Colorado Rocky Mountain Beer

It was a nice quick trip out to Boulder CO area, for some work on a project. As such got to try some favorites, visit some new breweries, and make a few friends.

Having arrived at Denver International, it was short drive over to Black Project. Having tried them at the Shelton Brothers Festival in Atlanta last year, it was a place I had wanted to visit. Be aware, they take this “black project” thing very seriously - the entrance is a nondescript door with a subtle logo painted over it. Inside was quite nice, some good beers on, and an actual wing for part of the bar!

Chatted a bit with the bartender, Zach, and found there was no bottles to be had. Somehow the conversation went to where I was traveling from (CT) and one of my local breweries (Treehouse) came up. I casually mentioned I have 2 cans of Green with me, and would love to trade them. Agreed to meet Friday PM and do the deal (which sadly didn’t happen).

Tried the

Nixie  -  Ale, Sour, Fruit  -  6.0%  -  10 IBU  -  [Score 8.8/10.0]  (#9,568)

Outlaw Shark  -  Ale, Sour, Fruit  -  6.0%  -  8  IBU -  [8.5]

Puzzle Palace  -  Ale, Sour / Wild  -  6.2%  -  10 IBU  -  [9.1]

Starfire  -  Ale, Sour, Fruit  -  4.5%  -  10 IBU  -  [8.0]

Starsailor (salted version of Starfire)  -  Ale, Sour, Fruit  -  4.5%  -  10 IBU  -  [8.5]

Overheard the absolutely funniest question/conversation I have ever heard. 

A couple came in - mid-late 20s - and the distaff member ordered 3 “small pours” of some of the beers. After a few minutes (presumably after tasting at least one), she asked the bartender “What will you trade me for these beers?”  Thinking he had not heard her correctly (trust me I didn’t think I had either), Zach asked what she meant; and she very clearly asked “What will you trade me for these beers?”

As he had nothing to trade, with a flash of insight honed by undoubtedly encountering this before, he said “Oh, you mean you don’t like these?” She sheepishly acknowledged this, and the beers were unceremoniously dumped before I could offer an alternative disposal method, involving my uvula. Zach to his credit was polite and did mention that Black Project will happily give you a sip of any beer to try, before pouring a larger glass.

The next day after work was short walk from the hotel to Sanitas, a new brewery since I was last in CO. Had a nice time there - the taco truck was fabulous. Sanitas also apparently sells brewing supplies as well.

I was pleased to see they had on a Barleywine (personal favorite). They also had their “Grand Cru” on, a high gravity “Abbey Style.” When I asked the bartender Jake if they had any 4-packs for sale, he said “No, it’s free.” The conversation was reminiscent of a 3-Stooges short...

“What do you mean, ‘free’?”

“It’s free.”

“You mean ‘no charge’ free?”

“Right, no charge.”

“Really, free?”

“Yep.”

Now I am not sure why, but possibly because I am from New England, and Sanitas is now being distributed in CT, NY, MA.

Had the following:

Odin’s Barleywine   -  Ale, Barleywine, English  -  9.8%  -  24 IBU  -  [Score 7.5/10]  (#9,573)

Cardinal Double IPA  -  Ale, IPA, Double  -  9.6%  -  91 IBU    -  [7.8]

Grand Cru Abbey Ale  -  Ale, Belgian Abbey style  -  10%  -  28 IBU    -  [8.0]

Deluge dry hopped Cascade & Topaz  -  Ale, Saison  -  6.0%  -  23 IBU   -  [7.5]

Jim’s English Bitter  -  Ale, Bitter  -  5.1%  -  38 IBU    -  [8.0] (really good English Bitter style)

Cherry Saison  -  Ale, Saison, fruit  -  5.9%  -  22 IBU    -  [8.5]

Brought back - as indicated - a 4 pack of the Grand Cru Abbey Ale  

Went to Fate for dinner the next evening. Food was very good, beers as well. 

Their Chocolate Banana Milk Stout was not what one might expect, given the name. It was good as a milk stout goes, but no real chocolate or banana notes. What was appreciated is the waiter did warn me that this would not taste very banana nor chocolate-like. Only had glasses of:

Maple Bourbon Dubbel  -  Ale, Belgian Dubbel style  -  7.4  -  ?  -  [7.5/10.0] (#9,579)

Chocolate Banana Milk Stout  -  Ale, Stout, Milk, Sweet  -  5.8  -  ?  -  [8.0]

One night we just ate at the hotel “bistro” for dinner. Now personally when a hotel says “bistro” you get a bit concerned, but this was pretty good; in fact the Brussel sprouts were very good. What was a bit sad is that for being located at the nexus of 12-15 breweries in Boulder CO, they had very little local fare.

Had bottles or cans of

Odell’s  -  5 Barrel Pale Ale  -  Ale, Pale, American  -  5.2%  -  36 IBU  -  [7.5/10.0]  (#9,581)

Boulder Beer -  Mojo  -  Ale, IPA  -  7.2%  -  70 IBU:  -  [7.5]

Odell's -  90 Shilling Ale  -  Ale, Scotch  -  5.3%  -  27 IBU  -  [8.0]

Sad to say the vanilla oatmeal was REAL vanilla oatmeal, and not a vanilla oatmeal stout.

It was a long week, and Thursday was the planned day to go to Avery Brewing. Last time I was out in CO, it was at the old location. Which, if you were ever here, it was hard to find. This new spot is impressive, big yet inviting, with aromas of smoked meats wafting towards the Über dropoff.

Avery has always been a favorite brewery; they have made some edge-of-the-brewing-art stuff for years (Trogdor, Reverend), but they also brew some good basic beers (White Rascal). Mephistopheles is a personal favorite, and they had this on tap as a bourbon-barrel aged variant (as well as Growler to go). Warm, rich, boozy bourbon caramel licorice, this was a beer to savor. One of the folks I was with I don’t think had ever tried a beer like this, and was amazed at the depth and body and gamut of flavors. 

Had or sampled the following:

Mephistopheles Bourbon  -  Ale, Stout, Imperial -  16.4%  -  8 IBU  -  [10.1 / 10.0!]   (#9,584)

   aged in bourbon Barrels, and yes a 10.1 of 10.0 on an open -ended semi-log score

Emerita X  -  Ale, Sour / Wild, Dark  -  8.5%  -  ?  -  [9.0]

Reverend  -  Ale, Belgian Quadrupel  -  10.0%  -  24 IBU -  [10.0]

Coconut Porter  -  Ale, Porter, Imperial   -  10.4%  -  25  -  [9.5]

CHOWDAH!  -  Ale, IPA, American  -  6.0%  -  ?  -  [8.0]

Benedictus  -  Grüit  -  6.5%  -  ?  -  [10.0] (really nice and flavourful Gruit)

Uncle Jacob Stout   -  Ale, Stout, Imperial  -  15.9%  -  65 IBU  -  [9.8]

Brought back the aforementioned 64 oz growler of Mephistopheles Bourbon, as well as Tweak and another Uncle Jacob Stout.

Friday there was plenty of time to try a few new beers, before the midnight redeye (ugh) flight home. Stopped back at Black Project; sadly Zach was not there to trade beers. Joshua at the bar offered to buy me a beer in trade for a Green, which I did. Tried these beers (in small pours) which are the antitheses of a Treehouse Green!

Cloudmaster  -  Ale, Sour, American  -  4.1%  -  ?  -  [8.0]

Puzzle Palace 001  -  Ale, Sour / Wild  -  6.2%  -  10 IBU  -  [9.5]

Didn’t knew where to stop next. Still had to drive a rental car, so could not drink too much. Joshua had suggested TRVE as the best option nearby. The place was a bit dark, but then I realized that was the metal/Cthulu/Slayer pentagram aesthetics. 

Very surprised at the first beer, a sour Saison that has a nice hint of funkiness that many do not have. 

Had the following, before heading home:

A present for those who are present  -  Ale, Saison, sour   -  6.2%  -  ?  -  [8.0]

Sonoran Depravation  -  Ale, IPA, Sour / wild  -  5.8%  -  ?  -  [8.5]

Stout O)))  -  Ale, Stout, American   -  6.8%  -  ?  -  [8.0]   (#9,595)

Brought back Maple Funeral and Ancient Bole

Got back home in time for the mini Hermit Thrush event at a local bar, but that’s another short story for later.

Back in the Saddle Again

New name and identity for Beer Blog - check

New logo - check

All social media changed to Beeriffic (a portmanteau of "Beer" and "Terrific") - check

Start filling in the stuff since July 2016 (including the 2017 Shelton Bros festival and the eclipse, and Extreme Beer Fest 2018 in Boston) - check

Brewery reviews started - check

Let's look to a couple of places visited the week of 2018-02-26. I had a client to visit in western MA, so had time to go to two little breweries in South Hadley and Ludlow.

Stopped on 2/28 at the Drunken Rabbit - 749 New Ludlow Rd, South Hadley, MA  - opened in December 2017, and has a nice open tasting area, complete with a Crowler canner. 

Note Massachusetts is one of those bizarre states where you can buy marijuana, but must use the exact same growler from the brewery, or they can't fill it. As much as one would relish the idea of a trunkful of glass bottles, offering a crowler is very nice.

Tried the following in two flights (plus 1) from the Intoxicated Lagomorpha:

Flufflestiltskin  -  Ale, IPA, Session  -  4.8%  -  30 IBU - [score 7.6]   (#9,457)

Hopped Over the Moon  -  Ale, Belgian Witbier style  -  5.8%  -  23 IBU  -  [7.0]

Double Honey Hop  -  Ale, IPA, Double  -  8.2%  -  75 IBU  -  [8.0]

Desperately seeking Sour  -  Ale, Sour  -  5%  -  5 IBU  -  [6.7]

Fuzzy Wuzzy  -  Ale, IPA, New England   -  6.4%  -  40 IBU  -  [6.5]

Happy Daze  -  Kölsch Style  -  5.5%  -  25 IBU  -  [5.5]

  a nice drinking beer but a hoppy Kölsch just does not do it, I sometimes question the Reinheitsgebot, but not in this case.

Rabbit De Niro  -  Ale, Stout, Coffee  -  5.2%  -  19 IBU  -  [8.5]

Jackalope Spiced Brown Ale  -  Ale, Brown, Spice  -  6%  -  12 IBU  -  [6.8]

  try a collaboration with Jackalope Brewing in Nashville, TN!

Whisky Sour  -  Ale, Sour, Fruit  -  5%  -  IBU not listed - [score 8.4]   (#9,465)

  not on the usual list, but the nice person behind the counter let me try it. Quite good and more "puckering" to the sourness, if you like that.

The next afternoon I had time to go to the Iron Duke Brewing, at 100 State St, Ludlow, MA. Similar sort of layout, with the workboot sole motif throughout. Not sure really as to why, but the area used to be a mill complex supporting fibers and fabrics used in shoes. Didn't have time to try all, so had a glass of the Imperial Stout and a fight. 

The flight, by the way, comes in this massive, heavy, milled metal holder:

52  -  Ale, Stout, Russian Imperial  -  10.1%  -   [score 7.6]   (#9,469)

  hid the booze nicely but a bit thin

Baby-Maker  -  Ale, Porter, Irish  -  5.4%  -  24 IBU -  [7.5] 

Dead Nuts  -  Ale, IPA, Rye  -  5.6%  -  66 IBU  -  [8.0] 

156  -  Ale, Porter, Imperial   -  8.1%  -  72 IBU  -  [8.5] 

Positivity 3  -  Ale, IPA, Belgian Double  -  8.9%  -  88 IBU -  [score 8.0]  (#9,473)

  this was nice and hoppy and the appropriate delicious taste of Belgium

A Splendid Time

Had the pleasure of attending a splendid surprise birthday party for someone, made more splendid as said surprise party was on a Cape Cod train, and even more splendid the seating was in the air-conditioned dome car, and unbelievably splendid was it was a beer train ride!

 

 

The menu included matched tastings with the beer.

Cape Cod beer   Summer   Ale, Wheat, Hefeweizen   5.0%   [6.8]*

Cape Cod   Cape Cod Beach Blonde   Ale, Blonde   4.9%   [6.5]

Berkley   IPA    Ale, IPA, American   7.0%   [6.5]

Black Hat   Belgian Saison   Ale, Belgian Saison Style   10.2%   [6.0]

Mayflower   Evolupulin Double IPA    Ale, IPA, Double   8.0%   [8.4]

Independent Fermentations   Full of Stars Imperial Stout   Ale, Stout, Imperial   9.0%   [8.6]

[*score is 1-10 on my own personal scale, taking into account aroma, taste, finish, color, and style accuracy]

The food pairings was really good, and the train ride - including across the Cape Cod Canal - was a unique experience. 

Besides beer there was also some hard liquor (whiskey derived from beer); and some cider.

And the best part was the "birthday boy" had no idea there was a surprise party; and when he figured that out ("I see you too were just 'in the area'"), he still didn't know there was a train ride with beer & food planned. 

There were at least two other folks on the train with a birthday, and this of course led to a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday to You" (now that the copyright is invalid!)

A splendid time indeed.

We had decided to have a weekend at the Cape, so the next day it was out shopping, and of course beer drinking as well. Had brunch at the Keltic Kitchen, there was about a 30-minute wait, but it was well worth it.

At the Sailing Cow in Dennisport enjoyed the following beers.

Unfortunately even though the Sailing Cow had won the best New England clam chowder award for 2016, there was apparently not a molecule of clam chowder in the place.

Sea Dog   Sunfish   Ale, Fruit, Wheat   4.6%   [5.8]

Shipyard Brewing   Melonhead   Ale, Session, Fruit   4.4%   [7.5]

Later that day stopped at Perks Coffee in Harwich. They had a decent Pale Ale made by Cisco.

Cisco Perks   Perks Pale Ale   Ale, Pale, American   5.6%   [5.5]

True to form this weekend, when looking for a cup o' joe, I was informed that the coffee shop had no coffee!

Now parenthetically, this reminds me of the "Chili's story" that took place in a Chili's in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport a few years ago, where three of us popped in to Chili's for a small snack. Now granted there was a lot of air traffic backed up, due to weather delays as I recall. I wanted a small bowl of chili, and in this case I was politely told there was no chili. I did mention to the manager that if your name is "Chili's" there should be like an emergency supply of canned chili, so that the very last thing you would ever run out of - in this case - would be chili. I suppose such should be so with coffee or award-winning chowder.

That evening was very pleased to find a new restaurant - Father's Kitchen Taphouse in East Sandwich opened up in early 2016. There are some really good restaurants on Cape Cod, but not much in the way of beer bars. There are a smattering of places, but Cape Cod is noticeably devoid of good beer bars. I mean there's good beer, and good bars, but not much in the way of beer bars.

Aeronaut   Session with Dr. Nandu   Ale, IPA, Session   4.6%   [7.6]

Evil Twin    Even More Jesus   Ale, Stout, Imperial   12.0%   [9.2]

Mayflower   Summer Rye   Ale, Rye   3.8%   [7.0]

Wormtown   Blonde Cougar   Ale, Blonde, American   5.1%   [6.0]

Monk's Cafe by Van Steenberge   Flemish Sour Red Ale   Ale, Belgian Farmhouse   5.0%   [9.0]

However as you can see, Fathers Kitchen Taphouse had some excellent beer choices. 

They have a nice menu system for ordering flights, the pizza was excellent, and the prices were really fair.

The next morning - breakfast at the Mills in Marston Mills, then back to the real world.

Vacation 2016 - Day 12

Vacation 2016 - Day 12 - 7/25/2016

This day started out with plans to visit the Van Gogh museum. 

 

As Amsterdam has a nice tram network, it was easy to get two tickets and ride the tram down to the museumplein. 

There were several other museums, and all appeared busy. Be aware, it is best to get tickets to Van Gogh ahead of time; then you only have to wait in the line to exchange the online tickets for real tickets, as opposed waiting in the much linger line to buy tickets.

The museum had some odd idiosyncrasies, such as "must check all bags" and then after waiting in the long line staffed by one whole person, was told my bag was ok.

The pictures were interesting, and its amazing Van Gogh didn't sell much at the time. His brother apparently bankrolled him for a while. The pictures show a progression to a better style of painting, then changes near the end, possibly as abject madness (Depression? Syphilis? Lead poisoning?) sets in.

The requisite gift shop was chock-full of Van Gogh-branded items, from champagne to posters. Of course the "ear keychain" (yep) was probably the oddest item. 

And apparently the museum hires a Van Gogh lookalike to wander around.

At the coffee shop, had one of the most horrible beers ever:

HBBV Heiniken    |   Desperados   |   Lager, Pale, Fruit   |   5.9%   |   [3.0]

Took the tram back to the shopping area to a great Italian place for lunch - Trattoria Caprese. 

Skipped the Italian beers and had a

Bavarian Brouwerij   |   Swinckle's   |   Lager, Pilsner   |   ?%   |   [6.0]

Went shopping and walking around for a few more hours. Had a late afternoon coffee and snack by the canal.

Went back to the Beet Temple to see if Ster was there, the woman who like Sip of Sunshine. 

She was, and met her American friend Trevor, who works at Struisse brewery. I traded a Sip of Sunshine for a 2010 Pannepot Grand Reserva. 

Tried these two on tap, both from the Netherlands:

Hertog Jan   |   Arcener Tripel 2016   |   Ale, Belgian Tripel style    |   8.5%   |   [9.0]

Hertog Jan   |   Weizener   |   Ale, Wheat Hefe   |   5.7%   |   [8.0]

Went back to the hotel for a short nap before dinner. There were a lot of places close to the hotel, and we chose the Grand Cafe de Kroonprins, as the menu looked good and the location was close by. 

Had a basic Affligem, which I had not had in a bottle before.

Affligem   |   Affligem Tripel   |   Ale, Belgian Abbey Tripel   |   9%   |   [9.0]

From here we walked a bit, as the plan was to meet a friend at the Proeflokaal Arendsnest - Herengracht 90, 1015 BS. 

Now I can't say his name or show a photo - until later - as he was transitioning jobs and had "unofficially" traded a different work shift with someone. He is also a founding member of Club Belgique. At Arendsnest, we were actually drinking outside on the canal...

Jopen    |   Mooie Nel   |   Ale, IPA   |   6.5%   |   [8.0]

...when I heard his dulcet tones of "I thought the Americans would go inside." He joined us and we had some great conversations. Shared the following:

De Prael   |   Eddy Wally   |   Ale, Belgian Flanders Red style   |   7%   |   [9.0]

De Molen |   Rasputin ("Cease & Desist" in USA)   |   Ale, Stout, Russian Imperial   |   10.4%   |   [10]

Also tried an oxtail sausage as a snack, and finished with:

Het Uiltje   |   Joost mag get weten   |   Ale, IPA, Imperial    |   11%   |   [10.2]

Vriendschap   |   Tripel Saison   |   Ale, Saison, Imperial   |   9%   |   [8.9]

As we had to leave the next day, and he had to get the last train, it was time to leave, but not yet. One last bar, for a few last beers. 

As it was on the way to the train station, we stopped at the Wildeman, North Holland, Amsterdam, for some fantastic beers.

Eecke, van   |   Hommelbier 2016 dry hopped   |   Ale, Belgian Blonde   |   7.5%   |   [9.2]

Mikkeller   |   Spontangooseberry   |   Ale, Wild   |   6%   |   [10.0]

Burning Sky    |   Monolith    |   Ale, Sour   |   7.4%   |   [10.0]

Anchor   |   Wild Princess   |   Gruit   |   4.2%   |   [10.2]

Yes, these beers were that good, and the last was so fitting - the Anchor Wild Princess was a Gruit made specifically for the 30th anniversary of the Wildeman. Gruit is a spice/herb mix used instead of hops, and in many ways is the most ancient of the Belgian/Holland area style of beers, having been brewed as early as 974. Yes, there's a "0" for the first year.

Headed back to the hotel, for one last night.

Also got some great beers to bring home, and once again, all survived: especially the Westvleteren Abbey - Yellow, Green & Blue! Wine and Whisky from Armagnac France, also.

"Pack them carefully" he reminded himself "more precious than a human organ for transplant"

"Well maybe that's a bit over the top" his Conscience reminded him

"Yeah but remember how 'Westy' tastes" his ID reminded his Conscience

"Oh yeah you're right" his Conscience replied, rather chastised

"Don't be glum old buddy" his Ego said to ID, "when he drinks we ALL drink!"

On 7/26 late AM in Schiphol airport, fittingly, had the following, making this a 92 beer vacation.

Heineken   |   Heineken   |   Lager, German Pale|   5%   |   [6]