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!