Tag: Denver

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Review – BrewDog TV (shows 4-6)

brew-dogs

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.

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The Great American Beer Festival – The Results Show

I wish that more people would pay attention to the results of the Great American Beer Festival but alas the other 95% as I call them seem more interested in people (who are purported to be stars dancing) or people who can’t sing singing.

The best place to check out a digestible set of results for me has been the Brookston Beer Bulletin. So check out his summary HERE.

Suffice it say that I am glad that California (adopted home is # 1) and that my ancestral home of Oregon was 3rd.

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Where is everybody?

That’s right. The beer world has converged on Denver, Colorado for a massive amount of beer, people, breweries, events and fun. And why is the Search Party not there?

Well, dear reader, I had to make a choice. GABF now or the 1st Beer Bloggers conference (again in Colorado, this time Boulder). I chose the latter because I hope that interacting with the blogging world and learning more tech-ese will allow me to improve how I convey to you why I love the world of craft beer and why you should love it too.

In the meantime, the place to go to get your GABF fix when you can’t be in Denver is right here FoodGPS. Celebrator columnist Tomm Carroll is covering the action and you will learn all you will need to know.

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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.”