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
Sunday, April 07, 2019
A Most Unique Denver Brewery
Your first impression of the offerings at Dos Luces Brewery, frankly, is: These aren't beer. The thick, multicolored samplers at your fingertips are bright and flavorful, but there's no way they are beer.
And yet, owner Judd Belstock not only is serving up beer, he is fashioning malted beverages in a uniquely American way from the Pulque and Chicha traditions of Mexico and Peru — traditions passed down from his father, who spent a portion of the 1960s with the Peace Corps in South America enjoying the unusual native beverages.
As the brewing world descends on Denver this week for the Craft Brewers Conference, there are no shortage of great breweries making memorable beer for them to stop by. But there may be none so wildly unique as Dos Luces, so much so that the biggest question is whether it inspires copycats or simply remains a one-of-a-kind draw.
"Our mission statement is we want to change the way that people think about beer," Belstock said.
Over the past 10 years, the onslaught of sours, pastry stouts and IPAs with all manners of adjunct ingredients already has redefined beer. What separates Dos Luces' offerings is the wide range of tastes they produce from just two base styles of beer.
Chicha, a corn-based beverage made in the Peruvian tradition, has a natural sweetness, even as Belstock makes it with a slightly nuttier-tasting blue corn, and it works perfectly as a base when spice is added. The brewery's flagship Chicha Inti has strong flavors of both clove and cinnamon, and that has given life to a series of one-offs, including a Pumpkin Spice Chicha from late 2018 that used ginger to create a particularly refreshing aftertaste.
Pulque, a Mexican drink traditionally made from the sap of the maguey plant, brings a slightly more familiar taste, one that's less juice-reminiscent and more earthy and malty in its design — particularly in the always-available Pulque Metztli, which is Brett-fermented and kettle-soured. It's produced fascinating spin-offs such as a slightly tart Strawberry Nutmeg Pulque and a Lime Ancho Chile Pulque that brings the full mouth of a meal cooked with spices rather than the traditional burn of a chile beer.
Belstock (pictured below) makes his creations from barley and corn in order to meet the definition of beer, though the lack of hops in his offerings renders them eligible for just two categories at the Great American Beer Festival — historical and experimental brews. At his first festival last year, just a few months after the brewery opened, he found drinkers confused as to what they were imbibing, yet still wanting to come back and have more.
The reaction is understandable, and it's one that only will grow as he adds more twists on his two flagship beers, including a collaboration Belgian-style saison made with maguey sap — brewed with with Atrevida Beer Co. of Colorado Springs and BorderX Brewing of San Diego — that will be on at Dos Luces throughout this week. That follows the brewery's first imperial chicha, released last month.
But as other breweries scramble for ways to stand out in a crowded market, Dos Luces needs only to attract attention for people to note how it's different. And in a city that has embraced everything from traditional English-style cask beers to oenobeers, it deserves its own spotlight.
Your first impression of the offerings at Dos Luces Brewery, frankly, is: These aren't beer. The thick, multicolored samplers at your fingertips are bright and flavorful, but there's no way they are beer.And yet, owner Judd Belstock not only is serving up beer, he is fashioning malted beverages in a uniquely American way from the Pulque and Chicha traditions of Mexico and Peru — traditions passed down from his father, who spent a portion of the 1960s with the Peace Corps in South America enjoying the unusual native beverages.
As the brewing world descends on Denver this week for the Craft Brewers Conference, there are no shortage of great breweries making memorable beer for them to stop by. But there may be none so wildly unique as Dos Luces, so much so that the biggest question is whether it inspires copycats or simply remains a one-of-a-kind draw.
"Our mission statement is we want to change the way that people think about beer," Belstock said.
Over the past 10 years, the onslaught of sours, pastry stouts and IPAs with all manners of adjunct ingredients already has redefined beer. What separates Dos Luces' offerings is the wide range of tastes they produce from just two base styles of beer.
Pulque, a Mexican drink traditionally made from the sap of the maguey plant, brings a slightly more familiar taste, one that's less juice-reminiscent and more earthy and malty in its design — particularly in the always-available Pulque Metztli, which is Brett-fermented and kettle-soured. It's produced fascinating spin-offs such as a slightly tart Strawberry Nutmeg Pulque and a Lime Ancho Chile Pulque that brings the full mouth of a meal cooked with spices rather than the traditional burn of a chile beer.
Belstock (pictured below) makes his creations from barley and corn in order to meet the definition of beer, though the lack of hops in his offerings renders them eligible for just two categories at the Great American Beer Festival — historical and experimental brews. At his first festival last year, just a few months after the brewery opened, he found drinkers confused as to what they were imbibing, yet still wanting to come back and have more.
But as other breweries scramble for ways to stand out in a crowded market, Dos Luces needs only to attract attention for people to note how it's different. And in a city that has embraced everything from traditional English-style cask beers to oenobeers, it deserves its own spotlight.
Labels: Atrevida Beer Co., BorderX Brewing, chicha, Craft Brewers Conference, Dos Luces Brewery, Great American Beer Festival, New Colorado breweries, pulque
