Colorado: Day 4

I will finish this project, though a few happy hours may pass in the meantime. On to day 4, which was brewery-free and when I became 'that guy,' stumbling around the deck and spraying beanbags as accurate as my steps.

I still had a healthy stable of beers I needed to slug, so this night fell on the binge-drinking sword. As you might conclude, the reviews became quite brief toward the end of the night. No matter; I didn't expect any of these to blow my mind. They simply made the cut by being obscure or from a state I hadn't sampled or something I was sure I couldn't get at home.

Cucapa Chupacabras Pale Ale


Brewery: Cerveceria Cucapa, Mexicali, Mexico

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.8%

Rating: 3 stars




The best Mexican beer I've had. Certainly more flavor than any I'd previously tried. Good sweet smell, with a nice balance of hops and malt. Hints of Summit's flagship EPA, but is a bit sweeter and lacked the back-end bite that I enjoy. Sips were filling and thick, but the beer itself went down quite easily. Doesn't hurt that I love the chupacabra.


Green Flash Hop Head Red

Brewery: Green Flash, Vista, California

Style: Amber Ale

ABV: 6.3%

Rating: 4.5 stars


This is not your average amber ale. Hops are incredibly aromatic and it has the hazy ruby appearance of a sturdy IPA. Really nice amarillo hops, which I believe are grossly underused in the juiced hops era. Does have a sweet malt backbone akin to an amber ale, but the big hops on the lips are the story. I'm starting to like these hopped-up reds; recently had Pizza Port's Shark Attack Triple Red and loved that as well. Liked this equally, if not more, than the brewery's West Coast IPA.


Kona Wailua

Brewery: Kona, Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.4%

Rating: 2.5 stars




Assumed this one wouldn't be great when I bought it, but I'd never had a beer brewed with passion fruit before. Nor had I ever had one with a waterfall-bathing beauty on the label. Oh, and it was my first Hawaii beer. Real fruity sweetness. Wouldn't be able to tell you it was passion fruit but I'll take their word for it. So fruity, in fact, ratebeer classifies it as a fruit beer. Of the American Pale Wheat Ales I've had, certainly not my favorite.



Left Hand Sawtooth Ale

Brewery: Left Hand, Longmont, Colorado

Style: Extra Special Bitter

ABV: 4.75%

Rating: 2 stars




Maybe I had it out for Left Hand Brewing (much like I did for Boulder Beer), but I did not like this at all. Smelled musty and dirty. And this coming from a guy who typically enjoys ESBs. Very bland flavors. Not much to report. Like I said, the reviews shrunk as the night lengthened.



Bridgeport ESB

Brewery: Bridgeport, Portland, Oregon

Style: Extra Special Bitter

ABV: 6.1%

Rating: 3 stars

Much more pleasant than the Sawtooth. Had a brighter, more lively smell than most ESBs. I noted it was "real smooth at this hour." Sure, maybe I shouldn't have been reviewing this many beers in one night. I'll give you that.



Cooper's Pale Ale

Brewery: Coopers, Regency Park, Australia

Style: English Pale Ale

ABV: 4.5%

Rating: 2 stars


Again, purchased knowing it wouldn't be enjoyed. Tasted like grass. A fair amount of hop flavor, but hops that tasted like grass. Worst beer of the night.

After four days:
34 new beers (16 samples, 12 bottles, 3 pints, 2 cans, 1 half pint)
Best beer: Green Flash Hop Head Red
Worst beer: Left Hand Polestar Pilsner

The Best of Late

Been watching too much basketball lately to dedicate time to post. This doesn't mean I've slacked on the consumption. My stash is dwindling, though, and I want to make it last as long as I can, so I've been leaning toward the wines and the liquors more as of late. With that said, I've had some great beers recently, including a well-respected beer that didn't disappoint. Here's a
mini rundown of the best stuff I've had recently.


New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red

Brewery: New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV: 5.1%

Rating: 5 Stars


One of the best beers in the Midwest, and certainly the best fruit beer available. I imagined it would be akin to a Belgian kriek-like cherry bomb. Quite wrong I was. New Glarus uses one pound of Wisconsin cherries for each bottle (not your 12 oz. sixer bottle, mind you) and it's evident in the pungent aroma.

I was slightly worried when I realized this wasn't going to be as tart as the sour beers, because I typically loathe cherry-flavored things. In fact, the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat was one of my least favorite beers I tried in 2008. But this cherry was different. It had immense sweetness, but not like a Popsicle or sucker. It was sweet like the gooey inside-the-pie cherries, a real richness that couldn't be faked by synthetic flavoring. There was enough tartness to keep the sweetness at bay, though, and the late sparkle scraped my mouth so that I was ready for another sip.

Kristie and I enjoyed this one together, and it's exciting to me that I now have a better grip on the types of beers she might enjoy. I wish they didn't cost $10 a bottle, but it's exponentially better to enjoy a beer with company.

This beer (and the myriad of other New Glarus crafts) are well worth the 45-minute drive to Wisconsin, and I plan on making semi-regular trips from here on out.


New Glarus Crack'd Wheat

Brewery: New Glarus, New Glarus, Wisconsin

Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV: 5.95%

Rating: 4 Stars


Prior to my whimsical February jaunt to Hudson, I'd had only one New Glarus beer--the infamous Spotted Cow. Thought it was below average and not worthy of the hype I'd heard from my Madison brethren. I had no idea they had as expansive a line of reign-free beers as they do. This one sounded interesting, and both employees said they'd had it and were pleasantly surprised.

It's an interesting idea. It is, basically, a wheat beer. But it's also dry-hopped with amarillo hops. To dry-hop a beer means to introduce hops after the fermentation has begun. It's a way to give the beer an extra hop kick and bring out the characteristics of the specific hops used. It's a pretty common tactic, but this is the first I'd heard about a wheat beer being dry-hopped. Though gimmicky, the idea sounded quite interesting to me, especially because wheat beers generally all get lumped into the same clovey/spicy/orange-peely heap for me.

It tastes exactly how you would imagine. The smell is all spicy wheat, and wheat is obviously the base of the beer. But the amarillo hops kick in toward the middle of each gulp and leave the beer's lasting impression. The beer is bottle-conditioned, another common brewing practice meaning the beer finishes the fermentation process in the bottle. Always a plus, and it usually guarantees a large frothy head, which I happen to enjoy.

Potentially the perfect summer beer, though later tonight I plan to enjoy their Berliner Weiss, which I've heard is phenomenal. Light as a wheat with the bold hops of a pale ale. I foresee many more of these come July.

Stone IPA

Brewery: Stone, Escondido, California

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.9%

Rating: 4.5 Stars




It's all basically been said about IPAs. We love the citrus, love the dryness, love the hops, love the mouthfeel. This is no different, and it's an excellent representation of the style. I know I've had it in the past, before my tastes were honed, so I wasn't surprised to like it again. Had to go to Wisconsin to get it, which makes no sense to me.