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!
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