Something’s brewing but it’s not fermenting in any
stainless steel tank, plastic bucket, or carboy. It’s something Nicole and I hope will be low
in IBUs—sweet rather than bitter. It’s something
that won’t fit in a keg, bottle, or can, it’s advised you don’t shake it, and
it will hopefully be 0% ABV for its first 21 years. That something is our first child.
Indeed, we’re about to become parents! While Nicole has been eating for two I’ve
been busy upholding my end of the bargain by drinking for three (the horrors of
fatherhood!). As we are such lovers of
quaffable libations, we decided to the contrary of conventional wisdom; we’ve
not decreased our number of new brewery visits, we’ve increased our visits. In
fact, we’ve brewery-hopped pretty much every weekend since discovering our
impending offspring. How else could we put
together this clever little photography project we concocted? NOTE: before you call social services, I
remind you I said that I’m drinking for three; no beer for Nicole.
First, I’ll quickly get you up to speed; we’ve written
about many of breweries since discovering Nicole’s pregnancy but weren’t yet prepared to make our
grand announcement. So, I’ve
retroactively posted them below. Once we
get to breweries I haven’t yet posted about, I’ll provide a short blurb.
Catching Up
New Breweries
Storm Peak Brewing Co. is a welcome addition to Ski
Town, USA (AKA Steamboat Springs). The off-the-beaten-path
resort town has made due with Mahogany Ridge Brewery & Grill for far too
long. Not to say Mahogany Ridge isn’t a
decent enough brewery but Steamboat has often billed itself as the anti-Vail—down-to-earth,
inclusive, and free of pretension.
Mahogany Ridge’s name alone evokes a certain hoity-toity characteristic,
calling to mind a greasy executive’s high-polished corner office, thus
undermining Steamboat’s image of cowboy culture. The addition of Storm Peak, a less-touristy
operation in an industrial building on the outskirts of town, harkens back to
that storied, genuinely Western past. Storm
Peak is decorated sparsely save for a few old-school pieces of ski memorabilia adorning
the wall and is the kind of place in which the lovable losers of an 80’s ski comedy would plot their hijinks against the snobby, turtle-necked, European
developers who seek to raze the locally-run youth center and build a
multimillion dollar condo complex.
Granted, I haven’t written about Tommyknocker Brewery
recently but it was, in fact, among
the first breweries we profiled when starting this blog. Click here for a blast from the past.
We visited Declaration Brewing on one of its soft
openings. It’s a brewery practiced in
the art of juxtaposition. The warehouse
surroundings suggest a biker bar or otherwise slummy watering hole may await
drinkers at Declaration’s address but the artfully painted exterior and vast
biergarten quickly dispel that assumption.
Far from a cheap-o dive, it’s apparent that the proprietors of
Declaration began their business venture with a sizeable chunk of money. It’s a massive building (even if only a
portion of it is customer space) with many and diverse decorative flairs such as
a beer menu printed on skateboards, outdoor lighting encased in beer mugs, the
ubiquitous Edison bulbs hung above the bar, and lots and lots of reclaimed
wood. Try their Belgian table beer for a
classic take on session beer.
Unlike Declaration, we didn’t go to Ratio Beerworks
on their soft opening; we went there on the grand
opening and, as such, were crammed in there like nine of Kevin James’ relatives
in an eight-man gondola. You can’t get an
accurate bead on how good or bad a brewery may be when constantly dodging
elbows and slipping between people sideways, trying to squeeze through the
crowd and grimacing every time asses and crotches inadvertently rub against
each other. From what I saw, though, it
seems a decent place, a worthy addition to the jam-packed River North brewer
scene. It’s got the much sought-after
barrel-roof, lots of garage doors, a moderately-sized outdoor space, and a few notable
conversation pieces such as the theatre marquee-style beer menu hoisted high
above. Smart and simple detail: they
designate one area of the bar for
walk-up orders, meaning those who are already seated at the bar need not worry
about other customers barging in between.
Plus, it ensures fairness of service; if five people walk up to the bar
in five different spots, it’s impossible for the bartender to tell who was the
first to arrive. Having everybody line
up in the same spot, however, makes the task much easier.
And, yes, we realize we got some of the math wrong in
that photo. It was crowded, we were distracted, and sometimes we just aren't good with numbers.
I’ll let my beer blogging colleague The Beer Drifter tell you about Factotum Brewhouse; I can’t describe it better than he (click here).
We’re at Week 16 and still have plenty more to
go! Stay tuned for more updates.
Prost!
Chris
When first I found I was pregnant, I wanted to incorporate brewery visits as often as possible. A weekly baby-bump picture at a brewery seemed appropriate. It was weird at first, taking pictures in front of breweries where any stranger on the street could see our big news, while our family and friends were still in the dark. My fear was that someone we knew might see us. Well, that fear became a reality at Storm Peak Brewing Co. After taking my picture and ordering a beer, Chris and I sat down with the chalkboard laying out on the table for all to see only to realize Chris' mom and sister were sitting a mere three feet away from us! Coincidentally, they happened to be at the same place at the same time. I quickly whisked the chalkboard away, hiding it in the car. Our secret was safe! Our planned surprise announcement: intact.
Now that I can't actually consume those delicious brews, I've begun noticing other things about breweries. For one, I'm discovering one of my favorite non-alcoholic beverages to be root beer, especially fresh-brewed root beer. However, very few breweries actually make their own. My hope for the future of this photography project is to find a few more that do. Secondly, I love breweries with food trucks or at least snacks of their own. It gets boring watching Chris enjoy his beer as I sit drinking water (or root beer, if available). If I have something to snack on, I enjoy my time a little more.
It's been fun coming up with the sayings for our weekly chalkboard. But, um, I wish I could draw a little better. My crafting skills lie elsewhere (e.g. knitting).
With about 24 more weeks to go, there's a lot more brewery visits ahead. Luckily, there are so many great new breweries opening in the Denver-Metro area as well as a few that have been open for a while that we haven't yet had a chance to visit. This will be one epic series of photos!
Nicole
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