My Name is Kris and I'm an Instagramer

I freely admit I was probably one of the last holdouts on Instagram, finally caving to the peer pressure at the start of the year. While there are still some photos that aren't suited to its "must be square" requirements I will admit that playing with the effects is fun. Whether it makes the photo look more like I actually saw it or improves it depends on factors that are far beyond my amateur photo taking knowledge. See for yourself.

Lompoc C-Sons Greetings on the kitchen counter.

 

The Commons Boysen at Belmont Station.

 

 

Oakshire Watershed IPA on nitro at Lardo.

 



 

Beer & Cheese Pairing at Lardo

Lardo has made great strides in the last year going from a food cart to opening a brick and mortar location in SE and then opening a second location in downtown. Not content with "just that" the SE location has hosted multiple events for lovers of beer and all things pig. Yesterday they held a day-long Swine & Barley Wine Fest to celebrate the 144th birthday of Grigori Rasputin, "The Mad Monk."

The event started off with a beer and cheese pairing by Steve's Cheese and North Coast Brewing. It was billed a trio of pairings for the very reasonable price of $15. Doug, a North Coast rep, was on hand and acted as the gracious host while the last minute preparations were made before the tasting began. We were also treated to their house made head cheese, a delicious start to the event.

It turned out there were not three, but four pairings and the beer pours were generous. The cheeses were served family style, opening the door for exchanges about the pairings. I agreed with one of the other attendees that Acme IPA paired with Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam and the Old Rasputin on nitro paired with Epoisses de Bourgogne were the most successful pairings. The intense creaminess of the Mt. Tam, a triple brie, worked surprisingly well with the hops in the Acme IPA. Most delicious to my palate however was the way that the Old Rasputin on nitro, with its dry, coffee and dark chocolate flavors, brought out the barnyard characteristics of the cheese.

PranQster, a Belgian golden, is not a style I generally enjoy and I found the pairing with Neal's Yard Dairy White Cheddar to be improved with the addition of a bit of honey on the cheese. Both the Old Rasputin XV and the Wilde Wiede Gouda were tasty on their own but I would have preferred a more assertive cheese, perhaps a blue, to stand up to this big, barrel aged 11.9% beer.

Overall, it was a great first beer and cheese pairing event for Lardo. General Manager, Lucas, hinted that there may be more in the future...I sure hope so!

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