Day 3 Colorado Beer Trip

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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 Our day begins as we rise on our terms. I can’t remember the last time I slept in, and it feels good. We get down to the free breakfast lounge just as they’re closing up at 9am. We got plenty to eat as they were very accommodating despite our tardiness. We finished up, brushed our teeth, checked out and hit the road. First stop was a coffee shop on the other side of town, Catalyst Coffee. Now, the only reason we’re heading to this place is because I heard of the awesome tap list. You’re scratching your head thinking, tap list, at a coffee shop? It’s true, the other half of this place is a tap room. Tap Room @ Catalyst as it’s know, offers local artwork, live music, fine wines and a generous selection of world class beers. The taps at Catalyst feature a nice selection of local Fort Collins beers such as New Belgium and Odell as well as some top notch regional and national beers. I remember seeing Stone, Russian River, Dogfish Head and BearRepublic while we were there. I had heard that they had the evasive Racer X on tap but I wasn’t holding out faith that I would get any. Sure enough, upon arriving at 9:30 we saw the Tap Room hours posted on the door… open at 4pm. Oh well, we went in and ordered some coffee and found some comfy seats to lounge in. I saw some computers over on one side and thought I would check Facebook, BeerAdvocate, etc, while I had some time to kill. Someone from the adjacent room greeted me warmly and I turned and realized I was looking into the taproom. We exchanged pleasantries and I told her I was disappointed that I couldn’t try some Racer X. She looked at me straight faced and said, “Oh you can get beer here anytime, just order if from the barista”. Are you freakin kidding me??? A double IPA at ten in the morning? Why not! It looked like the three ladies in the tap room were setting up for a musical show, but they also seemed genuinely interested in talking beer with us. I didn’t want to intrude but they didn’t seem like they wanted us to leave either. I felt very fortunate to be sitting in the Tap Room (six hours before opening) enjoying one of the country’s best double IPAs talking beer with whom I found out later were the new owners. After a great conversation, a great beer and a great cup of coffee we were off to our next brewery tour. Thanks to Dru and Cynthia and everyone for a wonderful, memorable trip to The Tap Room @ Catalyst! I highly recommend checking it out if you're ever in the area.

After Catalyst and before heading south we had to check out one of the most popular breweries in the US right now… New Belgium Brewing Company. I must have confused a phone call to Coors with one to New Belgium because I didn’t think you needed a reservation for their tour. I was so wrong. By the time we got there at straight up 11am the next available tour was 1:30. We needed to be on the road by 12:30 so we had to settle for some samples in the tap room. Free beer is never a bad second prize. We were instructed to find a seat and a “waiter” would come by with a menu. We chose which four we wanted to try and he returned quickly with them. I was really disappointed to have missed the tour but we got to spend more time in the tap room. They really cram you in and we were forced to meet our neighbors, a couple from Denver, fortunately they were pretty cool. The four of us conversed and consumed and had a nice time. My favorites were the Abbey Ale (wonderful bouquet in the nose) and the Biere de Mars was uniquely delicious. I wish it were more readily available around here. This was the one place I forgot to take notes so I am lacking in the descriptions. Before we knew it, it was 12:30 and we needed to get on the road. Next stop Longmont, Colorado.

We exited the freeway at the Longmont exit and made a pit stop at Mickey D’s. It was going to be a long day and we wanted to pile on a good base for cheap. Plus, someone really had to pee! Two QPCs later and we snaked our way into the city. Longmont is home to both Lefthand Brewing and Oskar Blues. Unfortunately we wouldn't have time for Lefthand. I surveyed Beer Advocates before the trip as to which Oskar Blues location to visit and there really wasn’t an overwhelming consensus between Lyons (the original brewpub) and Longmont (production facility). We chose Longmont simply because it was right on the way to Denver. Built literally right inside the brewing facility is the tasting room which they call The Tasty Weasel. Having just opened in February we were pretty excited. We arrived around 2pm and it was pretty much empty. It was nice because we had the place to ourselves and had the complete attention of the bartender. She was very helpful answering questions. We found out where the names Ten Fidy and Gordon came from. There were some other folks out in the brewing area which we found out later were from Nordeast Minneapolis. Gotta give a shoutout to Jameson and his wife and their newborn (what’s her name?). Everything here was mighty tasty. Many of these beers we can get across the border in Hudson, but it was great to get them on draft and straight from the brewery. We enjoyed Dale’s of course and his friend Gordon. Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Ten Fidy, Old Chub and Barrel Aged Ten Fidy. Which one was my favorite? If you guessed the Barrel Aged Ten Fidy you’d be right on (and you’d probably been reading my other blogs). I’m told they also use Stranahan’s Whiskey barrels and they make some dang fine beers. As a fan of the hops, Gordon was of course amazing and I have always been a big fan of their Scottish Ale Old Chub. Yum and double yum.

During our visit we were encouraged at anytime to go wander around the brewing area which we did. They have a basketball hoop and a batting cage set up for break time. They ride bikes around the brewery to get from one end to the other; it’s a really fun scene in there. And the guys working were really friendly. I asked one guy if he liked where he worked and he said “Yah, it’s a brewery, what’s not to like?” he continued “of course it is still hard work. The novelty does wear off, but it’s still a great place to work.” I replied, “Hey, people come to watch you work, that’s gotta be cool. No one comes to my office to watch me work”. He nodded in agreement as he threw another palate of empty cans on the bottling… er, well, canning line. A couple of other young gentlemen were working the rear end of the line, taking the full six-packs from the ring machine and stacking them onto palates. There was a guardrail at the end so the six-packs didn’t fall off the back. They offered, “Sometimes this guard slips out and we lose a couple. It’s unfortunate because whatever falls on the ground we have to take home. Oops”. I’m sure they’d used that line a hundred times before but I got a kick out of it. It just goes to show how much these guys really enjoy their job. Because they can…