Tag: Colorado

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Beer Blogger Conference – Day 3

Here is the final quick impression posts from the 1st Beer Bloggers conference.

I had to pace myself on Saturday night but I still tasted a few new beers from places here-to-fore never sampled. Upslope, Odell’s and Boulder Beer. Then I had to get up and listen to Eric from BeerTap TV. The very cool Kerry Finsand from Taplister and eminence gris, Jay Brooks. “Had to” seems harsh, like an assignment. I don’t mean it that way. I had to so I could learn from the folks that have a knowledge set that I do not possess yet. They were great. I picked up new bits from all three.

That’s all for now. Complete wrap up to land in the next few days along with photos and beers drunk list (that will blow you away, that is a promise)!

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Beer Blogger Conference – Day 2

Here is the Day 2 report. Starting with two great presentations on blogs and tech and two that did not have info for me. But that may be due to me being un-tech-geek and obstinate. I will talk in more detail later about what I learned and what may appear on this very blog in the coming months later since this is more of an itinerary post

Then on to Avery where me and my band of cohorts from Olympia, Santa Barbara and Portland were really treated well because of that Beer Blogger badge. Avery is housed in a little industrial park. Great little tap room. Got Ruminator, Rumpkin and Moloch among other gratis samples! Highly recommended.

Speed beers were next. In two words: exhausting but great. 12 beers. 5 minutes each. I dare you to fully enjoy Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald porter (which is awesome, as were the people from the brewery) then turn around and have World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head. I ended up stockpiling tasters and slowly catching up.

The massive bottle share and Oskar Blues dinner will be covered in later posts along with the Boulder Beer dinner and Pearl Street Pub crawl.

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Let’s tour…Elk Mountain

Let’s tour around this extremely new brewery in Colorado. According to their website “Elk Mountain Brewing, Inc., was established in April of 2009, is owned and operated by Tom and Marcia Bell.”

As many breweries do (I assume due to cheap rent and easy highway access) Elk Mountain Brewing is located in an industrial area of Parker, Colorado. They are starting small and “serving truly unique handcrafted microbrews with award winning recipes.”

The spin is German style with an American twist. As is evidenced by their line-up

Rock Slide Amber Ale
A spin off from our Oktoberfest; this full flavored Amber Ale is well balanced with a hint of toasted malt; making it a smooth brew to enjoy.

Mine Shaft Kolsch
Brewed with our house yeast; our Kolch is a clean crisp light colored Ale. Made with a variety of 3 different German hops, this brew leaves you with a prominent but not extreme hoppiness flavor. Not one to abandon so tap into this brew and take pleasure.

Wild Wapiti Wheat
Our German Hefeweizen beer made with Wheat & Barley has a malty sweetness with a big banana and clove essences that comes from our special Hefeweizen yeast; making it heavenly on your palate.

Ghost Town Brown
Our American Brown Ale is crisp and clean. With a hint of roasted nuts and chocolate flavors this is a well balanced brew that will leave you begging for more. So don’t get left behind let the flavors lure you in!

Elk Horn Stout
Medium in body, dark in color; our Oatmeal Stout is brewed with flaked oats and barley along with 5 specialty malts; making it a very big beer that is smooth going down.

Ute Bill Pale Ale
Our American Pale Ale has big hints of hop flavor due to the variety of 3 different hops used in combination with the malted grains leaving a well balanced moderate floral flavor; not overwhelming but just right for the adventurous beer drinker in you.

Puma IPA
For the Hop head – Our India Pale Ale has 3 varieties of hops, complimented with caramel and honey specialty malts. Rich in flavor, Puma IPA is a big beer with a big hop finish.

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Colorado Beer Guide

Thanks to one of my college buddies, Erika and the magic that is Facebook, I can bring you this interesting article from the great craft beer state of Colorado. Click HERE. (NOW)

OK, now that you have read the little blurb and have returned back here, HERE is the link to the really cool and intense map of Colorado beer.

I will certainly be using it when I go to Boulder in November.

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Defense agains the Dark Beers- Wynkoop

In a bit of a departure for my intrepid dark beer correspondent, a sampler tray was tasted! I know it is heresy but to truly appreciate the dark beer side of life you must check the lighter side. Here is the report:
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“From right to left
Light Rail Ale – light citrusy going to a doughty dusty wheat – good gardening beer. Also functioned as a palate cleanser for the subsequent beers.
Tut’s Royal Gold – sweet malty finishing with a nice sour tastes more carbonated at the finish.
Wixa Weiss – not my fab. Too barnyardy.
Mile HIPA – seriously hoppy grapefruity super bitter finish.
Railyard Ale – pretty reddish orange. Nice floral notes with a mellow finish
B3K Schwartz Bier – smoky goodness with a smooth finish. Probably my fav of the night.
Monkey’s Fist IPA – not as hoppy as the mile high but bitter finish continues to build.”
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“Ignore the glasses in the background. Still working right to left

My notes were getting fuzzy by this point.

St Charles ESB – totally coats the tongue and palate. Light grapefruit with a slight bitter finish that continues to build
Patty’s Chili Beer-most interesting beer of the night. Light but definite jalapeño flavor without the spicy heat
McKenzies Milk Stout – chocolate/ espresso. Really sweet a little smoky sweet finish. Would make a great float.”

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Equinox Brewing

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More beer for Colorado. A great craft beer state. This one adds to the impressive Fort Collins roster, Equinox Brewing.
from Equinox website:
Our standard draft list features six rotating taps. These beers cover a wide range of styles, from light to dark, strong to mild. Our tap selection also features two beers served from beer engines and a weekly firkin tapping. These beers are naturally conditioned (carbonated) in the cask and dispensed through a manual pump (beer engine) or through gravity dispensing (firkin). Check out what’s on tap.

Draft Beers
Sunrise Golden Ale
Sunrise Golden Ale is our lightest beer, but don’t let that fool you. The malt is clean, light and crisp, with a slight sweetness. The aroma captures the distinct graininess of pilsner malt. Cascade and Mt. Hood hops balance the sweetness, contributing a slight citrus / spicy character. In the finish, the hops give way to a light maltiness. Overall, refreshing and clean, yet somewhat complex.
Cumulus Wit
A traditional, Belgian style white beer. Crisp, light and ghostly white, this is a refreshing beer. Additions of coraiander and bitter orange peel produce a clean, light and spicy brew.
Eclipse Brown
The term “brown ale” is very broad and can refer to any number of beers ranging a wide variety of colors and flavors. Dating back to the 1600’s, the term brown ale was used to describe anything from a mild ale to Brown ales from northern England tend to be strong and malty, often nutty, while those from southern England are usually darker, sweeter and lower in alcohol. North American brown ales are usually drier than their English counterparts, with a slight citrus accent and an aroma, bitterness, and medium body due to American hop varieties.
Orbit ESB
The aroma is distinctly hoppy, citrusy and earthy. The assertive hop profile quickly gives way to a rich maltiness. The finish is dry and clean with a distinct toffee roastiness, but balanced by a light sweetness.
Zenith IPA
Zenith IPA is all about balance. Hops dominate the aroma with a musty / citrus character. The flavor is also very hoppy, but, a clean malt profile balances the hops and contributes to the overall complexity. Light malt sweetness counters an aggressive bitterness. The lasting impression should be a dance of malt and hops that lingers on the tongue.
Sunset Stout
Sunset Stout has a roasty flavor, with a light smokiness, from dark, roasted barley. The aroma is light, with hints of coffee and cocoa. The roasted barley contributes a light acidity to the flavor, balancing a bittersweet chocolate finish. Flaked barley adds a creaminess to the mouth feel, while keeping the body medium.

Java Jonas!
Jonas Porter conditioned with French Roast coffee from the Bean Cycle. Dark roast malts and dark roast coffee…mmmm.

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St. Lupulin

It’s early June and the summer beers keep a comin’. That is good news because here in Los Angeles it is almost always summer and we could use as many actual pale ales as we can get.

So here is another option from Odell’s in Colorado.
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