex of extreme beers, as Brewers Association President Charlie Papazian said in a talk this weekend, then the 2008 Great American Beer Festival showed that beer makers are toning down their experimentation but getting better at what they've concocted.
Sour beers and big IPAs once again seemed to be the talk of the festival, but those that drew the most raves were not pushing the alcohol boundary as much as smoothing out their bold tastes without mellowing them. You didn't see chai and green tea ending up in every conceivable style of beer anymore, but the coffee beers that used to be hit and miss seemed more universally to be filled with java flavor.
Trying to encapsulate all that happened and was learned over the three best beer days in America isn't easy. Over the next few weeks, I'll be writing multiple pieces about trends and beer books and even optimism that the craft brewing industry will survive this recession with a measurable dent.
But to start with, I just want to rattle off one man's impression of the absolute best of this year in just a few categories. And then you can either tell me that I'm a genius or that my taste buds should be cast aside into the seventh level of hell. Sound fair?
Best in show: In a year of high-minded sour ales, Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Cassee reached the highest point. This barrel-fermented wild sour ale from Massachusetts came onto you with a sour cherry nose but evolved several times in your mouth, finishing with a bold green apple pucker. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I urged nearly everyone I was with to try it as well, and I got the same reaction. There was nothing gutsier or as well done as this gem.
Best porter/stout: Bluegrass Brewing's Kick in the Baltic Porter was four things at once: Chocolatey, smooth, warming and even slightly sweet. I never knew beer this well-crafted could come out of a state (Kentucky) that I've only associated with whiskey.
Best hoppy beer: After drinking Breckenridge 471 IPA, I hit as many great IPAs and double IPAs as I could in succession, wanting to put them up against each other. While Great Divide's Hercules Double IPA came close, nothing equalled this double's combination of flowery goodness and a sweet back taste that makes it dangerously easy to drink.
Best Scottish/red ale: Texas-based Real Ale Brewing's Real Heavy is a big, big take on the Scottish style that amps up everything in even measure and leaves you surprised and how nice it can turn out.
Best wheat: Few things are as enjoyable as the way that New Belgium's Mothership Wit glides over your tongue. This organic wheat beer touches several taste buds but does so in a gentle way, leaving you wanting more.
Best eye-opener: There are so many to choose from here. But to my mind, nothing bends a style better than Papago Brewing's Orange Blossom. The Arizona brewery's orange wheat beer tastes somewhat like a cream soda with a kick and with a fine yeast profile to boot. Friends who dislike wheats and dislike fruity beers admitted to me that this is something they would drink.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, Cambridge Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, New Belgium Brewing
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Changing - and Sometimes Wincing - Face of Wheats
I'm normally the last guy to complain about additions to wheat beers. I couldn't stop talking about Papago Brewing's orange vanilla wheat after the 2006 Great American Beer Festival. And 21st Amendment Brewery's watermelon wheat was, to me, the standout wheat of the 2007 gathering. The peculiar taste, added strongly enough to give character without saturating the unfiltered body, makes a beer stand out in this genre.
But what exactly is the new fascination with adding pomegranate to beer? First Fort Collins dashes the taste into its Major Tom's wheat just enough so that you can feel a slight tinge of something extra but not really taste a mouthful of the fruit. Then, last night, I got to try a Serenac Pomegranate Wheat. Serenac, a brewery most familiar to East Coasters, makes a wonderful black and tan and other enjoyable beers. The pomegranate wheat, however, was like a syrup, so sweet that I actually found myself sipping, stopping and staring at the glass to make sure there weren't any seeds in there. I love breweries who experiment, and anyone who does should get extra points just for their originality. But I think the pomegranate trend has just gone too far.
Lastly, I must give props to Breckenridge's Agave Wheat, celebrating its first full year in existence by becoming a beer that I hear more and more members of the Fearless Tasting Crew talking about. It's slightly citrus overtones perk up the wheat and give it kick rather than make you pucker. That's what a fruit-infused wheat should be, nothing more.
I'm normally the last guy to complain about additions to wheat beers. I couldn't stop talking about Papago Brewing's orange vanilla wheat after the 2006 Great American Beer Festival. And 21st Amendment Brewery's watermelon wheat was, to me, the standout wheat of the 2007 gathering. The peculiar taste, added strongly enough to give character without saturating the unfiltered body, makes a beer stand out in this genre.
But what exactly is the new fascination with adding pomegranate to beer? First Fort Collins dashes the taste into its Major Tom's wheat just enough so that you can feel a slight tinge of something extra but not really taste a mouthful of the fruit. Then, last night, I got to try a Serenac Pomegranate Wheat. Serenac, a brewery most familiar to East Coasters, makes a wonderful black and tan and other enjoyable beers. The pomegranate wheat, however, was like a syrup, so sweet that I actually found myself sipping, stopping and staring at the glass to make sure there weren't any seeds in there. I love breweries who experiment, and anyone who does should get extra points just for their originality. But I think the pomegranate trend has just gone too far.
Lastly, I must give props to Breckenridge's Agave Wheat, celebrating its first full year in existence by becoming a beer that I hear more and more members of the Fearless Tasting Crew talking about. It's slightly citrus overtones perk up the wheat and give it kick rather than make you pucker. That's what a fruit-infused wheat should be, nothing more.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, pomegranate, Serenac Brewery, Wheat
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A Stout for the Summer
Summer is about Belgians and spicy blondes and lighter pale ales. It's not about dark beers . . . at least I thought so until I stopped by Breckenridge Brewery tonight.
There I discovered the Thunder Stout, the newest in the small-batch series that already has produced the magnificently hoppy 471 IPA. I don't normally get stouts in the hot months, but it was Breck's, so I thought it was worth a try.
What I found was a beer with a thick head, incredibly creamy body and the kind of light, silky nitro-tap sensation that takes you by surprise when you're not expecting it. A wonderfully easy beer, it had the smooth body of a session beer but an approachable and yet still filling character that didn't reek of unique flavor so much as it screamed of gentle happiness.
The exact taste was elusive - was it a mellow oatmeal body or did I sense just a touch of the vanilla overtones that mark the brewery's porter? - but it was seductively light and pleasing. Yes, I'll still order the 471 IPA first when I go back, as I did tonight, but at least I know there is something surprising waiting for me after I've finished that.
Summer is about Belgians and spicy blondes and lighter pale ales. It's not about dark beers . . . at least I thought so until I stopped by Breckenridge Brewery tonight.
There I discovered the Thunder Stout, the newest in the small-batch series that already has produced the magnificently hoppy 471 IPA. I don't normally get stouts in the hot months, but it was Breck's, so I thought it was worth a try.
What I found was a beer with a thick head, incredibly creamy body and the kind of light, silky nitro-tap sensation that takes you by surprise when you're not expecting it. A wonderfully easy beer, it had the smooth body of a session beer but an approachable and yet still filling character that didn't reek of unique flavor so much as it screamed of gentle happiness.
The exact taste was elusive - was it a mellow oatmeal body or did I sense just a touch of the vanilla overtones that mark the brewery's porter? - but it was seductively light and pleasing. Yes, I'll still order the 471 IPA first when I go back, as I did tonight, but at least I know there is something surprising waiting for me after I've finished that.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, nitro, stouts
