Brew Review: Wynkoop Brewing Company Denver, CO

Our final stop on the beer/skiing tour was Wynkoop.  If you like beer and are in Colorado you need to come to this brewery.  Besides the beer, Wynkoop is also noted for its in house billiard tables upstairs and a movie theater downstairs. Oh yeah, and it's Denver's oldest brew pub

Now on to the beer:

Our fearless bartender served up two sampler sets to our group of four with their ten flagship beers:

Before picture

Starting from the near left and going across
Wixa Weiss: This had a nice citrusy, banana-y aroma with a refreshingly mild wheat taste, a pretty classic German Hefeweisen.

Two Guns Pilsner: this is a good beer for a hot summer day, as you can see from the picture (Left second from bottom) it has very good foam stability, this beer has a nice slightly hoppy aroma with a slight malt taste to it. 

Light Rail Ale: this beer has a nice floral aroma to it, but pretty light in flavor.  I'd say this is Wynkoop's answer to a Coor's light.

Patty's Chili Beer: To me, this smelled and tasted a lot like cardboard, my fellow tasters tell me that it's the green chili, the taste though consisted of a very intense chili flavor.  If you like spicy beer, this is probably for you, I was not a fan.

Rail Yard Ale: This was one of my favorites, if not the outright winner.  It has a beautiful red color, with a nice head.  It has a nice malty flavor with just a hint of caramel.

London Calling IPA: This was served cask conditioned, and was surprisingly not very hoppy considering it was an IPA, which was due to the use of fuggles.

Silverback Pale Ale: When you buy a pint of this beer, the proceeds go towards Silverback Gorilla Conservation.  My fellow tasters really enjoyed this one, I thought it had a nice floral aroma to it but a little too hoppy for my tastes.

St. Charles ESB: Another cask conditioned ale, which helped subdue the bitter and made this beer malty and delicious tasting.  I enjoyed a pint of this one.

Roll that beautiful beer footage

B3K Schwarzbier: A black lager, I got a lot of roasted malt in this one, but otherwise a pretty simple beer fairly mild beer.

Cowtown Milk Stout: Another favorite of mine, this beer had very creamy feel and taste to it and overall pretty yummy.

Our bartender, seeing our appreciation for the beers, decided to let us sample the rest of the board

I dare you ;)

Bill's Strong Scotch Ale:  This is a pretty malty beer, deep red in color, but not overpoweringly sweet, like some Scotch Ales I've sampled.

Skull and Crossbones Black IPA: A favorite for my other half, I found it to be super hoppy in both aroma and flavor

The Coupler Imperial Stout: This beer smelled like whiskey, it had a lot of residual sugars making it an extremely sweet beer to drink, too sweet for this palate

Pils Noir: A black pilsner, a style we had not seen anywhere else and prompted us to ask the bartender, how did the brewmaster come up with this one?  And she delivered the assistant brewer!  They basically wanted to experiment with a combination of an imperial and a pilsner with dark malts.  The outcome was a beer very similar to the B3K, which actually served as the base, but the malts were considerably more subdued and the were more prevalant.

 

 

After/ During Picture

Another point about Wynkoop is the food, I had their mac and cheese with chicken and it was Delicious!!!!!  Like I said, go there, like now.  Prost!!!!

Brew Review: Breckenridge Brew Co. - Breckenridge, CO

To continue our mini tour of Colorado, we decided to do some skiing in Breckenridge, and what better way to wind down from a great day of skiing than by having a beer.  Our tasting at Breckenridge actually took us a couple of days because of their happy hour offering of $6 pitchers.  Yes you read that correctly, everyday from 3-6, the Pub and Brewery offers $6 pitchers and $2 pints.

The offering board

Irish Red: 5.5% ABV, Rich Caramel Malt, Low Hops - I thought the "low hops" description was a bit deceptive because all I really detected was a hoppy aroma and very hop forward.

Agave Wheat: 4.2% ABV, American unfiltered wheat brewed with Agave Nectar - On this one I got a sort of lime aroma (though this may have been due to the pitcher being garnished with limes) the flavor was very mild, with the slightest hint of sweetness towards the end.

Blue Mountain Brown: 7.5% ABV Dry hopped, American Big Bad Brown Ale: This beer had a slightly roasted malt aroma, very malt forward with a nutty finish.  This was one of my favorite beers.

Vanilla Porter: 4.7% ABV Herb and Spice Beer with Roasted Chocolate and creamy vanilla finish: This beer has a great chocolate aroma to it and to me almost tastes like a root beer float, it has a lovely vanilla finish.


Trademark Pale Ale: 5.7% ABV, American Pale ale with moderate maltiness and a sweet floral hop character, Dry hopped with fuggles and Kent Hops - This beer was my favorite, there was a nice floral aroma with a nice golden color, mild hop and malt flavor.  This is a very easy drinking beer.

Ladies and Gentlemen Trademark Pale Ale

Brek Lite: 4.0% ABV cream ale with a subtle balance of malt and hops - this is a very mild beer, there didn't seem to be going on in terms of aroma or taste, it almost seemed like their version of a Coors light.

I enjoyed the atmosphere at Breckenridge.  They do have a full restaurant, but we did not sample the food, though judging by the number of people waiting to be seated for dinner, I assume the food is good.  One of the really cool things is the guide the bartenders use to further describe the beers in terms of the different malts and hops that were used to make the beer.  Great brewery wonderful beers

Cheers

Brew Review: Montain Sun Pub and Brewery Boulder, CO

Mountain Sun offers a wide variety of beer, such a wide variety in fact that we sampled 19 beers, 3 of which were guest taps.  The Brewery is an on premises 6 barrel system and is part of a chain of two breweries in Colorado.  It is a quaint place, with a nice atmosphere.  My co-tasters and I attracted a lot of attention when we ordered the full array of beers.

Holy lots of beer Batman!!!!

Just as a note: as the tasting progressed, as I'm sure you have all experienced before, some of the finer notes of the beer may have been lost.

Quinn's Golden Ale:  I didn't really detect much here on the nose, there seemed to be little to no aroma, however this is definitely a hoppy ale, but has some malt tastes to it.

Ginger Strong Ale: There's a definite ginger aroma to the beer, but refreshingly mild flavor at first but then the ginger hits at the finish, I enjoyed this one.

Colorado Kind Ale: This was a hoppy amber, it was kind of hard to detect anything else after the Ginger Strong ale.  When served on nitro, the hoppy flavor really became apparent, overpoweringly so for this palate.

Annapurna Amber:  This beer had a very nice caramel aroma, mild on the hops, but there was something in the after taste I couldn't quite place, another beer I enjoyed as well.

Blackberry Wheat:  True to its name, there was a definite fruity aroma to this beer, the taste however was not overpoweringly fruity, like you might find with some Lambics.  I also thought I detected a hint of citrus on the finish.

Cleveland Brown: This was my favorite beer. There was a nice coffee aroma, with a nutty, smokey malt taste.

Old School Dry Irish Stout:  This one had a smokey, coffee aroma, slightly hop forward, but with a mild malt finish. (I'm going to say this is the point where my palate was overwhelmed)

Java Porter: Surprisingly, little to no aroma, with a pretty mild flavor at first, the coffee comes in strong at the finish.

Smokescreen Porter: I detected a touch of bacon aroma to this one, with a bitter, smokey bacony taste to it.

Korova Cream: Not much aroma, but a nice smokey flavor and smooth feeling in the mouth.

Pearl St Porter: This beer seemed pretty mild, with a smokey taste to it but a bitter finish.

Guest Brew: Grand Teton Black Caldron: This beer was very malty, and had a smokey, bacony taste, very different from the Smokescreen.  When put on nitro, the flavors mellow out a bit and becomes deliciously creamy.

XXX Pale Ale: This was a relatively hoppy beer, and yet mild, there was also a citrusy hoppy aroma to it.

FYIPA: Hops, hops and more hops, this too had a citrusy hoppy aroma to it, but a pretty mild hoppy taste to it, for an IPA.

Dirty Blonde: This is a sour beer, though not overpoweringly tart, like I've tried in the past, I could actually drink more than a taste of it.

Illusion Dweller IPA: this was a pretty hoppy beer, but had a citrus finish.

Guest Brew: Avery IPA: Again another hoppy beer, with a citrus finish to it, but distinctly different from the Illusion Dweller.

I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere of the brewery, They also have some pretty good food.  My opinion though is that there was too wide variety of beer available.  To the novice beer aficionado, the selection can be overwhelming.  I did enjoy tasting how the flavor changes when you change the keg gas.  The staff was also very friendly and knowledgeable about what was being served, I'd say it's worth the trip to Boulder to check it out at the very least.

So as a poll to my fellow samplers, how many is too many?

Pro vaše zdraví!

Brew Review: Skyscraper Brewing Company

Tonight I had the pleasure of visiting Skyscraper Brewing Company who are currently working out of a 15 barrel system with 7 fermenters, but are in the process of doubling the size of their operation.  Skyscraper hit my radar thanks to the hubby who had a bottle of their Winter Warmer and decided he wanted a whole keg.  One thing I learned tonight was that Skyscraper does a lot of contract brewing, but from the sounds of things, they want to take more ownership of the beers they brew.  The "tasting room" is fun because it's a folding table located by one of the keg storage refrigerators, a nice low key way to try beer.  Jose "Cuervo" and Jorge "The Artist" were my hosts, Cuervo did most of the talking.

Now on to the important part:

Bulldozer Honeyweizen: This is Skyscraper's flagship beer, described as follows, "An unfiltered American Wheat Ale, brewed with Wildflower Honey. Subtle notes of honey and malt in the aroma. The flavor combines wheat and barley maltiness, balanced by a light, spicy hop flavor. Finishes crisp, without being overly sweet.
5.0% ABV
25 IBU
Bronze Ribbon - 2007 California State Fair"
To me there was a subtle yet pronounced aroma of honey, which I found highly enjoyable.  Cuervo told me what I was smelling was the Munich grains used to make the beer, but I stand firm with the honey, I could smell the flowers. The beer is refreshingly easy to drink and doesn't require the citrus garnish most Hefeweizens would recommend to bring out the Hefe flavor.

Beer Bitch (maybe BierBitzch) Pilsner:  I was very surprised that this was a pilsner, because it wasn't remotely hopppy and had a very strong aroma of cloves. This beer, to me, had a very wheat beer feel to it, it was mild and smooth and I could just picture myself sitting out on the deck enjoying this beer on a hot summer's day.  (This is a contract brew, but I didn't catch who for, unfortunately)

Firemen's Brewnette:  The Brewnette is a deliciously nutty, slightly malty, mocha enhanced ale. It's a thicker beer, but again very drinkable. According to the website, this is described as a German DoubleBock with 8% ABV so drink with caution

Gentlemen's Caller Requiem: An Espresso Stout.  This is a caffeinated beer, according to Jose, they toned down the espresso from what it was in the original batch, which left him awake all night from overenjoyment.  At first, I was skeptical about the espresso flavor, but as I continued to taste, I definitely got the feeling of drinking black coffee especially in the after taste

Firemen's Red:  After the Requiem, it was hard to detect much going on in this beer, but I could taste the malt and was considerably milder.  I know from previous tastes of this beer, it is very good.

Winter Warmer:  Well of course I'm going to review the keg!  The aromas presented by this beer, I thought were eerily similar to the Beer Bitch.  There are certainly a lot of spices and there is a heavy malty characteristic to this beer.  Definitely a sipping beer and recommended to be enjoyed at a slightly warmer temperature.


So my favorite? The Bulldozer, and maybe it was the honey that attracted me, but it's a well made beer full of unique flavors for a Hefe, I encourage you to try it.

Prost

Random Six Pack Review

Our local store allows you to build your own six pack from their wall of beer, unfortunately for the blog, the other five were enjoyed at a party this past weekend and I forgot my notebook.  For the future though, I'll be sure to be better prepared!

But never fear, I think we saved the best for last, I present to you Telegraph Brewing Company's Winter Ale!!

7.5% ABV comes corked in a 750mL bottle.  From Batch #65. The description reads as follows:
"Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, Telegraph Winter Ale warms even the coldest of nights with hints of cinnamon, allspice, and sweet ancho chilies.  Using generous amounts of chocolate and caramel malts, we brew this beer in limited quantities  as a special treat for our friends and families.  Be sure to enjoy it cool, rather than cold, to fully appreciate its complexity.  Cheers!"

As you can see here, it has a pretty nice head to it and is a very dark amber color.  The head remained pretty stable for the entirety of the consumption.  For the aroma, you can definitely smell the allspice, it has a pretty strong presence in the beer.  The initial sip was pretty mild but the finish presented the roasted malt coffee-esque flavor.  The ancho chilies didn't start to present themselves until after a couple of sips when you can start to feel a slight tingling on the tongue and when the beer warmed up a bit, (I'll admit, this beer was stored in the fridge and was at a colder than the recommended serving temperature).  But, that kind of makes this beer pretty fun because as you get deeper into your glass the malts start to present themselves more.

This one is definitely a sipper an if you can find some, this is one I would recommend.

Prost!

Brew Review: Newport Beach Brewing Co.

So for my first real beer review, I visited Newport Beach Brewing Co. The bar is nice offering a view of the system with a nice open restaurant area/ Dance floor (fairly typical for Newport Bars).  Nice atmosphere overall.

Now to the beer:

Newport Beach Blonde: a pretty light beer, not much aroma, bitter, but otherwise mild, offered a wheaty aftertaste.

Pelican Pale Ale: nice floral aroma, hoppy but had a nice finish.

Newport Coast Steam: this one again, did not offer much in terms of aroma, but was very smooth going down, and had a slight malty flavor to it.

Bisbee ESB: very hoppy, not much aroma, the description said it was an English style red, definitely had the color, but again, the hops overpowered any flavor I could pick up.

DBL: Dry Hop citrusy, but hoppy, there were also some fruity tones, one of my co-tasters leaned towards blueberry  (notes: this beer was made with EKG and whole leaf Chinook hops).

Balboa Brown: this one was pleasantly nutty, with a smokey/malty taste to it, the favorite of the group.

IGOTWOOD: A barrel aged IPA on Nitro - I tried this one soley on the name and didn't notice that it was an IPA until I referred back the description.  It was a very creamy ale with citrus undertones, surprisingly not very hoppy considering it was an IPA.

My favorites were the Pelican and the Balboa Brown, I'd like to revisit because it looks like the brewery rotates it offerings fairly regularly.

One thing to note: I've only recently tried Steam Beers which are described by Beer Advocate as: "The California Common, or Steam Beer, is a unique 100% American style lager. It's usually brewed with a special strain of lager yeast that works better at warmer temperatures. This method dates back to the late 1800's in California when refrigeration was a great luxury. The brewers back then had to improvise to cool the beer down, so shallow fermenters were used. So in a way the lager yeast was trained to ferment quicker at warmer temperatures. Today's examples are light amber to tawny in color, medium bodied with a malty character. Mildly fruity with an assertive hop bitterness.

"Anchor Brewing Co. trademarked the term 'Steam Beer' and as such all other beers must be legally referred to as 'California Common.'"

Did you know: The Irish cheers sláinte, means health