Friday, April 08, 2016
How do beer bar chains blend with the Denver scene?
It was both somewhat surprising and slightly predictable to learn in February that World of Beer had shuttered its downtown Denver location after just 18 months.
There was surprise because the location offered more than 50 beers on tap, including an array of impressive local and national offerings and had the on-the-surface credibility of some of the better beer bars in the crowded LoDo scene. Its Sunday BEERunch (pictured below) had a tasty menu extending from breakfast classics to tasty chipotle porter wings.
But World of Beer, which still operates locations in Cherry Creek and Lakewood, also carried in its description a series of words that can spell death to craft-beer enthusiasts — "out-of-state chain." And while I visited the location occasionally until its demise, I also noticed that the crowds never appeared there the way they did at places like Freshcraft or Lucky Pie or Falling Rock Tap House.
It's worth noting that chains were some of America's original craft-beer bars, including the Colorado-based Old Chicago chain that opened its doors in 1976, the same year that the first beers rolled off the lines at New Albion Brewery. But in today's farm-to-pint, uber-local beer-drinking society, it's also worth asking what the place of chains is here in the Napa Valley of craft beer.
One way to do that is to look at two other chains that remain downtown and seem to be thriving, at least by the size of the crowds I encountered there in the past two weeks.
The California-based Yard House chain actually was one of the early beer bars in downtown, finding its way into Denver around the time that Freshcraft and Euclid Hall were opening. At 120 distinct taps of beer, it actually has more flowing from kegs than even Falling Rock, though no one has ever confused the two businesses.
Yard House has suffered rightly from those who take a cursory look at its beer list and note the number of macro beers and "crafty" macro-owned breweries that inhabit its taps - a far higher percentage of its lineup than those previously mentioned beer bars. But at the end of March, it rolled out 25 new beers at the 16th Street Mall location, and they showed its commitment to quality.
Dry Dock, Crooked Stave, Grimm Brothers and Odell's sour series found a permanent place on the tap list. Bigger national craft breweries like Rogue were on there too, but with offerings like its coffee/IPA-hybrid Cold Brew that you can't find everywhere else. And Yard House folks found a few gems, like the flowery and grapefruity Almanac IPA, that would have a proud place in any locally owned beer bar.
Yes, faux-craft breweries like Elysian and Kona still have quite a few taps on the Yard House list. But, despite its corporate nature, one can't walk into the bar anymore and not be able to find enough palate-pleasing originals to keep you busy for the full happy hour.
Two blocks down from Yard House is Henry's Tavern, a Portland-based concept that opened in the Denver Pavilions just before Great American Beer Festival last year. It brandishes a tap list of 100 offerings, including some new-to-market goodies like La Cumbre (the New Mexico brewer that's one of the country's up-and-coming IPA makers) and some atypical locals like Left Hand's Great Juju.
Henry's adds the bonus of a fairly impressive upscale beer-bar menu, featuring goodies like accessible sushi and Gorgonzola fries. And it's got a nice patio, which I discovered yesterday because a friend and I couldn't find a seat inside the bar.
Again, there is more of a splash of corporate beer on the menu than you'd ever find at a place like Star Bar or Hops 'n Pie. But it's clear the owners support more than just the 50 largest craft breweries also and are willing to pick up locals, like Comrade Brewing.
So, yes, it's still OK to prefer the locals. They support even more of the small and rising craft breweries, and keeping 100 percent of the money within the community can do nothing but help the craft beer scene grow.
But at this point, it at least is worth acknowledging that some of these out-of-state chains are making more of an effort to resemble the tap lists of the local joints. And that too is a win for the local beer scene, as we all appear to be Denver-fying the national chains and making them realize how important it is to know your crowd.
It was both somewhat surprising and slightly predictable to learn in February that World of Beer had shuttered its downtown Denver location after just 18 months.
There was surprise because the location offered more than 50 beers on tap, including an array of impressive local and national offerings and had the on-the-surface credibility of some of the better beer bars in the crowded LoDo scene. Its Sunday BEERunch (pictured below) had a tasty menu extending from breakfast classics to tasty chipotle porter wings.
But World of Beer, which still operates locations in Cherry Creek and Lakewood, also carried in its description a series of words that can spell death to craft-beer enthusiasts — "out-of-state chain." And while I visited the location occasionally until its demise, I also noticed that the crowds never appeared there the way they did at places like Freshcraft or Lucky Pie or Falling Rock Tap House.
It's worth noting that chains were some of America's original craft-beer bars, including the Colorado-based Old Chicago chain that opened its doors in 1976, the same year that the first beers rolled off the lines at New Albion Brewery. But in today's farm-to-pint, uber-local beer-drinking society, it's also worth asking what the place of chains is here in the Napa Valley of craft beer.
One way to do that is to look at two other chains that remain downtown and seem to be thriving, at least by the size of the crowds I encountered there in the past two weeks.
The California-based Yard House chain actually was one of the early beer bars in downtown, finding its way into Denver around the time that Freshcraft and Euclid Hall were opening. At 120 distinct taps of beer, it actually has more flowing from kegs than even Falling Rock, though no one has ever confused the two businesses.
Yard House has suffered rightly from those who take a cursory look at its beer list and note the number of macro beers and "crafty" macro-owned breweries that inhabit its taps - a far higher percentage of its lineup than those previously mentioned beer bars. But at the end of March, it rolled out 25 new beers at the 16th Street Mall location, and they showed its commitment to quality.
Dry Dock, Crooked Stave, Grimm Brothers and Odell's sour series found a permanent place on the tap list. Bigger national craft breweries like Rogue were on there too, but with offerings like its coffee/IPA-hybrid Cold Brew that you can't find everywhere else. And Yard House folks found a few gems, like the flowery and grapefruity Almanac IPA, that would have a proud place in any locally owned beer bar.
Yes, faux-craft breweries like Elysian and Kona still have quite a few taps on the Yard House list. But, despite its corporate nature, one can't walk into the bar anymore and not be able to find enough palate-pleasing originals to keep you busy for the full happy hour.
Two blocks down from Yard House is Henry's Tavern, a Portland-based concept that opened in the Denver Pavilions just before Great American Beer Festival last year. It brandishes a tap list of 100 offerings, including some new-to-market goodies like La Cumbre (the New Mexico brewer that's one of the country's up-and-coming IPA makers) and some atypical locals like Left Hand's Great Juju.
Henry's adds the bonus of a fairly impressive upscale beer-bar menu, featuring goodies like accessible sushi and Gorgonzola fries. And it's got a nice patio, which I discovered yesterday because a friend and I couldn't find a seat inside the bar.Again, there is more of a splash of corporate beer on the menu than you'd ever find at a place like Star Bar or Hops 'n Pie. But it's clear the owners support more than just the 50 largest craft breweries also and are willing to pick up locals, like Comrade Brewing.
So, yes, it's still OK to prefer the locals. They support even more of the small and rising craft breweries, and keeping 100 percent of the money within the community can do nothing but help the craft beer scene grow.
But at this point, it at least is worth acknowledging that some of these out-of-state chains are making more of an effort to resemble the tap lists of the local joints. And that too is a win for the local beer scene, as we all appear to be Denver-fying the national chains and making them realize how important it is to know your crowd.
Labels: Almanac Beer, beer bars, chains, Henry's Tavern, La Cumbre Brewing, Left Hand Brewing, Old Chicago, Rogue Ales, World of Beer, Yard House
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Where Have the Tasty Pumpkin Beers Gone?
September and October have, in the past decade or so, become a time when breweries can freely experiment with adding spices galore to dark beers and sometimes saisons and creating a pumpkin wonderland. As more beer makers have ventured into these efforts, many of them have become quite good at it.
But something seems to have gone awry in 2013, as the pumpkin experiments have become more of the mad-scientist or bland-scientist variety. And finding a great pumpkin beer has become decidedly difficult this year, even from breweries that otherwise make some great ales.
One of the problems is an over-reliance by brewers on cinnamon to spice the beers, creating what might be called "cinnamon bombs." Hop bombs can be pleasantly challenging; cinnamon bombs, not so much.
The primary example of this is Elysian Brewing's The Great Pumpkin, a beer that, at its best, has been one of most flavorful in the country, approximating the taste of sticking a straw into an alcoholic pumpkin pie. The imperial 2013 version, however, is so cinnamon-heavy it's almost medicinal, and it creates a whole new level of bitterness.
Similarly but not as offensively, the Dry Dock Imperial Pumpkin also relies so much on cinnamon that it brings to mind the taste of mulled wine.
Then there is the opposite but just as prevalent trend — "pumpkin" beers that have just a hint of pumpkin and seem to concentrate far more on the base style than the special spicing. These are not necessarily bad beers, but they are disappointments when you go in looking for a new kind of creation.
A prime example of this is Denver Beer Co's Hey Pumpkin! (which I'm drinking at Freshcraft in the photo above). Denver Beer Co. normally doesn't skimp on flavor, but this is more like an amber ale with barely a hint of nutmeg, almost a starter pumpkin beer.
Epic Brewing created an Imperial Pumpkin Porter that is impressive in its strength and darkness, but the pumpkin is almost an afterthought. Ditto for Tommyknocker Brewery's Small Batch Pumpkin Ale, which is so light in pumpkin that it's forgotten even before it's down your throat.
There are a few notable exceptions to this year's patch of disappointment. Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale, for example, is a full-mouthed taste aided by a pinch of ginger that cuts the sharpness of the cinnamon.
The biggest surprise of the season, though, is St. Ambroise Pumpkin, the product of McAuslan Brewing of Quebec A full but not heavy beer with a big taste of nutmeg, it has both sweet and spicy tones and seems to capture the mellowing but intriguing spirit of the fall season. And that seems to make it a rarity this year.
September and October have, in the past decade or so, become a time when breweries can freely experiment with adding spices galore to dark beers and sometimes saisons and creating a pumpkin wonderland. As more beer makers have ventured into these efforts, many of them have become quite good at it.
But something seems to have gone awry in 2013, as the pumpkin experiments have become more of the mad-scientist or bland-scientist variety. And finding a great pumpkin beer has become decidedly difficult this year, even from breweries that otherwise make some great ales.
One of the problems is an over-reliance by brewers on cinnamon to spice the beers, creating what might be called "cinnamon bombs." Hop bombs can be pleasantly challenging; cinnamon bombs, not so much.
The primary example of this is Elysian Brewing's The Great Pumpkin, a beer that, at its best, has been one of most flavorful in the country, approximating the taste of sticking a straw into an alcoholic pumpkin pie. The imperial 2013 version, however, is so cinnamon-heavy it's almost medicinal, and it creates a whole new level of bitterness.
Similarly but not as offensively, the Dry Dock Imperial Pumpkin also relies so much on cinnamon that it brings to mind the taste of mulled wine.
Then there is the opposite but just as prevalent trend — "pumpkin" beers that have just a hint of pumpkin and seem to concentrate far more on the base style than the special spicing. These are not necessarily bad beers, but they are disappointments when you go in looking for a new kind of creation.A prime example of this is Denver Beer Co's Hey Pumpkin! (which I'm drinking at Freshcraft in the photo above). Denver Beer Co. normally doesn't skimp on flavor, but this is more like an amber ale with barely a hint of nutmeg, almost a starter pumpkin beer.
Epic Brewing created an Imperial Pumpkin Porter that is impressive in its strength and darkness, but the pumpkin is almost an afterthought. Ditto for Tommyknocker Brewery's Small Batch Pumpkin Ale, which is so light in pumpkin that it's forgotten even before it's down your throat.
There are a few notable exceptions to this year's patch of disappointment. Rogue Farms Pumpkin Patch Ale, for example, is a full-mouthed taste aided by a pinch of ginger that cuts the sharpness of the cinnamon.
The biggest surprise of the season, though, is St. Ambroise Pumpkin, the product of McAuslan Brewing of Quebec A full but not heavy beer with a big taste of nutmeg, it has both sweet and spicy tones and seems to capture the mellowing but intriguing spirit of the fall season. And that seems to make it a rarity this year.Labels: Denver Beer Co, Dry Dock Brewing, Elysian Brewing, Epic Brewing, Pumpkin beers, Rogue Ales, St. Ambroise, Tommyknocker Brewery
