Tag: Denver

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Denver Brewery # 1 – Former Future

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Our first stop for Denver is Former Future Brewing Company.  Bronze Medal winner at GABF this year in the experimental category.  They opened in February of this year with the purpose of “combining modern science and innovation with historic styles and traditions.”  They only brew 120 gallons at a time so I would hazard a guess that the beer goes fast and changes frequently.

Here is what I would put on my first taster tray…..

Countinghouse – a pre-prohibition cream ale

Ryetly Oaked – a rye ESB fermented in red wine barrels

Golden Feather – a golden sour aged in sherry barrels

Salted Caramel Prim & Porter – a salted robust porter

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#CBC14 State of the Union

With the Craft Brewers Conference drawing the beer industry and fans to Denver, the Brewers Association also extended their reach via the old-fangled telephone to broadcast a state of the union as it were.

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After the call ended, I went through my notes and pulled what I thought was important out for craft beer going forward.  All opinions are mine own.

~ California is the top state for brewery openings and nationwide there were 413 new breweries in operation.

I am sure that is still sustainable but I think the next generation of breweries are going to have to look a lot harder at WHERE they open.  The rent cost is no longer the only factor or majority factor anymore.

~ The Brewers Association supports state guilds (which are now in all 50 states, thanks to the last to the party, Wyoming) but only if it doesn’t contravene the national goals.

This may lead to some uncomfortable, we are going to have to agree to disagree moments over issues like big box stores and what constitutes craft beer.

~ Breweries that use adjuncts in their flagship beers will be welcomed back into the fold

Frankly, I don’t know why that hasn’t happened earlier.  A small, community based brewery that uses all organic ingredients but has a corn or rice beer as their mainstay is not craft?  I am glad that law is out.

~ Export is a growing line item on the agenda.

The BA is playing matchmaker (their words) with those breweries that pony up cash to be part of the export program.  Hopefully they will not send over IPA’s because that may dim the view just like the hop aroma gets dimmed during travel.  I was surprised to see that Canada, Sweden, the UK, Australia and Japan are the top 5 destinations for our beer.

Next year, the conference will be in Portland.  I may attend next year to hear even more scuttlebutt.

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20 NEW breweries to Open in Denver!

If you have any doubt that the City of Los Angeles and all the cities surrounding said metropolis could use more breweries, then read THIS.

Denver is obviously a big beer town but one could say they have plenty of beer to go around.  But possibly doubling (almost) their brewery count in the span of a year?  That is crazy.

Next Great American Beer Festival that I go to, I will probably not even set foot into the convention center.  Too many other places to go to!

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Review – BrewDog TV (shows 4-6)

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Onto Round 2 of the BrewDog TV review!

This post revolves around the Seattle, Portland and Denver episodes.

Since I wrote a small piece about a coffee beer for November BeerPaper LA and I am writing a larger piece about coffee and brewing for December, I was glad to see that the show went with the obvious for the Seattle episode.  And though the molecular gastronomy was enlightening with the beer pairings, I would have skipped the added caffeine boost section and given more screen time to the chocolatier and the baristas and Elysian.  That’s a personal preference though.

The Denver / Boulder show scared me a bit with the meat smoked thing though I liked the choice of pale ale.  On the whole this one is probably the weakest so far.  Maybe because it was titled Denver, I was expecting more of actual Denver but no mention except for brief bits on Great Divide and Strange.  Plus they like Falling Rock which might be good outside of GABF but has a Toronado SF vibe that I don’t like.  I much prefer Freshcraft.  The gourmand section was fun too.  It is my favorite segment of the show by far.

I was really excited to see the Portland show seeing that it is my hometown.  A little strange to see them partner with Deschutes.  Nothing against them but they don’t scream Portland to me.  Much like my issue with the Denver show, call it Oregon or Colorado if you are going farther afield.  The beer style was inspired though and takes a play from the Beers Made by Walking idea.  My favorite beer that I won’t get to try.  The food section ranks second behind the Philly donut section.

Overall, the show really works for me though.  I enjoy the accents and the self-deprecating humor.  They seem to be enjoying themselves which helps the viewer to enjoy the show!

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FoodGPS Teaser – Denver beer

Tomorrow my weekly Brew and You column on FoodGPS will cover some of the Denver breweries that you can visit anytime. Not just when the Great American Beer Festival hits. And all of them are fairly close to Mile High Stadium and Peyton’s new place.

And while you are over there reading, how about checking out some of the recent Beer Pro interviews? You can learn about Henry from Monkish Brewing or about Chas from Ventura’s Surf Brewery.

And then check out the L.A. Beer Blast later tomorrow to find out where you need to go for a pint.

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Beer Search Party at GABF – Facts & photos

I am now back in Los Angeles and I am looking back on my second Great American Beer Festival visit. My first trip a couple years back was overwhelming. It only took two days and one session for me to say “no mas!”. But I was also new to the beer blogging scene. I didn’t know anybody and quietly drank some beer and left. Also the scene was different in Denver then too.

This year, thanks to expanded access and to pacing myself, I was able to really enjoy not only the beer but also all the people that come out every year too.

The Brewer’s Association always puts out fun tidbits from the festival. Data like how much ice is used and how many beers are judged in the IPA category. So here are some of my Beer Search Party facts. With breaks for some of my favorite photos from my visit.

By rough estimate, I tasted 87 different beers. Most in 1 ounce pours.

I had three sampler trays from three new Denver breweries – Prost, Renegade and Strange. And re-visited three “older” Denver breweries – Great Divide, Wynkoop and Breckenridge.

My top three beers were Fiat Luxe from Brooklyn Brewery, Monk’s Indiscretion from Sound Brewing and Kaffir Lime Wheat from Denver Beer Co.

There were 49 California medalists at the the awards ceremony. You can search the medal database for GABF HERE.

I FINALLY tasted an Alabama beer. Freckly Belly IPA from Back Forty. Then I tasted a Peanut Butter beer from another Beer Engineers! Now I only have North Dakota to complete my 50 beers!

GABF is just a beer lovers paradise. Even if you don’t go to the main festival, there are enough breweries to visit, special events and beer tappings to find and hidden gems (like the Beerliner) that you find yourself having to decide between so many different places to go and beers to try.

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Beer Search Party at GABF – the last beers

After the awarding of medals it was time to hit the convention floor for a last spin across the beer country. I had a chile beer from Gigantic that was great (Hot Time, Summer in the City) A nice alt from Grimm Brothers (Big Bad Wolf) and my two very favorites of both sessions that I attended Sound Brewing from Poulsbo, Washington with their Monk’s Indiscretion and Brooklyn Brewing’s Fiat Luxe. Both woke up my overworked palate and showed that light beers can be bold and flavorful.

The two more Denver breweries beckoned and taster trays were purchased. First on the agenda was Renegade Brewing.

Their Elevation Triple IPA was the winner from the four sampled. So much so that bought a bottle of the oak aged version to take home!

Then it was time for some Strange Brewing. Their sampler tray held 9 beers. I enjoyed the pupkin porter and their cherry beers which were both a touch sweet but had a big cherry pie taste but the winner from that group was a rosemary IPA by the name of Zora.

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Beer Search Party at GABF – Part 3

Today dawned bright and early for awards day!

Brewdad Mike (recent winner of the CanFest blogger contest) and I headed back towards the convention center to learn which beers were deemed the best for 2012.

This years ceremony was held in a much bigger space which was well filled despite the early hour and the fact that it overlapped with the Saturday morning session.

And the L.A. scene saw some awards come our way…..

First to win was Smog City!

Beachwood snared two medals.

TAPS grabbed two medals too!

And that was not all that was won. Figueroa Mountain picked up some hardware as did Pizza Port locations and Firestone-Walker too. California did good but the big winner was Devil’s Backbone from Virginia who won medal after medal and will set off many a metal detector on the way home.

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Beer Search Party at GABF – Part 1

Quick and easy (though very early) flight out of LAX. And all of a sudden we are in Colorado airspace.

Beer buddy Richard and I started at Great Divide. I picked up a fresh hop ale. Not to be confused with a Colorado fresh hop ale which was also on tap. It was a clean and crisp and medium hopped pale (in my opinion) that I really enjoyed. Great first beer to take the edge of the travel day.

Then it was on to Wynkoop for lunch. I missed the ‘Koop the first Denver visit and probably should have skipped it again. All three beers were sub-par to me and I can’t blame it on palate fatigue because it was still early in the trip. Though the Mac and Cheese was nice and much needed to balance out all of the drinking ahead.

Then (many then’s in this story), we stopped by the Beerliner. An old Bluebird bus that had been spiffily painted and retrofitted with big TV’s and four taps on the side that was parked near the Falling Rock Tap Room that was pouring only Texas beers through the weekend. Plus you got hillbilly music!

I had the English pale ale and the kolsch from Peticolas Brewing. I was quite taken by both offerings but didn’t linger because more beer beckoned (though I may return to that bus).

Now it is time for a brief rest. Followed by the Thursday session and getting a media badge. Exciting times ahead.