Arvada Beer Company

Having walked right past the Arvada Beer Company last week on our way to the Braun Taphaus, we returned this week to sample the local beers. Located literally just opposite of the Braun, Arvada Beer Company brews on premise and offers a large tap room to taste their brews. They neither bottle or can, but do offer beer to go in growlers or kegs, and provide kegs to locale bars. With no kitchen, the owners allow food to be brought in from local restaurants. Sharing the building with them is Manneken Frites, offering Belgian style pom frites with a selection of sauces. The tap room is family friendly, with board games in the corner and sports on the TV. There is limited outdoor seating in warmer weather.

Our selections of the night:

• Lemon Shandy - A Golden ale mixed with lemonade. I have heard of this mixture also called a Bicycle. The sweetness of the lemonade is offset by the hoppy ale. A good summer drink.
• Ralston Golden  Ale - A balance of malt and hops, crisp and clean. Named after the first man to find gold in the area in 1850.
• Pool Hall Porter - Dark but clear porter with a coffee taste. Mari passed on this one.
• Arvada Irish Red - Amber colored, well balanced, almost neutral.
• Vanilla Porter - Limited special brew, the vanilla was very forward, with a cocoa taste on the back of the mouth. We both liked this beer.
• Winter Schwarzweiss - Seasonal black wheat beer with marshmallow points.
• Sour Cherry - Cherry added to the Irish Red, aged in a whiskey barrel for 11 months with lactobacillus yeast added to sour the beer. Subtle cherry taste with a true sour beer. I liked this beer very much.

We order a pizza from the D Note, just two doors down, and it was delivered to our table at Arvada Beer. Good hand made pizza to complement good hand made beer. Mari ordered a half pint of the Vanilla Porter and I had a Sour Cherry. A nice Friday night in Old Town Arvada.

Here is a link to a great story about the owners of Arvada Beer.

Braun Taphaus Arvada Colorado

A January Saturday morning with clear blue skies and sun on the mountains found us on a walk from our house to Old Town Arvada. In the 3.5 miles walk we passed 2 breweries (Odyssey Beerwerks and Arvada Beer Company) before reaching our destination, Braun Taphaus. Not a brewery but a purveyor of craft beer and food, with twenty taps and an impressive selection of bottles, Braun offers something for most tastes.

Situated on the railroad tracks and near the iconic water tower, Arvada was established in 1850, and is the site of the first gold discovery in Colorado. After the gold played out and the miners moved to the mountains, the area became a farming community, providing produce for the front range. The old town area fell into disuse in the 1970's and 1980's, but was not razed for new housing, instead designated a historical district. The one and two story brick storefronts were preserved and in the last 10 years have become a hub for an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and mixed housing. The area is poised for more development as the urban light rail system will expand with a stop in old town being added in 2016.

Braun Taphaus is named for the owners, the Bar-on family. While living in Austria they were known as Braun, but changed the spelling to Bar-on when immigrating to Israel. Owners of the Udi's Bakery chain in Denver, Braun is a new venture for the family.

With a choice of twenty taps to sample, we were able to pick six (OK, seven) beers to sample.

• Dry Dock Apricot Blonde - A blonde ale with strong apricot up front, but a crisp clean finish from Dry Dock brewery in Aurora, Colorado 
• Koenig Ludwig Weissbeir - A German import, cloudy, with banana, orange and spice notes 
• Magic Hat #9 - magic Hat is a Vermont brewery, and #9 is listed as "not quite a pale ale". Amber colored with a caramel aroma and a light finish. 
• Left Hand Ambidextrous Sticke Altbeir -  Left Hand is a Colorado brewery known for adventurous brews.The dark sticke altbeir has notes of burnt sugar, bread, and some taste we debated for some time before deciding we needed a better vocabulary. 
• Prost Dunkel - A dark amber lager from the Denver based Prost Brewery, specializing in German style beers. With a strong roasted malt taste, I was surprised when Mari claimed this one as her favorite of the afternoon. 
• Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Stout - A pioneer of the Denver craft beer scene since 1994, Great Divide was a one man production shop for several years, peddling beers directly to local shops. The Yeti Imperial Stout is a favorite, and this version has a strong coffee taste from the espresso, with added flavor notes from the oak chips, making it Joe's favorite of the day. 
• Sierra Nevada Ovila Abbey Quad with Plums - Recommended by our waitress, this Belgian style Quadrupel is made with plums from the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California. A dark beer with malt and fruit tastes, the plum is an subtle after taste in the back of the mouth.

The menu describes the food as comfort food, which I will not debate. Mari had the chicken fingers and a salad, while I enjoyed the house cured pastrami paired with the sweet potato fries. A full lunch, dinner and weekend brunch menu has plenty of choices for any palate.

With a rotating selection of craft beer on twenty taps, additional bottles, and a kitchen providing comfort food, we will be returning to the Braun Taphaus often.

On our walk home, we stopped by the Arvada Historical Society, housed in the McIlvoy House, donated to the city by Clemancy McIlvoy in 1919. One of the stipulations was that no alcohol was allowed on the property. I wonder how she would feel about the brewery and taphouse located just a few doors down the street?

Eddyline Brewing Buena Vista Colorado

On a sunny blue sky January day in the Arkansas valley we drove to Buena Vista, a small mountain town surrounded by 14,000 foot peaks and the clear flowing Arkansas River. Just south of town is the new development of South Main, a "new urban' purpose built mix of shops and houses along the river and our destination, Eddyline Brewing.

Started in 2009 by Mic and Molly Heynekamp, the brewery has grown from 300 barrels a year to 3000 barrels a year, with plans to expand further. Eddyline has pioneered the 16 ounce can in their facility in old town Buena Vista, but South Main is home to the restaurant.

The first thing we noticed on entering the restaurant was the great smell of spicy soup wafting from the kitchen and the scent of wood smoke from the pizza oven that uses pecan wood. Our mouths were watering. The waitress allowed us to design our own flight of six of their beers on tap. We were a little disappointed to hear that their Innerglow Red Chili Porter was not available. Like many craft breweries, when they are out of a beer, they are out.

Our flight was:

• Boater Beer - A dry hopped Pilsner, good, crisp, and light
• River Runners Pale Ale - Hoppy, malty and clean finish, this was one of the first beers served here
• Pumpkin Patch Pale Ale - A seasonal made with real pumpkin, we liked the taste of nutmeg and spice, without the sweetness of some pumpkin beers.
• Kick'n Back Amber Lager - Nice lager with chocolate notes on the back of the mouth.
• Jolly Roger Black Lager - a Schwarzbier dark with coffee tastes, but light
• McFaddens Dry Irish Stout - Dry not creamy, with vanilla flavors.

While known for their wood fired pizza oven, we opted for other choices form the well balanced menu. Mari ordered the classic Bacon Cheese Burger and finished every bite while I tried the Red Chile Posole, a traditional spicy Mexican pork stew with hominy. I thought I wanted the Red Chile Porter when we ordered, but was glad for the Pilsner to put out the fire.

We tried to frame the scene of the community from the parking lot as we left but our photos don't do justice to the beautiful surroundings of mountains and water. We plan to return in the early summer to sample more beer and food when the rafters and kayakers are playing in the spring runoff of the Arkansas, just steps from the brewery.

Amicas Pizza and Microbrewery, Salida Colorado

Pizza and beer, a magical pairing of food and beverage found around the world. And no wonder, as they both start their life as grain, water and yeast. Amicas Pizza and Microbrewery in Salida, Colorado brings the best examples of this dynamic duo.

Located in the Arkansas Valley along the world famous white waters of the Arkansas River, Salida is a town of 5500 surrounded by 15 peaks that reach 14,000 feet above sea level. The area is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes, including rafters, kayakers, mountain bikers, fly fishers, and more.

Amicas is located in the historic downtown area that is filled with art studios, shops, and dining establishments of all kinds. On the Friday we visited, the pub was just beginning to come to life at 5:00 pm. 

Amicas uses the European pub system of ordering your food and beverage at the bar and pre-paying. We ordered the Allegro pizza with Balsamic marinara, roasted chicken, portobello mushrooms, artichoke hearts, gorgonzola, mozzarella, rosemary. And of course a flight of their finest brews.
Our flight consisted of:

• Bomber Blonde Ale - a light dry American Blonde ale with citrus notes. We both liked this beer very much.
• Rex's Amber Ale - an English ESB with a malt forward taste. Good marks for this one also
• Headwater IPA - Hoppy with a grassy taste. We hear that all beer drinker will go through an IPA faze. We have not entered ours yet.
• Surprisingly less hoppy than the previous IPA. Not bad.
• Big Brown Ale - A great example of a malty brown ale. Very drinkable
• Black Beard's Delight - A German style Schwartz beer, dark and flavorful with hints of anise.
• Infinite Search Imperial Stout - Creamy stout with a rich dark foamy head. Mari liked it because it did not have the coffee notes that so many stouts have. We both liked this one.

As we sampled our beers, we watched the staff toss the pizza dough high in the air. The wait was worth it, as the pizza was amazing. Thin airy crust with just the right amount of chew, baked to perfection in the wood burning oven. While the menu offers many sauce choices, the balsamic vinegar used on our pizza gave it a unique flavor complimenting the toppings.

We missed out on two beers we were looking forward to trying. The Green Chile Ale was not on tap and neither was the Smoked and Oaked, a brown porter with cherry wood smoked barley and later introduced heavy toast American oak chips. Oh well,  a  return trip to sample more of the dynamic duo of pizza and beer is in our future.

The only way to make the night better was to return to the Mount Princeton Resort and soak in the natural hot springs.

Old Mill Brewery, Littleton

The first brewery I went to when I moved to Denver in 1995 was the historic Columbine Mill Brewery in Old Town Littleton. Over the years it has changed owners, brewers, and names. Since 2008 it has been the Old Mill Brewery with Greg Shofner as the one man brew staff. Known for its rotating selection of fruit flavored beers, the Old Mill is a local neighbor favorite.

The Friday we sampled was quiet, even though it was a holiday week. With two seating areas inside and a deck for those sunny Colorado days, there was no wait. The staff were very attentive and knowledgeable, starting us off with a flight of the fruit beers.

Apple Crisp Wheat - Light with a distinctive apple taste, this beer was not overpowering apple like the popular Shock Top Honey Crisp. If you are seeking a more forward apple taste, they serve a hard apple cider.

Strawberry Wheat - Our least favorite of the flight, we both thought the strawberry flavor was too candy like for a beer.

Apricot Wheat - A good summer drink, perhaps less fruity than the popular Pyramid Apricot Ale.

Passion Fruit Wheat - The reason we returned to the Old Mill, Passion Fruit is one of Mari's favorite flavors since our year in Australia. The beer proved to be up to Mari' expectations, not too sweet, but tropical.

Hazelnut Stout - Rich and creamy stout with hazelnut and coffee tones. Surprisingly, this was a hit with Mari, who generally likes lighter beers. I like this one too, but let Mari finish it. One of the better beers of the session.

Coconut Porter - A staple of the brewer, this beer has a strong coconut aroma, reminding me of suntan lotion and summer beaches. The taste reminded me of a German Chocolate cake with the coconut and chocolate tones. I liked this one but Mari passed as she does not like coconut.

Cherry Stout - The brewer does a good stout and the cherry flavor was balanced with coco notes to remind us of chocolate covered cherry associated with the holiday season. We had recently sampled the Sam Adams seasonal Chocolate Cherry Bock, and I am hard put to decide between the two. Great job.

The brewery has a full food menu serving lunch and dinner pub fare. We both had hamburgers that were hand formed, not frozen, and cooked to order. A great accompaniment to a fine selection of beers.

Parking can be tight in Old Town, but the Brewery is just off the bike path and two blocks to the light rail station. Old Town offers a selection of restaurants, shops, and entertainment to round out your visit.

Colorado Plus Brewpub

As we drove to our next pub adventure, Mari pointed out the stores and restaurants in Wheat Ridge, the Denver community she lived and taught in for many years. Each location had a story, a previous incarnation, and a special memory. Our destination was Colorado Plus Brewpub, at 38th and Reed, the past location of Valenti's Italian Restaurant, a family owned fixture in the neighborhood. It reopened this year as Colorado Plus Brewpub, with original beers from Adam Draeger, the head brewer for Yak and Yeti. In addition to their own beers, C+ has 56 taps featuring Colorado craft beer.

With so many beers to choose from, the waiter gave us copies of their ever changing tap list to build our own flight. As it happened, Mari and I had slightly different lists. After some confusion, our waiter explained they updated the list as they ran out of a beer.

We started with the three available house beers and added two from the extensive tap list.

C+ Cinnamon Almond Winter Warmer has a distinctive flavor of the roasted almond found in the German Christkindlmarkets. A good seasonal brew for the cold winter months.

C+ Lil'l Orange Hon Annie is Belgian style brew with orange blossom honey and orange juice. I found the orange flavor understated, with the honey on top.

C+ Smokey the Beer is a smoked Rauchbier brewed with smoked malt. We could smell the smoke before we tasted the beer. We both liked the beer, but agreed it would have limited food pairing options.

For our additional pours, we chose :

Crabtree Brewing Co.'s Barrel Monkey, a bourbon barrel aged brown ale. Perhaps our favorite of the afternoon, the notes from the bourbon and wood made for a interesting, complex brew.

Prost Brewing's Weisbier, a German Hefeweisen. We both like Hefes and agreed this was a fine example, with the traditional banana and bubble gum notes.

Colorado Plus is justly proud of their food menu as well as their beers. Mari had the daily special of a BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado) sandwich on artisan bread. C+ cures their bacon in house, and it was lean and flavorful. I chose the burger with bacon and cheese and was not disappointed. All the food is local sourced and fresh. I look forward to trying the rest of the menu.

With such an massive tap list, we opted for a second flight to sample more local craft beer. The second flight was:

Strange Brewing's Pumpkin Saison brewed with 150 pounds of pumpkin. As we have sampled season ales this fall, pumpkin has been on many taps. This brew had a definite pumpkin flavor with spice notes associated with the seasonal pie, it was not as sweet as some we had tried, and finished on a dry note, offsetting the sweet start. Overall one our favorite pumpkin brews this year.

Lone Tree's Let's Bock, a bock lager with some hops forward notes. Mari let me have this sample.

Prost Brewing's Dopplebock, Another fine German brew from Prost.

Epic Brewing's Big Bad Baptist  a bourbon barrel aged Royal Imperial Stout. We sampled this after trying the Barrel Monkey, both barrel aged, but this one a stout with strong coffee notes. Something I will be ordering again.

Wynkoop Brewing Co.'s Brewjolais Nouveau is a collaboration with New Belgian Brewery, brewed with Foch grapes. The grapes color the beer purple and give it a strong grape jelly taste. I am glad I tried this, but it was perhaps the least favorite of the afternoon. Neither a beer or a wine, it was hard to compare to other brews and too sweet for my taste.

 With it's good brews and food and ever changing tap list, this is a local pub we will return to many times.

Mountain Sun Boulder Colorado

On a cold December night, we headed north to Boulder for a taping of the e-Town radio show and some beer. We found our beer and dinner at Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery on Pearl Street. Brewing since 1993, Mountain Sun has four pubs in the Front Range area and has won many awards for it's beers. The Pearl Street location is the flagship site for the group.

We started with a flight recommended by our server, mixing six of the many available brews from light to dark.

 First was the Bohemian Pilsner, a crisp light well balanced beer.

 Next was Mari's favorite, Annapurna Amber, malty with little hops.

Number One Triple, a Belgian ale brewed with yeast from the Trappist monks, is a great example of the craftsmanship at Mountain Sun.

Isadora Java Porter is as dark as a stout and brewed with free trade coffee beans. The coffee aroma is strong and out front. It was Joe's favorite of the night.

Hooligan Porter was a nice porter, but drinking it after the Java Porter was a mistake. Mari liked it because it did not have the coffee taste.

Per our waiters ordering of the flight we had the Colorado Kind Ale last. A hoppy amber ale, it has won awards for Mountain Sun. It is a fine ale, but maybe we should have tried this before the porters.

We only tasted six of the many hand crafted beers available. The list changes weekly and we will have to return to work our way through the fine products of the skilled brewers.

The pub is small and was full on the night we visited. We arrived early (5:00 pm) and had no wait, but people were waiting for a table by the time we left. It has a distinct neighborhood vibe, with families playing board games and friends sharing stories at the bar.

The menu is a mix of hand crafted pub food including sandwiches, burgers, and some Mexican dishes. Good fresh locally sourced food served quickly, we had a fine repast on burgers and fries.

After our visit to Mountain Sun, it was time for the concert at e-Town Hall, a short but brisk one block walk away. David Bromberg opened the show with his five piece band playing songs from his new album. Great to hear him in such a small venue, playing both electric and acoustic sets, still going strong in his sixties. The second artist was Wanda Jackson, the rockabilly pioneer, still singing in her seventies. Her stories between songs were worth the ticket price. Check the e-Town channel on Youtube for postings from the concert.

A great night for beer and music in Boulder.