Colorado: day five

Today we started out in Denver and ended up in Ft. Collins. We started with breakfast at Sam's #3 on 15th and Curtis. I highly recommend the breakfast quesadilla.

We then headed to 16th street mall, and since it was lightly sprinkling, decided we should head indoors. Lo and behold, right before us was none other than RockBottom Restaurant and Brewery!

The brewery was very crowded for lunch. We went into the back bar, which is quieter and less crowded. The beers were excellent - all finely crafted and flavorful.

Buffalo Gold
Rox 4 - a tad hoppy
Reid 4 - mellow

UberWit Rox 4 - crisp and clean, Reid 4.5 light with a bit of spiciness, couldn't drink a lot of it.

16th St. Wheat - Rox 4, Reid 4 hoppier than the uber wit

Lumpy Dog Light Lager Rox 4.5 Reid 4 Crisp, with a nice malty aftertaste.

Red Rocks Red - Rox 3, Reid 3.5 malty after taste

Cask Conditioned Red - Rox 3 - a little flat and sweet like barley wine. Reid 3 - flatness

Molly's Titanic Brown - Rox 4 - lacking complexity. Reid 3.5 too crisp; nice flavors, but overly-carbonated.

Chocolate Porter Rox 4.5 - a very good porter, Reid 4.5 nice flavors - malty and chocolatey.

Falcon Pale Ale - Rox 4 - as advertised, very "aggressive" Reid 4 - very hoppy





Odell Brewery
August 15, @ 6:00 p.m.

The tasting room is only open until 6:30, so we just made it. The samplers are very affordable - $3 for basic beers and $3 for seasonal specialties. And with each sampler you get a token that can be used to donate $3 to a good cause or for $3 off Odell merchandise. They had live music that was a lot of fun, and a nice outdoor area which allows dogs and has views of the golf course. Everyone who worked here was very nice.

The beers here got mixed reviews. Rox felt the beers were mostly average and lacking interesting flavors and complexity. Reid's opinions were more favorable.

Double Pilsner - Rox 3.5, too hoppy. Reid 4, strong but drinkable

Easy Street Wheat - Rox 3, too fizzy, not much flavor, nice aftertaste. Reid 3.5, mild: not much there.

Levity Amber - Rox 3, again lacking flavor and complexity. Reid 4 nice hop kick

Levity Nitro - Rox 4, I like the creaminess of the nitro. Reid 4.5, mmmmm.... creamy.

5 Barrel Pale Ale - Rox 3, strong aftertaste, not much else. Reid 4.5 nice balance of flavors, lots of flavors.

90 Shilling Ale - Rox 3, nothing special. Reid 3, like the 5 Barrel, but with spiciness.

Cutthroat Porter - Rox 3.5, not bad, just not great. Reid 4 nice roasty flavors.

Nitro Cutthroat Porter - Rox 3, a little flat and dull. Reid 3.5 smoother and creamier.

IPA - very strong and very hoppy. Rox 3, overpowering. Reid 3, strong grainy flavors

Crystal Rye, Rox 4, a drinkable, flavorful, complex rye. Reid 3.5, not a fan, but it's not as bad as it could have been.






CooperSmith's Pub and Brewing
Ft. Collins Colorado
August 15 @ 7:00 p.m.

We had a great meal here - risotto cakes are a wonderful and rare treat. We shared a #6 pizza, which had a crispy whole wheat crust. Later in the evening, we stopped back for a brownie sundae, "Snookered up Brownie" which was excellent. Service was great, the interior was mostly modern, but with nice brick walls and hardwood or faux brick floors, two outdoor areas. inside tables were a little close together inside, and it was a bit noisy.


Columbine Kolsch - Reid 3, too fruity. Rox 4 - nice: light, crisp, and drinkable.

Mountain Ave. Wheat Reid 3.5, spicy. Rox 3.5 don't like the clove taste, but it is well done if you do.

Albert Damm Bitter
Reid 4.5, a good session beer: a little sweet with nice hops. Rox 4.5, nice and creamy.

Sigda's Green Chile
Rox 4.5, nicely done, if you can take it. Reid 3.5, interesting novelty beer. Not overpowering, but you can feel the green chile sizzle.

Cerveza de Verano Rox 4, interesting flavor. Reid 3.5 hint of honey and cloves.

Mellow Fellow Cherry Ale Rox 4 nice and fruity, with taste of cinnamon. Reid 3 not fair to go lower.

Sir Edmund's ESB - Reid 4, flavorful but mellow. Rox 3.5 sweet and creamy.

Not Brown Ale - Reid 4, bold flavors, tasty. Rox 4, nice start, weak finish.

Punjabi Pale Ale - Reid 4, nice not a lot of odd flavors. Rox 4, drinkable IPA - nice!

Rye P.A. Expectations were low for this one.... Reid 4, mild ryeness, actually pretty good. Rox 4, nice for those who like it.

Colorado: day four

Bull and Bush
4700 Cherry Creek Drive South
Denver, CO

August 14, 2007 @ high noon (picture was taken the previous night - when we stopped in for a late night snack and some beers)

This is a comfortable pub, with and English pub feel, dark wood, low ceilings, A very comfortable place to just hang out and drink great beer. And the beer here is very good, overall. The food is also excellent. The stonehenge stout barbeque sauce is outstanding, and the chicken tenders have a unique and tasty crust. Reid had what he calls an excellent tuna melt, which could perhaps be improved by ordering it without the advocado.


Beers

Happy Hop Pilsner Reid 4, Rox 4 A very drinkable pilsner, refreshing, not overpowering, mild aftertaste.
Big Ben Brown Ale 3.5 Reid, subtle flavor. 4.5 Rox, nice caramel flavors, complex and yummy overall.
The Tower ESB, Reid 3..5 some flavor I can't pinpoint, like the foam. Rox 4 good mouthfeel, malty aftertaste, pretty nicely balanced.

Hail Brau Hefeweizen Reid 3.5 more fruity than I'd like, otherwise pretty good. Rox 2.5 Nice wheat flavors and mouthfeel, but banana aftertaste lowered overall score.

Allgood Ale (Amber) Rox 3, Reid 3 A nice amber, Reid thought it was a tad flat.
A little hoppy.

Man Beer IPA Reid 4.5, "hoppy punch up the ass" Rox 4, a very drinkable IPA,
Stonehenge Stout Reid 4 Same flavors as the brown, magnified. Rox 4.5 really nice flavors - chocolately and creamy.

BarleyWine Rox 4.5 nice flavor, a little stong at first taste. I'm not much of a barley wine drinker, but this was very nice. Reid 4.5 strong alcohol and syrupy flavors. Might even be a 5, but since we haven't explored barley wines much, we are reserving room at the top.....
Root Beer Good maybe a little too sweet and not fizzy enough for my taste.

Then we visited the Denver Botanical Gardens:







Later we went to the Irish Snug for trivia, which was fun, but we weren't among the highest ranked teams at the end of the night. They have fantastic nachos, on waffle fries instead of chips, toasted sangers with chips, and shepherd's pie. They also have a good selection of beers and great happy hour specials 3-7 p.m. weekdays.

Colorado: day three

Today we visited Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs...


Spectacular!



We then headed into Colorado Springs, where we had two brew pubs on our agenda: Phantom Canyon Brewery and Judge Baldwin's Brewery.




Phantom Canyon Brewing Co.
August 13, 2007
5:30 p.m.

Nice remodel of an historical building. bright, with a windowed corner. Hard wood floors, and a beautiful bar with lighted stained glass accents. In general the beers here were kind of bland and uninspired. Reid's pick the Ginger Wheat. Rox - did not order a beer outside of sampler. The brewery did seem to have a lot of traffic, perhaps because of serving $2 pints during happy hour 3-6 weekdays.

We started using numbers to rate - 1 being horrible and 5 being awesome. We are very conservative with 5s, and it seems most beers fall in the 3 range - average.

Zebulon's Peated Porter - 3 Reid, smoky, but still sort of bland. 3 Rox I love dark beers, but a little lifeless.
Root Beer - 3 Rox, just average, not very fizzy
Imperial IPA - seasonal fruity, hints of apricot, a lot of tang. 2 Reid, 3.5 Rox
Demolition Cream Ale 3 Reid 3 Rox deh.
Ginger Wheat 3 Reid 3 Rox - Tangy
The Phantom IPA 3 Reid, Flat and lifeless, but has potential, 2 Rox - almost no immediate flavor, but a strong hoppy aftertaste. Not my style.
Cascade Amber Ale 3 Reid,
Railyard Ale 2 Reid - lacking flavor, 2 Rox
Hefeweizen Bananas! 2 Reid, 3 Rox Banana and clove flavors make an interesting, very taste-specific combination. They seemed a little overwhelming.
Queen's Blonde light and easy 4 Reid, 4 Rox

We had pretzels for palate cleansing, but otherwise no food here.



Judge Baldwin's Brewing Co.
Colorado Springs, CO

This brewery is located in the Antlers Hilton, very near the Phantom Canyon Brewery.
Our sampler was accompanied by a bowl of pretzels. This brewery is adjacent to the Hilton hotel. Nice ambiance, we sat in a comfortable booth with high wood partitions for privacy. There were ample TVs and a good-looking bar. Glass between eating and brewing areas.

The beers are overall enjoyable, with more flavor than the other Colorado Springs brewery we visited. Roxanne's pick, #3 Lager, Reid's pick #3 lager

Champion Wheat
3 Rox, 3 Reid - nice

Raspberry Wheat
3 Reid, 4 Rox - strong Raspberry favor, nice freshness, light and enjoyable.

Flemish Oud Bruin
Reid 3.5, Roxanne 4
Very spicy, Christmasy flavor. So favorful, probably can't drink a lot of that, but tasty and well made.

#3 Lager
4 Roxanne, 4 Reid

Cascade Amber Lager
Hoppy without a strong aftertaste. Reid 4, Roxanne 4

Wellington Pale Ale
Tasty and smooth. Reid 3.5, Rox 3.5 Reid cites a 'fruity tinge' . Rox: I think it's drinkable and flavorful.

Colorado: day two

Well, we didn't visit any brew pubs today.

We did breakfast at Thc Campus Cafe in Alamosa, sharing one of their generously sized cinnamon rolls.



We visited the Great Sand Dunes National Park






And we drove into Cripple Creek, Colorado for a little gambling. :)

Colorado: day one

Reid and Roxanne enjoy beer. And food. And coffee. The purpose of this blog is to record our experiences as we share a quest for great places of all three. We are starting by documenting our trip to Colorado, and will hopefully continue to document our experiences at places in our home state of New Mexico as well as other places we travel. Cheers!


We began our visit to Colorado today, with a stop in Alamosa, Colorado



San Luis Valley Brewing Company
631 Main
Alamosa, CO 81101


Date of visit: August 11, 2007
4:30 p.m.

This brewery has a nice, contemporary industrial feel, with stained concrete floors,
exposed vents (painted black), and high ceilings. There is brick on the interior wall adjacent to the next business, and glass between the eating and brewing areas. The tables are comfortably spaced for privacy, The service was quick and friendly. Save room for dessert - we had a White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecacke and it was sublime.

The beers are generally timid with a mild to non-existent aftertaste, which means even the newbie beer drinker could drink them all night. Very pleasant and drinkable without a long-lasting impression. Rox's pick: Oatmeal Stout. Reid's pick: Alamosa Amber Ale. We did take a growler of the tamest lager, the Valle Especial to friends. The brewery boasts $6 growler refills on Thursdays.

For the kids, designated drivers, or other alternative beverage drinkers, SLVBC brews their very own root beer and black cherry cream soda, both very tasty!

8 craft beers on tap:

Valle Especial mexican lager
Hefe Suave hefeweizen
Alamosa Amber Ale

Grande River IPA
Oatmeal Stout

Barley Wine
Raspberry Wheat
Wildfire Red


Valle especial - mexican style lager
nice. Easy-drinking, appealng to the corona contingent. Smooth flavor, enhanced with a shmutz of lime.

Hefe suave - Hefeweizen
Another easy drinker, with a nice, but weak flavor and no aftertaste

Alamosa Amber Ale
Smooth.... Again no aftertaste Made to drink it all night long.

Grande River IPA
Hops taste remains long after. Stronger than the others, with a definite hoppiness. Flavor diminishes after a few sips.


Oatmeal Stout
mmmmm.... another smooth beer with a yummy coffee aftertaste

seasonal beers:

Wildfire Red
Surprisingly fruity. We wondered if we had confused the red with the raspberry wheat or barley wine, but tasting those allayed our fears. It's just a fruity red ale. And tasty, for those who enjoy fruity beers, it's a nice alternative to the wheat.

Raspberry Wheat
A definitely fruity wheat beer. Very raspberry, which is either good or bad depending on your taste. Certainly enjoyable and well-done, although mild.

Barley Wine
Strong and sweet.