Monday, June 25, 2018
Checking in on Georgetown's Only Brewery
The first brewery to operate in the town of Georgetown since the end of Prohibition turned a year old not long ago. And while Guanella Pass Brewery's offerings vary in quality, the family- and dog-friendly brewery on the edge of downtown is certainly worth a stop at the end of the hiking or train-riding adventure that brings you to the one-time mining boom town.
Despite its youth, the brewery is not short on options, as the 16 on-tap adventures during a visit last week to the beer maker demonstrated. And they ran the gamut from a pilsner and a raspberry blond to a double IPA and a whiskey-barrel-aged Russian imperial stout, with plenty of pales, browns and ambers in between.
One of the notable highlights of the menu is that Guanella Pass' best beers don't fit neatly into one style. Certain hoppy beers are sharp and classical, while other attempts fall flat. And malt monsters range from full-bodied to oddly citrusy (particularly the Saxon Mountain Stout, which smells roasty but tastes disconcertingly bitter.)
Maybe the best offering from the brewery, which opened last year around Memorial Day, is the Kataka Mountain IPA. Bitter without being overbearing, it feels likes a classic Northwest IPA - crisp, flavorful and enjoyable.
Similarly, the Brown Ale, with its roasty and almost chocolaty nose, is more classical composition than mind-opening experimentation, but it's tasty and springs a little bitterness on the back. And the Black American Ale, containing the hop bite of a black IPA/pale hybrid, is a well-blended combination of styles.
The most interesting offering on Guanella Pass' recent menu, though, was Russian Investigation Imperial Stout, a whiskey-barrel-aged RIS that tastes nowhere near as mild as its 8.2% ABV labeling might indicate. It has such a whiskey flavoring that it transitions all the way to being sweet. And while there are meatier versions of the style on the market, this is unique and memorable.
For all of those impressive offerings, however, Guanella Pass misses at times.
The aforementioned Saxon Mountain Stout has an almost lemony character running throughout it, leaving the drinker confused at what it's trying to do. The Raspberry Blond Ale fails to assert either of its personality characteristics. And for all the punch the IPA and black pale have, the Liquid Gold Double IPA lacks identity, presenting a heavy body without particular hoppy or malty dominance.
Still, this is not a brewery to be picked apart; it's one to be enjoyed for the satisfying easiness of its mountain-town offerings. And it's one that should be applauded for opening in a town where it clearly was needed.
The first brewery to operate in the town of Georgetown since the end of Prohibition turned a year old not long ago. And while Guanella Pass Brewery's offerings vary in quality, the family- and dog-friendly brewery on the edge of downtown is certainly worth a stop at the end of the hiking or train-riding adventure that brings you to the one-time mining boom town.
Despite its youth, the brewery is not short on options, as the 16 on-tap adventures during a visit last week to the beer maker demonstrated. And they ran the gamut from a pilsner and a raspberry blond to a double IPA and a whiskey-barrel-aged Russian imperial stout, with plenty of pales, browns and ambers in between.
One of the notable highlights of the menu is that Guanella Pass' best beers don't fit neatly into one style. Certain hoppy beers are sharp and classical, while other attempts fall flat. And malt monsters range from full-bodied to oddly citrusy (particularly the Saxon Mountain Stout, which smells roasty but tastes disconcertingly bitter.)
Maybe the best offering from the brewery, which opened last year around Memorial Day, is the Kataka Mountain IPA. Bitter without being overbearing, it feels likes a classic Northwest IPA - crisp, flavorful and enjoyable.
Similarly, the Brown Ale, with its roasty and almost chocolaty nose, is more classical composition than mind-opening experimentation, but it's tasty and springs a little bitterness on the back. And the Black American Ale, containing the hop bite of a black IPA/pale hybrid, is a well-blended combination of styles.
The most interesting offering on Guanella Pass' recent menu, though, was Russian Investigation Imperial Stout, a whiskey-barrel-aged RIS that tastes nowhere near as mild as its 8.2% ABV labeling might indicate. It has such a whiskey flavoring that it transitions all the way to being sweet. And while there are meatier versions of the style on the market, this is unique and memorable.
For all of those impressive offerings, however, Guanella Pass misses at times.
The aforementioned Saxon Mountain Stout has an almost lemony character running throughout it, leaving the drinker confused at what it's trying to do. The Raspberry Blond Ale fails to assert either of its personality characteristics. And for all the punch the IPA and black pale have, the Liquid Gold Double IPA lacks identity, presenting a heavy body without particular hoppy or malty dominance.
Still, this is not a brewery to be picked apart; it's one to be enjoyed for the satisfying easiness of its mountain-town offerings. And it's one that should be applauded for opening in a town where it clearly was needed.
Labels: Barrel aging, brown ale, Guanella Pass Brewery, IPA, New Colorado breweries
Monday, June 12, 2017
Grand County's Sprouting Beer Scene
When I drove through Grand County seven years ago researching my book "Mountain Brew," there were two breweries in the county and one was making extract beers. That extract brewery remains, and the other - Grand Lake Brewing - has moved from the town of its namesake to the Front Range. All is not lost, however.
Over the past three years, three new breweries have moved into the quiet paradise of mountains, lakes and mud-season solitude. And they collectively are giving a new personality to the beer scene from Winter Park to Grand Lake to Kremmling, making the county a worthwhile place to seek out the local beers while you are bathing in its natural beauty.
The most hidden of the three - but also the greatest gem - is Never Summer Brewing, a slightly-more-than-a-year-old nanobrewery tucked into the back of the Everybody's Brewin' It homebrew shop on the main street through the sleepy town of Granby. There owner Kirk Main offers just six taps of beer at a four-stool bar, but he's got a great thing going in both his laid-back atmosphere and the quality of his brews.
As befitting a brewery in a town off the beaten path, Main doesn't get overly exotic with his styles, but he nails the ones he offers. The Up River Nut Brown Ale is a particularly pleasant offering combining a hint of nuttiness with a smooth, roasted backtaste. The Jacksaw Oatmeal Stout has a full, soupy body with an almost campfire-smoke mouthfeel. And while the Wiley Rye-Oatey Pale Ale was a bit light-bodied, you could still feel the craftsmanship that was deserving of a pint after a summer hike down the ski hill at nearby Granby Ranch.
Hideaway Park Brewery in Winter Park is also staking its claim, now able to tout itself as the grain-brewed granddaddy of the local scene at three years old. And while its best beers are its simplest, it packs a lot of flavors into styles that might get lost at other establishments.
The best thing on its menu is the Little Mac Pale Ale, a light-bodied offering with a sharp but subdued pine backtaste that rewards the drinker by being refreshing but also bringing a full mouthfeel. Its Humulus #6 black IPA also grabs attention with a body that is almost sooty and packs a roasted malt wallop that goes toe to toe (and stands out from) its substantial hop undertones. By the time you've scaled the tasting menu up to experiments like its Purple Drank port-barrel aged red ale, you'll be looking for some more definition and clarity as to what the brewery is trying to do with some of the beers. But you'll enjoy the ride on the way up there, and the small-bar-with-games-and-a-patio atmosphere captures the spirit of the town perfectly.
Winter Park also offers The Peak Bistro & Brewery, a sports bar with a full and tasty menu as well as the longest original beer list of the county's purveyors. But while this is a good place to hang out and enjoy a barbecue chicken pizza, the beers have a lowest-common-denominator feel to them, even when the brewery reaches and tries a unique style.
Take, for example, its American Lilly, a pomegranate and blueberry wheat that has the soft glow of summer sunset, though the color doesn't quite resemble anything that's found in the natural world. The infusion of two types of juices here is a sign that the brewers are reaching for something different, but it lands flat, with a body so light that the actual beer feels subservient to the juice.
To be sure, beers like the AC (Arapaho Creek IPA) and the Rifle Sight Rye Pale Ale are quaffable enough, but their bodies, like those of the Timberline Stout and Winter Park Ale, are just missing complexity. It's a large place with a family-friendly atmosphere, however.
Grand County's brewing scene won't be mistaken for that of its eastern neighbor, Larimer County, anytime soon. But considering those who make the trip over Berthoud Pass are likely doing so to get away from the more bustling parts of Colorado anyway, they at least don't have to leave behind the beer scene altogether anymore.
When I drove through Grand County seven years ago researching my book "Mountain Brew," there were two breweries in the county and one was making extract beers. That extract brewery remains, and the other - Grand Lake Brewing - has moved from the town of its namesake to the Front Range. All is not lost, however.
Over the past three years, three new breweries have moved into the quiet paradise of mountains, lakes and mud-season solitude. And they collectively are giving a new personality to the beer scene from Winter Park to Grand Lake to Kremmling, making the county a worthwhile place to seek out the local beers while you are bathing in its natural beauty.
As befitting a brewery in a town off the beaten path, Main doesn't get overly exotic with his styles, but he nails the ones he offers. The Up River Nut Brown Ale is a particularly pleasant offering combining a hint of nuttiness with a smooth, roasted backtaste. The Jacksaw Oatmeal Stout has a full, soupy body with an almost campfire-smoke mouthfeel. And while the Wiley Rye-Oatey Pale Ale was a bit light-bodied, you could still feel the craftsmanship that was deserving of a pint after a summer hike down the ski hill at nearby Granby Ranch.
Hideaway Park Brewery in Winter Park is also staking its claim, now able to tout itself as the grain-brewed granddaddy of the local scene at three years old. And while its best beers are its simplest, it packs a lot of flavors into styles that might get lost at other establishments.
The best thing on its menu is the Little Mac Pale Ale, a light-bodied offering with a sharp but subdued pine backtaste that rewards the drinker by being refreshing but also bringing a full mouthfeel. Its Humulus #6 black IPA also grabs attention with a body that is almost sooty and packs a roasted malt wallop that goes toe to toe (and stands out from) its substantial hop undertones. By the time you've scaled the tasting menu up to experiments like its Purple Drank port-barrel aged red ale, you'll be looking for some more definition and clarity as to what the brewery is trying to do with some of the beers. But you'll enjoy the ride on the way up there, and the small-bar-with-games-and-a-patio atmosphere captures the spirit of the town perfectly.
Winter Park also offers The Peak Bistro & Brewery, a sports bar with a full and tasty menu as well as the longest original beer list of the county's purveyors. But while this is a good place to hang out and enjoy a barbecue chicken pizza, the beers have a lowest-common-denominator feel to them, even when the brewery reaches and tries a unique style.
Take, for example, its American Lilly, a pomegranate and blueberry wheat that has the soft glow of summer sunset, though the color doesn't quite resemble anything that's found in the natural world. The infusion of two types of juices here is a sign that the brewers are reaching for something different, but it lands flat, with a body so light that the actual beer feels subservient to the juice.To be sure, beers like the AC (Arapaho Creek IPA) and the Rifle Sight Rye Pale Ale are quaffable enough, but their bodies, like those of the Timberline Stout and Winter Park Ale, are just missing complexity. It's a large place with a family-friendly atmosphere, however.
Grand County's brewing scene won't be mistaken for that of its eastern neighbor, Larimer County, anytime soon. But considering those who make the trip over Berthoud Pass are likely doing so to get away from the more bustling parts of Colorado anyway, they at least don't have to leave behind the beer scene altogether anymore.
Labels: brown ale, Grand County, Grand Lake Brewing, Hideaway Park Brewery, Never Summer Brewing, Pale Ale, Peak Bistro & Brewery, pomegranate, sports bars
