From CO to MD

Posted on October 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

I visited the breweries in Colorado then went less than a hour north of Washington, DC to check about another great beer producer’s house of heaven. This time it was Flying Dog. Now, did you know they started in Colorado and moved to Maryland to grow/expand/make people around here even happier? Oh, ok, maybe that last part wasn’t the true strategy but I don’t hear any complaints.

So when considering checking out the Flying Dog Brewery, pull out next year’s calendar. They have a several month wait list/lead booking time. I lucked out because I was going alone and was able to snag a spot from a cancellation. So, if you want to go that route, contact them a day or so before you’d be interested in checking it out. They only do tours Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

You get there, get carded, get your nice bracelet.

Pay $5 and get a great glass that you keep (this is jumping ahead as it has delicious fluid in it). Then the tour begins.

You get the scoop on the entire history, from the founder, the owner, the random tidbits, the alcohol, drugs, prison time, name, etc. Neat stuff. The hallway depicts all of this. There are more paintings that the camera didn’t quite pick up.

You continue into the beer processing area and learn about all steps of the brewing process, from when water and hops might initially collide, how they determine each brew (what goes into each one), when/how long it’s in vats, how the bottling process works and the final ‘boxing’/putting it in cases or kegging so we can enjoy it.

When the tour was done, we headed to the bar where we could pick whatever we wanted. For $5, we got 5 samples. Big samples. I had the staple, Raging Bitch. Went with the White Wheat. I tried the rarities — Orchard Ale. Then some of the seasonals, which were hit or miss. There were love/hates in the tour group as we discussed them. The seasonals I tried were this beer and wine funky thing (can’t remember the name) — interesting. One glass would be all I’d want and then the awesome Dogtoberfest Marzen.

Great place, great tour, great beer. Check it out when you’re in the area.

And the beer goes on…

Posted on October 25, 2013 by melsmosaic

Had to continue enjoying the local brews while in Ft. Collins. One must take in as much as possible when not at home. So I took one for the team…

Brewery 5: Odell Brewing Company. Sample — $4! For 6 tastes! This is another one with the whole (unfortunate) issue of 5 oz pours, 6 beers, 5,000 ft elevation… This was my first stop of the day. Hey, I was fresh right. I had to be so careful and drink responsibly in the sense that there was more to come. My total favorite was Levity with several close runner ups.

Brewery 6: Fort Collins Brewery. Good name considering where I was. I found another chili beer here. After sampling a few I ended with this amazing smoky beer, that was that chili one — Mesquite Chili Lime Ale, part of their Out of the Ashes Smoke Beer Series. Not describable in words. Go to the store to find it, or better yet, just head out there to have some (limited edition though, so hurry)!

Brewery 7: New Belgium Brewing Company. This is one of my favorites! Went on the brewery several years ago and the twirly slide at the end if priceless! This time I just went to sample. So many options, so little time. Many new Lips of Faith to try, other random stuff to sample. It was packed that it was tough to even move. I just had sips of some new stuff then finished with my favorite Fat Tire. Oh happy day.

All good things must come to an end. I eventually had to get on a plane and come back east. I do have a brewery tour scheduled at Flying Dog soon. Looking forward to that!

I’m in a Colorado State of Beer

Posted on October 24, 2013 by melsmosaic

I had Billy’s Joel New York State of Mind rolling through my head so couldn’t think of a better title for the post. So, after visiting wine country in Oregon, I headed a time zone east and a couple states south to check out Ft. Collins, Colorado. I had my fix of wine so hit the breweries this time.

The problem when you go to breweries (proper) is that there are too many choices. Sometimes overwhelming. I tried to do samplers at most of them when possible. The other problem with beer? *NOTE — I am not dismissing beer, turning it down, or crossing it off my list at all! Just making travel notes for future reference. Unlike wine where you can spit, that’s not really an option with beer. Proceed with caution. And jumping three days forward, my hosts mentioned that when they moved to Colorado they noticed the beer hit them much more quickly (than when at sea level) for awhile. Thanks! You couldn’t have told me that when I got here? I wasn’t going to say anything…

Anyway….

Brewery 1: Black Bottle Brewery. Too many, way too many, beers to pick from. I honestly can’t remember which one I finally opted for to enjoy over dinner, but it was good! Some of the beer names are great, Social Insecurity being my favorite.

Brewery 2: Cooper Smith’s Pub & Brewing. Great place to both enjoy some great food and beer. I had a sip of several before deciding what to have. I do remember one that had the name ‘chili’ in it. You could taste that green chili in there — it wasn’t necessarily hot but you knew it was there.

Brewery 3: Pateros Creek Brewing Company. It’s a little bit hidden, so you have to know where to find it. They apparently have great social events in the evening, FYI, if you’re a local. It’s a small place, but nice brews. I happened to get there right before a downpour so spent a little bit of time there chatting with the beermaster. Aside from that conversation, I think I found that CO, or at least Ft. Collins, has a like of chilis, because they also had a beer with some kick. Hmmm… They also make gluten free beer. I have several friends who would be thrilled.

Brewery 4: Equinox Brewing Company. Sampling flight = 6 beers in 5 oz. pours at 5,000 ft. elevation. That’s where that whole idea/thought of no spitting/dump bucket REALLY came into play. I loved the (light) IPA. I say light as in I didn’t feel like I was bouncing off the walls, on a trampoline or on those OLD SCHOOL pogo sticks. Just a nice amount of hops. There was a red on there, too. Dang! The weekend I was there, the Great American Beer Festival happened to be in town (Denver, close enough) and many brewers were near the bar so I shared my sampler with them and it was very interesting getting their feedback/comment/sipping notes on the beer.