Friday, February 21, 2020
Beer and Donuts Is the New Beer and Pizza
Leave it to the couple that decided mixing IPA and mac 'n cheese was a good idea - and shocking everyone all by proving themselves right - to have the first beer bar/restaurant in Denver to open up a donut shop inside as well.
Come Wednesday, Hops & Pie will also be home to Berkeley Donuts, a shop that will open at 7:30 a.m. and be located right beside the bar that serves one of the best tap lists of local and national craft beer in Denver. Folks can come in and get the donuts - sourdough, vegan or made New England-style with potatoes for extra fluff - until around lunchtime and, if they wish, they can enjoy one or more with a beer such as a coffee stout or a barrel-aged stout, which are co-owner Drew Watson's recommended pairings.
Beer and donuts aren't a new thing in Denver. Denver Beer Co. has been offering irregular pairings of the two important food groups for years, an idea that other breweries since have picked up as well. And Oskar Blues Brewery ran one of the best donut shops in town, Hotbox Roasters, beside its CHUBurger beer bar before shutting both concepts down late last year to concentrate on its full-service restaurants and its brewing capacity.
But what Drew and Leah Watson are doing represents, in many ways, the first chance to dive head-first into trying a great donut - trust me when I say to try the almond coconut chocolate donut or the sourdough frosted with lemon poppyseed icing (both pictured above) - beside a great beer. And Drew, who has been perfecting this concept for two years in the kitchen of his Arvada house, has a few thoughts on how a perfect pairing would work.
He's partial to dark cake with dark malts, he said Friday, and has concocted a menu that includes donut flavors like S'mores, salted caramel and toffee with pretzel. But he also appreciates that a sweeter frosting could pair with a sour or maybe a wheat.
And he acknowledged that, just maybe, he's looking for a way to work hops into donuts, possibly through a combination of grapefruit or other citrus frosting flavors and Southern Hemisphere hops.
"I think any style of beer goes with any style of donut," he mused. "But I think clearly the heavy stouts and Belgians and porters go particularly well."
Donuts aren't likely to replace pizza or even pretzels as the ultimate beer-pairing food yet, but they allow for an impressive level of creativity in terms of how their richness can add to a fullness of flavor in a brew. And the idea that at least one high-level beer hangout in Denver is willing to bet big on the combination shows a continuing maturation of a city that's willing to try new things.
"Denver's a lot in my mind like Portland, Oregon, or Portland, Maine, and those cities have that donut presence," Drew said. "And I've always wondered why Denver doesn't."
Leave it to the couple that decided mixing IPA and mac 'n cheese was a good idea - and shocking everyone all by proving themselves right - to have the first beer bar/restaurant in Denver to open up a donut shop inside as well.
Come Wednesday, Hops & Pie will also be home to Berkeley Donuts, a shop that will open at 7:30 a.m. and be located right beside the bar that serves one of the best tap lists of local and national craft beer in Denver. Folks can come in and get the donuts - sourdough, vegan or made New England-style with potatoes for extra fluff - until around lunchtime and, if they wish, they can enjoy one or more with a beer such as a coffee stout or a barrel-aged stout, which are co-owner Drew Watson's recommended pairings.
Beer and donuts aren't a new thing in Denver. Denver Beer Co. has been offering irregular pairings of the two important food groups for years, an idea that other breweries since have picked up as well. And Oskar Blues Brewery ran one of the best donut shops in town, Hotbox Roasters, beside its CHUBurger beer bar before shutting both concepts down late last year to concentrate on its full-service restaurants and its brewing capacity.
But what Drew and Leah Watson are doing represents, in many ways, the first chance to dive head-first into trying a great donut - trust me when I say to try the almond coconut chocolate donut or the sourdough frosted with lemon poppyseed icing (both pictured above) - beside a great beer. And Drew, who has been perfecting this concept for two years in the kitchen of his Arvada house, has a few thoughts on how a perfect pairing would work.
He's partial to dark cake with dark malts, he said Friday, and has concocted a menu that includes donut flavors like S'mores, salted caramel and toffee with pretzel. But he also appreciates that a sweeter frosting could pair with a sour or maybe a wheat.
And he acknowledged that, just maybe, he's looking for a way to work hops into donuts, possibly through a combination of grapefruit or other citrus frosting flavors and Southern Hemisphere hops.
"I think any style of beer goes with any style of donut," he mused. "But I think clearly the heavy stouts and Belgians and porters go particularly well."
Donuts aren't likely to replace pizza or even pretzels as the ultimate beer-pairing food yet, but they allow for an impressive level of creativity in terms of how their richness can add to a fullness of flavor in a brew. And the idea that at least one high-level beer hangout in Denver is willing to bet big on the combination shows a continuing maturation of a city that's willing to try new things.
"Denver's a lot in my mind like Portland, Oregon, or Portland, Maine, and those cities have that donut presence," Drew said. "And I've always wondered why Denver doesn't."
Labels: Belgian-style beers, Denver Beer Co, donuts, Food pairing, hops, Hops and Pie, Oskar Blues, Porters, stouts
Thursday, February 01, 2018
Welcome to Stout Month
Back in 1994, when American breweries numbered only in the low hundreds, Paul Nashak had an idea that he thought might bring a few more people into his then-five-month-old Mountain Sun Pub during a slow time. He would load up his taps with stouts in February, call it Stout Month and maybe give folks a little extra reason to stop by.
Stout Month is no longer an idea. It's a full-blown movement that extends beyond the walls of Nashak's current five pubs and into breweries across Colorado that are setting aside more space in February for dark beers of their own creation. Many of those breweries are sending beers to be put on at Mountain Sun pubs. A few are even making beers that will be available only at Mountain Sun's locations this month.
Nashak, managing partner of the brewery, now gives talks on Stout Month. He lines up a wider variety of beers than he once imagined possible. He goes into the pub some days with a certain beer on tap and leaves only when that tap is on its third different creation of the day.
And he loves that everyone wants a piece of that one-time weird idea.
"I think when people started coming into Mountain Sun in the darkest, coldest, slowest month of the year and seeing that we had lines at 2:30 p.m., they realized we'd tapped into something," he said.
The list of Mountain Sun stouts that will be on tap at its properties from Boulder to Denver this month is 31 recipes long. Thirty-six beers from other breweries - including out-of-state craft brewers like Modern Times Brewing that are being added to the list of Colorado offerings for the first time in about eight years - will supplement that haul.
Mountain Sun has standard stouts and dry Irish stouts and cream stouts. But it's also concocted a Girl Scout cookie stout, a Norwegian wheat stout and a brand new cherry chile stout. There are five imperial stouts and three barrel-aged stouts waiting too, including the bourbon-barrel-aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Milk Stout that was one of the standouts of the Great American Beer Festival.
Nearly as exciting, though, is the list of guest stouts that will be on tap.There are multiple s'mores stouts, a maple donut Russian imperial stout and a Turkish coffee stout. TRVE has three stouts that will be pouring at Mountain Sun.
Chris Bell, co-owner of Call to Arms Brewing, admitted that he rarely makes stouts. But, wanting to be a part of Stout Month madness, the Denver brewery this year created Body By Beer Milk Stout, Buzzy Body Coffee Milk Stout (which is a phenomenal blend of sweet smoothness with a kick of highly flavored roast) and Dust in the Wind Dry Irish Stout. The latter will be on at Mountain Sun.
Even though Mountain Sun will host the largest Stout Month celebration, other breweries will host their own celebrations of the style too. Resolute Brewing in Centennial, for example, will roll out six beers across the course of the month, including a chocolate orange stout and a rum raisin imperial stout. Black Sky Brewery will have a few of its own, including a blackberry stout and a chocolate mint pistachio stout.
The point is this: Stout Month began almost as a lark. And now it's an obsession. And we are the ones who get to benefit from Paul Nashak's rather brilliant idea.
Back in 1994, when American breweries numbered only in the low hundreds, Paul Nashak had an idea that he thought might bring a few more people into his then-five-month-old Mountain Sun Pub during a slow time. He would load up his taps with stouts in February, call it Stout Month and maybe give folks a little extra reason to stop by.Stout Month is no longer an idea. It's a full-blown movement that extends beyond the walls of Nashak's current five pubs and into breweries across Colorado that are setting aside more space in February for dark beers of their own creation. Many of those breweries are sending beers to be put on at Mountain Sun pubs. A few are even making beers that will be available only at Mountain Sun's locations this month.
Nashak, managing partner of the brewery, now gives talks on Stout Month. He lines up a wider variety of beers than he once imagined possible. He goes into the pub some days with a certain beer on tap and leaves only when that tap is on its third different creation of the day.
And he loves that everyone wants a piece of that one-time weird idea.
"I think when people started coming into Mountain Sun in the darkest, coldest, slowest month of the year and seeing that we had lines at 2:30 p.m., they realized we'd tapped into something," he said.
The list of Mountain Sun stouts that will be on tap at its properties from Boulder to Denver this month is 31 recipes long. Thirty-six beers from other breweries - including out-of-state craft brewers like Modern Times Brewing that are being added to the list of Colorado offerings for the first time in about eight years - will supplement that haul.
Mountain Sun has standard stouts and dry Irish stouts and cream stouts. But it's also concocted a Girl Scout cookie stout, a Norwegian wheat stout and a brand new cherry chile stout. There are five imperial stouts and three barrel-aged stouts waiting too, including the bourbon-barrel-aged Chocolate Thunder Imperial Milk Stout that was one of the standouts of the Great American Beer Festival.
Nearly as exciting, though, is the list of guest stouts that will be on tap.There are multiple s'mores stouts, a maple donut Russian imperial stout and a Turkish coffee stout. TRVE has three stouts that will be pouring at Mountain Sun.
Chris Bell, co-owner of Call to Arms Brewing, admitted that he rarely makes stouts. But, wanting to be a part of Stout Month madness, the Denver brewery this year created Body By Beer Milk Stout, Buzzy Body Coffee Milk Stout (which is a phenomenal blend of sweet smoothness with a kick of highly flavored roast) and Dust in the Wind Dry Irish Stout. The latter will be on at Mountain Sun.
Even though Mountain Sun will host the largest Stout Month celebration, other breweries will host their own celebrations of the style too. Resolute Brewing in Centennial, for example, will roll out six beers across the course of the month, including a chocolate orange stout and a rum raisin imperial stout. Black Sky Brewery will have a few of its own, including a blackberry stout and a chocolate mint pistachio stout.The point is this: Stout Month began almost as a lark. And now it's an obsession. And we are the ones who get to benefit from Paul Nashak's rather brilliant idea.
Labels: Black Sky Brewery, Call to Arms Brewing, imperial stouts, Modern Times, Mountain Sun, Resolute Brewing, stouts, TRVE
Thursday, August 03, 2017
Brewery Rickoli's American Dream
In an age when more breweries are pulling back on the idea of packaging beers and competing for retail space because of the high costs and heavy competition, Brewery Rickoli is getting a rare opportunity to go nationwide - for free.
The Wheat Ridge brewery's Oats McGoats, a gluten-reduced rye stout, is one of five beers from small companies that are part of Sam Adams' Brewing the American Dream 12-pack now available in liquor stores. Brewer Rick Abitbol got to be part of that group by winning the first-ever experienceship offered in 2013 by America's second-largest craft brewery, which gave him a chance to spend a week in Boston learning the finer points of the business and to continue to get advice up to this day.
But having Oats McGoats - a full-bodied offering that is the star of the five local beers in the 12-pack - get onto the national stage may be the biggest benefit yet from the association with Boston Beer, even considering the experienceship already helped Abitbol scale up to his current three-barrel system. The publicity is driving more people to his taproom on Wadsworth Boulevard, and it comes as Brewery Rickoli is trying to add to the 65 current liquor stores that carry its hand-bottled bombers.
"I can't even describe it. It's exposure that we couldn't obtain on our own," Abitbol said last week at a shark-tank style event in Denver where Boston Beer officials awarded $10,000 to a local coffee company before offering speed coaching to local brewers and other entrepreneurs. "And having Sam Adams behind us ... that's all it takes for us to have a lot of people come by the taproom and see how far we've come."
This 12-pack - which also features small breweries from New Mexico, New York and California - will help more than just the five beer makers who get their faces on the labels of those bottles, however. All of the profits go to Accion, a national micro-finance organization that focuses on entrepreneurs with limited or no access to bank credit, a group that includes brewers trying to start their business or take it to the next level.
The company got into a broader partnership with Sam Adams several years ago, though many of the breweries it has helped out are located in Colorado and in New Mexico, from which president and CEO Anne Haines hails. It looks at a variety of criteria when deciding who gets loans ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, but the biggest factor in deciding who gets help is the intangibles of the entrepreneur rather than their bottom line, she said.
"First and foremost, we are looking to people whose dream is on the line," Haines said, noting that seven different Colorado breweries are among the firm's many food- and drink-business clients. "We look for passion, commitment, determination."
It's a lot easier to get a loan these days to start or grow a brewery than it was 25 years ago, when no one yet understood the craft-beer model or how it was going to become such a vital part of community drinking. But to see such a large craft brewery like Sam Adams helping out its nascent competition and using its resources to link them to a company that will help them get new levels of attention says something powerful about the spirit of the craft-brewing industry.
"They're all small, local brewers, so the exposure for them is fantastic," said Jennifer Glanville, head brewer for Boston Beer. "To me, this has been the most exciting collaboration we've ever done."
The Wheat Ridge brewery's Oats McGoats, a gluten-reduced rye stout, is one of five beers from small companies that are part of Sam Adams' Brewing the American Dream 12-pack now available in liquor stores. Brewer Rick Abitbol got to be part of that group by winning the first-ever experienceship offered in 2013 by America's second-largest craft brewery, which gave him a chance to spend a week in Boston learning the finer points of the business and to continue to get advice up to this day.
But having Oats McGoats - a full-bodied offering that is the star of the five local beers in the 12-pack - get onto the national stage may be the biggest benefit yet from the association with Boston Beer, even considering the experienceship already helped Abitbol scale up to his current three-barrel system. The publicity is driving more people to his taproom on Wadsworth Boulevard, and it comes as Brewery Rickoli is trying to add to the 65 current liquor stores that carry its hand-bottled bombers."I can't even describe it. It's exposure that we couldn't obtain on our own," Abitbol said last week at a shark-tank style event in Denver where Boston Beer officials awarded $10,000 to a local coffee company before offering speed coaching to local brewers and other entrepreneurs. "And having Sam Adams behind us ... that's all it takes for us to have a lot of people come by the taproom and see how far we've come."
This 12-pack - which also features small breweries from New Mexico, New York and California - will help more than just the five beer makers who get their faces on the labels of those bottles, however. All of the profits go to Accion, a national micro-finance organization that focuses on entrepreneurs with limited or no access to bank credit, a group that includes brewers trying to start their business or take it to the next level.
The company got into a broader partnership with Sam Adams several years ago, though many of the breweries it has helped out are located in Colorado and in New Mexico, from which president and CEO Anne Haines hails. It looks at a variety of criteria when deciding who gets loans ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, but the biggest factor in deciding who gets help is the intangibles of the entrepreneur rather than their bottom line, she said.
"First and foremost, we are looking to people whose dream is on the line," Haines said, noting that seven different Colorado breweries are among the firm's many food- and drink-business clients. "We look for passion, commitment, determination."
It's a lot easier to get a loan these days to start or grow a brewery than it was 25 years ago, when no one yet understood the craft-beer model or how it was going to become such a vital part of community drinking. But to see such a large craft brewery like Sam Adams helping out its nascent competition and using its resources to link them to a company that will help them get new levels of attention says something powerful about the spirit of the craft-brewing industry.
"They're all small, local brewers, so the exposure for them is fantastic," said Jennifer Glanville, head brewer for Boston Beer. "To me, this has been the most exciting collaboration we've ever done."
Labels: Accion, Boston Beer Co., Brewery Rickoli, Gluten-free beer, stouts
Friday, June 30, 2017
Pagosa's Play-Friendly (Brew)Pub Scene
Pulling into the Pagosa Springs Visitor Center last week, I was a little taken aback to be told by a worker that the city was "not a great place for families with little kids." The activities, from rafting to steeper and longer hikes to exploring Ancestral Puebloans' ruins, did seem to skew older than my 3 and 1-1/2-year-olds would prefer.
However, Pagosa Springs' three breweries bucked that trend in a serious way. From outgoing purveyors to big outdoor patios to an entire play area set up at Pagosa Brewing, it was a town that embraced both adults and kids spending languorous hours enjoying its creations. And at two of the three breweries, it was worth taking extra time to enjoy some wide-ranging and well-concocted beer.
The 1,700-person town in southwestern Colorado is known foremost, in beer circles at least, for its namesake Pagosa Brewing, which gained fame when Tony Simmons won a national contest to produce a recipe for Ben Franklin's 300th birthday — before the brewery even had opened. Simmons turned the publicity from that excellent Poor Richard's Ale into a small gathering place west of downtown that recently expanded into a bigger brewpub and offers so many beers on tap that you'll need two eight-sample taster trays to try them all.
In that vast array of offerings, the range of styles — and, quite frankly, the quality — varies pretty wildly. Sour, hoppy, fruity, dark, light and experimental all crowd the table, almost mandating you make at least two visits to try them all. Yeah, tough job.
The most intriguing, by far, was the Salty Caramel Stout, a medium-bodied stout that uses the caramel to give it both texture and an almost milky consistency, coming off as both bold and easy at the same time. But the piece de resistance is the salt moistened onto the glass, which brings out the roasted and slightly sooty character of the caramel and malts, almost changing the nature of the beer. It's a brilliant experiment, and a phenomenal beer either way you enjoy it.
Pagosa Brewing gets the most out of its fruit and vegetable beers too, getting significant natural flavor into its Peachy Peach, a late-breaking but not overwhelming heat on its Chili Verde Cerveza and a pleasing sweetness to its Cool Cucumber. Its Highlands Scotch Ale is clouded generously with peat and mesquite tastes. And its Powder Day IPA gives the feel of a more old-school northwest-style version of an IPA, with just-right bittering notes.
That said, a menu this big is bound to have holes too. The Soaker's Stout is dull and watery, rendering it especially disappointing on the heels of the Salty Caramel Stout. The gluten-free Pagosa Pale Ale has little hop taste. And the experimental ales, including sours, can still taste, well, experimental. But the portfolio is spectacular, and so is the setting.
Pour for pour, Riff Raff Brewing, located in the heart of downtown, may be even more impressive. Its offerings are more limited and its formula seems simple: Hop everything just a skosh more than style guidelines recommend. But the outcome is magic — especially in beers not known for hop qualities.
The best example of this is its Plebeian Porter, a 38-IBU offering made with six malts and Hallertau hops in which the hop character melds seamlessly with the roasted malts, leaving neither taste dominant but both tastes contributing to a surprisingly kicky finish to the beer. It brings notes of complexity to a style that too often feels one-dimensional.
Stepchild American Red has a late-breaking hop taste to its slightly sweet character and a substantial body that comes with it. The El Duende Green Chile has a slight burn that matches up with the hop bite and leaves it refreshing. And its Hopgoblin American IPA brings a piny bitterness that hop heads in particular will love.
Oh, and Riff Raff's fenced-in patio overlooking Pagosa Street is the perfect place to let little ones run around without bothering other drinkers. Or to allow your toddler to contemplate your taster (see photo at top).
Then there is Wolfe Brewing, a three-year-old establishment that recently underwent an ownership change, though not a change in beer menu. The staff is friendly. Both its porch and its kitsch-lined interior are spacious. But, boy, does it need to add some body to its lineup.
Its Yippie-Ki-Yay IPA comes the closest to what it seems to aspire to be — an English-style IPA with a lighter body and non-aggressive hopping. But the hops reveal themselves to be seemingly non-committal the more you taste it, and the beer leaves you longing for something more.
Sadly, that more isn't found in either its Taxi Dog Amber Ale, a light-bodied malt-only beer that leaves little impression, or the Pot Hill Porter, a smoked porter with both a body and a smoking that are too slight, leaving it as just a vaguely-sweet, smoke-hinting beer. There is potential here, to be sure, but it has not been reached yet.
Still, Pagosa Springs' scene is impressive enough that it's worth a stop, especially if your travels carry you an hour west to the more well-known beer mecca of Durango. Its local breweries are accommodating and experimenting.
However, Pagosa Springs' three breweries bucked that trend in a serious way. From outgoing purveyors to big outdoor patios to an entire play area set up at Pagosa Brewing, it was a town that embraced both adults and kids spending languorous hours enjoying its creations. And at two of the three breweries, it was worth taking extra time to enjoy some wide-ranging and well-concocted beer.
The 1,700-person town in southwestern Colorado is known foremost, in beer circles at least, for its namesake Pagosa Brewing, which gained fame when Tony Simmons won a national contest to produce a recipe for Ben Franklin's 300th birthday — before the brewery even had opened. Simmons turned the publicity from that excellent Poor Richard's Ale into a small gathering place west of downtown that recently expanded into a bigger brewpub and offers so many beers on tap that you'll need two eight-sample taster trays to try them all.
In that vast array of offerings, the range of styles — and, quite frankly, the quality — varies pretty wildly. Sour, hoppy, fruity, dark, light and experimental all crowd the table, almost mandating you make at least two visits to try them all. Yeah, tough job.
The most intriguing, by far, was the Salty Caramel Stout, a medium-bodied stout that uses the caramel to give it both texture and an almost milky consistency, coming off as both bold and easy at the same time. But the piece de resistance is the salt moistened onto the glass, which brings out the roasted and slightly sooty character of the caramel and malts, almost changing the nature of the beer. It's a brilliant experiment, and a phenomenal beer either way you enjoy it.Pagosa Brewing gets the most out of its fruit and vegetable beers too, getting significant natural flavor into its Peachy Peach, a late-breaking but not overwhelming heat on its Chili Verde Cerveza and a pleasing sweetness to its Cool Cucumber. Its Highlands Scotch Ale is clouded generously with peat and mesquite tastes. And its Powder Day IPA gives the feel of a more old-school northwest-style version of an IPA, with just-right bittering notes.
That said, a menu this big is bound to have holes too. The Soaker's Stout is dull and watery, rendering it especially disappointing on the heels of the Salty Caramel Stout. The gluten-free Pagosa Pale Ale has little hop taste. And the experimental ales, including sours, can still taste, well, experimental. But the portfolio is spectacular, and so is the setting.
Pour for pour, Riff Raff Brewing, located in the heart of downtown, may be even more impressive. Its offerings are more limited and its formula seems simple: Hop everything just a skosh more than style guidelines recommend. But the outcome is magic — especially in beers not known for hop qualities.
The best example of this is its Plebeian Porter, a 38-IBU offering made with six malts and Hallertau hops in which the hop character melds seamlessly with the roasted malts, leaving neither taste dominant but both tastes contributing to a surprisingly kicky finish to the beer. It brings notes of complexity to a style that too often feels one-dimensional.Stepchild American Red has a late-breaking hop taste to its slightly sweet character and a substantial body that comes with it. The El Duende Green Chile has a slight burn that matches up with the hop bite and leaves it refreshing. And its Hopgoblin American IPA brings a piny bitterness that hop heads in particular will love.
Oh, and Riff Raff's fenced-in patio overlooking Pagosa Street is the perfect place to let little ones run around without bothering other drinkers. Or to allow your toddler to contemplate your taster (see photo at top).
Then there is Wolfe Brewing, a three-year-old establishment that recently underwent an ownership change, though not a change in beer menu. The staff is friendly. Both its porch and its kitsch-lined interior are spacious. But, boy, does it need to add some body to its lineup.
Its Yippie-Ki-Yay IPA comes the closest to what it seems to aspire to be — an English-style IPA with a lighter body and non-aggressive hopping. But the hops reveal themselves to be seemingly non-committal the more you taste it, and the beer leaves you longing for something more.
Sadly, that more isn't found in either its Taxi Dog Amber Ale, a light-bodied malt-only beer that leaves little impression, or the Pot Hill Porter, a smoked porter with both a body and a smoking that are too slight, leaving it as just a vaguely-sweet, smoke-hinting beer. There is potential here, to be sure, but it has not been reached yet.
Labels: chile beer, Durango, English-style IPA, family-friendly breweries, Fruit beers, IPA, Pagosa Brewing, Pagosa Springs, Porters, Riff Raff Brewing, sour Belgian, stouts, Wolfe Brewing
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
5 Beers to Drink in the Dead of Winter
February is usually the doldrums of the craft beer year, coming after brewers have kicked the special offerings they made for Vail Big Beers but before the new-found creativity of the summer season begins to hit shelves. But not every brewery believes in taking a winter break.
New experiments and some returning late-winter seasonals that can be found on liquor-store shelves offer a peek at just what can be done with a few new hops or a few bold flavoring additives. And here then are a handful of beers you should grab before Spring comes and sweeps them away.
1) Grand Teton Double Vision Doppelbock
The first release in this Idaho brewery's 2016 Cellar Reserve series is a bold, slightly chocolaty offering reminiscent of a lighter-bodied porter. This is a truly excellent medium-bodied dark beer, laced with a tinge of alcohol taste to remind you how beefy a good German-style beer can be.
2) Ska Bump 'n Grind Coffee Cream Stout
Dark as night and balanced without being a coffee bomb, the cream here doesn't add sweetness as much as it provides a softness to this beer (pictured above). Arguably the most subtle of the Durango brewery's flavored stout series, this is a coffee beer for people who don't want the assaulting-bitterness characteristic of the coffee.
3) Odell Runoff Red IPA
Dry-hopped with a complex malt backbone, this hybrid red/IPA is an appropriate beer for the shoulder season. The maltiness gives the vibrant hops a slightly sweet character to go with the full body that is a constant characteristic of Odell offerings.
4) Crazy Mountain Emotional Rescue Double India Pale Ale
One of Denver's newest breweries (now operating in the old Breckenridge Brewery space on Kalamath Street) has been experimenting with a double IPA recipe for years before recently launching this in four-packs. The research time clearly was worth it, producing a resiny, bitter beer that mellows into a malt-balanced mouthful as it warms.
5) Strange Big Malty Winter Brew
One of the least-hopped beauties of early 2016, this warming, amber-colored malt bomb that's available in bombers hits all the right notes. The earthy malt brings its flavor without getting medicinal, and the beer turns slightly cocoa in your mouth as it warms.
February is usually the doldrums of the craft beer year, coming after brewers have kicked the special offerings they made for Vail Big Beers but before the new-found creativity of the summer season begins to hit shelves. But not every brewery believes in taking a winter break.
New experiments and some returning late-winter seasonals that can be found on liquor-store shelves offer a peek at just what can be done with a few new hops or a few bold flavoring additives. And here then are a handful of beers you should grab before Spring comes and sweeps them away.
1) Grand Teton Double Vision DoppelbockThe first release in this Idaho brewery's 2016 Cellar Reserve series is a bold, slightly chocolaty offering reminiscent of a lighter-bodied porter. This is a truly excellent medium-bodied dark beer, laced with a tinge of alcohol taste to remind you how beefy a good German-style beer can be.
2) Ska Bump 'n Grind Coffee Cream Stout
Dark as night and balanced without being a coffee bomb, the cream here doesn't add sweetness as much as it provides a softness to this beer (pictured above). Arguably the most subtle of the Durango brewery's flavored stout series, this is a coffee beer for people who don't want the assaulting-bitterness characteristic of the coffee.
3) Odell Runoff Red IPA
Dry-hopped with a complex malt backbone, this hybrid red/IPA is an appropriate beer for the shoulder season. The maltiness gives the vibrant hops a slightly sweet character to go with the full body that is a constant characteristic of Odell offerings.
4) Crazy Mountain Emotional Rescue Double India Pale Ale
One of Denver's newest breweries (now operating in the old Breckenridge Brewery space on Kalamath Street) has been experimenting with a double IPA recipe for years before recently launching this in four-packs. The research time clearly was worth it, producing a resiny, bitter beer that mellows into a malt-balanced mouthful as it warms.5) Strange Big Malty Winter Brew
One of the least-hopped beauties of early 2016, this warming, amber-colored malt bomb that's available in bombers hits all the right notes. The earthy malt brings its flavor without getting medicinal, and the beer turns slightly cocoa in your mouth as it warms.
Labels: Crazy Mountain Brewing Company, Grand Teton Brewing, Odell Brewing, Ska Brewing, stouts, Strange Craft Beer, Winter seasonals
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The New Stouts of Mountain SunThe annual tradition of Stout Month - sort of a Festivus for beer drinkers - doesn't begin until Feb. 1 at Mountain Sun, Southern Sun and Vine Street Pub. But the eclectic Boulder-based brewery already is rolling out some dark goodness perfect for the cold - er, sometime cold - days around here.
(Warning: These beers were consumed yesterday at the Southern Sun at South Broadway and Table Mesa Drive. I can't vouch for them being at the other two locations yet.)
Its Old School Irish Stout, a seasonal that's been out for roughly a month now, has a hard-to-find blend of chocolate malt flavor with smooth, dry oak-aged backing. Its head quickly recedes, leaving a lighter-bodied stout with a slight blackberry backdrop to the cocoa aroma. A sweetness picks up the longer this sits. In the end, you are left with two thoughts. The first is that it may not be overwhelming in its complexity, but it is soothing and comforting and everything you ask of a stout in January. The second is that the lighter body allows this to pair shockingly well with nachos. Oh yeah, that's a bonus.
The Korova Cream Stout, named after the drug-stocked milk bar in "A Clockwork Orange," also is an easy sipper, though it might be a little too easy for stout lovers. The head sticks around a little longer on this nitrogen-infused stout, which made its 2009 debut just this weekend, but there is little more than a vague roasted malt characteristic on the front taste. The lingering backtaste has a more pronounced hop characteristic, leaving a slightly bitter mouthfeel. There is also a distant toffee caramel taste, but overall this is slightly less interesting than its Irish brethren. Then again, it is a cream stout, so the name may tell you all you need to know.
Labels: Mountain Sun, stouts
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A Stout for the Summer
Summer is about Belgians and spicy blondes and lighter pale ales. It's not about dark beers . . . at least I thought so until I stopped by Breckenridge Brewery tonight.
There I discovered the Thunder Stout, the newest in the small-batch series that already has produced the magnificently hoppy 471 IPA. I don't normally get stouts in the hot months, but it was Breck's, so I thought it was worth a try.
What I found was a beer with a thick head, incredibly creamy body and the kind of light, silky nitro-tap sensation that takes you by surprise when you're not expecting it. A wonderfully easy beer, it had the smooth body of a session beer but an approachable and yet still filling character that didn't reek of unique flavor so much as it screamed of gentle happiness.
The exact taste was elusive - was it a mellow oatmeal body or did I sense just a touch of the vanilla overtones that mark the brewery's porter? - but it was seductively light and pleasing. Yes, I'll still order the 471 IPA first when I go back, as I did tonight, but at least I know there is something surprising waiting for me after I've finished that.
Summer is about Belgians and spicy blondes and lighter pale ales. It's not about dark beers . . . at least I thought so until I stopped by Breckenridge Brewery tonight.
There I discovered the Thunder Stout, the newest in the small-batch series that already has produced the magnificently hoppy 471 IPA. I don't normally get stouts in the hot months, but it was Breck's, so I thought it was worth a try.
What I found was a beer with a thick head, incredibly creamy body and the kind of light, silky nitro-tap sensation that takes you by surprise when you're not expecting it. A wonderfully easy beer, it had the smooth body of a session beer but an approachable and yet still filling character that didn't reek of unique flavor so much as it screamed of gentle happiness.
The exact taste was elusive - was it a mellow oatmeal body or did I sense just a touch of the vanilla overtones that mark the brewery's porter? - but it was seductively light and pleasing. Yes, I'll still order the 471 IPA first when I go back, as I did tonight, but at least I know there is something surprising waiting for me after I've finished that.
Labels: Breckenridge Brewery, nitro, stouts
