A day of Belgians at Mt. Sun

I won't go into how long we have been eating and imbibing at Mt Sun but let's just say many years. We know the owners and managers well enough to say hi and have conversations with. Whether at a Phish show or the brewery itself. Good folks who play by their own rules. I like that. On to the Belgians....

Currently Mt Sun has a handful of Belgians to choose from. This is not really like them to do so. But since new Brewer Jeff Ramirez from Ironworks in PA took over, things seem to be changing a bit for the better in terms of spreading their wings a bit. Don't worry, it's still the beloved hippie brewery serving delicious beers and food. Just more adventurous it seems. When I spoke to Jeff about the newer brett brews soon to come he said they brew offisite at a warehouse off of Arapahoe. So I think they may keep the Belgians coming considering Jeff's taste for these types ans styles. Good on him.

The first taste was the Ciel Lumineux Belgian Ale. Considering Mt Sun doesn't filter their beers too much this one was an exception. It looked and tasted almost pils like. It is a nice beer that is dry with all of the Belgian ale flavors one has come to expect here in the US. Hints of coriander, a bit of funk, spicy, etc. Or what the day manager called '...that wet horse blanket smell'. I can dig it. Anyway, the aroma didn't have much which the flavor made up for in this nice Belgian Ale.

The Bavarian Wheat had huge funk when whiffing along with some citrus notes. It looks like cloudy champagne which as you might guess it's un-filtered. The flavors are nutty, of all things, and a bit sour. But not too much. I think it's the smoothness of it all that made me like this one. But like many beers so un-filtered I wouldn't spend a night drinking this one. Live yeast can wreak havoc on ones innards. If you catch my drift.

Pater's Belgian Ale is perfect in appearance for what it is. Deep golden colors, perfect carbonation, and an impressive bleach white creamy head that you could float a quarter on. Love that. I'll dmit though I didn't get much aroma off of it. The taste is very biscuit-y with the mouth feel of an English Ale. Delicious. The hop presence is really mellow which makes it more of a malt lovers type. And it's damn easy to drink which I always like. I would love to see this in a firkin. Unfortunately Mt Sun doesn't do firkins. Well, they should. Just sayin'.

This last one is loved by the Mt Sun crew so I ad some high expectations going into it. It was good...but not great. Which of course is fine. It's just that it was chatted up quite a bit. Regardless, the Rouge de Brugges Belgian Red is nutty and malty with a beautiful red amber color that just makes you want to drink it by sight alone. It's fairly dry, almost to dry for my taste, with a slight note of blackberries. Actually, it had slight flavors of their Blackberry Wheat. Hmmmm. I think this one hs much potential but could use a bit more of everything. There I said it.

And then there's the FYIPA......

cheers

D

Tasting at Boulder's 'Shine'

The location of Shine has gone through more ownership's and resteraunts than any other location I know of in Boulder. Remember Red Fish? It's that location. And it's the same Brewer which I'll admit I was a bit hesitant going into tasting these beers in terms of liking them. I was never that big of a Red Fish fan. Shine (so Boulder) is owned by the 3 sister's who owned/ran Trilogy which closed a couple of years ago. I don't know them personally but they seem to know what they're doing by running an establishment that just screams Boulder. For better or worse. Let's just say it seems appealing to the 'rich-boulder-mom-hasn't-worked-in-years-lunching-around-town-with-baby-in-tow' type. Anyway, on to the brews.

The first taster was a gluten free beer (so Boulder), which for me is never good, called the Liberation. It's actually not bad. Slightly malty with a bit of coriander on the taste as well as a tad fruity. But like many gluten free beer it has that something missing. Regardless, it was refreshing on a 95 degree day.

Next up was the American Wheat. This is a seasonal. I have never been a huge fan of American wheat brews so going into this one I had to have an open mind. Mind open I gave a whiff. Not much there. I gave a taste...surprisingly good. Crisp, highly filtered, and a nice natural lemon hit. It has a sweet aroma to it that's quite nice as you whiff the brew while it's sipped. Without a doubt it's a wheat. Straightforward and not pretentious. So as far as an American Wheat mission accomplished.

Onto the Shine Pale Ale. More of my neighborhood. When smelling the brew you don't get much floral going on but when you taste is all comes out quite nicely. It has the bitter dankness of an IPA which actually impressed me. The malt and Pacific hops are balanced well with a big floral hit that had a faint back note of rose water. No, seriously it id. And it worked. This was one of my favorites.

Trilogy IPA didn't have that hop hit that most IPAs have when you give a whiff. But like the Pale the taste was dank and bitter but at the same time fairly mellow for your standard front range IPA. I'll admit I don't have much to report on this one as it didn't take me to places that would otherwise make me write more about it. 'Nuff said.

I have always loved a good Pils. Especially those brewed in the Czech style which what the Pohoda is. It has a big Pils taste with big biscuity flavors. And in front range fashion it's really hoppy. Like Oskar's Yella Pils hoppy. Which I really liked. It's dry, as it should be, with a nice toasted malt flavor that I really got into. Damn quaff-able. Concentrating on the flavors I tasted chamomile of all things. This taster I finished.

The Imperial Porter is a seasonal that I almost didn't try due to the fact that out of fairness I am not a big Porter guy. But, the bartender talked me into it as he himself stated he wasn't big on Porters but liked this one. I did too. It has that classic Porter taste but not as dry as most. It was almost stout-ish but had a certain brightness to it that made it manageable to drink on a super hot day. It's a bit sticky and weighs in on 8.7% yet was not boozy one bit. This is a good Porter.

Lastly I tasted the Down Dog (so Boulder) Imperial Red which threw me back to the days when Oasis was in town serving the Scarab Red. Spicy, a bit sweet, malty, and a great color and body to it. This may have been my favorite. It weighs in at 9% which surprised me when I was told as such. Again, not boozy. This red is worth digging into.

All in all I was satisfied with what I tasted at Shine. There was a few bland moments but in the words of Primus 'They can't all be zingers'. So true.

cheers

D

'Pond Hopper' Collaboration - Odelle's/Thornbridge

Pond Hopper is a very tasty collaboration between Odelle's and England's own Thornbridge Brewing. It's a stylishly smooth Double Extra IPA that weighs in around 8.9% yet has very little boozy taste. The collaboration among the two breweries on different continents is dictated by the presence of English malt an American hops. When first giving a sip the first I got was of honey and hoppy/flowery goodness. It has that perfect deep golden IPA color that is present in bigger IPAs. There is a nice nutty and vanilla aroma that hits your nose which compliments the sweet malty taste that really stand out. As is sipped more an more I noticed the citrus flavors coming out from the hops which gave it a real brightness which then mellows into the aforementioned caramel malt flavor. The taste lingers for a while and hits of caramel really start to stanbd out as it warms in your glass. Cheers to that. Git it.

cheers

D

What's at Oskar's Blues Tasty Weasel (tap house)

The offerings at the Weasel as of late are solid. I mean, they always have been but I am seeing more exploration as time goes on. This review is about 3 beers that I really dug into this last weekend at the Weasel. First up 'The Golden Ale'.

Golden Ale
This beauty is right up my alley. A Belgian style that is creamy as the day is long. It hovers in around 7% but doesn't have a whiff of heat to it. To me it's a classic front range Belgian style. A bit 'o hop, thick, quaffable, and most importantly those classic spice notes of coriander, clove, and just a touch of cinnamon. That last flavor might be a stretch but I call e'm like I taste 'em. There is a nice honey flavor that comes from the bright malty goodness that surrounds the mouth. The hops and malt are really well balanced. I loved this one on a 90 degree day at 2:00pm. Which for those not from the front range, that's mighty hot.

Dave's Pale Ale (not Dale's)
First off, this deliciously un-offensive Pale Ale is nothing like Dale's. This is much lighter in body, taste, and over-all character. The recipe came from the head brewer Dave Chichura (i hope I got that right) whom accomplished exactly what he set out to achieve it seems. The crew at Oskar's call it 'lawn mower beer'. I can see that. It's crisp, a bit dry, hoppy, and reminds me of drinking a craft Pale Ale in the Bay Area in the early 90's. Old school is what I am saying. It has great flavor all around with some nice biscuit notes that is all to familiar for a classic pale such as this. Nicely done Dave.

Ten Fiddy Aged in Jack Daniels barrels
Holy s*** is this delicious. Which wasn't what I expected before taking a sip. I love the Ten Fiddy. Don't get me wrong. But I loathe the taste, and the mornings, of Jack Daniels. So going into this beer I decided just a 4 oz taster would do. The first sip was like having warm Rocky Road melted ice cream slide down your gullet. I'm not kidding. The bar tender laughed when he saw the expression on my face after the first sip. 'Damn god, eh?' Yes, damn good. There so many things going on. Chocolate, hazelnuts, vanilla, caramel, coffee....Must....have....another. Give me a 10oz please!

cheers

D

Crooked Stave - Surette Chardonnay Barrel Aged Reserva

This bottle was consumed over two weeks ago but luckily I just came across some notes I wrote while drinking it. The Reserva is a Chardonnay barrel age farmhouse that I had pretty high expectations for and they were pretty much met. The Reserva is a wonderful sour but not too funky or offensive to frighten away the 'sour haters'. My wife being one of them. That's fine, more for me. It has a wonderful peach smell that's nice 'n bright. At the same time you can get that sour whiff which I love. Without even concentrating too much on the flavors as it swirled in my mouth I caught this great pineapple taste with some citrus. Really satisfying. Coats the mouth, as most Saisons will, with a great bread/cereal flavor that seems to rise from the yeast which gave it a lingering finish. I really enjoyed this bottle. Enough to throw one in the cellar. Grab one.

cheers

D