Gravity Brewing

I have been waiting for a brewery to spring up close to home for some time. For a long time the closest 'good' brewery was Avery. And as of last September that has changed with the presence of Gravity in old town Louisville. It's a funky location of shared space with the VFW divided by the  bathrooms and a kitchen. There's plenty of space to belly up to a gigantic bar with some odd shapes here and there. You'll have to see it for yourself. And the beers are VERY good. Leaning more on Belgian styles along with some small batch barrel aged beauties that I always get the info on when they will be coming out. At times they even run out as they are having a bit of struggle with keeping up with demand. A good problem to have. Being a regular and inquisitor of fine ales I have gotten to know the brewers and employees pretty well. It's a super cool group of folks. Julius is part owner and brewer and his father started Boulder Brewing. So it's in the blood. But this beer is light years ahead of anything Boulder Beer has ever put out.

My favorite by far is the Mendacious. An extremely delicious Belgian Blonde redolent with banana and vanilla flavors that makes you just want more and more. It's clean and has a nice crispness to it as well. In fact, that's what I dig about all of their beers. There's a clean aspect to each one that allows all of the flavors to be pronounced. And the Mendacious is probably the best example of that. It's my 'go to' every time I go there. Which says a lot about my love for it considering what else they offer.

The Barrel Aged Mendacious, when available, is as good as the regular Mendacious but more deacdent with flavors of banana nut bread. I find myself staring into the glass and sticking my nose in it in silence when I drink this. It's a treat when it's around.

Next on my list is the Ebb and Flow Red Rye. I don't know how they got so much toffee flavor in there but it marries perfectly with the perfect, crisp rye flavors. They used quite a bit of it along with roasted malts to make a heavy 9.3% brew that is good enough to be an after dinner quaff. It has nutty flavors of hazelnuts and chocolate toffee goodness. A bit of raisin and it's sticky as all hell.

The Barrel Aged IPA in a word is 'smoooooth'. Some of the danker hop flavors mellow out quite a bit and a thickness is created along with subtle barrel flavors that makes this another one of my favorites. It's a big one at about 9.8% I believe but like all of their big beers almost no heat what so ever.

Their IPA, which they call the 'Regular',  is not only good but it's what I would consider a near perfect IPA. The hops are very well balanced with the slightly sweet malt. I put them down pretty fast because it's so damn quaffable. This is a good one for growlers at home.

I could go on and on about their brews. There's a few more that are normally around which are damn good. All of them are. But you should head down there yourself.

cheers

D

'The Bomba' at Shine in Boulder

I am going to keep this post short and sweet as I have already posted 4 times tonight. Shine in Boulder is about as Boulder as you can get for a resteraunt. See my review in an earlier post. And they do pour some pretty good beers. The Bomba I tried last week was really good. It's a Belgian Golden style with a sweetness that is right on. It's around 8%-9% depending on the batch from what I was told. It has a great spice that tastes very genuine for a Belgian 'style'. It's rich and thick with banana and a bit of vanilla. And really clean tasting. A pro brewed this.

Shine is off the mall on 13th in Boulder.

cheers

D

Avery 'The Czar' Russian Imperial Stout

This is probably my favorite stout on the planet. I can't think of any other stout that even comes close. Except for maybe Andersen Valley's Oatmeal Stout when it poured around '92 at the brewery. There were some 'moments' in there. Anyway, this is another Dictator Series from the Avery folks and it friggin' rocks. It's got some nice black roasted malt aromas and flavors but not too much which can turn me off on a stout sometimes. A nice deep sweetness envelopes your mouth all then while the yeast and malt give this great rustic bread flavor. Again, delicious.This is another slick-ery brew that leaves a trail of sugars on your tongue. Love that. Your lips stick together while drinking this. And considering it's over 10% it does have some heat but the big bold flavors mask it pretty well. I like to drink the Czar a bit on the room temp side as it makes all the deep caramel and roasted sweet flavors come out. I find my nose deep in the tulip glass in between sips. It smells that good.

I don't think I really have anything bad to say about this beer. I stashed two in the cellar with intentions of cellaring more. At around 8 bucks a bomber I should be gathering at least a couple a week. I just know this is gonna age well.

cheers

D

oSKAr the G'Rauch Smoked IPA - Collaboration with Oskars and Ska

'Toked with Eldorado Malt hops' it says on the can. I had this beer for the first time at the Oskar's Canniversary in Lyons at the beginning of the winter. Not only was it a great party, my buddy Eric the Viking played some tunes, but I discovered Oskar the Grauch and drank nothing but the Grauch the rest of the time we were there. You can only get it while it lasts at either The Tasty Weasel or Liquids and Solids. The can is funky as can be with bare aluminum and a sticker/label slapped on the can. I am not a smoky beer guy but I bought the brew just for the can alone. But to my surprise it just has a whif of smoke and lots of perfectly crafted IPA. It's a bit of a big beer at 8.5% . The smell is smokier than it tastes and has a nice IPA aroma rounding it all out. And it looks like an IPA. Some IPAs are reddish like a Pale Ale. I like the deep yellow golden styles. Same color as something like an Avery IPA. The flavors are big and somewhat complicated. There's this great tangerine flavor with some black pepper and then the hint of smoke. And of course it all floats on some great IPA flavors. It's a bit dank but balances well with the sweetness the malt gives it. As it warms up a bit the smoke becomes more pronounced. But so damn quaffable. I could drink one after the other which is exactly what I plan on doing while watching the 49ers play this Sunday in the playoffs. Glorious!

cheers

D

Avery Maharajaha - it's that time of year

All of the Dictator Series brews are outstanding in my opinion. The Maharajah is especially good and when this time of year rolls around I think I speak for all beer lovers on the front range that we search it out. Especially on draft. The bombers are fairly easy to find on the front range.

Here's the details on why this beer is so damn good. The Maharajah is a DPA weighing in at 10.4%. The red color is deep. It does  have a bit of booze hit to it. So I would call it a 'sippin' beer. The aromas are big. It smells intensely hoppy so you gotta love to burp the flowers to dig into this one. You can get some sugars in the aroma along with some citrus. Typical for a DPA but uniquely Avery. The hop and malt flavors are really well balanced. It's a bit chewy and leaves a nice slick on the tongue that makes the bitter/sweet linger for quite a while. I have been drinking this brew for a handful of years now and it's always had a rye flavor to it that makes it stand out. But no rye in it. Nice.

In two words I would call the Maharajah 'hopalicious' and 'smooooth'. Oh, this is a brew you want to drink last if you plan on drinking more than one kind of beer. The flavors hang out and don't leave. Nice.

cheers

D

Funkwerks 'Deceit'

I think this bottle came out around 3 months ago. At least that's the first time I tried it and I have good enough liquor stores nearby that keep up with the latest and greatest for CO beers. The first time I tried Deceit was on tap at Oskars in Longmont. It has that common funk that us Saison lovers enjoy along with some pineapple and citrus. Nothing shocking or out of the ordinary really. But a good quaffable Saison for sure. The texture is what I really enjoy. It has that cloudy, chewy feel from all of that active yeast swimming around. The color is perfectly golden. It's a big Saison weighing in at 9.4% but without the boozy flavor and/or feel. It's a bit hoppy which gives it a more familiar flavor like a hoppy Belgian Blonde.

It has a 2 year cellar time. I'll crack my stash in 2 years...if I can wait and they don't run out.

cheers

D

Crooked Stave 'Vieille Artisinal' Saison

This little bugger comes in a 12 oz bottle and has the flavor and characteristic deserved of a bomber. The Vieille Artisinal is an oak aged Saison that has delicious spice notes common in a not-too-funky Saison. It weighs in at only 4.x percent alcohol but has flavors of a much bigger beer. The taste lingers for quite a while giving off notes of lemon, a bit of oak, and a touch of that yeasty funk. It's very non-offensive to those who don't dig the more sour beasts out there. But pleasing to those who do as well. Think of it as a mellow Petit Sour. Which with some age and time will just get better. I stashed a couple away.

cheers

D