Summer of Pubs VI - Wherein I Explored Broomfield Brews... Or, Two Breweries and a Polish Restaurant

Kevin's Lair
A bit about Bob. And when I say Bob, I mean Kevin. Or @nirik. Or Satan. Whatever you wish to call him, I first met Kevin back in 1986 in our freshmen physical geography class, which convened at the unfortunate hour of 8:30 am, MWF. Within a year, we were rooming together. This of course meant drinking together and complaining about why we didn't have girlfriends. But I digress.

Suffice to say, I have known Kevin a long time and so when he moved up to the Denver area- specifically Broomfield between downtown and Boulder- I decided that visiting would have to happen whenever possible (I even moved in with him briefly back in '98 when jobs weren't happening in New Mexico). And while we have had our ups and downs, I count Kevin as one of my best friends and a right fine chap all around. He also makes some fabulous beer, with his browns and porters right up near the top of list.

It is in that vein that I write about him now, both as a good friend and as a fine beer companion. Turns out he actually hadn't been to many of his local pubs that have popped up during Craft Beers Halcyon Era, Circa 2012-present so when I arrived at his house after my visit to Colorado Springs, it was a no brainer that we would sample some of his local fare. Turns out that little old Broomfield- which is really just a middle class suburb of Denver with endless rows of tract houses and a serious prairie dog problem- is now home to at least five craft breweries and maybe more besides by the time you read this. So today we would try two of them, Kokopelli and Wonderland, before meeting up with my host and comrade Carl after he was done with work for the day.

Carl's, Mud Runner

Carl, in Character

Carl is my Yin to Kevin's Yang; a teetotaler, Carl is also a rabid fitness junkie, who agreed quite nicely to walk five miles a day with me instead of his usual jog. This, in turn, is a step down from his usual athletic proclivities, which include mud runs, 5Ks, 1/2 Marathons, and of course the Bataan Death March. He also saved my ass back in 200, making the 8 hour drive up to Raton, NM swhen my stupid Bronco II decided to die. So he's a mate, to say the least.

Kevin, by contrast, is a semi reclusive computer nerd (he works from home on networking or magic pixie dust or some such), beer aficionado, and greyhound enthusiast (the rescuing kind, not the racing kind).

Pub Time
So it was agreed that Kevin and I would hit pubs before I dropped off stuff at Carl's, then both of us picking Kevin up later to go to dinner, the latter of which is one thing that all of us have in common, the desire to eat interesting food that doesn't pop out of a microwave or require sitting in a queue for soggy fries and burgers.

First up was Kokopelli, which Kevin and I timed nicely for lunch, since Kokopelli also has an extensive lunch menu (full disclosure: we were good boys and had their awesome grilled chicken salads. You know, for health and stuff).

Kokopelli gives me hope in the future. Not only a friendly and vibrant place with great food and fine beer, they also gave me us a tour of the facilities, something that always garners a free star from me. It shows several things: 1). that the servers actually know something about the pints they're pulling, 2). they are well-staffed enough to allow one of them to leave on a quick, improvisational tour with enthusiasts, and 3). the brewmasters themselves are present in the room, frequently ready to do the tours themselves.

Surprisingly, Kokopelli specializes in a variety of stouts, usually variants on their usual Milk Stout which are accentuated by the addition of extracts of other flavors. And while I'm usually a fan of stouts, the warm weather and even better lighter beers steered me away from the black stuff in favor of some other brews. I'll have to return when the weather is cold and taste buds shift into winter mode.

Part of the Tour - Kokopelli Brewing Company

On this visit, I found myself gravitating towards their more amber brews, including their fabulous Red Moon Red Ale, a fabulously toasted red that resonates with dark chocolate and yum! On the same footing is their excellent Angel Rye'PA, a hoppy collaboration with Barley's Angels (apparently Canadian home brewers) that surprisingly also bursts with chocolate in spite of or perhaps enhanced by the heavy hop presence. But the overall winner of the day came in the form of the the Copper Road ESB, a bitter where the English malts combine with the hops to form an also dark chocolate bitterness rather than the usual astringent sharpness of the hops. In any case, it was a fabulous brew that should be spread far and wide to the whole world. Please bottle this, guys! You won't be sorry.

Satisfied and sated, we consulted with Carl, who needed to wait for some appliance or other to be delivered, we knew we had about 90 minutes to kill. So Kevin, now slightly tipsy from mercifully throwing himself in front of the beers so I could still drive, we agreed to head over to Wonderland Brewing Company, an Alice-in-Wonderland themed warehouse of non-air conditioned excess a scant half a mile from Kevin's house.

Please note: not air-conditioned. In the Denver area, where it frequently gets above 90 and not uncommonly hits the century mark. Hmmm... well, fortunately that wasn't huge problem today since the temps would stay in the sultry 80s but still guys... that's a strike against you. Fortunately, your beer and the overall vibe makes up for it. There are video games, ping pong, foosball, and other retro play things that give this place the feeling of some rich tech geek 20 something nostalgia parlor, not just a nestle-down-and-drink pub. The place has a very western feel, a millennial paradise where console and kinesthetic games of my youth are now novel, hip and just slightly camp, where the next generation can go to wax poetic about a time they can't remember. For us old farts, it was a blast from the past, twisted ever so slightly to a newer crowds aesthetic but ever so amusing to observe.

As far as their beer is concerned, their is a trifle bit of that Colorado conceit that was so present at Jagged Mountain, best displayed by the over-the-top excess of their Anniversary Barleywine, a 9.5% ABV monster that tastes too much of alcohol and red wine that's gone off.

Ping Pong Tables - Wondering Brewing Company

Fortunately, the rest of their beer is far more restrained and in some cases exceptional, such as the fantastic Probably Probable Porter, a rich porter that screams chocolate and coffee. Next up was a beer that could probably only legally be produced in Colorado, Oregon or Washington, the Rye of the Beholder, a dank rye IPA that tastes and smells of cannabis. While I'm quite certainly there was no actual THC introduced to this brew, it did remind me of both the special botanical relationship of hops to pot as well as the changing times of 2016, when craft brews AND buds are now cohabiting in an uneasy truce in three of our western states, all of which I was conveniently visiting on this trip.

And finally, as if to extend a casual middle finger to Jagged Mountain and their loathsome Black IPA, Wonderland's Big Black IPA does everything right that Jagged Mountain did wrong, producing a deliciously hoppy brew that finds burnt orange, caramel, and a hint of vanilla lingering on the palate. It was the best beer of the day and a great way to finish off our visit to Wonderland, where we mercifully avoided the gaze of both the Red Queen and the Mad Hatter, the latter of whom would likely have kept us there for hours, drinking sour beers and playing cornhole until our bodies withered in pain.

A First in Beer
So it was time to bid Kevin adieu very briefly while I went by Carl's, who had texted that his appliance had finally been installed and he was ready to receive guests. I unloaded my stuff, chatted with him for a bit and then we left together, this time with Carl driving, giving me a much needed respite from the steering wheel. We retrieved Kevin and decided to go experimental for the evening, checking out Westminster's one and only Polish Restaurant, Cracovia.  In addition to enjoying a feast of delectably spiced pig parts, subtly soured cabbage, and multiple mustardy mustards, I sampled two Polish beers, the first such brews I'd ever experienced. First up was the Okocim lager, a fruity and refreshing old world brew that's part of the Carlsberg conglomerate. I also sampled the Zywiec Porter, a coffee porter that tastes almost salty, like the Baltic Sea. In both cases, I can't say that I enjoyed these as much as their neighbor's beers in Germany but still found them refreshingly old world, not reliant on the spirit of experimentation that permeates the American scene.

Next time, walking the trails, meeting old friends, and trying an Indian food place that also brews beer. Stay tuned!

Summer of Pubs V - Mission Impossible

THE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION: GEOWOODSTOCK 14ER
A mega event, a geocaching event that has over 500 registered to attend.  In the case of this event- the 14th of its kind and the first in Colorado- there were substantially more than 500 (more like 2000-3000 from all over the world).

THE DATE: JULY 3RD, 2016
A mere hours drive from Colorado Springs, where I would be staying until the 6th. Morland, my host, happily accompanied me on the assurance that we would not do any heavy hiking. Does 4+ miles of walking count?

THE GOAL: TO ATTEND A MEGA AND GO TO PUBS
Turns out the mega included a set of Lab Caches that required us to attend seven different brewpubs in Denver. SCORE!

THE PARTICIPANTS: 
Morland, myself and, as it turns out, GoArmyMo (aka Jim, beer

Kevin (aka Nirik, aka Bob, aka Satan)

guzzler extraordinaire) and Whackadew (aka Heidi), my geo friends from El Paso, the latter of whom was VERY pregnant with twins. This would be interesting. Cameo appearances by my grand nieces (see below) and a late arrival by Kevin (@nirik99), a friend of some 30 years, former roommate, and all around great guy who also happens to be fabulous at throwing himself in front of the beers. This would come in very handy the following week, when we sampled MANY pubs in the north Denver suburbs and outer environs. More on that later...

THE EVENT:
GeoWoodstock was a mess, a big beautiful mess, taking place in an admittedly beautiful state park called Chatfield Lake, southwest of Littleton. Organization was willy nilly, parking was ridiculously convoluted & complex and the lines to get badges and "intro packets" made absolutely no sense, lacking even basic concepts like signs to say where to go. Rampaging hordes of cachers stood in endless lines to sign logs at park geocaches and coordinates on handouts that supposedly led to lab caches at the park sent us to the completely wrong places.

Me Signing the "Log sheet"

We did eventually find the lab caches in the park as well as find out the rest were in downtown Denver at brewpubs. I found a few pathtags, traded another, saw the original can of beans, and had a few very quick hellos with fellow caches I knew. After taking in the carnage for a mercifully short time and having the foresight to leave Guinevere along the narrow road leading into the park instead of traversing the chaos of the unguided field parking for the event (think Renaissance Faire only less coherent), we signed the enormous GeoWoodstock sign as proof we were there and bumped into Jim & Heidi near another long line of cachers signing a Letterbox. 



We all agreed that the place was hot, crowded and chaotic whereas brewpubs would have caches, air-conditioning and beer. So we caravanned into downtown Denver, ready to enjoy the froth and avoid the crowds. Imagine that: going to downtown Denver to AVOID crowds. Let that sink in for minute. It turns out, we were 100% right.

There were NO games, NO special events, and surprisingly very few crowds in Denver on this day, perhaps because people were out of town for the Independence Day weekend, perhaps because the stars aligned properly... whatever the reason, it was great to escape the crowded and enjoy some proper suds.

THE PUBS:

Jim mopping up the remains of flights

So we picked our locations based entirely on whether they had made arrangements with the GeoWoodstock organizers to set up codes for the Lab Caches. That worked something like this: since lab caches were only up for about ten days- a few before and after surrounding the day of the event- we had to go to a special website to input a special coded word at each location. When we did, the logged find would appear automatically on our geocaching profiles and we could move on to the next location. Of course, since they were nice enough to offer there space for the event, we patronized each of the establishments as well, to mixed results. Thank god for Jim, who threw himself in front of even the worst beers on the journey. More on those later.

PUB #1: Denver Beer Company. Sitting right off of I-25, this pub is yet another example of brewery that defies my expectations, in that my favorite beers here are usually varieties I find uninteresting. For example, their beer called El Guapo is a pilsner but no ordinary one. It's actually aged in tequila barrels and as such resonates with pepper and other spice just like a good Añejo. Their porter, one infused with graham cracker spices, is biscuity, sweet, smokey and delicious. Other beers I normally like? Not so much. Their Raspberry Kolsch, for example, displays almost no fruit taste, much needed for the slightly boring Kolsch style.

Pub #2: Prost Brewing Company. I had little hope for this brewery, which rests on just the other side of the interstate of Denver BC. They specialize in German style beers, which Americans usually make very badly, turning them into tasteless pap like Budweiser. Wrong again! These guys actually know how to do beer in the European style. Of course, they fall back on some standard tropes with some of their lighter beer to cater to the bland American palate but their Helles shines on the lighter end of the spectrum, displaying a sweet and summery palate that also resonates with the traditional banana and biscuit flavors so archetypical of this style. On the darker end of things, their Weizenbock and Dunkel are both fabulous, boozy, slightly sweet, and exactly the perfect accompaniment for sausage, kraut and other traditional German fare. It is also here that Kevin joined us for the rest of our drinking endeavors, which would help to stem the inevitable tide of Jim's drunkenness. 

Pub #3: Diebolt Brewing Company. Easily my favorite brewery up to this point, this place had at least two incredible saisons and one of the better pale ales I've had. The pale, called Mariposa, reminded me of one of my favorites, Dale's from Oskar Blues, but with a bit less malt and a slightly lemony finish. The two saisons were called Perk and French "Pale Ale", the latter being a complete misnomer as it was anything but a pale ale. The Perk, so named because of its infusion with coffee, tasted a bit of Turkish coffee with a slight hint of cardamon. But the French will go down in my lexicon as an all time favorite beer, a spicy saison with prominent cinnamon, mint and pepper notes. Imagine my surprise when the brewmasters told me that they actually added tarragon to the fermentation and that no cinnamon was present at all. My taste buds were fooled, that's for sure. If they ever bottle this wonder, I'll buy a case.

Pub #4: A pause for lunch was followed by a journey into deep downtown, where we stood before the Gates to Hell, otherwise known as Jagged Mountain Brewing Company. After escaping from it, I was left with the distinct impression that brewers here are obsessed with the "more is more" philosophy of beer making. Apart from a very nice barrel aged oatmeal stout called Splitboard- which at 7% ABV actually resembles a drinkable beer and which resonates with subtle sweetness- everything here is an undrinkable, highly alcoholic mess. The Ubermountain Barleywine, for example, tastes of nothing but alcohol. No subtly at all. The story continues with the Devil's Abyss Russian Imperial Stout, a variety I usually like but which in this beer results in nothing but an alcoholic fizz (ABV 17.5%!!!) that drowns out any other light from the hellish pit from whence it was spawned. Their "special" 2nd Anniversary Belgian Quad is no better, which at 10.2% ABV tastes like nothing but rotten barley. But the absolute worst of all was their ridiculous Black Lupulin, a supposedly 350 IBU, 12% ABV (WTF?!?) black IPA that tastes like you're sucking a moldy hop straight from a black bear's ass. And that's the problem here; these beers have no subtly, no grace, and no sense of style at all. Honestly, the beer here made me MAD so I was more than happy to leave and never come back. Thankfully, the next place we went more than made up for it.

Pub #5: After the last debacle, we all agreed that the next brewery would be out last for the day; besides we had already gathered the rest of the lab caches available today, include two not discussed here on a mediocre distillery most distinguished by the presence of homeless people lingering outside and a brewery that was having a private event that day. So last up was Mockery Brewery, which in sharp contrast to Jagged Mountain, didn't try to up the alcohol to absurd levels, instead concentrating on producing many honest pints worthy of a fine craft brewer. In fact, there wasn't a single beer here that I found bad and many that I found exceptional. First up with the Lemon Zest Pilsner, a delightfully refreshing summer beer that was even better than their already excellent standard pilsner. Next up was their Oaked Hefeweizen, with the oak given this wheat beer some vanilla and woody high notes. Hopheads would also find themselves at home here with their fantastic Session Red IPA, which is citrusy, easy drinking, and mercifully low in alcohol (ABV 5%). Even more distinct was their spin on a rather uninteresting varietal in my mind, the Scotch Ale, which here they infuse with salt, giving it a salted caramel character unlike anything else I've ever had. And once again, they kept the alcohol at a reasonable 5.2%. And finally, the most remarkable beer here is the Ultimate Session, a 4.95% ABV, barrel aged Old Ale which has flavors like oak, vanilla, and bourbon that are usually reserved for much more alcoholic beers.

In all, we had a marvelous time and we drove our separate ways after leaving Mockery, Jim thankfully not driving as he was my surrogate drinker of the many beers we had today (I only tasted each one, remember?). Satisfied that we had done Denver proud, we parted company. But Kevin would return to my story again on July 7th, when he would accompany throughout Westminster, Broomfield, Boulder, Longmont, Brighton and other places over the next few days. 

The story of that journey will appear in the next entry here. Stay tuned!

Me and the grand nieces, mugging for the camera before I left Colorado Springs

Summer of Pubs IV - Making Up for Lost Time in The Springs

Brewpubs, Views, and Bluegrass
It may be conspicuously obvious that I have skipped an entire day on this blog, that being July 3rd. As I spent most of that day in the Denver area and at GeoWoodstock, I'm saving that for the next entry, especially given the number of pubs we hit that day (hint: it was a lot). So this post will focus on July 5th and 6th and the rollicking good times I had with the family those days.

The family perched in Palmer Park

So the 5th of July dawned with some uncertainty. When you are dealing with a large gaggle of people, there is always the potential of social inertia rearing its head, usually multiplied by the presence of small children. So what was going to be an early start ended up being a much later one, the destination in question Palmer Park.  This place is a strange and wonderful destination, a faux wilderness area right smack dab in the middle of town just slightly smaller than New York's iconic Central Park, its high bluffs and undulating canyons a perfect spot for vista viewing & hiking.

Looking down on The Springs from Palmer Park - That's Pikes Peak in the distance

And while our hike turned out to be more of a simple stroll followed by a frustrating and futile effort to find a geocache- Adie, in particular, was stubbornly looking in every nook and cranny of the rocks and trees- we headed back into town for lunch, ready for an afternoon of brewpub fun, followed by a foray into Manitou Springs in the evening for bluegrass music in the park and dinner/drinks at Manitou Brewing Company. 

After leaving the younger generations to go about their day- some people were still working and going to school- Denise, Roger and I decided to check out a place called Peaks 'N Pines Brewing Company, an establishment on the busy east side of town. A point to note: this area of the Springs, centering on Powers Blvd that runs the length of the city north to south, is one of the fastest growing areas of town, demonstrating all of the best and worst that a suburban area has to offer.  On the bad side is the traffic which makes the rest of the city seem like a doddle apart from I-25 during rush hour. On the good side is that three of the most exciting breweries in town make there home on the east side and Peaks 'N Pines would be the first for us to visit.  Neither Denise nor Roger had been to this place yet so it seemed like a good choice. Another bit of good news is that none of the beers were bad; in fact, all were quite drinkable, some quite amazing. Their Angry Antelope IPA, for example, was a fabulous edition to the lexicon of great IPAs, it's beautifully sweet finish balancing the piney hops that permeate the palate. More uniquely, their Ginger Not Mary Ann Red Ale was really a gingered up red, more a bone dry ginger beer than a red ale. Yum! Finally, they released something called Historical Beer in honor of 4th of July, the idea being that this is a recipe that Ben Franklin himself might have used to make an ale back in the late 18th century.  A hopped up, high alcohol marvel, this was a bit like a cross between an old English bitter and a Scotch ale, it's pronounced bitterness balanced by molasses sweetness. All in all, this was a very nice way to start the day, beer wise.

After our visit here, we took another, more rigorous (and hot) hike together to find a geocache, after which I parted company with my sibs for awhile as they had other things to accomplish before our evening adventure in Manitou. This gave me a fine opportunity to do a little shopping at Trader Joe's and then seek out another brewpub, this time in the form of one Storybook Brewing Company. I had heard about this place from Morland and Company the other night at O'Furry's and sure enough, this place rested firmly on the wrong side of town, a shabby and crowded area of bad roads, sketchy businesses, and blue collar squalor.  The brewery itself was in an inauspicious industrial strip of businesses down a side street, a not unusual location for small breweries as the rent is cheap and parking usually plentiful.  In fact, I have found that many of these sorts of brewpubs end up being part of gentrifying an area, a sort of anchor business that draws people of all classes and shapes looking for a good brew. 

That was decidedly not the case here. Largely catering to locals and members of the armed services community- I spoke briefly with a woman who was about to be deployed to Qatar that evening and was doing a couple of last minute growler fills- Storybook is a fun and lively spot with a children's storybook decor, butting up against a city park and further housing at its rear. And while I wasn't particularly keen on all of their beers- the blackberry wheat, for example, had a disappointing lack of blackberry taste that was more mead than beer- their IPAs were solid and the vibe was so pleasant that I would happily return for another visit.  If you are a hophead, check out their Kilhaven Grapefruit IPA, in particular, a delightfully balanced beer with a subtle hint of citrus on the palate. Lovely stuff.

By the time I was done here, it was time to start heading up towards Manitou Springs, the funky village known most notably as the home of the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad, an adventurous way to ascend the famous peak and one which I had the pleasure of riding way back in 1985. First stop in town? A historical marker and virtual geocache that celebrates the construction of the famous railroad. Virtuals are a long banned form of cache that have been grandfathered in; that is, existing Virtual Caches from back in early 00s are still allowed but new ones haven't been sanctioned since around 2004.  It's a shame too because they are some of the best caches out there, historically interesting places where actual physical caches would otherwise not be permitted. 

After that, I made my way up to the Manitou Library lawn, where the bluegrass concert was taking place.  Denise and Roger were already there, shortly followed by the arrival of Morland, my host for my time in The Springs. The bluegrass was enchanting, a crowd of eager listeners kicking back on the lawn to enjoy the beautiful evening. But hunger drove us to further venues, this time bringing ourselves to Manitou

Brewing Company, a place I quite enjoyed last year. 

This time? Not so much. First of all, they had almost none of their own beers on tap; I guess the busy 4th of July weekend had tapped their minor reserves. All they had left of their own brews was a sour called a Cerise Mousseux Nouveau, a super sour "beer" that finished with a faint hint of cherries. Now, I'm a big fan of sours but this one was a little much even for me. The food was nice but not exceptional and the portions were rather small for the ticket price. All in all, I would rather come here when it isn't packed to the hilt during tourist season, when it seems like service and quality both take a nosedive. 

We finished our journey to Manitou with a walk around downtown, savoring the quaintness of the place after most of the tourists had retired to their hotel rooms or returned back to Colorado Springs. We stopped after sun had descended to check out one of the natural springs here, which serve as pure free water for locals as well as an interesting geology lesson for those eager to learn (in fact, there was an Earthcache here). I followed Morland home for a good nights rest, ready for the final full day in The Springs and more tasting, more hiking, and more family fun.

Maintenance, Hikes, Pubs, and a Event Goes Awry
July 6th was steeped in optimism.  My brother in suds Roger had decided he was going to take me up to Cheyenne Canyon early in the morning, one of the many popular hiking areas around Colorado Springs. And what a good choice it was. It turns out that I had been up this twisty road a few years back, when my nephew & I came to visit his brother & family, hiking and geocaching our way up the Seven Bridges Trail further up Cheyenne Canyon. This time, Roger was intent on taking me up the Columbine Trail, an eight mile scenic marvel that has multiple entry points. He opted to take to the upper trail, which he said was the most scenic. And who was I to argue? We also had in no way enough time to do all eight miles of the trail as I had to get Guinevere in for a weird maintenance issue at the Toyota dealership way. 

When we weren't walking through the beautiful vegetation on the cool morning, we were greeted by switchback openings that looked out on the whole canyon and even into the city below. Rock massifs were festooned with greenery of all types, dominated by the ever present evergreens that graced this canyon. I imagine this place looks much different after the first hard freeze, when the deciduous trees have lost their leaves but in the summer, the fecundity of the place was breathtaking. I admit to being slightly jealous of my family who lived within a scant 30 minute drive of these incredible natural wonders, usually free of the scalding heat that forces us desert dwellers indoors for a good part of four months. I suppose that the grass does frequently appear greener on the other side and that the Springs residents are likely saying the same about my home when the winter chill of January and February keeps them from enjoying their own backyard; nevertheless, there was a sense of yearning to stay here, to enjoy this place a bit longer than the few days I had. I guess that means I have to return.  Besides, I'm pretty sure I've enjoyed not even half the brewpubs that The Springs has to offer.  

So after dropping off the car at the dealership to get my fuel filler cap cover dealt with (don't ask), it was Roger's turn to drive, this time heading down to Rocky Mountain Brewery near the gateway to one of the areas biggest employers, Petersen Air Force Base. In point of fact, high tech and military industries are by far the largest employers of the area, a truism reflected in the sense of commitment to armed services employees, active and veteran. With Rocky Mountain, you could sense this was a favorite place of those folks with many servicemen still in uniform sitting around the large wooden tables pouring over their pints in the sweltering environment. For these hearty folks, who no doubt have endured far worse, the fact that this place has no air-conditioning was likely of little consequence.  To me- who tolerates heat about as well as the average person tolerates arsenic- that was a major drawback of this place. Nonetheless, a boat of vinegar based slaw and Carolina BBQ pork put me in the right frame of mind to enjoy the brews here. And enjoy I did. In particular, I enjoyed their Red Head, a dry Irish Red Ale with pronounced hoppiness but balanced nicely with malt. Most unique was their remarkable American Apple Pie, which was essentially apple pie in liquid form, cinnamon and crust included. I'm not sure how they pulled that off and it's unlikely I would order something like this very often given it's unbelievable sweetness, but it certainly was memorable and definitely worth a try. It's also worth noting that this place also specializes in a variety of house made sodas as well so this is clearly a place that is trying and succeeding to be as family friendly as possible.

Next on our plate is one that neither Roger nor I had ever been to before, Nano 108 Brewing Company.  Apparently named because it was officially the 108th brewery in the US to achieve the designation of "nano brewery" (who even knew there was such a designation?), we were immediately taken by the friendliness of the staff and their eagerness to cater to our beery needs. And their beers were universally drinkable and occasionally awesome Best I tried was a fantastic sub-session IPA, which at 3.2% ABV, I could consume all day without a chance of getting clattered. With a big hop taste and easy drinking finish, it's pretty remarkable they could produce that much flavor in a beer that was that low alcohol.  I genuinely hope that keep this one around for the next time I can to visit.  Or better yet, start bottling it. 

Another surprising installment in quality brews was their German Schwarzbier, a very tasty black lager full of roasted caramel goodness. Given the nature of this place and their nano status, I am sad to say I'm not sure we'll ever see these beers again but given the high quality of work they put into their brews, I suspect I'll enjoy them again, no matter what the brewmeister has in store for us.

When at last I parted company with the family after a lovely meal of broiled salmon and salad, I headed into the final brewery phase of my Colorado Springs journey: a geocaching meet up at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company in downtown. Well, at least I THOUGHT it would be at Phantom Canyon. When I set this event up weeks before, I called the brewery to find out if I could make reservations and they said no, assuring me that it would be NO problem to accommodate a large group on a Wednesday night. 

Both of those statements were utterly and completely false. 

Not only did they take reservations, the only large tables were already reserved, leading to the frustrated hostess to tell me it would be a 1 - 1.5 hour wait. I was incensed by their inconsistency, wondering how a business can operate so shoddily and still maintain large audiences. As a result, it's very unlikely I will ever patronize this place in the future.

Fortunately, one of my fellow early arrivees to the event informed me that another brewery, Iron Bird Brewing Company, was only a short .5 mile stroll away and that they would happily accommodate us, even serving wood fired pizzas and other tasty fare for hungry geocachers. I left a message with the hostess at Phantom Canyon, asking her to send anyone asking about the geocaching event to the other venue. And Iron Bird turned out to be a blessing in disguise, the friendly folks happily and eagerly setting up a table for 20+ in their modern, brick lined tasting room, the wood fired ovens deliciously heating up in the background.

The event and companionship turned out to be a rollicking success, with us sharing stories from far & wide. We had geocachers visiting from everywhere from Sacramento, CA to Ontario, Canada to Florida as well as a large entourage of locals. And the beer was universally good, from the fabulously malty English Pale called Slumlord to a cask-conditioned red ale that oozed hoppiness called Barnstormer to an awesome, supremely balanced IPA called Propaganda. All in all, it was a great time and a great experience, one which I will revisit again in the future. Iron Bird, you are my heroes!

So I managed to hit six breweries in two days, not bad and well within keeping me to my hoped average of two a day on this trip. Next time, I'll be going back to July 3rd and talking about GeoWoodstock which involved- shockingly!- a pub crawl.  Stay tuned!

Summer of Pubs III - 4th of July Epilogue

BBQ
I don't think I mentioned how much I love my family.  Technically, fireworks are illegal in The Springs apart from a few minor popper types of minor explosive devices. Of course, most people ignore this and explosions are heard loud and often throughout the night. My family takes a more creative approach to celebration, as the videos below show.  No beer to post here; just a good time had by three generations of Forands.  Thank you, Adie, Zella, Emily, Dan, Denise and Roger for the good times!

Emily getting creative with Mentos and Diet Coke (that's my sister cackling in the background)

The whole family playing with crackers

Summer of Pubs III - The Springs through the 4th

Beginnings
So how do I begin writing about Colorado Springs?  Well, let's start with everyone's preconceptions about the place.  When one thinks about "The Springs", we usually think about Pike's Peak, the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, evangelicals and their "mega churches"... and all of these things would be true.  A deeply conservative city politically, it is also home to a vibrant college scene, which probably feeds the strong sense of rebellion against the established religious order (especially in areas like downtown, Old Colorado City and nearby Manitou).

It is also home to brewpubs and many of them, over 20 at last count, slaking the thirst of students, military, and the general public alike.  On past visits, I made it to Smiling Toad Brewery, a nano of tremendous distinction, most notable for their remarkable summer ale infused with citrus & lavender. Less auspicious was the popular Great Storm Brewing Company, a place that reminded me of why it's generally a bad idea to put an IPA on nitro (can you say zero hoppiness, boys and girls?).  Despite my mixed experience last year, Colorado Springs is coming into its own as a beer city to be reckoned with. In fact, it was recently named the 18th best city in the US for craft beer, a startling conclusion given the general reaction against the "vices" of drink.

Since I was only going to be here for five nights, it seemed highly unlikely that I could even put a dent in the number of pubs available here but I resolved to visit at least two a day. That would prove even more difficult, given that the first night would largely be lost to driving, the 4th of July would be iffy for obvious reasons and I would be spending all day July 3rd at GeoWoodstock up in the the Littleton area.  Combined with a need to satisfy my other predilections like hiking and geocaching, that increased the odds of failure on the brewpub front.  So my work was cut out for me.

Saturday, July 2

O'Furry's

As I already discussed in the last entry, Saturday was a travel day, including a visit to to Trinidad's one and only brewery.  It was also a day of family BBQ, reacquainted myself with old friends like MG - who graciously opened his home to me for lodging- and dive bars.  Yes, that's right.  After the family BBQ that evening- where chicken, sausage and veggies were consumed with abandon, we drove back to MG's place, followed by a visit to his favorite water hole, O'Furry's, a cavernous bar that is anything but craft.  Far from it.


Instead, it rests firmly on the wrong side of the tracks, a place for people to whet their appetites on sports, fried food, and volleyball.  The lights flicker, the people stagger & laugh, and jukebox screams country & classic rock.  It's also a lot of fun and this being Colorado, they also have craft beer on tap, at least a couple.  So diving into a pint of Dale's Pale Ale from Oskar Blues up in Longmont and embarrassing ourselves over a basket of fried veg, it seemed a fitting conclusion to my first night in The Springs, a slightly naughty but largely harmless reaction to the tight-fisted form of Christianity that has put a stranglehold on the city.

Independence Day
Alas, my host who took me to O'Furry's the night before actually had to work on the 4th so we parted company early and I joined Roger, my bro and comrade in brews, on a 3 mile walk before we started our dive into craft beer and then another BBQ that evening at the grand niece's place (okay, so my nephew and niece live there too but it's all about the kids, let's be honest). This brings up another fabulous thing about The Springs; it is a fitness fiends paradise, with bike and hiking trails twisting around the city everywhere, arteries of potential health pulsating throughout the body of the city. Apart from the occasional need to move swiftly to the side to avoid the never ending stream of bicyclists sharing the tarmac trails with us, it was a great adventure, one I would enjoy multiple times during my time here.

Trinity Brewing Company

We followed this adventure by picking up my sis and head out on Garden of the Gods road, where two of the better known breweries were actually open on the holiday.  First up was Trinity Brewing Company, a place I had heard a great deal about for their specialization on saisons and sours, two of my passions.  Combined with a very interesting food menu and being consistently named one of the best brewpubs in America, this seemed like a great start to the day.

Things seemed promising to start.  The decor was fabulous, a book-laden arch leading into the barrel aging room.  The tasting room itself was a tasteful but modern affair, unstated but inviting, keeping in line with the brewpub aesthetic. And we even managed to secure a table indoors right away, pouring over the menu of tasty treats.

That's when things started to go south. First off, Trinity does NOT offer a la carte tasting flights, instead forcing you into a preset menu of beers for tastings.  What's more, they happened to be out of one of the beers on their flight and refused to substitute any of their many other beers, thus making flights an impossibility. WTF?!? Not only did they lose $20 from me because they wouldn't substitute a single brew for their missing one, they displayed an inflexibility and frankly snootiness that seems counter productive and bad for business.  Perhaps they are resting on their laurels but with the competition increasing and ever more excellent brewpubs popping up in The Springs, it seems to me that such an attitude will not serve them well in the future.  A quick scan of Google Reviews confirms my experience; they now have one of the LOWEST overall reviews of any brewpub in The Springs, despite having a quality product.  The final weirdness?  They poured me four 1 ounce tasters for free!  Why would they give away their beer when they could have made money on me by simply doing a substitution? It makes no sense from a business standout.  Okay, rant over.  Now about the beer:  the only word I can say is disappointing.  Perhaps this place is what traditionalists mean when they poo poo the constant world of experimentation.  I normally thrive on experimental beer, the more unique the better.  But Trinity has taken this to a new pretentious low: their Seven Day Sour is a perfect example of this.  A strange and slightly off putting beer, it tastes of a incongruous mix of earth, corn, and blue cheese.  Similarly, their Golden Acid Trip is tamarind-infused sour that has a subtle sweetness but goes way overboard on the sour, making this drinkable only in very small quantities.  And that seemed to be problem with their beers in general, despite making at least one fairly drinkable IPA.  All in all, this was an inauspicious start to my time in The Springs.

Tapping the special kegs for the anniversary party - Red Leg

Fortunately, Red Leg Brewing Company would redeem things for me.  The only problem from a tasting point of view was that the 4th of July was also their huge anniversary party and the place was a happy, drunken madhouse.  Started by and catering to a largely military clientele, Red Leg excels at more mainstream brews although they aren't afraid to experiment a bit, as exemplified by their amazing Red Cord Ginger Lemon Saison, a beer that put all of Trinity's overrated suds to shame.  A tart and spicy saison, this is just what the doctor ordered after the previous disappointment.  Equally impressive is their fabulous Doolittle IPA, a slightly smokey hopfest that deserved my purchase of a six pack.  They also were tapping very small batch barrel beers during the fest but given the massive crowds, we opted to move on, picking up some Trader Joe's nibblies for lunch rather than eat at the food trucks here, which were generating remarkably long lines.

Despite the personal inconvenience we felt for this, Red Leg deserves my return business.  Their attitude is amazing and friendly, their service surprisingly good despite the overwhelming nature of their anniversary crowds, and their commitment to quality, unassuming brews a credit to the city. Next up: July 5th and 6th, making up for lost time, when I managed to make it to six breweries in two days.

Summer of Pubs, Part Two - Trinidad, Where Beer & Bud Unite

Trinidad Recreations - A Tale of New & Old

A Conundrum

So I was thinking about how to proceed with my entries for this trip.  I could do it chronologically like it did in May but since I genuinely have no idea which breweries I went to on which days- at least not for my stays in Denver and Colorado Springs- I'm rejecting that notion for the next few entries after this one.  That said, July 2nd is stuck firmly in my mind, at least as firmly as it can be after drinking and writing about beer for the last two weeks non stop. As I sit here in my Wenatchee, Washington hotel room at the end of week two, I realize I must have been to well over 30 or 40 breweries by now as well as at least three or four distilleries.  The mind can flummox one after infecting it with that many hops in two short weeks so I'll just say this.  July 2nd is one of very few days where I only went to ONE craft brewery and that was in the most unlikely of places:  yes, that's right.  There's craft beer in Trinidad.  

A Tale of Two Trinidads

Now before I start writing about Dodgeton Creek Brewing Company, I should note that it is no small task to even find this brewery as it is located at the far north of town, down another road slightly to the east and then down another very obscure road heading back south leading into a weirdly Deliverance kind of area.  John Deere seems far more at home in this part of Colorado than Adolf Coors, which is particularly ironic since the local recreational pot dispensary is a giant green warehouse easily seen from I-25, with easy on and off for the casual stoner tourist or local ready to get his buzz on.  

Higher Calling as Viewed from I-25

It's fascinating to see how much things have shifted in the world of recreational substances when a classic small brewery is relegated to the outer stretches of town but a blazing warehouse of skunky bud is such a prominent business.  Naturally, as a curious tourist, I had to go to both.  NOTE: please note, by talking about recreational weed here, I am in no way condoning its consumption, especially outside of Colorado where it continues to remain illegal.  Still Trinidad's Higher Calling U, LLC is a fascinating study in consumerism and may explain a great deal about why Colorado doesn't have the same tax revenue problems that New Mexico does.  With sales tax coming in at a whopping 21%, Colorado coffers are happily being filled by the curious and the red-eyed, eager to sample the fragrant wares.  And Colorado takes this business seriously:  big, burly security guards greet people as they enter the warehouse, even as your nostrils are impaled by the sweet, heady aroma of a hundred strains of cannabis, whirling around the building like stoned green pixies.  Once satisfied that you are of legal age and that the "budtenders" within can service your needs, the stoic guard lets you into the sales room, where one of the earnest young men or women greet you and ask you what you're looking for. As a tourist, I was mostly curious about kind of offerings you could get in these halcyon days of cannabis production, far removed from the days of $25 a 1/4 oz Mexiweed days of latter day grad school.  And yes, they have everything, from vape pens to ointments to candies, to CBD oils (for those who use it for medical reasons without getting high), to traditional but high grade smokables to even atomizers that work like THC-laced breath mints.  The mind simply boggled at this place.

But it was beer that I sought and killing time at the pot warehouse allowed me to wait until Dodgeton opened their doors.... an hour later than I expected.  No matter.  That's the wonder of small breweries. Even if you arrive 30 minutes before they technically open- I did this along with a fellow beer fiend from Tucson- they open early for you, eager to pitch their wares to the early birds.  The tasting room is a rustic but comforting place, with a small bar, the requisite burly bearded brewmaster and red-headed co-owner, and a sitting area for playing games or generally having a good time.  As for the beers, I tried only five of them but I liked all of them, a rarity for me. For example, there was the Extra Pale Ale, which reminded me of a Czech Pilsner: dirty, earthy, and feral, like a rabid malt monster jumping down your throat.  Then came their ESB, an almost smokey beverage with a pronounced hop finish.  Next up was their so-called English-style Pale Ale, which would almost certainly be considered an IPA across the pond. Their admitted IPA was a massive beer, oozing with piney resin, a result of a chaffing massive amount of Cascade hops in the kettle.  I finished with their strangest beer, their Red Ale that resonates with smoke and an almost tart sourness.  All in all, Dodgeton is a great place to stop if you're traveling between New Mexico and Colorado.  Next time:  dive bars and a massive number of brewpubs in the anachronistic world that is Colorado Springs. Stay tuned!

Summer of Pubs, Part One - Santa Fe Stopover

A Dodgy Start

When I first conceived of this summer's road trip, I had several goals in mind:  hit the brewpubs (natch), do some geocaching, and visit friends/family.  Well, okay... that's not really it actually.  I also have an unwritten rule every summer: make sure to see something I haven't seen before during my 4-5 week road trip in July and early August.  This year, I knew I was going to meet up with a friend in Seattle to drive up to British Columbia and the mysterious Bowen Island so that definitely ticked off the "visiting the unknown" box.  But that wasn't quite sufficient.  No, this year, I decided to take it one step further and plan my route through the northern plains, driving north and east to get west.  As I have never been to North Dakota or Montana, I decide to plan a route through the Black Hills, see Mt. Rushmore (another first), finally terminating my easterly quest in Bismarck, then heading towards the west coast via multiple stops along the way.  That also meant visiting Billings and Missoula, which apparently have substantial craft beer scenes these days.  Naturally, I also found breweries in Rapid City and Bismarck and even decided to publish "meet and greet" events in various places to meet local geocachers.  Yes, it was an ambitious goal but I started off small, settling into Santa Fe for the night of July 1st, a scant 4 1/2 hours north of my home.  Easy, right?

My friend Suzi on Santa Fe BC's upper patio

Well, yes... and no.  A few problems seemed to plague my journey from the start, not least of which was the closure of Casa Abril, a highly recommended winery about halfway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, whose owners had the audacity to be closed for the holiday weekend.  From there, I caravanned with a geo friend up to Santa Fe Brewing Company, where an ill-conceived geo pub crawl was created by me for the evening.  I say ill conceived for a couple of reasons.  One, most of the local geocaching population were up in Denver already for the weekend of GeoWoodstock events, one of the biggest events on the geocaching calendar.  Secondly, it turns out that Santa Fe Brewing Company's taproom is rustic at best; severely underwhelming was more like.  Despite the enormity of the building, the tasting room is hot, meager, and dilapidated, many of the tables in ill repair.  Outside seating wasn't much better, with no landscaping or windbreaks to prevent the surrounding dust from getting into every orifice and beer.  We settled finally on the upper balcony, which was a bit rain splattered but at least wasn't hot, stuffy or full of dust.  We split a flight of completely ordinary beers, ranging from the skunky (and Heineken-like) Pilsner to the least barrel-aged tasting, bourbon barrel aged porter I've ever tried. The seasonal IPA was okay as was the sour but on the whole, the experience left us with a less-than-great experience.  Given the massive size of the building, I have to think that this brewery is really focusing on canning at this point, leaving their tasting room in a rather inadequate state.  Honestly, if Santa Fe BC wants to have a tasting room at all, they are really going to have do much better than this.  After all, Santa Fe is home many great brewpubs, which I was to find out first hand and in due course.

Pub Crawl

Sadly, Suzi had to leave me sooner than desired as she was off to one of her other obsessions, a ballooning festival outside of Raton, NM. Nevertheless, I had always conceived of the Santa Fe stop as a pub crawl of sorts; apart from Blue Corn Cafe (which is more of a restaurant than a brewpub), I had never been to any brewpubs in the state capital up until now so I figured I should try to hit as many as possible during my short, one day visit.  So in sharp contrast to Santa Fe's rather disheveled, character, I moved on to Duel Brewing Company, a newer and far more upscale place right off of Cerrillos Road, the main artery of Santa Fe and the bane of all travelers attempting to traverse it's insane traffic and even more insane summer road construction.  Fortunately, I met up with Aaron here, a fellow geocacher who had just moved back from New Mexico from a few year stint in Tennessee where his wife had just finished up a PhD.  Aaron, or Fugads as we call him in the geo world, is a seriously hardcore cacher- geo blogger, rock climber, rappeler, and all around mountain goat.  He's also an amazingly nice guy and, as I was to find out very shortly, an accomplished beer drinker as well.  Duel was a great place to meet up as the beer was pretty awesome if you could get past the sticker shock ($20 bucks for a speciality saison flight?  Yikes!). But if you have the money, this place is worth it.  They specialize in Belgian style beers, including sours, barrel aged wonders, and saisons, one more unique than the last. Chief among these was the the Cezanne Magnifique, a red wine barrel-aged Imperial Saison that clocked in at a whopping 10.5% ABV and which really highlighted its presence in wine barrels, an almost tannin-like quality permeating the palate.  And each saison had it's own unique and delightful quality, some bringing out the clove & banana so common in European brews and others reveling in their sour-like qualities. Also noteworthy was their Belgian style IPA called Fiction, a well-balanced hop feast that allows some sweetness to shine through the finish, thus tempering the bitterness nicely.

It was here that I finally got in touch with my friend Teal, who told me she would meet up with us at our next stop, the venerable Second Street Brewing taproom that I still had never been to. Honestly, I feel completely behind the times on this one, with virtually all beer drinkers I know in New Mexico having been here at least once.  Well, better late than never.  So I arrived with Fugads in tow, meeting up with my friend Teal and her buddy Xander, who I would later find out owns one of the breweries that would be on our docket for the evening.  We also met up with another geocacher, who had just finished walking 300+ miles across the Camino of southern France... and at age 72!  Tell you what: that's what I want to be doing in my 70s, drinking beer, walking across Europe and generally having adventures.  Now, back to the beer... and food!  2nd Street prides themselves on a great menu and they proved it to me, with an awesome grilled chicken salad accompanied by various wonders, including blue cheese, which paired well with their floral Steam Pale Ale.  Their Amber also accompanied food nicely but was otherwise not exceptional.  Their St. George IPA was pretty top notch, however, a well-balanced English style that didn't overwhelm the palate with hops.  Finally, the most unique beer I tried was a gluten free English bitter, the first gluten free beer that I found even drinkable.  But I would have to say that Second Street confirmed by general theory: that breweries that serve good food usually don't have standout beers.  In this case, the beer is solid- make no mistake about it- but it's also safe and predictable, perfectly serviceable for a place a great atmosphere, live music and fabulous food.

For our next stop, the geocachers left us and so did out taste for beer... at least for the time being. So we decided to walk for the rest of the evening, Teal, Xander and I, this time to the New Mexico Hard Cider Taproom.  I had already had their Tart Cherry Cider and loved it, reminding a bit of some of the cherry sours I'd loved from some notable breweries like Victory in Pennsylvania. But the cherry ending up taking a back seat to the most unique cider I've ever had, a tart and vegetable-like wonder made with purple carrots and apples called the Purple Bunny.  This awesome beverage had an almost wine-like quality to it, even port-like, but with none of the residual sugar that comes with that libation.  And while their Granny Smith-like, straight up apple cider called Pippin/Granny was awesome as well, it was the bunny that left the greatest lasting impression.  

At the Chili Line Patio

Then finally, late into the evening, Xander finally walked us over to his place, the Chili Line Brewing Company, which occupies only a small part of the larger business, a family-run wood fired pizza place and wine bar called Pizzeria de Lino.  Xander was the consummate host, issuing us to the back of the restaurant and the outdoor patio nearest his brewing area and grabbing samples as well as a lovely buffalo mozzarella thin crust pizza.  A tour of his brewing area while waiting for the food gave away the daunting task that Xander had: he was trying to make quality beer on a less-than-shoestring budget.  What's more, he decided some substantial time in Germany, that he would specialize in smoked beers, a hard sell in the United States and to me in particular, who had always seen smoked beer as akin to the Islay Scotch Whiskeys: lovely to contemplate, virtually undrinkable to actually consume, the smoke overwhelming the flavor of any other subtly in the drink.  So imagine my surprise when I found myself actually LIKING these beers.  First of all, he doesn't over smoke them so the flavor remains in the background, allowing the other permutations of the brews to come forward and be enjoyed.  The standouts for me where the IPL, a strange hybrid beer resembling bananas foster but with a huge hoppy taste followed by a smooth finish.  I'm not sure how he pulled that one off but he did.  The other big surprise was the Casino Stout, a strong, extra carbonated brew that almost resembled a citrusy porter, owing to Xander's use of saison yeast purchased from Duel Brewing Company.  And I think that's a beautiful way to end my visit to Santa Fe, knowing that the world of micro breweries (or in the case of Xander's place, a nano brewery) see this endeavor as a collaboration, not a rivalry.  Of course, there is competition but it seems that most view this rivalry in the spirit of making their beers better, not tearing others down.  That feels like a metaphor for how our society should operate but seldom does. We need to learn from beer and what a wonderful feeling that is.

Next Up: Colorado, where I dive into beer right across the border and visit the newest recreational substance establishments in our neighbor to the north.