Beer, It's A Love Story

First loves, we all have them. They are always with you, no matter where you go in life afterwords, they always hold a special place in your heart. Isn't the same thing true for a beer lover? I know for me it is. I may have had crushes on Bud Light, Coors and a few others as a teenager (shhhh...). But my real true first love was with New Belgium.

FIBArk - 2012

It's the same old story, girl sees boy New Belgium around, but is too shy (aka - not 21 yet) to make a move. She sees New Belgium at FIBArk, she sees New Belgium at restaurants, she sees New Belgium doing promo events, she sees New Belgium at every summer festival, she sees New Belgium rafting... they seem to have so much in common and always seem to be at all the same places. Eventually girl meets New Belgium and falls in love. For a while girl and New Belgium are happy, girl loves Fat Tire, girl loves Sunshine Wheat, girl loves Blue Paddle, girl loves Skinny Dip (which sadly it appears isn't being made anymore), girl loves everything about New Belgium. But as is destined to happen with most first loves, girl and New Belgium grow apart, she doesn't stop loving New Belgium, she just wants to experiment and see what else is out there. She knows that New Belgium will always hold a special place in her heart, but for now she needs something more, something different.

Girl travels and has flings with The Moab Brewery, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, Sangre De Cristo Brewing and maybe a few she doesn't remember. Girl falls for a few foreigners, has a summer fling with Corona. She loves an Australian accent and has some fun with Fosters. She even tried to go Irish and tried to make it work with Guinness for longer than she should have. Girl 'plays the field' with Great Divide, Ska Brewing, Avery Brewing, Asher Brewing and too many others to name... she's kind of a brewery whore.

Brewers Rendezvous - 2011

All the while she still sees New Belgium around from time to time, sometimes it's just in passing as she walks past hand in handle with Breckenridge Brewery, or whatever the newest brewery of choice. Sometimes it's awkward as she leaves with PBR or Bud Light. Sometimes girl and New Belgium hook-up for old times sake.

Maybe some day girl will settle down, maybe she won't. Maybe she's not a one brewery kind of girl. But no matter where she goes and no matter how many breweries she's been with, New Belgium will always hold a special place in her heart, New Belgium was after all her first love.

Small Town Colorado

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USA Pro Cycling Challenge

We are quickly counting down to the end of summer here in Small Town Colorado and that can only mean that it is time for the 2nd USA Pro Cycling Challenge...

As much as I would have loved to be able to travel around Colorado for different stages of the race, alas the day job didn't allow for that this year. However I did manage to sneak out of the office for a while today to see when the race passed through Buena Vista. If you happen to be a somewhere that the USA Pro Cycling Challenge is passing through, definitely worth taking the time to watch for a while.

If Life is a Comedy Then Why All the Tragedy?

(Not sure who to credit for this great image)

‎"None of us know and this makes it a mystery, if life is a comedy then why all the tragedy?" - Chris Rice 

Thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, family and friends of today's shootings. Remember to not only keep the victims and those effected by today's tragedy in your thoughts but also the victims of all of this summers tragedies.

(heartcolorado.com)

Free Beer Swag!

Well the weekend was everything that I hoped it would be with, had some friends in town for the weekend and had a great outing to the South Park Saloon and Green Parrot on Friday then the Brewers Rendezvous on Saturday!

I know I said I'd do this yesterday, but I am pretty sure that I drank more over the weekend than I should have and of course also proceeded to party the evening away at the Victoria Tavern. So, in other words... I was hurtin' a little bit yesterday and didn't get around to it. I didn't even turn on my computer over the weekend :)

But as promised, a day late, some beer lover can win the beer swag above (8 stickers, 8 coasters, 1 temporary tattoo and 1 bottle opener). All you have to do is like Small Town Colorado on facebook, and go to the 'Beer Swag Contest' tab and enter to win. Contest winner will be chosen on 7/19 at 4pm MST (when I get back from the rest of my vacation).

Elevation Beer Company

Elevation Beer Company is Colorado's newest microbrewery, well at least I think it is. Their grand opening was May 19th, while I wanted to go to their grand opening, I was in Boulder spending some quality time with Asher Brewing that weekend. But as the newest brewery in the state a visit to Elevation was near the top of my 'to-do' list. And one of the owners of Elevation Beer Co is from my hometown and actually went to elementary school with my brother so that made me pretty excited to visit too.

When I walked in to Elevation Beer Co, I was a little surprised by how empty it was as there was only one other customer there when I walked in. Granted it was the middle of the afternoon, but it was a Saturday afternoon. It still always makes me a little sad when a bar or brewery is empty when I walk in because it is always great to get to talk to other beer lovers and share beer stories and find out about some brews you haven't tried before.

Elevation Beer is a little bit tricky to find, even though I am familiar with the area I had to google map it before I headed out. They could definitely use some better signage to lead you there, however I am hoping that because they haven't even been open for 2 months yet that this is planned for the future. However once you find yourself at the brewery, the interior is cute and charming. I must note that the bar stools were far from my favorite bar stools I've ever sat on and I couldn't see myself spending an evening sitting there having a few drinks. While old tractor seats may be cute visually, they are not comfortable for extended amounts of time.

Luckily they do have a few tables as well, but while visiting a bar or brewery solo sitting at the bar is customary.

After trying the Mount Blanca Belgian Saison and the Signal De Botrange, I fell for with the Mount Blanca and decided to enjoy a glass.

When I was about half way through that drink a couple came in raving about how they had heard so much about the Apis IV (with a long 'A'), buying several 750ml (wine bottle size) bottles of it. And well after that I just had to sample that as well.

'Apis, the genus of the honeybee, is in homage to the hardworking honeybees of Colorado that provided the caramelized honey we use in making this fantastic beer.' - http://www.elevationbeerco.com/

Now as much as I enjoyed the Mount Blanca Saison, Apis IV quickly took its place. Much like Bristol Brewing's Beehive Honey Wheat, it had just a tiny hint of sweetness, even less than Beehive, but that touch of sweetness dare I say *may* have changed my opinion just a little bit on dark beers.

*Yes, I am drinking beer out of a wine glass*

Because as anyone who has read much of this blog knows, dark beers aren't usually my forte. Despite the fact that I am not usually a dark beer lover, I ended up walking out of Elevation Beer with a bottle of the Apis IV which I enjoyed immensely a few nights later (out of a wine glass).

Just a Little Rant

Oh, AC Golden Brewing Company... while I will admit that Colorado Native Lager is on ok beer (better than Coors/Coors light anyway), but stop pretending that you are a microbrewery.

You are not a microbrewery, you are in fact just another Coors product. I know you try so hard not to admit that on your labels or your websites, but AC Golden Brewing is a subsidiary of Coors.

I really don't care that this is a Coors product, I do care that they try so hard to hide that fact from people. Don't be afraid to tell people who you really are... a lot of people like Coors, be true to your roots.

In Vino Veritas

In Wine There Is Truth, which I think means that drunk people are honest, but who knows. What does that have to do with anything? Not much really, except that that is the quote on the door at Vino Salida, and since I haven't written about any wineries yet, now seemed like a good day to do my first winery review.

I'll be the first one to say that wine is an acquired taste or that at least for me it was and I will probably never acquire a taste for really dry wines. I used to have a very select few wines that I would tolerate drinking, but as life has gone on I have tried a variety of different wines and have broadened my horizons significantly. I must say, for those who are picky wine drinkers like me wineries or wine tasting rooms are the best places to go. I can't count the number of times I bought a bottle of wine in hopes that I would like it just to be disappointed and end up not drinking it, but when you can go try the wine before committing to buying it you know that you are going to get something that you like, win!

Vino Salida is a cute little out of the way winery and I am fairly certain that it would be pretty easy to inadvertently bypass. Although its address is on the highway, when you are coming from the east you have to turn off the highway onto a little dirt road a couple hundred yards (I'd guess) before you get there and without knowing that it would be pretty easy to pass. They do have a flag by the highway, but I didn't notice it until I was leaving.

When you pull up to the front of Vino Salida, don't be fooled by the appearance, sure its one section of a metal industrial type building, but once you get inside you forget about that because it has a fun, cute, modern artsy vibe (my descriptions are great aren't they).

After trying every wine that they make, I will say that I liked pretty much all of them. The 'Vino Rosso di Salida 2011' was a little bit too dry for me and the 'Tenderfoot Stomp Merlot 2010' seemed a bit too dry at first, but the fruity flavor outweighed the 'dryness'. Overall the 'Vino Bianco di Salida 2009' and the 'Bee Vino Traditional Honey Mead 2011' were my favorite. The Honey Mead definitely has a strong honey flavor and comes in both semi-sweet and sweet varieties, I tried the semi-sweet which was delicious, but I think that based on that the sweet one would be too sweet for me personally. The Vino Bianco is the wine that I had to walk out the door with, it is an 'Orange Style Wine' which is a little on the citrus-y side, and accordind to their food pairing guide it goes well with; lamb sausage, spanikopita, and dolmades (Greek food!). Since I am a sucker for all things Greek and spanikopita just happens to be one of my specialties it was an easy choice to make. Now all I need to do is go pick up a few ingredients for spanikopita and indulge in some great vino and Greek food, sounds like heaven to me.

The chick who was working when I went in, Leona (sorry if I got that wrong, I'm not the best with names), was one of the sweetest and friendliest people at any of the breweries, wineries or distilleries that I have been to so far and the person serving you is almost as important if not as important as the product itself, so in this case it was win/win.

Thanks for reading!

And Now for 'Fun and Booze'

***I know that my last couple of posts have been a bit on the serious side, but when your state is going up in flames, it's a little serious.***

In the interest of expanding my beerific horizons, I found myself at my favorite Corner Liquor Store, the Little Daisy (the place I go when I can't manage a trip to a brewery... hey, I'm a girl on a budget) asking the owner for his recommendation on a new brew to try. So upon his suggestion I headed home with a 6-pack of Bristol Brewing's 'Beehive Honey Wheat'.

Their website describes 'Beehive Honey Wheat' as 'Sunshine in a Glass', and well apart from the fact that I drank it out of the bottle, that was a pretty accurate description. And yes, I am a beer out of the bottle kind of girl! It is definitely an excellent summer beer (although it is available year round). Honestly I wasn't very sure about a 'Honey Wheat' beer and was a little concerned that it would be overly sweet. While it does have just the slightest hint of sweetness, it isn't overwhelming or a distraction. Beehive gets two thumbs up from me!

Colorado's Burning

Photo from cheftain.com

Our thoughts are with friends, family and anyone who has been affected by any of the wildfires burning in Colorado right now.

photo from CNN

We are asking that you pray for rain, do a rain dance... whatever you believe in. If you would like to make a donation The Denver Post has a list of places to donate whether it be money, food or clothing. 

And Please remember that there is a fire ban in effect throughout Colorado until further notice, please respect those bans, even with the 4th of July coming up next week, fires or fireworks of any kind are not worth the risk. For updated information on fire bans and danger you can visit http://www.coemergency.com/p/fire-bans-and-fire-danger-rating.html 

photo from TheDenverChannel.com

photo from The Huffington Post

When the Best Beers Go Unnoticed...

Today I found myself at the liquor store in search of something new and different when Boulder Beer's Singletrack Copper Ale caught my attention. I have to admit that over the years I have passed over this particular brew dozens of times, probably because it lives right next to Karma Belgian Pale Ale and below New Belgium's... everything. But, no matter how many times I have ignored this brew, today it won my attention.

First I thought... what the hell is a 'copper ale'? Like I have said before, I LOVE BEER, I love it with all of my heart, but I am not the kind of girl that worries much about the proper beer terminology (I am the beer blogger for the average beer drinker). And *a little education* copper ale is 'an ale which is aged in oak casks to obtain its beautiful copper color and its unique wine-like taste' and the Boulder Beer site says 'Singletrack is refreshing yet full flavored; a medium bodied Copper Ale. Not too light and not too dark'... look at me using proper 'beer terminology'. And i won't lie, I usually like to taste my newest brews at a beer festival... it doesn't require a commitment and I have been told several times 'I have never met anyone so afraid of committing to anything'. But yet I still bought the six-pack. First drink my reaction was 'that is a little bitter for me' but just a few sips later, Singletrack was added to my list of go-to beers. I almost even regret passing it over all the times that I have.

And because I support all things Colorado, this is my Colorado Tunes Spotify playlist, Good Tunes! I live in a 'Small Town Colorado' and apparently that means 'we have nothing to do besides be creative' because, really what else is there to do, and there are plenty of musicians that come from my corner of Colorado and plenty of other 'small towns' in the great CO!

So, spotify users, check out my 'Colorado Tunes Playlist'
Colorado Tunes

***Just a note: these are all CO musicians that I have seen***
KinetiX - I saw at the 2012 FIBArk
Smooth Money Gesture - I saw them first as a bartender in a bar I once bartended at
Jonah Werner - Buena Vista, CO, I have known him most of my life
Trace Bundy - Another Buena Vista, CO musician who I have known for most of my life.
Missed the Boat - CO band I have seen at several beer festivals.

Make sure you remember to like Small Town Colorado on Facebook to keep up on Colorado events, beer, booze, music and to enter our 'Beer Swag Giveaway' on July 15th.

Small Town Colorado

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Micro-Brews and Beer Culture

Maybe it is because I am a beer snob, but micro-brew, brew-pub and craft beers are just better than their big brewer counterparts. So what exactly is it that makes them so much better?

Of course I have spent many a night drinking big brewer beer and despite my beer-snobbery I do enjoy a PBR every now and then. PBR is usually my go-to drink when I am out drinking at a bar, primarily because I am on a budget and it is hard to beat the price. I have had many an argument with other beer-snob types about my PBR drinking and I will argue forever that it is in fact an acquired taste.

But everything about a micro-brew just seems better. Maybe it's because the older I have gotten the more I go for quality over quantity, getting drunk isn't quite as important as actually enjoying my drink, not that getting drunk isn't still an occasional byproduct of my drinking, it just tastes better getting there. Big brewers are in the business of making money (well so are microbreweries), but the big breweries aren't really as concerned with the product as much as they are producing as much as they can at the lowest price possible. Whereas micro/craft brewers are more concerned with the quality of the end product, and as any beer lover will tell you, it's worth paying extra for a quality beer... like I said quality over quantity.

My 'partner-in-crime' and I at last years Brewers Rendezvous

If you have ever gone to a microbrewery taproom or brew-pub, you will immediately realize that the vibe is different than your average bar, they are usually more mellow and relaxed. And often times you will find yourself sitting there chatting with someone just to find out that it's the Brew Master, nothing makes a beer seem more personal than talking to the person in charge of making it.

Micro-brew drinkers, just seem to be friendlier than other beer drinkers, maybe it's because we already have something in common, but I have been in countless conversations over the years in the micro-brew section of the liquor store and they almost all started with 'have you tried......?', micro-brew people like to talk about their beer.

And of course the festivals, now I'm not sure if it like this everywhere, but in Colorado we have beer festivals  galore. In the summer it is hard to find a week that doesn't have some beer related event going on. Whether it's a rafting festival, river festival, food festival or pretty much anything else, they all seem to be sponsored by  a micro-brewery or microbreweries, therefore they all have a beer garden which is always a good place to catch up with old friends or make new ones.

 So, go enjoy a good beer, make a new friend and enjoy summer!

Small Town Colorado

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Hot Summer Nights and Cold Beer...

...not much really compares. Despite the fact that I live in the mountains, it is HOT this summer (and it isn't even summer until tomorrow), it was 89 degrees IN my house when I got home from work and at almost 10 pm, it's still 84 and I don't have to work tomorrow (sadly I have a 'day job', until someone wants to pay me to drink). So, obviously that means it was time to crack open an ice cold brew.

And today's brew of choice is Avery Brewing's Karma Belgian Style Pale Ale. Now I will be the first to admit that despite the fact that I fancy myself a 'beer blogger', I'm not exactly up on 'beer lingo and terminology ', I just know what I like, and I like Karma! I'll even admit that the first time that I tried Karma, was specifically because I was quite fond of the name...

and the phrase 'Good Beer happens to Good People', a phrase that used to be on the labels, but isn't anymore, which makes me a little sad. Luckily I have an old sticker on one of my Nalgene's. Ever since the first time that I tried Karma at the Brewers Rendezvous years ago, it has just screamed 'delicious summer beer' at me every time I see it, so on this hot summer night Karma has won my heart <3, because I do believe that 'Good Beer happens to Good People'.

Small Town Colorado

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***note I looked closer at the label and it does say 'Good Ale happens to Good People'***

Governor Imposes Statewide Fire Ban

Not all of my posts can be fun and booze. It's hot, it's dry and it is already a horrible fire season and it's only June, so make sure you are careful and observe the fire ban.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed a ban on open burning and private use of fireworks statewide because of the dry conditions and high fire danger. 

"We're not telling people not to go outside and enjoy the outdoors," Hickenlooper said at an afternoon press conference. "We're going to celebrate the Fourth of July." 

The ban does not apply to campfires in constructed, permanent fire pits in campground and recreation sites. Commercial, professional and municipal firework displays are allowed, if the county sheriff has given written approval. 

Liquid-fueled or gas-fueled stoves, fireplaces within buildings, charcoal grills at private residences and controlled burns for agricultural or irrigation purposes are also still permitted under the ban. ***Read full article from The Denver Post at http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20858292/colorado-bans-open-burning-other-structured-campfires-private***

Have a fun and safe weekend!

The Real South Park & Its Claim to Fame

South Park, by now we have all seen the TV show and it's probably the only reason that most people outside of Colorado (and probably even some people in Colorado) have even heard of South Park. There is a good reason that most people haven't heard of the real South Park, because honestly there's not much to it.

I know, I probably shouldn't be taking pictures while driving, it's a bad habit

Yep, that's it, that's South Park. South Park isn't a town, it is a valley located pretty much in the center of Colorado. It's still a beautiful area, it's pretty well known around here as a great place for hunting and fishing, neither of which things interest me. Although there isn't really much to South Park itself, it is home to Fairplay, Alma, and what is left of the old mining town South Park City.

South Park City has been fully restored and is only open to the public from May to October, and quite honestly having spent twenty-some odd years of my life living 30 miles away, I have actually never paid the money to go into the actual restored 'city'.

I have spent plenty of time in Fairplay over, there was a time in my life where Fairplay was my go-to 'get away from it all' spot. Not that there is a lot to do, but there are a few restaurants, bars, a bowling alley. It does tend to be more of a place that people pass through rather than a destination, but it is definitely worth stopping, even if it's just to explore the town a little bit, if you ever do find yourself passing through.

If you are ever passing through and are looking for a place to stop for a burger and a drink, just a few miles outside of Fairplay (on HWY 9) you will find yourself in Alma where you can find 'The Highest Saloon in the Country', the South Park Saloon. Yep, South Park's true claim to fame (in my opinion anyway), being the home to the highest saloon in the country at 10,580 feet. Although if you do stop for a drink, it's probably a good idea to keep in mind that you are drinking at a much higher elevation than most of us are used to... you'll get drunk faster! But at least you'll get to say 'I drank at the highest saloon in the country'.

Thanks for reading!

Small Town Colorado

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These Are a Few of My Favorite Things (summer festival edition)

I am going to try a little something new on my blog today, I am going to try a little segment (for lack of a better word) that I like to call 'These Are a Few of My Favorite Things' in each 'edition', I will feature a specific topic from time to time and post about my favorite things in that topic. I don't know if that was very clear, but this is how it's gonna work, for instance I am calling this 'edition' the 'Summer Festival Edition', in which I will list my favorite summer festivals throughout Colorado... makes more sense now, doesn't it? Well, I hope so anyway.

So, in honor of the fact that one of my favorite summer festivals, FIBArk, officially starts tomorrow, my first edition of 'These Are a Few of My Favorite Things' will be all about the awesome festivals that Colorado has to offer!

#1. My very, very, very favorite festival of the summer without fail is the Colorado Brewers Rendezvous.

The Brewers Rendezvous is every craft beer lovers dream come true. It takes place in Salida, CO every July (usually like the 2nd Saturday) at Riverside Park. This year the cost is $35, but that covers a collectible Pint Glass (most of which I still have from over the years), all the beer you can drink, from over 45 Colorado microbreweries, and tons of swag from the individual breweries. ***And for anyone who 'likes' my facebook page - link at bottom of post - I will be having a 'Brewers Rendezvous Swag Give Away', stay tuned for details on how to enter***

#2. Although I know that this is not a small town event, my 2nd favorite festival is the Denver Greek Festival

Why does this get second place? Well, because I am a sucker for all things Greek, particularly Greek men and Greek food. And when you are looking for some absolutely amazing Greek food this is the place to get it! I discovered this event accidentally many years ago when I was living in Denver not very far from the Assumption Greek Orthodox Cathedral, which is where they hold the festival.

#3. Now, this festival I have only missed a hand full of times in my life and have been going to it as long as I can remember. Of course that festival would be FIBArk

Artist: Jesse Crock

FIBArk is  apparently 'America's Oldest Boating Festival', this being the 64th year. FIBArk stands for First In Boating on the Arkansas and it goes from Thursday to Sunday over Fathers Day weekend. There's live music, beer, kayak and raft races, arts and crafts booths, food booths and it's just a good way to enjoy a few days relaxing by the river. Now since not all of us are lucky enough to get to be there the entire (long) weekend, if there is one event not to miss it is the Hooligan Race on Saturday afternoon. The basic rules of the race are 'anything that floats that's not a boat', and it is a spectacle not to be missed. 

#4. Palisade Peachfest, now there really isn't much of a better way to spend a HOT summer day than with fresh peaches and and a festival in the park.

Palisade is a pretty small town, but it's just a hop, a skip and a jump (oh so cheesy) away from Grand Junction.  The festival has everything that you could want; live music, food (mostly peach foods), pancake breakfast, fresh peaches (obviously), and wine tasting! Of course I would love that the peach festival happens in the heart of 'Colorado Wine Country', so you have to make sure and do some wine tasting while you're there.

So, there you have it, four festivals worth checking out. There are plenty of other festivals throughout the summer, in fact it's pretty hard to find a weekend that doesn't have something going on, but those are my very very favorites. And of course, 'like' my facebook page if you haven't already, thanks!

Small Town Colorado

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