Great Divide 'Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti'

I don't even know how many versions of the Yeti Great Divide has. It's gotta be their most popular beer/series of beers. Today I am writing about the Chocolate Yeti that I am imbibing on as I write this at Freshcraft. It's a stout, of course, with great flavors right off the bat. Sticky as all hell with plenty of sweetness that surrounds your mouth. Great hits of vanilla as well. Almost Rocky Road-ish. The color is deep deep deep with a head that rivals a dark milk shake. It's a bit boozy on the nose but certainly not on the taste. Black licorice comes through as well which is fairly typical of bigger stouts. Damn thick too which leaves a killer slick/coating all over the mouth. Including that sticky lip thing I am always mentioning. As it gets a bit warmer some wonderful coffe flavors are present. Which goes great with the chocolate malt. A damn fine beer. But a mood beer for me. I am not always in the mood for something so rich and dark. And this falls in this category. Good on ya Great Divide.

cheers

D

Denver Beer Co.

I finally made it down to Denver Beer Company. Cool neighborhood (Lo Hi area) and great atmosphere. It's pretty close to my work so I decided to walk down last Friday and grab a couple of growlers for the team (work) before we all took off for the weekend. I had heard great things about the place. I love breweries where the brewing happens right in front of your face as you quaff a freshy. Carter's in Billings, Montana comes to mind. And Denver Beer Co. is like that.

As I write this their menu has changed. They had about 6 brews on tap so I went for the tasters since I had never even looked at one of their beers. I started out with the Hop To It Pale Ale which reminded me of a West Coast style pale. More malty than hoppy with that citrus hit you get from west coast hops. Honestly I don't what they use. Nonetheless quaffable. A bit bitter and dry. To be honest not a ton going on. But not bad either.

Next I had the Rauchbier which was a stout that smelled and tasted of black licorice and coffee. This one I liked as it was big and fairly complex. Hints of un-sweetened chocolate and a bit sweet. Kinda like burnt caramel. Also some cereal in there. It got better as I drank it.

Cartman's Ginger Saison I had a bit of trouble with in terms of deciding whether I liked it enough to blog about. At first I didn't think too much of it. But as I sat back and concentrated on the lemony flavors and subtle sourness I started to warm up to it. It's only slightly gingery and has more lemon if anything. A tad bit of funk which is usually present in any Saison or brett beer. It hangs in your mouth for quite a while too which is pretty impressive for a lighter beer. The thing I didn't like was the slight taste of sulfur which frankly almost made me not like the beer at all. For some reason I was able to look past it. Probably because it was 95 degrees out which made it refreshing.

The Rye It So Hot was pretty typical of a rye. Dry, biscuity, and that presence of rye. Which is nice to taste considering some ryes don't even have that come through. I got nice flavors of graham cracker. It was a bit hoppy which added some bitterness. I did like this beer.

So those were the beers I did think were good enough to share. My rule is I don't blog about beers I don't like. Why bother. I have no intentions of lambasting any brewery for any reason whatsoever. If they suck I just won't write about. My goal is to tell about beers that I find worth seeking out on the Front Range.

cheers

D

Avery Barrel Series #12 - Oud Floris

For the record I/we spent over $100 on a 12 pack of 12 oz bottles. Why? Great question. And quite frankly it's hard to justify unless you are a fanatic about specialty beers like I am and thousands of other folks across the globe. The wife and I got to the tasting room about 2 hours before they released the beer for sale. It was quite fun. They had some special barrels available that were leftover from Sour Fest for that day and that day only. Which included Ross' Mom, Bad Apple, and Grapes of Wrath. So waiting in line suited us just fine. I am talking about Avery's Oud Floris which is a barrel aged sour. When I say barrel aged I mean 4 different types of barrels. Here's the run down on time spent in barrels over a 3 year period:


67% Cabernet Sav
17% Bourbon
8% Rum
8% Chardonnay

I tend to be a bit suspicious when I see beer being brewed with such complication. But wholly cow is this beer special. It comes in at 9.39% with no heat to it whatsoever. The smell is chocolatey and deeply complex. As stated above the Cab barreling stands out more than anything else. Yet the combo of it all gives off a wonderful raisin smell and taste. The first sip was explosive and sticky right off the bat. As with many sours it's quite tart but incredibly balanced with the flavors mentioned above. I even get a nice taste of cherry popovers. So good. It's really effervescent. Like a champagne as I have compared others to before. And it has that signature sourness that most Avery barrel series have. Which is amazingly good compared to other breweries and their barreled sours. Not being a shill. It's just true IMO.

Menu for the day

Getting there early with no line and plenty of rare beers to taste

Waiting in line. Yes, we were 1st

Getting ready for the sale.

Oud Floris will not be easy to find. If you are curious I would call ahead of time and ask your favorit good quality liquor store. Some of them don't put rare beers on the shelves but rather in the back. So you gotta ask!

So as not to create another post I'll go into some of the specialty brews we got to have while waiting for the sell of the Oud Floris:

Ross' Mom
Super tart with tastes of cherries. Even sweet-tartish. The yeast stood out nicely as well without it being too sugary. A classic in your face sour. Those who don't like sours will hate this.

Bad Apple
Friggin delicious. Most folks flocked to this one. It has hints of Apple Jolly Rancher yet smells of fresh apples. New Zealand Sauv Blanc flavors. Champagne like taste and feel that is also cider like. Incredibly refreshing for the 100 degree day we had.

Grapes of Wrath
Very dark in color with tastes of Cabernet standing out as it was aged in those barrels. Fairly tart but refreshing with hints of dark cherries, Mellow carbonation. Delicious.

cheers

D

Chaka

My geek-dom for beers has increased dramatically from even a year ago. I am into cellaring brews as well as finding rare ones only found on the front range to throw into my library. I discovered The Chaka while at the Tasty Weasel one afternoon while imbibing with Heather about two months ago. A guy was leaving as we walked in holding his baby in a portable car seat in one hand and 2 four packs of the strangest damn cans I had ever seen. They looked like energy drinks. 'Hey man, is that beer?', I asked. 'Dude, this is not only beer but one of the best I have had in a while!' Provocative. We bellied up and I asked one of the bartenders where I can get a can of...what did the guy call it? Chaka! They told me they only sell 4 packs and they are going quick. "I'll take two four packs please!"

Chaka is a Belgian Style Ale as it is advertised on the can. It's a collaboration with Sun King out of Indiana. Whom I don't know much about. It comes in around 8% of sweet malty goodness along with the traditional Belgian sour hit that's so common. It has a nice carbonation to it that literally fizzes in yo face as you sip. The nutty flavors from the malt compliment the slightly hoppy aromas and taste. And as I have mentioned more than once when reviewing bigger brews it's pleasantly sticky on the lips signifying a fair amount of sugars. The temperature changes the beer quite a bit. Cold, it's not as sugary. A bit warmer and the malty goodness stands out with hits of hazelnuts. It's really easy to drink in terms of not having much alcohol taste or feel. I had one last week on Father's Day, which was blazing hot at around 90 degrees. I stuck a Chaka in the freezer for about 20 minutes and I have to say it was really refreshing.

Oskars has canned another batch and is currently selling 4 packs at the Weasel. I suggest you make the trip and buy some.

cheers...couldn't resist the pic of Chaka from Land of the Lost.

D

Oskar's Deviant Dales

Not only am I a huge fan of Oskar's Blues Dales Pale Ale but I might be an even bigger fan of it's grown up sibling Deviant Dales. It's Dales on steroids. Deviant is a 8% India Pale Ale that is not shy about it's massive citrusy hop flavors and slightly rich malt. I'd say the flavors stand at about 80% hops and 20% malt that you can more or less taste while it swirls in your mouth. Once it's gone though the after taste is burping pine-y flowers. It's a tad boozy but mellows as it gets warmer. Which is what I generally do. Pour....cradle in both hands....wait for the temp to rise a few degrees...drink. Being a bigger and bitter beer it coats your tongue with wonderful hop resins that lingers for a loooong time. I don't suggest pouring a Hefewiezen or any other lighter beer after quaffing a Deviant. The flavors just consume your face in the best way. And it comes in a 16oz. can which rules. A bit pricey but well worth it.

If you get the chance head down to the Tasty Weasel (Oskar's tasting room) and order a fresh one from the source. It's friggin' delicious.

cheers

D

Funkwerks Fruition

Funkwerks Saisons are brews you either like or you don't. That goes for any Saison. But what Funkwerks does with theirs can be pretty special in terms of bending the boundaries a bit. This latest Saison is brewed with apricots and peppercorns. The smell has a bit of the fruit while the taste has more of the peppercorn. It has the funk on the nose but really mellow in terms of ales brewed with brett or wild yeasts. I even catch a whiff of pineapple and peppermint. The peppermint I think comes from the peppercorns. The taste is slightly spicy, with a hit of lemon, and the peppercorns I mentioned above. It sits in your mouth quite dry with perfect carbonation. It leaves a nice slick on your tongue after a few gulps and leaves quite a bit of stickiness which I would assume is the apricot considering it's a 6% Saison. They recommend aging it for 6 months max which I tend on doing. I'll probably crack what I have in the cellar during the holidays.


cheers

D

Oskars Blues G'Knight

Oh, The Gordon! Er, G'Knight. Oskars declined to get in frivolous lawsuits with a not-so-great beer corp  due to the name of the beer. Gordon->G'Knight. So be it. This is easily in my lib of favorites for reasons other than just being fine tasting, consistent, and a bigger (8.7%) beer. The watering hole I choose is Freshcraft  in Lodo and I almost always order a G'Knight. Freshcraft is a stones throw from my office which makes waiting for the L line up north a great way to pass time. The bartenders are incredibly knowledgable and know their beer. I could sit for hours talking to any of them about the multitude of beers on their list (24 taps and a mega fridge of the best) and what I am drinking in the moment. And damn fine folks too. Friends of mine. That's another post. 

Cory from Freshcraft showing off a few beers in their epic beer fridge

G'Knight is an Imperial Red that floods you with caramel, hops, and a bit of oak all the while being sticky. When it warms up it gets really intense. The sugar takes over the otherwise boozy feel when you got a mouth full. It's just on the edge of being too hot (boozy) tasting which adds to it's character. Again 8.7%. The carbonation works perfect in tandem with the full bodied taste. And a damn fine looking beer too. Like a perfect English Ale poured from a London pub. I have had it many times fresh at The Tasty Weasel (Oskars tap room) and that includes the Stranahan's Whiskey Barrel Aged version only available at the tap room every once in a while. As I write this they tapped one a couple weeks ago and ran out in a heart beat. For good reason. It's one of those beers that makes me feel lucky as all hell just to be part of this community that continuously gives us better and better beers and ales. Cheers to that.

G'Knight is a nostalgic beer for me. Not sure exactly why in terms of past memories that include taste or smell. But it just does. 

cheers, er G'Knight!

D

What's at Avery

On any given Saturday or Sunday I tend to head down to Avery and see what they have special in the tasting room. It's a 15 minute drive, if that. Which makes life even sweeter when you enjoy the brews like I do. I went last Friday by myself and bellied up to the bar which was lucky as hell considering it was a barrel tapping night of the infamous Trogdor. This particular tapping was the Bourbon Barrel aged version that quite frankly was intense enough to remind me of a mouthful of Red Man chew. Doesn't sound good does it? In the beers defense I have never really been that big on smoky tasting beers. Like Scotch ales and such. And this was no different. In fact it was so intense the dude next to me loves smoky beers and he couldn't handle it. That's not to say it's not good. Just not my style.

Next was the Erimita the 3rd. or just Erimita III. A beautiful sour barrel aged ale that tastes of cherries and Cabernet. Which makes sense since it was aged in Cab barrels. It's not too sour and has a nice whiff of oak on the nose if you really dig deep into your olfactory blues. As it warmed up the mouth feel got even more intense and chewy. A great one and one of my favorites.

Every summer Avery comes out with the Lillikoi / Leopoldo which is a lighter ale, crisp yet un-filtered with nice subtle hints of passion fruit (Lillikoi). I really like this one. It's got some nice sourness to it along with a yeast hit that really makes it nice n bread-y. To me it's more Grapefruit then Passion fruit. But who cares. Cuz this one is worth quaffing on any given Front Range day.

Then came the Simcoe / Chinook version of their IPA. Hot damn was this good. I already love the IPA (always in our fridge) but the twist with these West Coast hops made it something special. It is a bit 'catty', or what I like to call dank, but that doesn't remove any of the delicious hop aromas that have consistently been in the original IPA. And really smooth too. It just kinda hangs in your mouth for a bit with a head full of flowers.

Lastly was a good beer that ultimately made my stomach do back flips for the rest of the day/evening. Good tasting, but almost painful. It's the Boulderweisse. Barrel aged in Cab Sav barrels for up to 3 years yet with no distinct colors of doing so. Hugely sour, almost too much for my taste, with hints of green apple which is really nice. It almost saves the beer in my opinion. It's got that live yeast funk as well which is what made me blow away the household, as it were. My suggestion is if you go for a full glass, at $10, drink with caution. Maybe down a Kambucha beforehand!

cheers

D

Great Divide 'Rumble' Oak Aged IPA

I went searching tonight after work for the GD Collette which seems to be going fast around here. And for good reason. But that's another story and beer review to come soon. Tonight I want to talk about the Rumble IPA that just hit the stores as of this week. I'll admit I didn't have very high expectations from GD for a few years strong. I just didn't think the beers were that great. But ever since the Yeti series has been available, probably much sooner than that, I have been smitten by what the brewers have been producing. The Rumble is an IPA worthy of much appreciation. Deep in caramel flavors with a subtle hit of hops. I know, it's an IPA that should be big on hops. But this is more than likely due to the barreling process. Regardless, I personally don't care whether it's an IPA, BPA, RCA, or an MCA (nod to Yauch). It's delicious. The vanilla hits are so nice. And very smooth as well. I hate to use the term 'friendly' but it is a beer worthy of satisfying those afraid of bigger beers as well as hoppy ones. The nose is vastly different than what goes down the gullet. Barley-ish when dipping your nose into it and then the aforementioned vanilla and caramel when going down. Not bad.

cheers