Tag: micro

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Growth?

The Wall Street Journal interviewed Jim Koch of Sam Adams recently and this one question and answer really struck a chord.

WSJ: Could craft beer ever represent the biggest segment of the industry?

Mr. Koch: No. I hope not. Because that would mean we dumbed the beer down for volume, and I don’t ever want to see that. I used to say I make beer for 5% of beer drinkers. The reality has always been that 95% of beer drinkers don’t like my beer. Now, that number has probably gone down to 90%. Because most people drink beer for refreshment, and that’s fine. And that’s the domain of the big brewers and they’re great at that.

This is something that I have thought about occasionally. The less good beer other people drink the more there is for me. But if demand isn’t there then the beer isn’t. So I need craft beer to grow. But how much. If we are 5% of the overall market, is that enough? Is 10% too much?

I, unlike others, do not hate big companies just because they are big. Stone is large now as is Sierra Nevada and Boston Brewing. The beer can still be flavorful or not depending on how it is made.

What I think the industry needs are enough large micros that are on solid footing, financially, who can mentor younger start-ups but also distribute to and educate the non craft consumer.

I don’t think there is a magic number but we should keep pushing. The enlightened few shouldn’t hoard the good stuff.