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.