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.