I have been looking forward to this trip for years! I knew that The GABF would introduce me to beers that I would normally never have a chance to try. What I didn’t know is that the city of Denver is fueled by craft beer. One may think that it may just be because the GABF was in town, however after visiting some of the local bars their opinion would have changed.
Our first day in Denver we did not have tickets for the festival. We decided to see what the bars were like in the city so we took a cab from our hotel to this place that Toni found on the internet. Let me just say that this bar did not disappoint. It was called The Falling Rock. It was your basic bar scene with all the fare that a normal bar would have i.e. burgers, wings, and sandwiches. The food was absolutely amazing! They had some of the best wings I have ever had. This bar, however, wasn’t just great food. The main attraction was the selection of beers. With its 75 taps and countless amounts of bottled beer to choose from, no beer lover would ever want to leave. It is here at this bar that I got to sample a beer that I have always wanted to try, Russian River’s Pliney the Elder. Pliney the Elder is a Double IPA with abv of 8%.It is defiantly a well balanced Double IPA with notes of citrus and pine that really resonated throughout the entire sip. It was a really good beer, but to be completely honest, it is not worth all of the hype that I have been hearing about all this time. In the end, I am glad I got to try this particular beer. After the long day of traveling we decided to leave this bar (dragging me kicking and screaming) and head back to the hotel to get a little rest. We knew that the next day would be filled with enough activities.
The second day turned out to be the most enjoyable and educational day of the trip. We woke up early to go on a bus tour that Tom set up hosted by the National Sales Executive from Brooklyn Brewery. On this tour we were going to have a tour of the Oskar Blues Brewery and then Brew Pub. From there we were to visit the Left Hand Brewery. I love taking brewery tours and when I found out we were going to be doing this I got very excited.
Oskar Blues is a brewery that I have been waiting to see for a long time. A big reason why I wanted to visit them is because we sell a lot of their products and it would be nice to see where it all comes from and how they make it. Another big reason why Oskar Blues always intrigued me is because they are the first craft beer that comes in a can. We learned all about their brewing process and their plans for further expansion. The culture of the people at Oskar Blues is something that I will never forget. For example, they have a place in the brewery that they call "The Imagination Room." This is a place where they employ members of the surrounding community who happen to be mentally disabled. They would do things like fix imperfections in the cans so that they may be able to go through the filling line without jamming up the machines. We also learned that Oskar Blues does a lot in the community as far as charity fundraisers and events. I noticed that everyone in the brewery had a smile on their face and it really felt like a huge family. In the tasting room at the actual brewery, we sampled Oskar Blues' entire lineup. I have to be completely honest when I say that I have already done this many times in the past, however I really enjoyed it at this moment. There is something about a beer that is fresh off of the bottling (or in this case canning) line that makes it that much more magical. After the 2 hours at the Brewery we headed to the Oskar Blues Restaurant or Brewpub where they were going to sponsor a lunch for us. At their brewpub we sampled Oskar Blues’ entire lineup again plus some of their Brewpub Exclusives like Dale’s Double Pale Ale and Cherry Tenfidy which is their amazing stout brewed with cherry lambic. Like most of the bars in the Denver area, Oskar Blues had at least 30 taps at their Brewpub. Unlike most Brewpubs, they had more on tap then just Oskar Blues. I was very impressed by that.
Next on the trip was Left Hand. We took a tour of the Brewery just like we did at Oskar Blues and we sampled some of Left Hand’s lineup. At this point we were all ready to leave because what was coming up next in the day was what we all were there for, The Great American Beeriest.
We were about an hour late going into the Beerfest for the first session because the bus from Oskar Blues/Left Hand was a little late getting back. It was totally ok; we needed a small break from sampling beer! When we actually arrived at the Beerfest we were ready to start again. My first order of business was to try as many different beers that I always wanted to try but aren’t available in New Jersey and to try specialty beers from brands that are available to us. Some of the Breweries that I was very excited to see there were: Alaskan, Cigar City, Clipper City, Goose Island, Lost Abbey, Pizza Port, Russian River, Odell’s, and many others! I do have to say that I was amazed by Cigar City. There beers were absolutely exceptional. They had an IPA called Jai Lai. This is one of the best and most well rounded IPAs I have ever had. There were amazing notes of citrus, grapefruit, lemon zest and sticky pine. Another beer that they had and I think it was made just for the Beer Festival was called Oatmeal Raison Cookie. Let me just say, this beer tasted exactly like an oatmeal raison cookie. I think the highlight of my beerfest experience however was tasting Sam Adams Utopia for the first time. As we all know, Utopia comes out only once every 2 years and is so limited we only get 6 bottles. Utopia is a beer with a hefty abv of 25.5%. It is almost supposed to be enjoyed like liquor and not as a beer at all. They were only serving a very limited amount so I had to be sure to get a sample of it. I must say, it was what I always imagined heaven to be like. It tasted nothing like a beer to me. It reminded me of a vintage port blended with an old sherry with notes of a fine cognac. There were strong notes of vanilla and dark fruit. It defiantly has a sweeter start with a slightly alcoholic finish. The perfect after dinner drink in my opinion.
Our third day we went back to the Beerfest to sample some of the beers that we may have missed. It was basically just a repeat of the day before, but we did get a chance to have some beers that we do carry in the store like the Firestone Walker Collection, Dogfish Head, Stone, and many others. We knew that we had to take an early flight back the next day so we didn’t stay at the festival for too long. We went to dinner at a place called The Buckhorn Exchange. The Buckhorn is the oldest restaurant in Denver that specializes in wild game. The food was absolutely amazing. We had such things like Fried Alligator Tail, Grilled Duck in a Zinfandel Sauce, Tri-Tip in a Brown Sauce featuring such meats like your basic beef, to elk, to buffalo. The grand finale of our appetizer was something that I have been waiting to try my whole life, Rocky Mountain Oysters. If you don’t know what that is, you may want to look it up for yourself! Let me just say, they were divine! For dinner, I had Buffalo Prime Rib. After having the Buffalo Prime Rib I am unsure if I will ever have a basic Prime Rib again. After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some rest for the early flight in the morning.
Denver, Colorado may be one of the greatest cities I have ever been to in my life. The people are friendly, the air is crisp, the city itself is clean and the views of the mountain scapes in the distance are breathtaking. I would go back in a heartbeat... and their passion for beer doesn’t hurt one bit!
The date is October 26th and I would like to share everyone a list of my favorite... Christmas Beers! Yes, Christmas beers have landed and we haven't even hit Halloween yet! So, please join me in looking forward to snow covered trees, hot cocoa by the fire and black ice on the roads as I count down my Top 5 favorite Christmas and Winter Beers. 
