Funkwerks (Fort Collins, CO)

Paying a visit to Funkwerks was one of the main reasons we took a day trip out to Fort Collins during our vacation in Denver.  After spending the majority of the afternoon at Odell Brewing Co., we sort of cut into our allotted time at Funkwerks.  Basically, we had less then a half hour to put down everything we wanted to try.  Mission accomplished!  When pressed for time, it's hard not to persevere when you're gazing down into an inviting array of colorfully-filled snifters.   

(L to R): Black Cherry Codename: Ron Burgundy, Codename: Ron Burgundy, Codename: Farmhouse, Tropic King, Saison

Each beer we tried was really tasty and there was no clear favorite - just a great selection of amazing brews!  Everything was pretty delicious but the most unique offering of the day was the Codename: Ron Burgundy.  Commercial description from Funkwerks website: "This beer is based on the recipe for an Oud Brune. Instead of fermenting it with a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria, which would have produced a sour beer, we fermented it with a Belgian yeast and aged it for several months in French oak red wine barrels. The result is a dark reddish-brown beer with aromas of tart cherries, dark fruit, and a bit of toasty malt. The flavor is a balance of a slightly tart dark fruit and slightly sweet toasty malt. Oak tannins make the beer finish dry with a complex fruity flavor that lingers on the palate. Stay class, Fort Collins."  I preferred this version to the Black Cherry Codename: Ron Burgundy, which was Codename: Ron Burgundy infused with black cherries.       

While I wish I could've spent more time at the Funkwerks taproom, I'm just happy that I had the opportunity to try some of their awesome beer straight from the source.     

Dogfish Head Festina Pêche

I was looking for a light, refreshing brew to compete against the rising late-June heat and decided to open a bottle of Festina Pêche.  Dogfish Head took the core qualities of a traditional Berliner Weisse and added their own spin to concoct this brewery coined "neo-Berliner".  Festina Pêche is a nice summer beer but seems to be lacking something that could push it to the next level.  For being one of the most experimental breweries out there, Dogfish Head stayed too close to the middle of the road on this one.  After each sip, I was hoping for the initial taste of tart peach and citrus zest to be to more pronounced and amplified.  I would've also preferred a crisp, lingering sourness as opposed to the mild, abrupt finish.  While I didn't find this beer to be amazing, it was still relatively very good and an absolute steal at $9.99 per 4-pack.  I really can't think of any other brew representing this style that you'd be able to find for $2.50 a bottle.  Festina Pêche ranks much higher for me as a satisfying summertime option than a top Berliner-styled beer.  Not my favorite offering from Dogfish Head, but definitely a solid brew that I'd gladly drink again.       

From the Dogfish Head website: "In addition to fermentation with an ale yeast, Berliner Weisse is traditionally fermented with lactic cultures to produce its acidic (or green apple-like) character. Served as an apertif or summertime quencher, Festina is delicately hopped and has a pale straw color. To soften the intense sourness, Berliner Weisse is traditionally served with a dash of essence of woodruff or raspberry syrup.
In Festina Peche, since the natural peach sugars are eaten by the yeast, the fruit complexity is woven into both the aroma and the taste of the beer so there is no need to doctor it with woodruff or raspberry syrup. Just open and enjoy!"

Central City Red Betty IPA

Over the past few months I've been keeping a steady supply of this tasty, solid brew in our fridge.  Originally sold as Red Racer, it's now labelled as Red Betty in an effort to settle a dispute with California's Bear Republic Brewery.  Central City Brewing Comapny is based out of Canada (Surrey, BC) and up there this beer is still going under the original name, Red Racer.  Enough legal talk, time for beer talk! 

The main thing I like about Red Betty is the great balance that translates into easy drinkability. Golden amber in hue, this beer is not a hop bomb but a very evenly weighed out IPA.  Lots of piney hops up front that transition smoothly into a bready malt backing.  The borderline ripe grapefruit citrus notes leave behind a lingering aftertaste of pleasant hop bitterness.  Red Betty is a refreshing, medium-bodied brew that I find to be almost sessionable despite its 6.5% abv.

This award winning Canadian brewery has put out one of the best canned IPA's I've had in a long time.  Bring it to a BBQ to share with your hop-loving friends, take it camping, or keep it at home for a great year-round standby.  Red Betty is definitely worth seeking out!

http://www.centralcitybrewing.com/

Dark Horse Brewing Co. at Hawthorne's

I went to the Hawthorne's Dark Horse Brewing Company event with the goal of trying one specific beer.  Considering I only had time for one drink, this plan worked out pretty well.  Even better was that the beer I wanted to try, Bourbon-Barrel Aged Plead the 5th, was surprisingly still flowing when I arrived.  This barrel-aged Imperial Stout was a glass of pure deliciousness!  Waves of soothing bourbon heat were soon joined with a mouthful of chocolate, oak and warm vanilla. Almost tasting similar at times to the qualities of a whiskey-soaked brownie or a slice of dense, chocolate cake.  The heavy bourbon presence provided a strong base of flavor but never came off as too boozy or overwhelming.  From the first sip until the final drop, this was just an outstanding beer.  Bourbon-Barrel Aged Plead the 5th will definitely be added to my list as one of the top barrel-aged stouts around.     

http://hawthornecafe.com/

http://www.darkhorsebrewery.com/

Hill Farmstead/ Grassroots at The Boilermaker

Hill Farmstead and Grassroots at The Boilermaker?  YES!!  This was indeed my most anticipated event of Beer Week and it panned out to be everything I was hoping for.  What a perfect combination of excellent brews with an inviting atmosphere to enjoy them.  Great beer, great bar!

At this point, I consider Hill Farmstead to be one of the absolute best breweries around.  Compared with other Eastern states, their IPAs are basically unparalleled.  I've pretty much loved every beer I've had from them in the past and I was excited to try many more of their offerings during this event.

Grassroots Brewing is a subsidiary of Hill Farmstead that has previously collaborated with many other notable breweries (Mikkeller, Tired Hands, Cigar City, and more).  It appears that Grassroots is a gypsy project as I read they operate "as a client brewer at Fanø Bryghus" in Nordby, Denmark.

My friend, Troy, and I arrived before the place got packed and we grabbed two seats in the center of the upstairs bar.  My goal was to try everything on tap and that's exactly what we did (minus Citra which oddly was the first beer to kick).  One of the many things I like about The Boilermaker is that in addition to normal-sized servings, they also offer small glasses of everything that is pouring on draft.  This made it possible to try everything we wanted and not be a collective sloppy mess by the end of the night.  Thoughtful move by management that I wish more bars would pick up on. 

Sooooo, here's what we got into:

Hill Farmstead 
- Abner (Double IPA)
- Everett (caramel and chocolate malt Porter)
- Myth of Saison (Tired Hands collab, Saison brewed with 240 lbs. of VT and PA honey)
- Society and Solitude #2 (Imperial Black IPA)
- Society and Solitude #3 (experimental Double IPA)
- Florence (Belgian inspired Wheat)
- Edward (unfiltered American Pale Ale)
- What is Enlightenment? (Simcoe, Amarillo- hopped American Pale Ale)

Grassroots
- Tired Hands Wachu Saison (brewed w/ Thai red rice, peppercorns, and yuzu)
- Keep on Cruisin' Buddy (Berliner Weisse)
- Tired Hands Do Saisons Dream of Electric Yeast? (Dark Saison)
- Mikkeller Wheat is the New Hops (Wheat, Brett IPA)
- Kolding Bryglaug KolVal (Belgian Pale Ale w/ Orval Yeast)

WOW!!!  As expected everything was incredible, with the minor exception of KolVal which I thought was a bit muted especially with the addition of the Orval yeast.  Still a good beer, just not on par with the rest of night.  Abner is one the best DIPAs around but Society and Solitude #3 was right on its tail.  Two fantastic beers I'd love to see around here more often!  They were also the only brews that we ordered a second round of during our mammoth session.  Edward is an amazing Pale Ale that always tastes as fresh as can be. What is Enlightenment? blew me away with its balance of hops and intense citrus fruit juiciness. Wachu's complex array of flavors combined to make a deliciously balanced citrus, spicy saison.  I'm not a huge fan of black IPAs but Society and Solitude #2 was one of the best examples of this style that I've yet to try. Just an awesome mix of flavors highlighted by roasted malt, coffee, grapefruit and piney hops.  Wheat is the New Hops had a nice blend of funk, citrus and hoppiness that provided a solid balance without getting carried away.  The tart, fruity refreshing taste of Keep on Cruisin' Buddy was a great palate cleanser after downing a few of the stronger-bodied beers.  Some of these brews were clearly better than others but the overall margin ranged from great to excellent. 

Here's a huge thanks to Shaun Hill for bringing all of these superb beers down to Philly (please make these available on a regular basis). Another thanks to The Boilermaker for making this event possible. Last but certainly not least, thanks to Stefany and Alyssa for keeping things flowing and running smooth amongst a very crowded upstairs bar.  Cheers!   

http://www.hillfarmstead.com/

http://www.theboilermakerbar.com/

The Cambridge (Maine, FiftyFifty, Stillwater)

This new establishment on South Street, owned by the Hawthorne's crew, hosted a great event to open their doors to the public for the first time.  While The Cambridge isn't actually in full operation yet, this preview of what is to come was very impressive.  The event was based around Maine Brewing Company but also had drafts featuring FiftyFifty and Stillwater. We tried some awesome beers from each brewery but the hands-down highlight were the two types of FiftyFifty Eclipse on tap, Rittenhouse Rye and Brewmaster’s Grand Cru Blend.  Eclipse is a barrel-aged version of FiftyFifty's Totality Imperial Stout.  In 2011, there were seven variations of Eclipse (Elijah Craig^® 12 year Barrel, Four Roses^® Single Barrel, Rittenhouse^® Rye Barrel, Elijah Craig^® 20 year Barrel, Brandy Barrel Blend, Buffalo Trace^® Barrel Blend, and Brewmaster’s Grand Cru Blend).

From the FiftyFifty website:

"What happens when you take an award winning Imperial Stout, put it in oak bourbon barrels, and then age it for six months? One of the most epic beer tasting experiences you will ever have: ECLIPSE.

Imperial Stouts are noted for being very rich substantial beers, and FiftyFifty's Totality Imperial Stout does not disappoint on this fact. Brewed in small 300 gallons batches, our brewers lovingly craft this masterpiece once a year. Made with the finest malts, hops, fresh mountain water and yeast, over 18 separate ingredients lend their unique character to this beer.

To become Eclipse, Totality is then aged for a minimum of 180 days in oak bourbon barrels. This time spent adds a plethora of flavors to the already rich Imperial Stout. At first taste there is a large presence of dark chocolate, espresso and warmth from the alcohol of the beer. Oak barrel character then comes into play with hints of vanilla and coconut, followed by mild bitterness from the hops, and then a nice long lingering finish with hints of tobacco, dark dried fruit and more chocolate. Eclipse is a wonderful companion with dessert. A beer meant for contemplation best enjoyed in a snifter and with a friend.

Because of the extensive brewing and aging process, Eclipse is only released once a year."

Both of the Eclipses were fantastic with the Grand Cru coming out as the favorite. This delicious bourbon maltshake was less carbonated and much heavier-bodied than the Rittenhouse Rye version.  Bourbon, bittersweet chocolate, oaky vanilla, dark caramel, roasted malt, dark fruit, and toffee rounded out this very complex, aged stout.  The incredibly smooth and creamy character made this 9.5% brew almost too easy to drink.

Cheers and best of luck to the gang from Hawthorne's on their newest effort.  I'll definitely be coming back as soon as The Cambridge is officially opened.

http://www.cambridgeonsouth.com/

 http://hawthornecafe.com/

http://www.fiftyfiftybrewing.com/

Goose Island at Kite & Key

After quite a few days of running around during Beer Week, this event was a nice change of pace.  My family and I grabbed a table out front on the sidewalk and enjoyed a nice dinner together.  The rain held off and it was just a great night for an outdoor tasting.

Here are the two beers I had (descriptions from Goose Island website):

Lolita - Lolita is a pink rose colored Belgian style pale ale fermented with wild yeast and aged on raspberries in wine barrels. Aromas of fresh raspberries, bright jammy fruit flavors and crisp, refreshing body make Lolita ideal for beer drinkers fond of Belgian Framboise.

Sofie - Fermented with wild yeasts and aged in wine barrels with orange peel, Sofie is a tart, dry, sparkling ale. A subtle, spicy white pepper note, a hint of citrus from the orange peel and a creamy vanilla finish make Sofie an intriguing choice for Champagne drinkers and beer drinkers who are fond of Belgian Saisons.

I've had Lolita before but never on tap.  I like this beer but there's something about it that keeps me from really getting into it.  In a beer of this style I'd rather it be a bit more dry and sharp from the wine-barrel aging.  I was also hoping for a more noticeable funky undertone due to the wild yeast.  The tartness from the raspberry also seemed to get a bit washed out by some sort of cherry-like sweetness.  I still think Lolita is a good beer, just not one of my favorites from Goose Island.

Next, I ordered a Sofie (pictured above) and it proved to be the perfect choice.  This complex saison is a beer that I think would appeal to a wide range of people.  Easy to drink and lots of different flavors combine to compliment this Belgian-style brew.  Light and crisp with orange peel/ pith bite, moderate Belgian yeast funk, spicy notes, and dry oak character from the white wine barrel-aging.  Sofie is such a refreshing, quaffable brew for this time of year! 

While it would've been nice to have some Bourbon County Stout, it was really enjoyable to attend a Beer Week event that didn't have a mad rush for rarities.  Definitely a nice break from the crazy events earlier in the week.  Last night was just a laid back, relaxing time at a familiar place that I love to support.  Kite & Key is one of my favorite neighborhood bars that always has a great draft list, consistently solid menu, and cool events throughout the year.  I'm sure that I'll be back soon!            

[My friend, Rich, went to a Goose Island event earlier in the week that had some pretty special brews on tap.  Check out his thoughts here: http://richonbeer.blogspot.com/2012/06/philadelphia-beer-week-day-4-goose.html]

http://www.gooseisland.com/

http://www.thekiteandkey.com/