Barstool Mountaineering, Vol. 2, Part 5

We traveled over 2,000 miles in search of beer and deliciousness (and a little family time). In that time, we visited four breweries and drank 40 different beers from a total of 12 different breweries.

While there were many Colorado beers that made me smile, a few stood out, and I thought I’d take a moment to highlight them. The best beer at Trinity was a Great Divide beer: Colette, a refreshing and reliable saison.

Another favorite was Left Hand‘s 400-Pound Monkey. This is actually a beer I can access in my market, but for whatever reason, I haven’t gotten around to trying it. I’ve looked forward to this American-made English IPA, and I wasn’t disappointed. Further, it’s wrapped in one of my all-time favorite labels.

On the not-really-a-particular-style front, I really enjoyed Durango Brewing Company‘s Derail Ale. It’s an 8.5% abv golden ale with 44 IBUs. Like Colette, this was refreshing in spite of its strength.

Best Beer by a Stream? That would be Ska’s Ten Pin Porter, which we enjoyed while camping somewhere near the Continental Divide.

Best Beer with a Killer Burger: New Belgium‘s Ranger IPA, served with The Big Hawg (a fresh, handformed 1/2 pound burger with hickory smoked bacon, pepper jack cheese, hot link sausage, grilled red onions and Doug’s hickory barbecue sauce, served on a bakery-fresh bun at Bear Creek Saloon and Grill in Pagosa Springs)

Most Disappointing Beer: Oskar Blues’ Gubna. We visited this brewery last year and I love the brewpub and all their other beers. But I don’t like Summit hops. So I don’t care for this beer.

Many other tasty beers, too numerous to mention. It was a great trip, and it did it’s job.

Barstool Mountaineering, Vol. 2, Part 4

San Luis Valley Brewing Company

Before we parted company with the West, we made one last stop for a beer in Alamosa, Colorado. The timing for gas and beer not long after departing our condo couldn’t have been better, but I swear I didn’t exactly plan it. I think we all wanted to linger in the elevation just a little while longer…

So I check out samples of their alt and their oatmeal stout, trying to make a quick decision on one morning pint for the passenger’s seat. The alt is agreeable but I go for the oatmeal stout. It is substantive and will give me strength for the long haul, I reckon.

We order a plate of wings and devour them even though no one admits to being hungry and we’re ahead of the lunching hour.

It’s one of those moments when southern Colorado acts a lot like New Mexico in terms of aesthetics and it feels good to pick at an app with arched windows and adobe-esque leanings. According to Jake and Tom, the root beer is good and the black cherry cream soda is perhaps the best in the world.

The oatmeal stout has body, roast and meaning, and I couldn’t have placed a better order. Scott and Angie Graber–homebrewers-turned-brewpub owner/brewers–should be proud. They done good, and now I can go home with a clear conscience.

Barstool Mountaineering, Vol. 2, Part 3

Ska Brewing Company

Somewhere amidst the hiking and hanging, we managed a quick excursion to Durango to visit Ska Brewing Company, a solid brewery with a music-driven comic book branding. It’s a lifestyle brewery, with solid beers to back up the clever image. If this is what the good life tastes like, I say fire up the tunes and let’s go bowling.

The boys tied into local root beer and ginger ale, while I fired up a sampler of Ska’s Blonde, Orange Cream Stout, True Blonde Dubbel, Decadent Imperial IPA and Oak-aged Nefarious Porter. Later, I sipped pints of their Pin Stripe Red and Buster Nut Brown while Jake and Tom bowled and golfed on the Wii.

All the Ska stuff was worthy, and I especially liked the Nefarious and True Blonde Dubbel, while Wonderful Beer Wife dug the Orange Cream Stout. For the sake of documentation, the Blonde Dubbel wasn’t a double of their blonde, nor was it a dubbel. I haven’t really paid attention to how Ska or anyone else has categorized it, but it was a tasty big golden in the Belgian vein.

The orange on Michelle’s favorite seemed restrained, but it intrigued nonetheless and seemed to have a touch more sugar and alcohol presence than the Steel Toe Stout on which it is based.

It was a quiet afternoon when we blew into town. We ordered tasty Mexican from the trailer parked just outside the brewery and cooled off from a hot morning at Chimney Rock.

Tours here are mighty informal–a chat with the bartender procured a personalized walk through the brewery with all the brewery-specific banter one could want. Having scooped out a mash tun a time or two, I was envious of the auger that takes the spent grains straight outside in a non-back-breaking fashion. They’ve just undergone an expansion and the brews can explain why: they’re good.

I picked up a little beer for the fridge at the condo and a Saison Du’rango to take home and reminisce. And then we were gone. Home to drink some ESB or Ten Pin or something.

Nice spot, folks. If you’re in the neighborhood, I’d give it a go.

Barstool Mountaineering, Volume 2, Part 2

Pagosa Brewing Company

On our recent family reunion cum beer jaunt, we established base camp in Pagosa Springs, conveniently but a stone’s throw from Pagosa Brewing Company.

After a little pre-trip research, I was keen to try their Poor Richard’s Ale. Here’s what PSB’s website has to say about it:

This Colonial-style beer is a modern interpretation of a beer that Benjamin Franklin could have savored in his lifetime. Our award-winning, ORIGINAL recipe was brewed by over 100 professional breweries throughout the nation. It’s a great tasting amber/brown ale thanks to American ingenuity of using an indigenous New World ingredient, corn. During the brew, we also add a touch of molasses (the everyday sweetener of the Colonists) to give it a slight spiciness and to offset the documented hop shortage of the time.

After tasting ten or twelve of their beers, I settled in on this as a distinct favorite, though their IPA and Grand Cru were both quite tasty. Over the course of the week, we put away a few growlers of the Poor Richard’s, as well as pints–oh so happily on cask while we were there.

The tap room is cozy, though the beer garden outside was huge. We sat in both places and enjoyed the beers and the break from work. The service was excellent and while I never did get around to eating here, some of our family that has spent time in Pagaosa Springs in the past said that the pizzas were excellent.

Oddly, we found them closed at 10 p.m. on a Friday night when we went back for one last growler refill before the trip home. Though the staff was shutting down and apologetic that we couldn’t get a growler, our server-buddy Carl–who’d helped us out with out family scavenger hunt a night or two before–remembered us and agreed to come in at 10 a.m. the next morning to take care of our growler needs.

If you’re in the neighborhood, I’d give them a try…

Barstool Mountaineering, Vol. 2, Part 1

Trinity boasts one of the coolest bars I've seen, made of recycled beer bottles and backlit (underlit?) for a beautiful effect.

The good news is I’m vacationing in Colorado again this year. There is no bad news.

This year, the focal point is Pagosa Springs, in the southwestern part of the state. More to come on the beers we’re encountering, but first a quick post on our first brewery of the trip: Trinity Brewing Company in Colorado Springs.

A funky little place that proves you can put some soul into a strip mall, Trinity has a great vibe. While the atmosphere is outstanding, the beers stick to the Good category. We did a sampler, which included Sunna Wit, Soul Horkey Ale, Flo IPA (regular and nitro), Awaken Stout (regular and nitro). For me, the wit and the stout stood out with their flagship Horkey ale came in third with an earthy malt character that was enjoyable.

The boys test-drove the root beer with a little disappointment. It was served without ice, and like the family of beers, a little low on carbonation. It was, like the family of beers, on the earthy side. I got buckwheat honey and agreed with Tom’s decision to leave half the glass behind, while Jake was more polite and finished his.

Because it was time to switch drivers and time felt like no object, I ordered a pint of Great Divide’s Colette, an engaging saison and just one of at least a dozen guest beers that’s better than Trinity’s house-brewed stuff.

In addition to an earthy funk decor, Trinity boasts an impressive list of guest beers.

No food this trip, but the service was good and we enjoyed the aged cheddar that accompanied our sampler tray. The decor felt great but the beers disappointed just a touch. With any luck this place will kick it up a notch. Just off the interstate, it’s worth checking out if you’re passing through, but I wouldn’t make a destination of it. Not yet.

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, revisited

The first time I went to Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, I hadn’t eaten anything substantive in two days. But I’d had plenty of beer from judging all day. I felt like crap, drank half a pint of cask Scotch ale, picked at my food and went home.

Knowing they carry a reputation for good beers, I was eager for a return visit. We pulled into town on a Sunday to see Zane Lamprey’s antics and set aside plenty of time for MTHB. With no boys in tow, it was one of the most pleasurable meals I’ve had in a long time. Leisurely, we ordered a sampler tray of their current seasonals, which included Marmalade Sky (APA with orange peel and Amarillo hops), 1800 (a 7.7% abv English IPA), Abominable Coffee Porter, Mango Mama (American IPA aged on mango), and their Grand Cru (a 9.5% “celebratory Belgian ale”).

My preferences on this beautiful day were the 1800 and the coffee porter. If it were a colder, drearier day, I’d trade out the 1800 for the Grand Cru.

Eventually, we ordered their beer bread for an appetizer, while I challenged Wonderful Beer Wife to take notes with 3-word beer descriptions, to see how hard it is.

Beer:                              Me:                                        Her:

Marmalade Sky fruity, marmalade, hop-delight  pithy, bitter, grapefruit

1800 earthy, hop-fruit, drinker     alcohol, warmth (she only needed 2)

Coffee Porter good coffee porter               espresso, caramel, delicious

Grand Cru Belgo-boozed fruit boom                    smooth, raisin, heat

Mango Mama mango, pith, IPA                  prickly, bitter, grapefruit

It was a relaxed evening of dining outdoors, and I didn’t take my descriptions too geekily. I didn’t need to get flowery with the coffee porter. It was what it was: well done. The Mango Mama was the only one I didn’t care about. Chew on a mango pit that’s been soaking in IPA. That about sums it up–far too pithy and distracting. Funny that I called a 7.7% beer a “drinker,” but the 1800 was amazingly quaffable for its heft. And Michelle says it was a foul to use the word marmalade to describe a beer called Marmalade, but I say it was well-named.

Eventually, we ordered dinner. I went for the pulled pork, which was tasty and filling, though not Eastern North Carolina-style–my preference; Michelle had the fish tacos. Both good. With my meal, I went for their Dortmunder Local Export Lager (a golden, pils-toast quaffer). If I lived here, I would frequently refill my growler with this stuff.

We shared a pint of the coffee porter with a lava cake dessert–excellent combo. And I couldn’t help but order a glass of La Folie, which was one of their guest taps. Here was the odd surprise. I’ve known and loved many batches of this beer over the years, and this glass tasted completely different from the sour bomb I’ve so oft enjoyed.

In more than three words: Up front the aroma was cherries and sourness, and the taste started that way, but it was a dash of cherries followed by a sustained pineapple character with a little raspberries thrown in the finish. The pineapple kept going, and it had body. It was much less sour than my previous experiences with this beer–good, but different. If this was my first experience, I wouldn’t have fallen in such deep love. This one was a little sweeter and less attenuated, and I can’t believe this keg slipped out of the brewery so very different from everything else I’ve tried. Or it’s aged in a new direction, but really, it was much sweeter and not the same beer I’ve had before–beyond the minor batch-to-batch fluctuations.

But I digress. We had a great meal and beers at Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery and I’d definitely recommend this place.

—–

1430 Washington Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55454

Beer Guy from a Kid’s Eye, Part 7

So we attended my cousin’s wedding recently. My camera disappeared for a while. When I retrieved it, it had this image, taken by future beer blogger Tom Wilson, 11. I’m so proud.

Moose Drool, one of two surprisingly good beer choices at a small town Iowa country club.

Zane, Jesus and the Rat Pack

Not that drinking isn’t easy, professional drinker and comedian Zane Lamprey has set off across the country on his Drinking Made Easy tour (53 cities/106 proof).

If it were a movie, it would be a buddy movie. If it were a buddy movie, it would be a drinking buddy movie, and that takes me back…

Lamprey, along with his college drinking comrade Steve McKenna and comedian Marc Ryan rolled into Minneapolis for a show at the Fine Line on June 20, and Wonderful Beer Wife and I made the trek to see what the buzz was about.

A blend of debauchery and education, the buzz was booze, and we enjoyed the show.

I had the chance to speak with Lamprey recently and I asked him if he’s caught much flak for the alco-boom resonating throughout his career path:

“I’m certainly conscious of it. You know, obviously there are people that take it to excess–we’re trying to get across the educational aspect of it.”

The live show, which supports Lamprey’s recent book Three Sheets: Drinking Made Easy,  juxtaposes drinking craziness with beer, wine and spirits tutorials. The tour pulls from all the wisdom absorbed into the bloodstream during four seasons of shooting  Three Sheets all over the world. “The objective is to learn and now that I’ve acquired a certain amount of information,” said Lamprey. “It’s my job to entertain and, if I can, educate just a little bit.”

Though it holds a rabid fan-base, Three Sheets has been plagued by folding networks, but the entire catalogue was recently picked up by the Travel Channel. According to Lamprey, the Travel Channel will see how it does and promote it. “If it goes as they expect it to, then we’ll start discussing shooting more seasons of it,” he said. “The window has opened for more Three Sheets. I was about to throw in the towel, myself.”

Working hard and keeping a backup plan, Lamprey’s shooting another show in conjunction with the comedy tour: Drinking Made Easy, which will premier in the fall on HDNet. According to Lamprey, it’s the domestic version of Three Sheets. Partnering with his correspondents McKenna and Ryan, describes long days on the road. “During the day, we’re shooting a TV show and we’re out here doing standup at night, so it’s been a very wild ride to say the least.”

But what about brewvana? What’s that look like for Zane Lamprey?

“I’m a beer guy, so I always like to go into a bar and try something I’ve never tried before. There are so many craft beers out there. It’s amazing that, generally, every time I pull into a city there’s something I’ve never had before,” he said. “There are the four staple ingredients in beer, which people can manipulate, in a good way, to get a myriad of different flavors and styles and textures and everything, which is amazing.”

But it’s not all Dark Lord and Westy. Lamprey, who’s developing a signature beer called Pleeplius, after his mascot, is content with a beer that requires little thought. “As far as just reaching for a beer or something I have to drink everyday, it would be a light beer. I like beer. I like the taste of it. I like a lighter alcohol percentage and I like something–if I have to drink something every day or what I drink when I’m home on a regular basis if I’m watching TV or doing some work–it’s going to be a light beer. Just a light lager–something that I don’t have to think about.”

Lamprey once found himself justifying his response to a similar question asked by an NPR interviewer: “Sometimes you just want a dumb beer. You don’t always want something that’s so complex. I’ll just reach for whatever’s in the fridge.”

As our conversation swirled from perfect beers to drinking companions, Lamprey pondered the thought. “[If I could share beers with anyone in history, living or dead] I would have a beer with Jesus. I would have a beer with Frank Sinatra. You know let’s just have me, Jesus and the Rat Pack”

Wielding bottles of Pleeplius on stage foreshadows the beer of choice. “I’m hoping to have it out by wintertime,” said Lamprey. “Which is the perfect time to release a lager,” he cracked. Currently working on production and distribution tidbits, Lamprey will need to produce a fair amount if he keeps McKenna on the road with him.

While McKenna did a short set during the show, his real schtick was pounding the Pleeplius–which he did by the six  pack. After all that work, he had to reach for another. Ryan provided comedic ballast to McKenna’s drunk guy role and the whole package, with Lamprey at the helm, made for a good night’s entertainment.

Whiskey in the morning

A staff development day at the Templeton Rye Distillery

As the self-appointed Staff Morale Officer of our workplace, I made arrangements recently for a team building field trip to the Templeton Rye Distillery in Templeton, Iowa. Today was the day, and morale is high.

Led by Keith Kerkhoff, a prohibition-era Templeton Rye producer’s decendent, Jon, Ann, Cindy and I enjoyed an insightful look into both the past and present of this tasty rye whiskey so sought after. Filled with anecdotes, Keith led our group through the distilling process, which was occurring in all its raw whiskey glory right before our eyes.

While most of the production takes place in Indiana, TR maintains a working still on site. We were able to witness the process as Keith filled us in on the backdrop. Another off-site nuance to the operation was that TR gets their mash hauled in from Granite City, a chain of fermentus-interuptus-made beer that isn’t nearly as good as the distilled results of their mash tun.

We hit the lab, the filtering room and bottling line. A short film shared more history from voices from the past. It was fun, educational and the barrel room smelled incredible.

The tour ended in the gift shop, where we shared samples of “The Good Stuff” and longed for later this year when TR will have another batch ready for allocation. As it stands now, distribution is only in Iowa and Illinois–and it’s doled out six bottles per account each month. It’s frustrating for enthusiasts to suffer through product shortages, but an increase in production takes four years to catch up when you’re expecting quality of this ilk.

The whiskey is good, the branding is sharp and it does, in fact, lift the spirits of a weary work crew. We had a good time and I’d encourage you to check ‘em out.

If you really want some, your best bet is to track down a small town liquor store early in the month–or hit Binny’s Beverage Depot or InternetWines.com.

Beer Bloggers Conference

Anybody going? I’m going to try to work it out, as it sounds like a fun little weekend.