The Denver Beer Tour: The Post-Mortem

I’m still groggy from a long weekend in Denver, where I stopped by my fair share of breweries, and experienced some great brews that I can’t get back east.

Among the stops along the way: New Belgium, Odell, Fort Collins, and Great Divide, and brewpubs Bull & Bush, Wynkoop and Coopersmith’s. It was an abbreviated trip, and there are plenty more I’d like to knock off the list, but it was an action-packed weekend, and I think my breath still reeks of beer. I also dabbled in chili beer for the first time.

The best chili beer came from Wynkoop, a brewpub co-owned by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in the LoDo neighborhood. The aroma was so fresh, you’d think you were smelling a garden full of Anaheim Peppers. At the same time, the taste was pleasantly mild, and it didn’t leave that funky tingling in the back of your throat like a certain Rogue draft that’s made several appearances in New York.

Meanwhile, the best line of beers I’ve never had the privilege of sampling here in New York had to be from the Odell Brewing Company, whose presentation of the sampler alone was reason enough to enjoy it:

The samples were a bit too small to pick up a good aroma, though. For that, I had to buy some Odells myself before I left the brewery.

The most annoying part of my journey was the bad habit of many restaurants and bars in Denver not identifying the particular brewery associated with a beer on draft. With so many breweries in Colorado – let alone across the west, it was hard to keep track of what I was ordering. At one restaurant, they labeled two Boulder Beer Company beers as simply “Sundance” and “Pass Time,” with no identification that they’re from the same people that brought you Hazed & Infused and Mojo. At one bar, a menu offered was “Mirror Pond Pale Ale,” with no indication that it’s from Deschutes. This was annoying to me, and might be of some concern for a brewer trying to attract a following to a full line of microbrews.

Regardless, though, to bask in the high-altitude summer sunshine with a fresh, cool brew made me question why I live in New York City. If only New York was blessed with cheap real estate, loose regulation, and the great inspiration that helps guide Colorado brewers, I’d be a New Yorker for life.

To Do List: This Week’s Beer Events

I’m out in Colorado for the next few days, doing some “research” for my homebrewing operation. So, enjoy these events in the meantime.

Tuesday, 7/29, 7pm: Why pair your beer with a meal when you can pair it with dessert? Bierkraft in Brooklyn holds a chocolate tasting with beer chocolates, paired with their beer of origin. You could start with a chocolate fused with Abita Purple Haze, a delicious raspberry brew from Louisiana. Best of all, it’s free.

Tuesday, 7/29, 6pm: If you’re not willing to venture to Brooklyn, the generally intolerable, neon-clad frat-magnet known as the Village Pourhouse holds their summer “Beertopia” series, with a dozen tastings for ten bucks.

Thursday, 7/31, 6pm: East Village Tavern hosts their GreatBrewers.com night, with 16 craft brews including Sixpoint Carob Porter and Great Divide Titan IPA. Plus, their food ain’t so bad, either.

Brew Review: Blue Point Double Blonde Ale

Blue Point Double Blonde Ale
American Blonde Ale
(Blue Point Brewing, Patchogue, NY)
On Draft at Standings (43 E. 7th St. between 3rd Ave. and Cooper Square, Manhattan)

I have never been so absolutely certain about a beer’s aroma in my life: strawberry ice cream. Or is it bubble gum? Either way, the scent reminds me of my childhood. The taste most certainly does not: it’s a strange combination of creaminess, bitterness, and sweetness with a hop bite and a dry malty aftertaste. There’s also a lingering taste of something overroasted. There’s very little that seems blonde about this: perhaps it’s a fake blonde?

Grade: C+

Brew Review: Magic Hat Odd Notion Summer Draft Grapefruit Sour

Magic Hat Odd Notion Summer Draft
American Sour Ale
Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, VT
On Draft at Barcade (388 Union Ave, between Ainslie and Powers, Brooklyn)

I always have a soft spot in my heart for Magic Hat, because its roll-out in my home state of Rhode Island really got me hooked on microbrews in my college years (a lot of credit goes to Mews Tavern for their great selection of Magic Hat – including being the only place I got to try Ravell, now in their brew graveyard). Then, I moved up to Vermont, where I had a few friends who worked at the brewery. I didn’t go to the bars for the freshest beer, I went over to their houses to get a taste out of their kegs fresh from the brewery. Those were the days.

Barcade had this up on their board as “Odd Notion Grapefruit Sour.” It is a sour ale by definition, but sour, they say? At first scent, I got nothing. But then it lingers in front of me, and I get a burst of grapefruit. The taste, though, was not sour at all. It was sweet, sweet goodness of citrus, berries, and wheat. Almost too sweet, like someone threw a giant slice of sweetened fruit into my beer. Finishes clean – its claim of being “sour” is very misleading, but I sure as hell can’t complain.

Grade: B+

Brew Review: Blue Point Cherry Imperial Stout

Blue Point Cherry Imperial Stout
Russian Imperial Stout
Blue Point Brewing Company, Patchogue, NY
On Draft at Barcade (388 Union Ave, between Ainslie and Powers, Brooklyn)

Barcade got their hands on this tasty little morsel last week from the folks out in Patchogue. Put the word “imperial” in front of anything and it gets you drunk. Add the word cherry to it, and you might lose your sanity, too. I’m not a fan of stouts, but at 2am with a good buzz going and nothing else particularly new and exciting to me on the beer list at Barcade, I go for the strong stuff. The chocolate aroma is overpowering. I’m trying to find the cherries, but I can’t. They’re masked in the taste, too, but they come through towards the finish with hints of fudge and cream. I’m looking for something in a dessert beer. This stuff is so thick, it stuck to my fingers when a little bit spilled out of the goblet. Typing these tasting notes into my phone was even an ordeal.

Grade: B

Brew Review: Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale

Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale
Brown Ale
Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO
On Draft at East Village Tavern (158 Avenue C, at East 10th St.)

At East Village Tavern, despite its 16 craft brews, I seemed to know more about beer than both the bartenders there last night. I’ll throw them a bone; the place is still fairly new, and one of the bartenders was trying to taste as many beers as he could in a night (for the record, he wasn’t a big fan of Butternuts‘ Porkslap Pale Ale).

Anyway, the beer pours dark coffee brown small and off-white. There’s an aroma of caramel, coffee, and more hops than I expected from a brown ale. It was slightly sweet to the tounge, incredibly smooth, slightly creamy, and lingers only a bit. Despite the great big world of browns ales, I’ve usually steered clear of them by my personal preference, but this is probably the best brown ale I’ve ever had.

Grade: A

It’s a Hell of a Town

Welcome to Brew York, New York, a blog specializing in the great beers brewed and sold in New York City. We’ll cover the city’s great beer bars, great beer stores, and great breweries. We’ll tell you about beer events across New York, from tastings to pairing dinners to festivals. Plus, we’ll give you a taste of what’s on tap and in bottles in New York from breweries all over the world.

On a more personal level, I’m starting my own venture into homebrewing for the very first time, so I’ll be documenting that here as well.

If you’ve got a tip, or want to get in on the action, shoot us an e-mail at brewyork[at]eastvillageidiot.com.

There’s much more to come in the coming weeks, especially as summer rolls around. See you back here soon!