Colorado 2013: Day 3 - Beyond Downtown

With downtown "done" we headed east, quite a bit east through some less than attractive areas of Colorado Springs to hit two breweries that hadn't been in existence the last time we were in town. We turned off the main road into a light industrial area and within in a block there was a sandwich board sign confirming that the brewery we were searching for was at least in existence.

Rocky Mountain Brewery, situated on corner of a T-intersection with a bright yellow food cart (B'z BBQ Company) helping to define one side to the twinkly light strewn outdoor patio, was the one spot of activity in an otherwise empty area on Saturday afternoon. Entering the metal sided blue building, the interior was VFW-esque with a beer menu boasting some very non-VFW-esque beers.

 

The one that caught my eye was named "Eat a Peach" so I asked the beertender, who turned out to be one of the owners and named Duane, what he could tell me about it. His answer was that it was just like eating peach cobbler. A fellow drinker added that it was a World Beer Cup winner (Gold in 2012). I took both of those as good indicators and ordered up a half pint. The words "liquid peach cobbler" really don't do it justice and if I could offer smell-o-vision, this would be the perfect place to use it. Yes, it was a sweet beer and one you wouldn't want to drink pint after pint of, but it was also so good that I'd implore you to try it if you have the chance.

Another sweet one from the line up of nine beers was their Yellow Apple Cyder. It was not as carbonated as I would have expected, which might help cut some of the upfront sweetness, but thankfully finished a bit drier. Like Eat a Peach, a half pint shared between the four of us was enough to satisfy our curiosity.

Moving past the sweet offerings, I was intrigued by the Szechuan Porter, which was only being offered in 4-oz pours. Duane described it as having all of the flavors of a Szechuan sauce, without the salt. Sure enough there was a smoky heat to it along with ginger flavor and although it wasn't one I'd pick to drink on its own, I think it would be outstanding with pot stickers.

Once we had made our way through their offerings, half pint by half pint, we headed south to our final destination - Kraft Beer/Smiling Toad Brewery. It wasn't hard to find, a small building surrounded by an asphalt moat and adjacent to an auto repair shop. In the bright of the afternoon it wasn't clear if they were open but we found the door unlocked and a couple of patrons inside.

The chalkboard beer menu announced six beers on tap and for our first round we decided to hold off on the wheat and blonde, starting with Green's ESB, Jumbe Porter, Erroneous IPA and Mat's Green Fiend IPA (which at 8.2% ABV is technically a DIPA), which we took out tot the small side patio. The Erroneous was the stanky kind of IPA I enjoy the most and my favorite of the first round. Ordering up the wheat and blonde next, I was taken by surprise at how much I enjoyed the fully flavored Spring Blonde.

In addition to tasting our way through the beers we also had a chance to talk to Biff, the new owner. He explained that he had bought Kraft Beer earlier in the year and just received the license a couple weeks ago that would officially change the name to Smiling Toad, thus explaining the disconnect between the interior and exterior signage.
 
After enjoying our pints we went inside to deposit the empty  glasses before departing and were intercepted by Biff, insisting we try the Lavender Lager. The IPA I'd enjoyed so much had just blown and the lager was being put on in its place. Curious, I took a whiff and was rewarded with a floral lavender aroma that was followed by a light and slightly sour taste. The pale, unfiltered beer wasn't much to look at but I was impressed with Smiling Toad's twist on a California lager.

A long day behind us, it was time to head back to the hotel for dinner and to finish off the remaining beers we had picked up at the liquor store the first day. The final drinking day of our trip had started off with a fizzle but it ended with an explosion of flavors at two, off-the-beaten-path breweries that we found out were well worth seeking out.

Colorado 2013: Day 3 - Downtown

Day three of our beer adventure found us starting with lunch at Phantom Canyon Brewing in downtown Colorado Springs. This was another of the places we'd visited ten years ago and after a brief look inside and settling on a patio table I found it to be much the same as I remembered. The tap list consisted of six year round beers and an additional five specialty brews. I can't say that any of them sounded overly exciting so I played it safe, starting with The Streamliner IPA. While it was malty, enough of the hop profile from the four varieties used stood out to make it a solid IPA in my book. Two of my cohorts opted for pale ales, one with Kakapo, a New Zealand Pale Ale and one with Two Moons Pale Ale. The Kakapo utilized Pacific Jade hops which I don't think I've had previously and provided a mid-tongue pepperiness. Two Moons went with Summit and Apollo hops and came across as more heavily bodied and malty, which I preferred. While none of the beers we tried were particularly thrilling, none of them were bad or off, most likely anyone could find something on their beer menu that would work.

Once finished with our beers and lunch we sauntered across the street to Judge Baldwin, situated within a Hilton. As we settled into chairs and took a look at the beer menu we were surprised not to see any of their beers on tap. To be sure that we weren't missing something we asked the waiter and he confirmed that they were no longer brewing (even though the brew house still appeared to be intact behind the bar). They had discontinued brewing operations a year prior and although their tap list was better than one would find in most hotels we decided to move on.

Just a few blocks away was Il Vicino, a third place we'd previously been to, that was primarily a wood fired pizza restaurant. At this point I figured there was a 50/50 chance they would still be brewing. Luckily we found out they were and with three options available we readily ordered up a pint of each plus one of Bristol's Laughing Lab (that hadn't been available at the brewery). The Pig Tail Blonde Ale was very carbonated and although much sweeter than I would have expected for the style, it was a pleasant honey sweetness that wasn't bad. The Slow Down Brown was roasty without being too sweet, something that was a concern after the Blonde. The final of the three was Wet Mountain IPA and while either the amount of hops or possibly the use of German Northern Brewer hops wasn't something that appealed to me, at least one of my cohorts found it pleasant.

As we were drinking our beers the manager explained that while they no longer brewed on this site for their Colorado locations, their New Mexico locations did still brew. Apparently in 2007, after the opening of two Denver locations, the Colorado Springs location could no longer keep up with demand and they contracted Bristol to brew their recipes (which explained the presence of Laughing Lab on tap).

Not being in the mood to linger we concluded our time in downtown Colorado Springs and headed east in search of a couple newer breweries, praying to the beer gods for better luck in the latter half of the day. Check back tomorrow to read all about it.

Colorado 2013: Day 2

Our second day in Colorado started off much more promising, albeit slightly rocky. We planned to have lunch at Bristol Brewing, a place that we had visited last time we were in Colorado Springs however upon arriving at the address listed on their website, there was no brewery to be found. Instead we found a vacated space which upon further inspection directed us a short distance away to the Ivywild School. It seemed odd but we followed directions and sure enough, arrived at a former school which is in the process of being renovated to house a variety of businesses, including Bristol.

The new taproom was much larger than its former self with windows overlooking the brewing space, some of which was currently being used and some of which was still being installed. They were out of a few of the beers listed on their menu but there were still plenty to try and enjoy. Tops for me was, surprisingly, Red Rocket Pale Ale. It's not a style I usually enjoy but Bristol's version was nicely hopped and full of flavor. Their Compass IPA was also enjoyable and available both "regular" and on nitro. As with other IPAs I've had on nitro, I didn't enjoy it as much as the hop bite I so enjoy gets muted.

Our next stop was Great Storm Brewing, housed in a small, unattractive strip mall in a fairly unattractive area of Colorado Springs. It wasn't however hard to find and once inside it was easy to forget the exterior surroundings.

In addition to full pours they also offered 8-oz and 4-oz pours, which I took advantage of with my first beer - Rum Raisin Stout. Generally I wouldn't start with an 8.1% oatmeal milk stout but my cohorts had already ordered "the usual suspects" and I wasn't overly interested in the remaining offerings. The beer was a meal in a glass - sweet, roasty and one that would be difficult to finish in full pint format. Through the course of subsequent orderings of 8-oz pours we made it through all the beers and were pleasantly surprised to find that Get Buzzed Honey Beer, a golden braggot, and Shine On, an oaked Belgian strong, were really great beers. Their styles are ones I'm not usually drawn to but both had sufficient sour characteristics that won me over.

The last stop, Trinity Brewing, was the one that I was most looking forward to due primarily to the release of their Berliner Weisse that afternoon. We arrived before the release and perused the beer menu. There were six of their own beers on tap, another 10+ 750ml bottles of their other beers and an assortment of guest taps. Our first round consisted of Sunna Wit, Soul Horkey Ale, an IPA and Slap Your Mammy double IPA. The IPA was the best we'd had on the trip, with a great stanky aroma and flavor.

Our waitress came around once the Berliner Weisse, Ten Minutes of Pleasure, was available and we promptly ordered a bottle. It was a delicious representation of the style and one that ranks right up there with ones being produced in Portland. After starting down the bottle road we proceeded to try Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta and TPS Report. As fans of "Office Space" we appreciated those references along with others in the beer names (Oh Face) and the artwork adorning one of the barrel-based outdoor tables. The TPS Report gave off huge coriander and citrus notes although those flavors were more muted in the flavor, likely due to the barrel aging. I will most certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for some of these bottles to hit Portland shelves in the coming months as the head brewer has family in Oregon and will be making a trip to Portland to introduce his beers to the market.

While we hit the same number of breweries as the first day, day two was far more successful and enjoyable. Day three was certainly going to have some big shoes to fill in order to equal it and giant sized ones to fill in order to exceed it.

Colorado 2013: Day 1

We're in Colorado, a place we've visited often and a place that was a top contender three years ago when we decided to leave Minnesota. Our recent trips here had taken us to Fort Collins, Boulder and Denver so this time around we decided to spend our time in Colorado Springs.

Rockyard IPA

We're going to skip ahead a bit and start with a liquor store run at the end of the day. Checking out, the clerk asked us what we were doing in town. "Beer" was of course our answer. His answer was that we should definitely get up to Denver to check out places up there. That a) surprised me and b) made me a little sad. Coming from areas (Portland now and the Twin Cities previously) that tended to be very proud of the beer being produced in their area I expected a suggestion for a bar or brewery in town. Yes, I understand that Colorado Springs is not far from Denver and there are more (and possibly better) options in Denver but really?

Reflecting on the three places we'd visited I have to admit that he might not have been entirely off the mark. Two of the three places weren't remarkable. The first, Rockyard American Grill & Brewing Company, is actually about halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs and a place we had visited 10 years ago. Back then, according to my notes, we'd really enjoyed their IPA and found their beers in general to be aggressively hopped. My palate has changed since then, and possibly their recipes, too, however I wasn't overly impressed with the Hopyard IPA. The Lightning Strike Stout on the other hand turned out to be a nice, well-balanced stout and the Redhawk Ale a less malty version of a red than many. One thing that hadn't changed was the fire roasted salsa; it was as good as I remembered.

Our second stop took us to Colorado Mountain Brewery. They have two locations and we visited the northern one, which sits opposite the Air Force Academy. Just as at Rockyard, we took advantage of the mild afternoon and sat out on the patio (of which this CMB has two). The beer list here was smaller and offered your standard line up - blonde, hefe, amber, IPA and stout - along with one seasonal brew, which turned out to be a ginger beer. None of them were outstanding although the ginger fell into the "just right" category of enough ginger flavor to enjoy it but not too much to be overpowering. Better than the beer was chatting with a local (who had the cutest four month old weiner dog-Chihuahua puppy), who told us that we should check out Pikes Peak Brewing, just a couple of exits north of CMB.

Taking her advice we declined a second round, hopped into the car and upon arriving at Pikes Peak knew even before we'd tasted the beer that this place was going to be the best so far. It is situated in the end unit of a short strip mall but once you enter the doors, that is wiped from your memory. In addition to the main taproom area, there's a second barrel room space that is big enough to host a brewer's dinner as well as an outdoor patio. The place was buzzing and had the feel of a place that people who enjoy good beer go to. As for the beer itself, I found their Elephant Rock IPA to be more malty than I like my IPAs to be but there wasn't a blonde or an amber to be found on the list and overall we agreed that they were turning out pretty good product.

Sign on the patio door at Pikes Peak Brewing

Deciding to end our day's adventures on a high note we proceeded to the hotel, hit the previously mentioned liquor store and then settled in for pizza and beer. A nice, tame ending to the first day of what will likely be a fun marathon of drinking in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Cup at Concordia

This week Concordia Ale House is holding their Colorado Cup to determine Colorado's Captain for Beer Brawl VI which will take place in February. The 10-beer taster try included multiple styles, my guess being IPAs, pale ales, a porter and one that had some fruit in it. My favorite of the group was #8 followed by #1. Mag's tastes didn't overlap mine with is top two being #5 followed by #4.

While we didn't have any guesses during the tasting of which beer might be which, afterward I consulted my go-to source for what's available in the area, Belmont Station's bottle list, and found that we get Avery, Oskar Blues, Great Divide, New Belgium, Boulder Brewing and New Planet (gluten free beers). Armed with that information I have a few guesses about what some of the beers were:

• #6 - Oskar Blues Mamma Pils
• #9 - New Belgium Frambozen 
• #10 - Avery New World Porter
• I was also tipped off that #1 was a New Belgium product but I won't spoil the unveiling of the results by giving you more than that. 

If you haven't been, you have until Sunday evening to get your own taster tray. As always the results should hit your inbox Monday. Until then if you go I'd be interested to hear your favorites and any guesses you might have on the beers' identity.

Update: In case you didn't get the email with the results, here they are. Clearly I'm not very good at guessing.
1. New Belgium Ranger IPA 4th place
2. Boulder's Hazed & Infused
3. Oskar Blue's G'Knight
4. Great Divide Titan IPA
5. Deviant Dale's Imperial IPA Tie 2nd place
6. Oskar Blue's Dale's Pale Ale
7. Boulder's MOJO IPA
8. Hercules Imperial IPA Tie 2nd place
9. Blue Moon Impulse10. New Belgium 1554 1st place