Thursday, October 06, 2011
GABF Wrap: Colorado ShinesBy now, you've probably heard the stats on Colorado's props from the Great American Beer Festival, and they are impressive. Thirty-nine medals go to 29 breweries, including 15 gold medals. The state places second in overall medals and golds only to California. Pandemonium ensues.
But before we shut the door on the recaps of this year's magnificent gathering of American brewers, it's worth delving a little deeper on some of the honors that were garnered - and a few that weren't.
*Great Divide, Avery, Left Hand and Trinity make make most of the short lists for the best breweries in Colorado. It is worth noting, however, that none took home a medal this year. That is partly due to the fact that these four breweries simply don't make beers that fit easily into any of the 83 categories in which beers are judged. ("And the medal for best imperial stout infused with Belgian yeast is ... Belgian Yeti, the only one made in America.") But is it shocking all the same. And it tells you something about the state when it can garner 39 medals without any tallies from these big four.
*Two other omissions worth noting are the lack of medals for Bristol's Laughing Lab Scottish Ale and Steamworks' Steam Engine Lager, the two most honored beers in state history, with 15 combined medals. Without rifling through my notes, I can't remember the last time neither medaled. Both are still great beers; sometimes it's just not your year.
*Colorado's big winners, meanwhile, were Dry Dock and Oskar Blues, which took home three medals each. Dry Dock, which scored with its Hefeweizen, Coffee Milk Stout and Pro-Am Kriek, is making a habit of this, tying or leading the state in medals for the third year in a row. Oskar Blues, honored for its Old Chub, Mama's Little Yella Pils and Deviant Dale's (which needs to be canned) is certainly worthy as well.
*Copper Kettle Brewing opened in April and Denver Beer Co. cut its ribbon just in August. Yet, both walked away with medals in their first half-years of existence. Copper Kettle scored gold among herb and spice beers with its Mexican Chocolate Stout and Denver Beer a bronze in specialty beers with its Graham Cracker Porter. Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland, which opened last fall, also was a medal winner at its first GABF, taking gold among altbiers for its Little Red Cap.
*Colorado breweries took the gold and bronze in the pro-am category. C.B. & Potts Westminster had the best collaboration brew with its Before Capone pre-Prohibition pilsner and Dry Dock nabbed bronze for the aforementioned Kriek. This is no coincidence. No other state in the country fosters such an atmosphere of amateurs working with pros, and it's beginning to show.
*Bash Coors all you want, but four of its breweries - Blue Moon, SandLot, AC Golden and the main house all won medals for various creations. And none went to anything in the American lager or light lager categories.
*All of the medals were well earned, but several were exceptionally good choices. New Belgium's Le Terroir snagged the gold in American-style sour ale, as it should - no beer out there combines Belgian technique and American hopping quite as well. Odell's Friek, which mixes sour beers from three differently aged barrels, walked away with a richly deserved gold among wood- and barrel-aged sour beers. And the Funkwerks Saison that took silver for French- and Belgian-style saisons is delicious without being overwhelming.
*Best name out of all the winners: The SandLot's Move Back, the gold-medal recipient among dortmunder or German-style Oktoberfest beers. As brewer Tom Hall told me for my book, it's dedicated to all the Chicago Cubs fans who moved to Denver but complain that Chicago is a much better city.
Labels: CB Potts, Coors Brewing, Copper Kettle Brewing, Denver Beer Co, Dry Dock Brewing, Funkwerks, Great American Beer Festival, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, New Belgium Brewing, Odell Brewing, Oskar Blues
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
This Week in Colorado BeerFirst, I want to apologize to anyone who may have come here over the past 3-1/2 weeks looking for what's going on in Colorado brewing. It's been a tumultuous time for me, what with my newspaper closing and me having to find a new job. I've been drinking a lot of beer, but not all of it necessarily was in conjunction with tasting it for reviews.
That said, my new reporting position with the Denver Business Journal actually includes the brewing industry as part of my beat, so I should not only be able to litter this site with my opinions about beer from now on but with news as well. And with that said . . .
Brewing news
Beer drinkers seemed to come down all over the spectrum on a bill that would have allowed grocery and convenience stores to sell full-strength beer. That measure died, due in large part to efforts of craft brewers against it. Here's the story: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/03/09/daily55.html
St. Patrick's DayYour favorite brewpub will be serving drinks. And there will be a whole bunch of amateur drunks there, swearing at the bartender because he can't just pour them a Bud Light. But there are some good reasons to go out today as well:
*Shamrock Brewing opens the day with a 7 a.m. Irish breakfast. If you're in Pueblo and you're reading this, stop and go there now.
*CB & Potts, at its five Colorado locations, is one of two places advertising itself as making a beer specifically for the occasion. Ole St. Nick's Dry Stout has been on tap for almost two weeks, but today seems the perfect day to try it.
*The other? Wynkoop Brewing broke out its Irish Milk Stout over the weekend.
New Tappings
*I'm a few days late on this, but Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Denver cracked open an Uberwit last Thursday.
*Dry Dock Brewing, meanwhile, will tap its Paragon Apricot Blonde on Monday at 3 p.m. First round is on the Aurora brewery. No kidding.
Beer to Go
*Those of you who have been to Trinity Brewing before and, like me, been told that you couldn't buy a growler on a particular day because the brewery didn't have the proper license can go in there again without fear of further frustration. The Colorado Springs brewery is filling them seven days a week now.
Labels: CB Potts, Dry Dock Brewing, Rock Bottom Brewery, Shamrock Brewing, Trinity Brewing, Wynkoop Brewery
Thursday, January 15, 2009
This Week in Colorado BeerNew Beers
*CB & Potts in Westminster has gone against the dark-and-alcoholic winter trend and recently tapped its Colorado Blonde Ale.
*BJ's (that's in Aurora, Boulder and Westminster) has stayed more true to typical winter boldness and broken out a Grand Cru. For $4.95 you get a special glass.
*And Bristol is once again tapping an IPA Cask Ale on Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. to help all of you in Colorado Springs start your day right.
Beer Pairing Dinners
*Monday, 6:30 p.m.: Bristol puts on a soiree at its next-door neighbor, the Blue Star, for a $55 fee. There's no menu listed, but previous experience at the Blue Star says this will be creative.
*Tuesday, 7 p.m.: BJ's in Boulder hosts its Winter Warmer dinner, complete with the aforementioned Grand Cru, for $30. Call (303) 402-9294 for reservations.
*Wednesday, 6 p.m.: Rock Bottom' Orchard Town Center location hosts a chef and brewer dinner. Details unavailable because I can't get the web site to open at this very moment.
Labels: BJ's, Bristol Brewing, CB Potts, Rock Bottom Brewery
