Beer Roundup: What I’ve Been Drinking
Port Brewing Company: Hop 15. 22oz bottle poured into a pint glass
This is a good and hoppy double IPA from Pizza Port, one of my favorite brewpubs. While I can’t make the drive up the coast to eat pizza and drink beer anymore, luckily I can find one or two of their beers at the better liquor stores. I’d never had Hop 15, but know Pizza Port is known for some hoppy beers. This one didn’t disappoint. I opened it up after dinner and couldn’t finish all 22oz’s though, the one downside to drinking bombers.
The Lost Abbey: Judgment Day 750ml bottle poured into a pint glass
The Lost Abbey is an offshoot of Pizza Port Brewing. They focus on big Belgian beers. While I’ve had plenty of Pizza Port beers, this might have been my first beer from Lost Abbey. They have quite the reputation, making strong and experimental beers. I was sadly disappointed by the fact that I hated this beer. The bottle said it was made with raisins which is one of the reasons I bought it. I was a little afraid the raisin flavor might taste weird, but I couldn’t taste anything other than alcohol. I like big, strong beers, but I like it when they mask their booze flavors a bit. Strangely, Kinsee loved this beer.
Left Hand Brewing Company: Warrior IPA 22oz bottle
Headed to a party one night I picked up Left Hand Brewing Company’s Warrior IPA. Left Hand is a brewery I’d never heard of before coming to Colorado, but they’ve quickly become one of my favorites, so I figured I had to try their IPA. Warrior IPA is wet-hopped (at least some of the hops are added wet, those that they grow themselves at their brewery). It’s a good IPA, hoppy but not too floral tasting. Easily drinkable.
Ska Brewing Company: Mexican Logger on draft at Old Tymers Cafe
I’ve said it before that I don’t like lager’s much, especially Mexican lagers. But after trying and enjoying Carver Brewing Company’s Cerveza Real I felt I had to give Ska’s Mexican Logger a shot. While I wasn’t blown away by it, I did find it enjoyable. It’s probably not something I’ll drink too often, but definitely not a bad beer.
Ska Brewing Company: Modus Hoperandi. 12oz can
I haven’t written much about Modus Hoperandi. Ska released it a day or two after I moved here and the release party was the first time I went to Ska Brewing World Headquarters. It was a great party, great beer and made me excited to be living here. This past weekend we went up to the mountains to do a bit of boating and some hiking. Canned beer was in order and Ska’ Modus Hoperandi was the perfect fit. Even drinking straight out of the can it was delicious. Nice and hoppy, very fresh tasting it has become one of my favorite local beers. I forsee drinking a lot of it this summer.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company: Summerfest. 12oz bottle
Kinsee and I picked this on a whim, we couldn’t really decide on anything at the liquor store and we needed to take some beer to a friend’s house. I realized later that this is a lager and neither of us liked it much.
Carver Brewing Company: El Oso Agrio. On Draft at the Brewpub
I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve tried nearly all of the regular beers available at Ska, Carver, Durango and Steamworks Breweries (at least those seasonally available in the last few months), so whenever I see a new beer I haven’t had at one of the breweries I make sure to try it, even if it might not be my favorite style of beer. I can’t remember exactly how they described El Oso Agrio, I know it’s a barleywine, I thought I saw that it was aged in (brand maybe?) barrels, and our server said it was either 9% or 11% ABV. After I ordered it she brought a taster out that the bartender said I should try it before getting a full pint, which I thought was really cool as it’s not a style of beer everyone will like. It’s pretty sour, but not in a bad way. If it really is around 10%ABV it hid that alcohol taste well, it was less carbonated than most beers and not too sweet, sort of a sour-sweet taste, but pretty good. It’s not a beer I’ll order often, but a very interesting barleywine for sure.
