Three weekends ago we were in Vail and went over to Crazy Mountain - small, but full of great beer! Joe had a flight (he almost always does), and I had their summer kolsch. We brought home a growler of Cara de Luna Black Ale...slurpee black goodness in a 64 ounce bottle!
Last weekend we went up to Fort Collins and visited four breweries...it was a great day! We started at Fort Collins Brewery. We had lunch at their restaurant Gravity 1020 (a nod to the gravity at which they brew their beer) and then headed over to the tasting room. They have an incredible selection of really, really good beers. We sampled several but came home with a growler of Oak Aged Maibock. We're planning to fire up the grill and make some spicy pecan chicken to have with it.
Our next stop was O'Dell's - a righteous brewery that just so happened to be having a cornhole tournament. No, that's not a prison game...it's like toss across...but on a professional level. It was a beautiful day, so we stayed outside enjoying the sun, the beer and the competition. I drank up a Honey Baron, and Joe inhaled the double pils. Yum!
Just up the road, we stopped at New Belgium (of course). That place was hoppin', but we found a spot at the bar and made friends with the bartender (like I've never done that). I don't recall what Joe had, but I had their peach porch lounger - totally refreshing, slightly peachy, really delicious and a good break between big beers.
Finally, we went into Old Town (Fort Collins' quaint little downtown area) and visited a new brewery called Pateros Creek. Joe had a flight and I had Cache la Porter, a big chocolaty porter...right up my alley!
Now if that's not enough, and don't you think it ought to be, this past weekend we stayed in town and went to the Copper Kettle. We had never heard of these guys until we went to the Denver Summer Beer Fest a month ago. They have a Mexican Chocolate Stout that's even better than Clown Shoes' Chocolate Sombrero. Wow! It won a gold medal at last years' GABF...that's impressive, but even more so when you find out that they just opened last year! They also have a Scotish Brown Ale called Great Scot! that's got just the right combination of nuttiness, caramel and bacon...oh, mama!
Of course we made friends with Justin Gill the head bartender - great guy!
Another brewery we'd never heard of until the Summer Beer Fest is Renegade. Renegade is about four blocks away from Breckenridge Brewery (which we go to a lot, both for the beer and the BBQ). Joe had an amazing flight of the eight beers they had on tap...geez!
I had their Sunday Morning, a coffee-infused strong ale...way good! And then I tried their Banana Split, an Imperial Dunkelweizen - mighty tasty...even got a hint of vanilla whipped cream on the finish.
Needless to say, we're not lacking for good beer up here, but we do miss the beer goddesses at the Flying Saucer.
