Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Funkwerks is venturing to SoCal. Adding distribution to Southern California to it reach with draft and limited six-packs.
Stone Distributing has been tapped to handle the influx of Funkwerks Saison, Tropic King and Raspberry Provincial beers, to name a few from the Fort Collins, Colorado brewery.
Hopefully a solid supply has been stashed for this large market.
Colorado takes the spotlight today with Upslope Brewing and their festive red can of Christmas Ale.
“Holiday spices complement the dark fruit and spicy notes from Abbey Ale Yeast. The distinctive holiday aroma, ruby red color and rich malt flavor make this ale perfect for spreading Christmas cheer.”
To be upfront, I was 100% more interested in the beer portion of The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics by Governor John Hickenlooper.
By the end though, I found myself much more interested in his childhood and his mother and how that affected his personality and choices throughout his life.
Maybe that was because both the beer and the politics really get short shrifted in this telling. Wynkoop Brewing was one of the pioneers of craft beer in Colorado, and I didn’t really get to read much about it other than an anecdote about cleaning toilets and fundraising through friends and families. There wasn’t mention of his favorite beers or much about the customers and the growing beer scene or even the Great American Beer Festival for that matter.
The tenure as Mayor of Denver got some coverage but his first term as Governor is just blitzed through with just a laundry list of accomplishments and personnel who helped him.
It is probably too early for a thorough accounting of his political career but I would have hoped to learn more about the craft beer part of his life. But maybe that is for another book. There were many hints dropped as to buried stories underneath the polite line of history that just were not picked up.
But the section up until he got to Denver is really interesting stuff from the point of view of how people are affected by those in their lives and how you can keep pushing and learning all through life. Just following his geographic route through life is remarkable.
Overall, this memoir suffers from what many do. The initial pages are full of content but as the pages go by, the coverage gets thinner until the end, whole years are barely even sketched. There is interesting stuff here but not enough for the beer fan.
We begin our May tour of Gluten-Free Breweries with a stop in Golden, Colorado. And it is not the place you first think of, instead we head to Holidaily Brewing Company which was started by Karen Hertz who was forced by illness into a treatment plan that included a gluten-free diet. Instead of forgoing beer, she and her team researched ingredients and taste tested beers and followed what other breweries were doing in this niche market before launching her brand. And they mean gluten-free, they do not allow even one gluten-containing ingredient beyond their doors.
In looking at their list, I decided to go basic and try their standard bearers since they cover a nice range of styles:
Favorite Blonde
Buckwit Belgian
Beulah Red
Riva Stout
Double IPA
Next stop is for an Imperial Porter from Twisted Pine in Colorado.
“Northstar, which carries a 98 on ratebeer.com, is black as a moonless night and gives off an aroma of toffee and dark fruit laced with licorice. Once the porter hits the palate, the tongue dances to notes of chocolate-covered raisins which harmonize well with subtle traces of roasted nuts and molasses. The beer is dry enough to punctuate the flavors with a crisp finish, while just silky enough to leave a stamp of the epic experience behind for a while. An ABV of 9.1% provides a slight warming glow that grows up the chest as the ale drops in the glass.”
“Upslope has transformed their popular Christmas Ale into a wild version of the holiday classic. Aged for 10 months in Leopold Bros. Maryland-Style Rye Whiskey barrels and their house sour culture, the Belgian-style spiced dubbel Wild Christmas Ale is a complex yet balanced blend of holiday spices, dark cherry caramel and whiskey-spiced oak. Mildly tart due to the Brettanomyces, this ale also boasts a slight chocolate finish and notes of candied orange. At. 9.2% abv, Upslope’s Wild Christmas Ale is sure to bring you warmth and cheer this holiday season.”
Staying in the realm of Christmas cans we get Jubilant with Avery Brewing.
“Our winter strong ale has a gorgeous mahogany hue, a hint of hazelnuts, and a finish reminiscent of mocha and toffee. No spices, just a perfect blend of five specialty malts.”
Big eyes adorn the label of 400 Pound Monkey English-Style IPA from Left Hand Brewing. Except for the monkey in the center who looks rather serene.
I find it funny that we Anericans took IPA and spun a whole cottage industry out of it, to the point where we find ourselves back at the source.
This beer certainly tilts the equation back towards an even split of malt and hop. And the earthy hops also add to the grain-centricity. The bitterness is there at the front. Part of a dual front with the malt. And this beer still has zip to it as well. Almost a flavor memory of honey on toast here.
The Session IPA craze shows no sign of abating but at least the offering from Left Hand Brewing has a catchy name. Or at least catchy for an introvert like me.
Introvert Session IPA has a little bit of everything, hop wise. Pine notes mostly, followed by a bit of citrus and fruit. The body is nice and light and bears up the load of bitterness well but this could be easily labeled as a pale ale in my book.
My hallmark of the style is Ponto and/or Easy Jack. Lighter, fruitier options that are quite differentiated from their bigger brethren. Having Introvert before 400 Pound Monkey for the first time might skew me a bit but this seems too big a start.
That being said, the overall taste is great if you are looking for a bold Cascade-y type beer.
I had to wait for the chilling effects of the right out of the ‘fridge Polestar Pilsner. But when I did, the bright yellow beer was a sight to behold.
Right off the bat, this beer is primarily mineral driven there are undertones of citrus and hops but they are well underneath that mineral taste. This Colorado Pilsner is crisp but doesn’t fade away quietly. The taste lingers on the tongue. Right at the back you get some grain tastes clocking in.
This is a solid pils and a great start to the Left Hand Brewing line -up.