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…
I’m not one to complain about free beer — not usually. And there was certainly nothing wrong with Rock Bottom Brewery’s delicious Blitzen ale, which the restaurant at 1001 16th Street tapped last night. But I do appreciate it when an establishment that lures me in with the promise of…
Sometimes the universe puts you right where you need to be, and if you’re lucky, that place has a killer happy hour, a menu you can slowly eat your way through and a staff that makes you feel like you’ve all been kickin’ it for years. The universe told me…
Sierra Nevada Celebration is back with a zesty, tongue- tingling bang in 2009, bringing the full host of hops that had been missing from a couple of its previous incarnations. This is the holiday beer that should be in everyone’s fridge; it’s one that takes advantage of all the powerful…
Donner may have been Rudolph’s dad in the 1964 TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but Blitzen will be responsible for giving you a red nose when downtown’s Rock Bottom Brewery taps its venerable holiday seasonal beer at 6 p.m. tonight. Even better: Pints are free between 6 and 6:30…
In December 1967, Denver’s Playboy Club opened at 1776 Grant Street. Today, the club is just a memory (one that leaves a smile on a certain generation of businessmen’s faces). The address now belongs to the Warwick Denver Hotel, which is celebrating the infamous former tenant with a special drink…
There are many more holiday beers on liquor store shelves this year, especially offerings from out-of-state brewers. Shiner Holiday Cheer was a nice surprise among them, not just because I hadn’t seen this beer in Colorado before, but because of its unusual pecan and spice flavors, which fill an important…
The Left Hand Brewing Company made me cry this year when VP of Operations Chris Lennert announced it would no longer make its Snow Bound spiced ale, which was been one of my favorite holiday beers over the past few years. I I like beers with hints of holiday flavors…
