Having trouble coming up with a New Year’s resolution you can keep? Here’s a suggestion: Try a new Colorado microbrew every month, starting with Mountain Sun’s Resolution Ale, which hit taps at its three locations — the Vine Street Pub in Denver and the Mountain and Southern Sun Pub &…
When I arrived in Colorado seven and a half years ago, there was no Stranahan’s, no Colorado whiskey to speak of, and no war in my soul over what to order when I pulled up before the long oak with a taste for whiskey and some time to kill. I…
Got New Year’s Eve plans yet? No? Well, have I got an event for you…..
These wine glasses wobble, but they don’t fall down, which is a very good thing if you’re like me and insist on making every point with your hands. At which bar did I manage to keep my glass upright? Special bonus: Every Friday, anyone who gave the first correct answer…
The sign on the Rackhouse Pub promises “Whiskey Beer Food.” It’s been a tough year, so I’m looking for signs. Life has gotten so complex that a sign, just a sign, can help chart my direction — even if it’s only for the course of a night. Whiskey, Beer and…
The Tommyknocker Brewery’s Cocoa Porter isn’t a particularly sophisticated beer, not a particularly powerful stout, but it is delicious nonetheless, almost like chocolate milk or hot chocolate. In fact, the beer is brewed with cocoa powder, which is quite apparent, and with honey, which is more subtle. Although the cocoa…
Full Sail’s Wreck the Halls is certainly hoppy, and it’s crisp and tastes good. In fact, it’s like many other American IPAs, if just a touch more malty. But frankly, it shouldn’t take the holidays to produce a beer comparable to what many, many other breweries put out year round…
Though the NBA is my least-favorite spectator sport, I always accept free tickets, especially when those tickets are in the nineteenth row and accompanied by a free ride. With my initial investment at $0 and my transportation on lockdown, the financial anal rape of an $8 beer (after tip) feels…
Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale pours a golden color, with a head that is as thick, fluffy and bouncy as a cozy homemade blanket – or a foot-high bank of Christmas snow. The bubbles go deep and rise slowly, like a Guinness, and the frothy top is so thick, it can…
Amanda Olig moved to Colorado in August 2005, right after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. She worked as a promo girl for Premier Image for three years doing Jameson, Kahlua and Stoli promotions, then opened the Meadowlark in January 2006. She stayed there until August 2007, when…
Frambozen is a classic Colorado holiday beer, one that has a fan club across the country and everyone who lives here should try at least once. A brown ale that pours a deep red/brown color, Frambozen is deliciously flavored with juicy raspberries that make it seem like it should be…
Chanukah started on Friday, and the occasion called for a special brew, something that would go well with potato latkes and gelt. The answer was Jewbelation, the massive holiday beer from New York’s Shmaltz Brewing Company (makers of HE’BREW, the chosen beer). The gimmicky brand marketing for Shmaltz — its…
Bacon. Really, that’s all you need to know about this knockout cocktail that’s a new creation from one of Denver best cocktologists (thanks to Nancy Levine for coining that word). Shaken with Stranhan’s whiskey, bacon-infused rye and other potent poisons, its rim is is then edged with – get this…
Euphoria – This hop-happy beer in a can is a crowd pleaser, with its bitterly delicious dollop of hops delivered cold and crisp from aluminum rather than glass. Similar to the Celebration Ale in style, this beer more closely resembles a American style IPA along the lines of Dale’s Pale…
I have fond memories of the holiday season up at 44th and Federal. The space that was then 3 Sons always featured the most over-the-top, tacky Christmas decorations in town; as a kid, I liked counting all the different decor items, especially the red bows and cherubs. The owners sold…
When I first tried this beer last year, on the recommendation of a liquor-store employee, I thought I’d gotten a bottle from a batch that had been contaminated. Although it smelled like pine trees, it tasted like, well, the mold that grows on a plastic container full of spaghetti that’s…
After stints at LoHi SteakBar and Caldonia’s, Maura Schuster is now behind the bar at Ernie’s Bar & Pizza. The place is new, but the bar is old-school, complete with a back bar salvaged from the old Armory in Greeley. And Schuster is an old-school bartender, “not a big performance/flair…
The BCS Championship game is set for January 7 between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns, but it’s never too early to get your party plans in order and identify the bars that will provide a friendly haven for your cheering pleasure. Here’s a rundown of where to…
The Bruery in Orange County, California, has become one of the most recognized up-and-coming craft breweries in the country in only a couple of years, in part because of its enormous, extreme and experimental beers. And 2 Turtle Doves is no exception. Part two in The Bruery’s 12 Beers of…
Alaskan Brewing Company offers one of the most unusual and refreshing tastes of the season with its Winter Ale, with is smooth and rich from start to finish.. Although the beer is brewed with spruce tips, it tastes more like honey and sweet melons than trees. And if trees can…
Nothing says holiday party like a tall Bloody Mary the morning after.And this one even supplies some much-needed protein and vitamins, to help you bounce back in time to enjoy all the parties ahead. Can you guess where I was drinking? Special bonus: Every Friday, anyone who gave the first…
Want to do some good while drinking great cocktails? On Monday, December 7, the Colorado Bartenders Guild (COBG) is sponsoring its fourth annual Holiday Toy Drive at Steuben’s, 523 East 17th Avenue. “We started out with two bartenders and me and convinced about twenty of our friends to come,” recalls…
