The deacon is pilgrimaging to Green Bay/Madison, WI and Boulder, CO from 11/12 - 11/19 as part of a Great American football/skiing co-vacation, and eager as hellfire to get out of this office, I'm brainstorming a list of microbreweries or brewpubs I'd like to visit while out there. So far this is what I have:
Green Bay
New Glarus Brewing (#21 American Craft Brewery by volume sales...they make the popular Spotted Cow Farmhouse Ale, a great session beer which I sampled last year on the Beer Dad's recommendation)
Capitol Brewing
Titletown
Ale Asylum (Madison Brewpub)
J.T. Whitley's (Madison Brewpub)
Boulder
New Belgium Brewing Co (Ft Collins, #3 craft brewery)
Odell Brewing Co (Ft Collins, #32)
Avery Brewing Co
Boulder Beer Co (#46, Boulder's oldest microbrewery)
Rockies Brewing Co
Boulder Walnut Brewing (oldest brewpub in Boulder, apparently)
Any recommendations from the WI/CO trolls lurking out there? When I'm not tailgating/skiing I plan on beer drinking/burger eating. So basically: I'm excited
Twisted Pine Brewing Co
Showing posts with label New Belgian Brewery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Belgian Brewery. Show all posts
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
the deacon's pick of the week*
*the beer deacon's pick of the week can be a new brewery, beer, bar, or any saint-blessed thing he wants it to be, so long as it pertains to beer culture in the city. Look for his pick on thursdays, what college kids call "thirsty thursdays," or to cite from the brew hop bible, "and on the fourth day the disciples drinketh...early and often."
This week's pick: The New Belgium Brewery
The History
New Belgium was founded in Ft Collins, CO eighteen years ago by electrical-engineer-turned-homebrewer Jeff Lebesch and wife Kim Jordan, and is now home to 20+ styles of belgian ales. The first Fat Tire, the delightfully drinkable Amber that quickly became their flagship product, was brewed in Jeff's homemade kit (pieced together from old dairy farming equipment). And they've got a great vibe outside the brewery: fierce advocates of biking and transportation alternatives, you can find their brews on tap (if you're lucky enough to live west of the Rockies) at any number of bike races, city clean-up initiatives, and good ol' fashioned festivals and fundraisers. Check their blog to find where they're headed next (hint: San Francisco).
The Beer
Beer-soaked as we are in the great 5 boroughs, we often miss the best of the west, and no exception here. Fat Tire is almost all you'll find in the city (they're unlisted on Great Brewers finder) but I have been lucky enough to catch three bottled beauties from the criminally underrated American Beer Distro:
Mothership Wit: Belgian-style white ale, to Hoegaarden what Blue Smoke is to KFC. Heavily malted, not too sweet (A good belgian wit balances fruit/citrus with sour flavors), this blessed beverage is brewed all-organic with fresh Rocky water (no cold train jokes, please).
Hoptober Golden Ale: Heavily hopped pale ale. Homebrewers will know what I mean: lots of relatively low-bitterness hops (Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette, and Glacier, all American local breeds) give it a flowery citrus bite and hoppy aftertaste without the sky high bitterness (40 IBUs). Wheat malts lend it a hefe-esque balance. The deacon loves me a high hopped, low bitter Pale Ale. A heavenly paradox.
Dunkelweiss 30*: This was a true find. Something like an Aventinus, a chocolaty sour wheat with a banana and clove finish. A unique bite, which I'll guess comes from the Belgian-ey range of diverse ingredients added to this traditionally german style. Good to stockpile for the next big storm or power outage. Don't expect to wake up when the neighbors knock, though.
And that's the deacon's pick of the week. I'll go ahead and bless myself fully recovered from NYC Craft Beer Week, and hope you too will get into some good cheer and libations this weekend. Speaking of biking, still plenty of time to sign up for the "Escape From New York" race on Saturday! Look for the deacon riding in the raddest beer jersey on the road.
This week's pick: The New Belgium Brewery
The History
New Belgium was founded in Ft Collins, CO eighteen years ago by electrical-engineer-turned-homebrewer Jeff Lebesch and wife Kim Jordan, and is now home to 20+ styles of belgian ales. The first Fat Tire, the delightfully drinkable Amber that quickly became their flagship product, was brewed in Jeff's homemade kit (pieced together from old dairy farming equipment). And they've got a great vibe outside the brewery: fierce advocates of biking and transportation alternatives, you can find their brews on tap (if you're lucky enough to live west of the Rockies) at any number of bike races, city clean-up initiatives, and good ol' fashioned festivals and fundraisers. Check their blog to find where they're headed next (hint: San Francisco).
The Beer
Beer-soaked as we are in the great 5 boroughs, we often miss the best of the west, and no exception here. Fat Tire is almost all you'll find in the city (they're unlisted on Great Brewers finder) but I have been lucky enough to catch three bottled beauties from the criminally underrated American Beer Distro:
Mothership Wit: Belgian-style white ale, to Hoegaarden what Blue Smoke is to KFC. Heavily malted, not too sweet (A good belgian wit balances fruit/citrus with sour flavors), this blessed beverage is brewed all-organic with fresh Rocky water (no cold train jokes, please).
Hoptober Golden Ale: Heavily hopped pale ale. Homebrewers will know what I mean: lots of relatively low-bitterness hops (Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette, and Glacier, all American local breeds) give it a flowery citrus bite and hoppy aftertaste without the sky high bitterness (40 IBUs). Wheat malts lend it a hefe-esque balance. The deacon loves me a high hopped, low bitter Pale Ale. A heavenly paradox.
Dunkelweiss 30*: This was a true find. Something like an Aventinus, a chocolaty sour wheat with a banana and clove finish. A unique bite, which I'll guess comes from the Belgian-ey range of diverse ingredients added to this traditionally german style. Good to stockpile for the next big storm or power outage. Don't expect to wake up when the neighbors knock, though.
And that's the deacon's pick of the week. I'll go ahead and bless myself fully recovered from NYC Craft Beer Week, and hope you too will get into some good cheer and libations this weekend. Speaking of biking, still plenty of time to sign up for the "Escape From New York" race on Saturday! Look for the deacon riding in the raddest beer jersey on the road.
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