Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Colorado's Magical Mountain Malt (and Hops) Tour
As the beer world gets set to converge on Denver for the Great American Beer Festival next week, it's fair to say that the Mile High City has earned all of the plaudits it's received as one of the finest hop havens in America.
Yet, I can't shake the belief that the single best beer experiences I've had in Colorado this year have all involved visiting mountain breweries. And, frankly, that's not a statement on Denver so much as it is a booming assertion about how far the beer scene has come in small towns across this state.
Exhibit number one is Broken Compass Brewing, the Breckenridge beer maker tucked into an industrial strip mall outside the city center. It's well known for its GABF-medal-winning Coconut Porter - a beer that is both boozy and sweet and deserves the attention it gets - but a visit to the taproom shows just how much more the place is than one beer.
Its work imbuing huge flavors into its pale ales - both its crackling and eminently drinkable Ginger Pale Ale and its light-your-taste-buds-up-just-enough Chili Popper Pale Ale - shows a special skill in bringing out the flavor of experimental ingredients. Its Double IPA represents one of the most grassed-up dives into the style in the state. And it Imperial Bourbon Brown, a complex melange of bold tastes, was everything you could want in a glass.
But Summit County - now home to eight breweries - doesn't stop there, with the known or with the surprises. It's widely disseminated that Pug Ryan's can offer some of the most refreshing flavors in the state while served on its Tiki Bar overlooking Dillon Reservoir, and Outer Range Brewing has grown into one of the leaders in the burgeoning hazy IPA movement in Colorado. But Silverthorne holds a hidden gem as well in Angry James Brewing, and its Two Tone Footer Stout (pictured at right), mixed perfectly with chocolate malt and dry-hopped with coffee beans from nearby Jazzy Java, may be one of the easiest and tastiest coffee offerings around, as the dry-hopping gives a roasty mocha feel without any of the bitterness that can come with the bean.
But if Broken Compass is exhibit 1, than Telluride Brewing is exhibit 1A about how much can be done by a brewery miles from anything but mountains and beauty. Both, quite frankly, can make a legitimate case for being in the 15 best breweries out of the 370 that Colorado has to offer now.
A trip to Telluride's taproom - also outside downtown in an industrial area - is an experience in going into the belly of the brewery, standing around in a place with no bar stools and enjoying your beverage literally while leaning on a fermenter. But if there are five more complex and satisfying barrel-aged beers in this state that its Fishwater Project Double IPA, you would be hard-pressed to name them. And the variety that the brewery now offers, from Chardonnay-barrel-aged tripels to sours to the single best brown ale in the state (Face Down Brown) makes this a can't-miss stop.
I won't go on about nearby Durango, as its wares - from the gusto of Ska Brewing to the subtle brilliance of Steamworks Brewing - are well documented. And it's worth checking out the surrounding areas, from the state's single-most family-friendly beer garden (Pagosa Brewing) to the very-small-town Mancos Brewing (owner DeWayne Jackson is pictured at top), which crafts a Desert Drifter Rye Ale in which the rye truly is the star, making a unique taste that lasts.
But arguably the single-biggest surprise in the state may be WildEdge Brewing Collective in Cortez, a sleepy town on the edge of Mesa Verde National Park whose beer scene has been subdued previously. WildEdge offers up pure experimentation in the form of kettle sours, saisons and beers that break the mold of traditional styles. Its Birthday Barrel, a barrel-aged tart saison fermented with Palisade peaches to celebrate its one-year anniversary earlier this year, could have been mistaken for something coming off the taps at Avery Brewing.
No one should ever cut their time short drinking in Denver or Fort Collins or Boulder. But at this point, a trip into the mountains in Colorado no longer requires the choice of sacrificing world-class beer for world-class views. You can get both and never want to leave Colorado.
As the beer world gets set to converge on Denver for the Great American Beer Festival next week, it's fair to say that the Mile High City has earned all of the plaudits it's received as one of the finest hop havens in America.
Yet, I can't shake the belief that the single best beer experiences I've had in Colorado this year have all involved visiting mountain breweries. And, frankly, that's not a statement on Denver so much as it is a booming assertion about how far the beer scene has come in small towns across this state.
Exhibit number one is Broken Compass Brewing, the Breckenridge beer maker tucked into an industrial strip mall outside the city center. It's well known for its GABF-medal-winning Coconut Porter - a beer that is both boozy and sweet and deserves the attention it gets - but a visit to the taproom shows just how much more the place is than one beer.
Its work imbuing huge flavors into its pale ales - both its crackling and eminently drinkable Ginger Pale Ale and its light-your-taste-buds-up-just-enough Chili Popper Pale Ale - shows a special skill in bringing out the flavor of experimental ingredients. Its Double IPA represents one of the most grassed-up dives into the style in the state. And it Imperial Bourbon Brown, a complex melange of bold tastes, was everything you could want in a glass.But Summit County - now home to eight breweries - doesn't stop there, with the known or with the surprises. It's widely disseminated that Pug Ryan's can offer some of the most refreshing flavors in the state while served on its Tiki Bar overlooking Dillon Reservoir, and Outer Range Brewing has grown into one of the leaders in the burgeoning hazy IPA movement in Colorado. But Silverthorne holds a hidden gem as well in Angry James Brewing, and its Two Tone Footer Stout (pictured at right), mixed perfectly with chocolate malt and dry-hopped with coffee beans from nearby Jazzy Java, may be one of the easiest and tastiest coffee offerings around, as the dry-hopping gives a roasty mocha feel without any of the bitterness that can come with the bean.
But if Broken Compass is exhibit 1, than Telluride Brewing is exhibit 1A about how much can be done by a brewery miles from anything but mountains and beauty. Both, quite frankly, can make a legitimate case for being in the 15 best breweries out of the 370 that Colorado has to offer now.
A trip to Telluride's taproom - also outside downtown in an industrial area - is an experience in going into the belly of the brewery, standing around in a place with no bar stools and enjoying your beverage literally while leaning on a fermenter. But if there are five more complex and satisfying barrel-aged beers in this state that its Fishwater Project Double IPA, you would be hard-pressed to name them. And the variety that the brewery now offers, from Chardonnay-barrel-aged tripels to sours to the single best brown ale in the state (Face Down Brown) makes this a can't-miss stop.
I won't go on about nearby Durango, as its wares - from the gusto of Ska Brewing to the subtle brilliance of Steamworks Brewing - are well documented. And it's worth checking out the surrounding areas, from the state's single-most family-friendly beer garden (Pagosa Brewing) to the very-small-town Mancos Brewing (owner DeWayne Jackson is pictured at top), which crafts a Desert Drifter Rye Ale in which the rye truly is the star, making a unique taste that lasts.
But arguably the single-biggest surprise in the state may be WildEdge Brewing Collective in Cortez, a sleepy town on the edge of Mesa Verde National Park whose beer scene has been subdued previously. WildEdge offers up pure experimentation in the form of kettle sours, saisons and beers that break the mold of traditional styles. Its Birthday Barrel, a barrel-aged tart saison fermented with Palisade peaches to celebrate its one-year anniversary earlier this year, could have been mistaken for something coming off the taps at Avery Brewing.
No one should ever cut their time short drinking in Denver or Fort Collins or Boulder. But at this point, a trip into the mountains in Colorado no longer requires the choice of sacrificing world-class beer for world-class views. You can get both and never want to leave Colorado.
Labels: Angry James Brewing, Broken Compass Brewing, Great American Beer Festival, Mancos Brewing, Outer Range Brewing, Pug Ryan's, Ska Brewing, Steamworks Brewing, Telluride Brewing, WildEdge Brewing Collective
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Five Craft Lager Festival Thoughts
It's been one week now since the Manitou Craft Lager Festival. Generally, if something sticks in your brain that long, it's made an impression. And there are several things from this year's event that made an impression.
1. Odell Brewing can do no wrong
Usually, small-batch pilot experiments are big, bold flavors too risky to appeal to the mass population. But this year, Odell made a pilot kolsch for the festival. And it may have been the best beer there. Glisteningly smooth and crisp, this version of the German style increased the standard amount of hops in a kolsch by just enough to make this a sharp but still very easy-drinking beer. Let's hope this moves from pilot batch to six packs very soon.
2. Summit County brewers are underrated
The longest lines of the weekends formed at the Dillon Dam Brewery booth, where Cory Forster (far right in the photo) poured a malty, approachable Montezuma Marzen that seemed perfect for the summer heat. Next to it, Pug Ryan's brewmaster Dave Simmons (center in photo, next to me) doled out his thick, sweet Helles Bock and a smooth, easy Pallavicini Pilsner. Pug's sends a few beer in cans to the Front Range and Dillon Dam none; these two breweries are proving, however, that Summit County has a selection worth traveling for.
3. Highly hopped pilsners are an idea whose time has come
Avery debuted its Joe's Pilsner last year and shocked a lot of people with the amount of hops you can put into a 4.7 percent, light-bodied beer. It was back this year, but it was not alone in its genre. Lost Rhino Brewing of Virginia, which is set to begin Colorado distribution soon, showed up with an aggressively hopped Rhino Chaser Pils that added a firm, sweet malt backbone to its character. It would not surprise me to see the hopped pilsner, with its combination of refreshment and bitter joy, blowing up to become the next big style, ala the Belgian sour or black IPA.
4. The clown remains a prince
Shmaltz Brewing of New York and its creepy clown symbol remained the most talked-about out-of-state brewer at the festival. I asked a number of people who stopped by the Mountain Brew booth what their favorite beer was, and the most common answer I got was the Coney Island Albino Python, a wistful ginger-touched white lager. But the bock-like Blockhead and whiskey-tinged Barrel-Aged Blockhead added greatly to the resume of a brewery that should find a way to have a bigger presence in Colorado.
5. Festival organizers were attentive to attendees' pleas
Last year, half the beer booths had shut down with two hours to go on Saturday and attendees were up in arms. This year, festival organizers smartly reduced the two-ounce pours to one ounce, leaving lines a bit long at times but ensuring that drinkers could get whatever they wanted to try. They also added distillers, giving the daring another option of beverages to try. And the security was on the lookout for the excessively drunk, meaning that people who were really wanting to sample and discuss the beers weren't being pushed around by the belligerent. Other than the 30-minute rainstorm that stopped strolling and sampling for a while Sunday, this was a better festival all around than last year. And it once again should be regarded as one of the finest in the state.
Labels: Avery Brewing, Dillon Dam Brewery, Lost Rhino, Manitou Springs, Mountain Brew book, Odell Brewing, Pug Ryan's, Shmaltz Brewing
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Stop ... Lager Time
Colorado has more beer festivals than Batman has archenemies. But there are four that year in and year out stand out:
*Denver's Great American Beer Festival in late September;
*Vail's Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival in early January;
*Salida's Brewers Rendezvous in early July; and,
*The Manitou Craft Lager Festival, coming up this Saturday and Sunday.
Each of these brings a unique assortment of brewers from across the state and country. And each is notable because the brewers don't just show up but bring harder-to-find selections and even make unique offerings to roll out at the events.
But the Craft Lager Festival, entering its ninth year this year, earns special kudos among the group because it has played a significant role in Colorado breweries taking an outdated style of beer and spicing it up. And any event that makes the lager - the kind of beer most often associated with megaswill - special is worthy of our compliments.
And I'm not just saying that because this is the first festival at which we'll be selling my book, Mountain Brew.
Really, take a look at some of the offerings that will be available this year. Odell Brewing is rolling out a pilot kolsch beer. Rock Bottom Colorado Springs is bringing a chili pepper Mexican lager. And AC Golden, known largely for its Colorado Native lager, is bringing a German-style pilsner that you can't find on store shelves.
And, of course, that doesn't even count the fantastic offerings from smaller breweries that aren't available statewide, such as Pug Ryan's Helles Bock or Rocky Mountain Brewery's Smoked Hefeweizen.
The only complaint that patrons have had in the past about the festival is that it's grown so fast that breweries run out of beer too quickly. But organizers have always responded strongly to feedback, and there are great hopes that the beer flows until close to closing time this year.
So, cheers for the Craft Lager Festival, which runs from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. And I hope to see a number of you down there celebrating this unique take on the Colorado brewing tradition.
Labels: AC Golden, Manitou Springs, Mountain Brew book, Odell Brewing, Pug Ryan's, Rock Bottom Brewery, Rocky Mountain Brewery
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Five Things I Learned from the Manitou Craft Lager FestivalThe seventh annual Manitou Craft Lager Festival took place this past weekend, and at two full days with 22 different breweries (and one beer made by about a dozen brewers), it was bigger than ever. One is always tempted to use the cliche "bigger and better," and with a bevy of good bluegrass music and host Jason Yester strolling throughout the festival talking beer with everyone, that expression is probably true.
But I'll choose to use the term "bigger and smarter" instead, because that's how I came away from the event. And here's a few of those things to smarten you up that many attendees may have picked up this year:
1) Just because a beer is of a typically light style doesn't mean it is. Ask especially the Sam Adams Double Bock, which was, in the opinion of this one beer geek, the offering of the festival. A dark, malty, ass-kicking beer that weighed in at 9.5 percent ABV, this is the most complex version of a lager that you'll find. Kudos as well to Carver Brewing's X-Rock Bock, whose big alcohol left it with a caramely sweet taste.
2) Even if it is light doesn't mean it tastes anything like (Insert Megabrewery Here) Light. Some of the finest sips on this 85-degree day came from thin, translucent beers with easy malt flavoring - the emphasis being on actual flavor. Left Hand's Polestar Pilsner (which judges named the beer of the festival) was crisp, refreshing and style-defining. Likewise, Del Norte's pale Orale Mexican-style lager was just lightly hopped and sweet enough to pronounce its personality without getting in the way of your need for something less than chewy under the summer sun.
3) Fruit, which soars in Belgian-style ales and adds personality if done right in regular ales, can be intrusive in a lager. Ask Michelob, whose Pear Beer resembled a pushy cider but not a beer. Even Rocky Mountain Brewing, the Colorado Springs envelope-pushers who have added everything but a thick steak to their beers in their first year of existence, demonstrated that a little lemongrass in a lager might intrigue you, but it also can take over the beer.
4) "Bitter" and "lager" no longer are mutually exclusive terms. Shmaltz Brewing, another envelope pusher, opened a lot of eyes with its Sword Swallower, an IPA-inspired lager brewed with eight hops that jolted while most of the other beers poured at the festival soothed. Meanwhile, Boulder Beer rolled out a new Rye't On! Lager that presented a spicy and bitter taste to you.
5) Pug Ryan's needs to find a way to get its Helles Good Beer out to the Colorado market somehow. A sweet and highly malty seasonal bock that somehow finishes with cooling properties, it had the best combination of originality and drinkability of any lager on tap. A number of people said the same thing at the 2008 Arapahoe Basin beer festival. The small Dillon brewpub right now cans just one of its concoctions - its Morningwood Wheat. If you can't wait for the Helles to come to you, I'd suggest getting up to Summit County to try it this summer.
Labels: Festivals, Manitou Springs, Pug Ryan's, Sam Adams
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Colorado Brewery Tour: Pug Ryan'sWhen I wrote my column for The Gazette, I did a monthly feature on a different Colorado brewery, usually corresponding to a place more people are likely to visit in that season (ski towns in winter, college towns during football season, etc.) I'd like to restart that tradition today with a visit to Pug Ryan's, a Dillon brewpub/steakhouse in the heart of ski country.
Named after an outlaw whose gang held up the game room at Denver's Breckenridge Hotel in 1888, Pug's is a cozy spot in downtown Dillon that's usually crowded enough on weekends that you'll have to wait for a dinner table. That's OK, as the small bar that fronts the brewing area has a moderately sized selection of beers (usually five or six on tap at a time) that are uniformly enjoyable without being overly challenging.
One of Pug's signatures is its Pallavicini Pilsner, a Bohemian-style pilsner named after a ski run at Arapahoe Basin. A multiple GABF award winner, this adds a crisp, sparkling finish to an overall smoothness that makes it a subtle but flavorful leader of this genre of brews.
The Over the Rail Pale Ale - named after a near disaster involving a brew kettle and a less-than-smooth installation process - is another easy drinker with a light grassy taste and a citrus dance on the tongue. An overall bitter sensation leaves a lasting mark on a beer whose taste really picks up around mid-glass.
A personal favorite is the Coffee Porter, which comes on with a grounded-bean scent that doesn't hammer you as much as it rings naturally of coffee flavor in a less harsh form. The immediate visceral assault with a slight peppery late-breaking taste climbs inside your mouth, leaving you to marvel at how light-bodied it is for a big-tasting beer.
On tap for the season is a Saison, a 7.7 percent ABV sticky treat with an overwhelming initial sugary impression that fades slightly into a buttery soft quality. The heavy yeast quality makes this quite perfumey, giving it almost a rock sugar quality that could render it too sharp for some (like my wife, who was helping me taste).
Others on Pug's menu are of slightly lesser note. The lightly filtered Morning Wood Wheat has the fizzy attributes of a golden ale and is easy, though not particularly memorable. And the Scottish Ale Formerly Known As Kiltlifter has a light-bodied quality that made it blend well with our burger but didn't hold up as well on its own.
Though it's not on tap at the moment, one of Pug's great creations is its daring Hellesbock, a summertime treat with more heft than most of its brethren and an almost amber feel. It's usually making its debut around the time of the Memorial Day festival at Arapahoe Basin.
Oh, and the food? Steak, classic burgers, ribs, fish - after a couple of back bowls, it hits the spot. As does the beer in this tiny brewery that often is overlooked but definitely shouldn't be.
Labels: Colorado Brewery Tour, Pug Ryan's
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Breckenridge Beer Festival
So, did anyone else out there hit the Breckenridge Beer Festival this weekend? I did, and I have a couple of thoughts coming out of it.
*As far as outdoor summer beer festivals go, the atmosphere was more pleasant than Ft. Collins but not quite up to Salida standards. The crowd was a little smaller, slightly classier and less chaotic than the Ft. Collins event, and the lines never grew more than four or five people long. The town-square setting was pleasant, but without the shades offered by the trees in Salida's downtown park, it also got a little hotter.
*Once again, festival organizers and brewers underestimated the desire for some of their beers. This didn't touch the one-hour-in-and-you're-running-low tendency of the best brews at the Arapahoe Basin festival, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't still get an Odell IPA more than an hour before the end of the show, especially since I was wearing an Odell IPA shirt. Some popular booths, like Alaskan Brewing, packed up way too early. Other good ones, like Pug Ryan's stayed throughout the show. Which brings me to my next point . . . .
*Dillon's Pug Ryan's is quietly becoming one of the unsung stars of the Colorado beer scene. It stole the show at the Arapahoe Basin festival in May with its new helles bock, and few beers seemed to get the compliments in Breckenridge that its Breakfast Porter pulled in. I decided after starting the day with the coffee-heavy porter that every beer festival should begin with a similar wake-up-the-taste-buds drink.
*Nobody does festivals better than Boston Beer Company. Most breweries bring a few staples, maybe a new arrival and they roll out some schwag and free samples. The makers of Sam Adams come prepared to make you think. I noticed this at the Vail big beers festival in January and again this weekend. Rather than just give you a beer, they wanted attendees to vote on whether their next roll-out would be a Blackberry Witbier or a Coffee Stout. It's a great way to make you care more about the company and to give you a reason to go to a festival rather than to just go down to the corner liquor store. The winner for me, by the way, was easy: the coffee stout was surprisingly light but filling in its fine taste; the witbier was too sweet and pungent.
*Overall, as a first-time attendee, I have to say I enjoyed the festival. Almost every major Colorado brewer was there, and the atmosphere was a pleasant, easy one. You can never go wrong visiting one of Colorado's most laid-back ski towns, and the offering of 22 beers there is just one more reason to head to the mountains.
So, did anyone else out there hit the Breckenridge Beer Festival this weekend? I did, and I have a couple of thoughts coming out of it.
*As far as outdoor summer beer festivals go, the atmosphere was more pleasant than Ft. Collins but not quite up to Salida standards. The crowd was a little smaller, slightly classier and less chaotic than the Ft. Collins event, and the lines never grew more than four or five people long. The town-square setting was pleasant, but without the shades offered by the trees in Salida's downtown park, it also got a little hotter.
*Once again, festival organizers and brewers underestimated the desire for some of their beers. This didn't touch the one-hour-in-and-you're-running-low tendency of the best brews at the Arapahoe Basin festival, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't still get an Odell IPA more than an hour before the end of the show, especially since I was wearing an Odell IPA shirt. Some popular booths, like Alaskan Brewing, packed up way too early. Other good ones, like Pug Ryan's stayed throughout the show. Which brings me to my next point . . . .
*Dillon's Pug Ryan's is quietly becoming one of the unsung stars of the Colorado beer scene. It stole the show at the Arapahoe Basin festival in May with its new helles bock, and few beers seemed to get the compliments in Breckenridge that its Breakfast Porter pulled in. I decided after starting the day with the coffee-heavy porter that every beer festival should begin with a similar wake-up-the-taste-buds drink.
*Nobody does festivals better than Boston Beer Company. Most breweries bring a few staples, maybe a new arrival and they roll out some schwag and free samples. The makers of Sam Adams come prepared to make you think. I noticed this at the Vail big beers festival in January and again this weekend. Rather than just give you a beer, they wanted attendees to vote on whether their next roll-out would be a Blackberry Witbier or a Coffee Stout. It's a great way to make you care more about the company and to give you a reason to go to a festival rather than to just go down to the corner liquor store. The winner for me, by the way, was easy: the coffee stout was surprisingly light but filling in its fine taste; the witbier was too sweet and pungent.
*Overall, as a first-time attendee, I have to say I enjoyed the festival. Almost every major Colorado brewer was there, and the atmosphere was a pleasant, easy one. You can never go wrong visiting one of Colorado's most laid-back ski towns, and the offering of 22 beers there is just one more reason to head to the mountains.
Labels: Breckenridge, Festivals, Pug Ryan's, Sam Adams
