Denver Winter Brew Fest

Megan and I met Art, Ericka, Greg and Kristy at this fun event. The event was held at the Mile High Station. We stayed at the hotel on one side of Invesco Field and had to walk to the other side to get to the festival, 10 minute walk at the most. We bought VIP tickets to get the early, extra hour of drinking. I like doing this if it isn't to pricey because you never know how crowded its going to be. I'm really glad we did this because we got to taste the main beers we were really wanting to. Twisted Pine had a growler of fresh Reilly's Oak Whiskey Red that had been barrelled for 11 or 14 months. It was quite tasty, even Megan liked it. I think there where about 40 brewers in attendance. Favorite beers: #1 Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (this stuff was excellent!), Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's Ale (a barley wine), Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA and their Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale. Also had a few ODell Red, OB Ten Fidy, other very good Great Divide beers, Upslope, a Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Boulder Chocolate Stout, Alaskan IPA and a Stone IPA. Picked up a pretty sweet Sierra Nevada banner for free to put up in the basement! I love freebies, key chains, stickers, etc.!

My 1st package!

Received my first package from  Blake in Chicago. In the package was Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA(super excited about this one!)(***1/2); Bell's Java Stout (***1/2), Batch 10,000, Amber Ale and Christmas Ale; Daisy Cutter Pale Ale (***out of 4), Founders Double Trouble Imperial IPA (***1/2), Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Imperial IPA (***), Smuttynose IPA (**1/2was a little on the dry, bitter side for me, not sure if it just wasn't fresh and a bit dated?), and Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Ale, Harvest Ale, Mild Winter Ale. The focus was more on IPAs which is fine with me, because that's my favorite anyways!

Package #2

Well I sent out my second package in a week (sent out another last Monday). They say Monday is a good day to send them out, so that they dont sit in a truck or warehouse over a weekend. This package went to a BA in Atlanta. The package included: 2x ODell Avant Peche Imperial Porter (been wanting to try this), 3x Odell Red, 2x Odell 90 Shilling, and a Bristol Laughing Lab Scottish Style Ale. I'm suppose to be getting a Bell's Hopslam Mini-Keg which I'm super excited about! It sounds like my kind of beer and should be fun to have for Super Bowl Sunday. The frustrating thing is waiting on the others to send their packages, but since I'm new to trading and don't have referrals, etc. thats the protocol.

Beer Club

My idea behind starting this blog is in the hopes of starting a beer tasting group here in Ft. Collins. I'm not sure if this format is the best way, it seems like a set up to mostly talk about myself, but I'm giving it a try. This beer trading is addicitve and I want to learn how to appreciate good microbrews, but with others. It also can get pricey and lonely doing it by myself.  So we'll see where this goes!

BA Top 100

I will constantly update this list!
#3 Pliny The Elder (Russian River Brewing Co./CA) Drank this last night. Great beer, very smooth, easy to drink and hoppy!
#8 Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (Founders Brewing/MI) Got to love this brewery! This beer is barrel-aged in oak bourbon baerrels for a year, nice hints of coffee and vanilla. This is a sipper, enjoying after the Platte River Half Marathon: 11.2 %.
#11 The Abyss (Deschutes Brewery/OR) Shared with 2 of my closest friends on fantasy baseball draft day, Megan and Bruce. Can see why all the hype over this Deschutes beauty! Have about 7 in my cellar as this one is suppose to age terrifically.
#12 Bourbon County Brand Stout (Goose Island/IL) My great friend and beer drinking buddy Ben brought this back after a trip back home. Good stuff, tasted the bourbon!
#18 Bell's Hopslam Ale (Bell's Brewery, Mi) Lovely 10% that Megan and I shared in Winter Park (mini keg). Difficult to put this beer down.
#24 Founders Breakfast Stout (Founders Brewing/MI) This is a fall seasonal stout. Glad I have a few more of these coming. Great brew, thick, coffee/chocolate flavors. Very bitter, but sweet as well.
#37 Dreadnaught IPA (Founders/MI) Very nice IPA, the nice 9.5 sneaks up on you. I'll drink this one again, hopefully this summer when I visit the midwest!
#33 Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (North Coast/ CA) Probably the best stout I've had, or at least my favorite stout this winter. 9 % ABV Heavier beer, but can drink a few!
#37 Dreadnaught IPA (Founders/MI) Very nice IPA, the nice 9.5 sneaks up on you. I'll drink this one again, hopefully this summer when I visit the midwest!
#39 Abrasive Ale (Surly/MN) Great brew that is very difficult to come by and only distributed in Minnesota. Becoming one of my favorite breweries!
#53 Troegs Nugget Nectar (Troegs/PA) Wow, great beer! In a class of its own, Imperial Amber/Red with a 93 IBU and you sure cant tell. It was difficult that I only had one to drink :(
#44 Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (Great Divide/CO) Had at the Denver Winter Brewfest. This stuff is awesome! Really enjoy most of their stuff. (also had the Espresso version of this, ummmm)
#46 Ten Fidy (Oskar Blues/CO) Of course one of my favs!!! Have had many times, but not enough.
#54 Yeti Imperial Stout (Great Divide/CO) Very good beer! Nice drinkable stout.
#57 Stone IPA (Stone/CA) Another fav! Have had many times as well.
#58 Furious (Surly/MN) My favorite beer as of today :) My kind of IPA
#68 Arrogant Bastard Ale (Stone/CA) Great beer, very smooth.
#77 Oak Arrogant Bastard (Stone/CA) Had this and the above at a few brew fests.
#97 Racer 5 IPA (Bear Republic/CA) Great beer!
For now thats it. Again I've probably had a few of the others, but want to try them again before listing them. Maybe some day I'll be able to break these beers down like a professional beer taster!

Well have been getting into this beer thing pretty big lately. Became a member of Beer Advocate about a month ago. Just finished my first beer trade, well mine arrived, but have to wait on the other person since I'm a newbie :( The first trade was with someone in Chicago, why not? All midwest people are great. I sent:
4x Ten Fidy
Gordon
Dale's Pale Ale
Old Chub
Upslope IPA
2x Odell IPA
Odell Red Ale
Odell 90 Shilling
Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale
Bristol Laughing Lab
Can't remember exactly what he is sending, but some Founders, Bells and Three Floyds for sure!! I'm excited. I'm still not a beer connoisseur yet, but working to get there and know that I like quality microbrews!