Drinking
Lager Means Storage
Oct 19th
In a conversation last week it was requested by Hoppingaround followers that I’d write more information on the different styles enabling a better conversations about the beer they are consuming. This week I thought I’d start with probably my favorite style of beer the Lager. Lagers use yeast that ferment at colder temperatures. One of the unique features of the yeast used in the fermentation is that they sink to the bottom of the fermentation vessel where ale’s yeast floats to the top. During the fermentation and bottling and conditioning the beer is kept cold. For this reason, lagers were only made in colder regions where they could be stored in caves specifically near a water source. The spreading of lagers world -wide did not occur until the advent of affordable refrigeration in the mid-nineteenth century. The spread was inevitably furthered with the invention of the refrigerated railroad car. More >
Firestone Walker Brewing Company: Oaktoberfest
Oct 10th
In my pursuits of trying new beer concoctions, I am pleased to say I have found a winner. Those who know me are aware of my love of lagers a German Märzen bier. This type of beer originates from Bavaria, Germany. The name ‘lager’ is a reference to how they would make the beer as they would store the beer in the hillsides to keep the brewing cold in the olden days around the 16th century. Oaktoberfest is a seasonal beer from Firestone Walker Brewing out of Paso Roble, California founded in 1996 originally SLO Brewing Company. I had never heard of this brewery and assume they are still a relatively small operation. The beer itself was not a high ABV and was relatively mild. A good balance of malts and hops with a beautiful amber coloring. A wonderful oak aroma and sweetness in the after taste almost like apricot.
Sam Miguel’s Dark Lager
Oct 6th
This week I took a trip down to the Philippines, well not really I sat on my couch,
but I was drinking a Filipino dark lager. I met a new friend down there called Sam
Miguel, dark lager. As he told me his history about how he was a distinctive lager
brewed with only finest ingredients and brewed in the tradition of excellence, I
began to understand why he would proudly display himself as “the ultimate choice
for discriminating drinkers.” More >
Fort Collins Brewery: Red Hot Chili Porter
Oct 3rd
Living in Old Town, Fort Collins I am very fortunate. I live within walking distance seven breweries. Fort Collins Brewery is not one of my favorites. I do appreciate that they try new things and not become consumed by producing beer that fits traditional standards. The thing with trying new beer is not all of them are going to be winners. Sometimes you just take a suggestion from the bar tender and hope for the best. This time it tore apart my stomach. More >
Pub Crawl
Sep 26th
A pub crawl consists of one or more people touring, hopping, and drinking at two or more bars. The phrase, according to the Oxford dictionary, originated in the nineteenth century. The largest pub crawl on record actually occurred last December in Chicago, Illinois called the ‘Twelve Bars of Christmas’ containing 10,000 crawlers. Generally these tours mark a special day, holiday, engagement, birthday or promotion. Crawlers also wear some sort of marker that signifies their membership to the crawl such as a shirt, hat, button, or sash. The reason I felt inclined to define this event was when describing my weekend to my mother I had to explain what the event entailed and I believe she is not the only one.
Fort Collins Brewery: Red Banshee
Sep 23rd
Another fine Friday, the perfect day for a pint! Now to be fair, I actually drank this Thursday night; but don’t get me wrong– I’ll be finishing the growler today. This fine, red-haired beauty is from a brewery known simply for where it’s located: Fort Collins Brewery, another fine, established brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. As I pointed out before, I got this in a growler, so it was fresh from the brewery’s tap!
Upon pouring, you can see a reddish-brown hue with a dark cream/brown colored foam, as you experience a sweet, almost caramel, smell. The taste begins just like the caramel smell, but ends with a fantastic bite from the bitter hops. The hops make a great finisher for this fantastic red/amber ale. The beer has a sweet taste for non-hop head fans, with a wonderful bitter for IPA diehards. A beer to bridge you from one taste to the other, all with a wonderful taste.
New Planet: Tread Lightly Ale
Sep 22nd
Can’t have gluten? No problem! New Planet, brewed at Fort Collins Brewery but based out of Boulder, is made just for you! After some research I found that New Planet makes three gluten-free brews. Their 3R Raspberry Ale is won a bronze metal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival. I will keep an eye out for it and write about it soon.
This week though, I tried their Tread Lightly Ale. It is VERY light and I’m sure all you Bud drinkers out there would actually like this brew. It is only made from sorghum, corn extract, orange peel, hops, and yeast. I’m a fan of heavier flavors so I tried this with an open mind.
Upon pouring I noticed a very light head, if any at all. Color is very light and very bubbly. The orange peel dominates smell with some hops at the end. As far as taste: much like the smell, orange once again dominates and an almost apple sweetness arises. Soon after a bitterness takes over but continues to be well-balanced. I didn’t really get a lot of hops but then again, then is very drinkable.
Over all this is good as far as gluten-free goes, given that, I tend to like heavier flavors. Personally, I do not plan on having New Planet again but, if you’re on the hunt for a decent gluten-free beer Tread Lightly might be for you!
Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery
Sep 19th
I got to tell you, never hearing of this brewery and going there on a whim, I really loved Mountain Sun Brewery. First off, the employees were incredibly helpful. I said to the bar tender what do you like and he without question pours me one of everything on tap. I am not going to say that I enjoyed all of them, but they were not all bad. In fact I drank three of their Irish Nitro Stout. Incredible beer with a hint of sweetness from a little cocoa and toasted taste, no coffee made an incredible Irish stout. Second, the atmosphere was awesome, wish I would have caught them before the kitchen closed because the food looked and smelled incredible.
New Belgium: Belgo
Sep 12th
As I stated a week ago I gravitate towards anything with pale ale in the title. For any new readers check out my last post about Ranger IPA for reference. Also for anyone keeping track besides me this is my third straight article about something involving New Belgium. This may make many people think that this is my favorite brewery. It’s not. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, obviously otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about it so often.
Belgo is a belgian india pale ale. Belgo has a beautiful golden color, and smells very floral with a hint of sour notes. Most people are scared away by IPA’s due to hops but this IPA is calmed down and more mild than most IPA’s. In direct comparison to New Belgium’s other IPA Ranger it is much more mild on the hops. Belgo has a really smooth taste with a nice hint of hops. The first taste brings a taste of spice and ends with a bitter of hops. All of it goes down smooth. Belgo is definitely in the top three for seasonals, depending on the seasonal, good looking beers on the seasonal. Ha sorry small Flight of the Conchords joke there. In all serious though it is very good and worth a pint.
New Belgium: Ranger IPA
Sep 2nd
IPA’s, you love ‘em or hate ‘em. Being a huge hop fan I tend to gravitate towards anything with pale ale in the title and especially IPA’s. The bitterness of a hop just creates the perfect flavor for beer. Now some people would say that not one flavor should over power the other flavors. Sometimes this happens with an IPA and it’s like drinking a liquid hop, but when done correctly the hops create an amazing finish to the beer.
