Dry Dock Enterprise IPA

Another beer I ordered at Dry Dock Brewing Company in Denver was the Enterprise IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon and meringue with a big pine hit. The taste is large on pine, very bubbly, and has some lemon accents. The beer has a dry finish with a pine cone after taste. The alcohol content is 6.4% ABV. I thought that the Enterprise IPA was an excellent IPA offering and very delicious. I enjoyed how there was more of a pine cone flavor than just pine, making it slightly different that a stock IPA.

Dry Dock Bligh's Old Ale

Dry Dock Brewing Company won Small Brewing Company of the year at Great American Beer Fest in 2009, so on my visit in 2010, I decided to stop in and check out a few of their offerings. One of the beers I ordered was Bligh's Old Ale. The beer pours a copper color with a thin filmy off-white head. The aroma consists of caramel with raisins and dark fruits. The taste is sweet and malty with lots of raisin, oak accents, and a healthy offering of dark fruits on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.9% ABV. I thought that Bligh's Old Ale was quite a smooth drinker, but I did expect it to have a higher alcohol content. The oak accents the alcohol content somewhat, making it jump out on the tongue more so than expected.

JoBoy's BrewPub Manheim Red

The second beer I had from JoBoy's BrewPub in Manheim was the Manheim Red. The beer pours a red amber color with a lofty frothy white head. The aroma is sweet and malty with caramel. The taste is big and sweet with lots of caramel and a good bitter hop bite on the sides of the mouth. The alcohol content is 5.25% ABV. I really enjoyed the Manheim Red and thought as far as the style that this was a great red with lots of hops and malts for malt lovers and hop heads.

As for the food, let the photo of the sampler platter wet your appetite:

JoBoy's BrewPub American IPA

I stopped into JoBoy's BrewPub in Manheim because my girlfriend wanted to take me there (perfect night out). The first beer I ordered following extensive research on the website was the American IPA. The beer pours a golden orange color that is opaque with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, pine, orange, grapefruit, and caramel. The taste has a solid caramel base with a good lemon and grapefruit accent. There is an excellent helping of pine on the finish and a bitter after taste. Delightfully, there is some orange zest left to linger in the mouth. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. I thought the American IPA was a really good IPA, up there with some of the best, with an excellent hop bite. I wasn't expecting the unfiltered appearance, but this beer was really tasty and paired really well with the spicy barbecue sauce.

New Belgium Hoptober

While at Falling Rock Taphouse in Denver, I ordered a glass of New Belgium Hoptober. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma is malty with sour hops that actually are comparable to wet socks. The taste is malty with big sour hop balance. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I didn't that that the Hoptober was too bad, but maybe a little too sour for an Oktoberfest. Personally, I like my Oktoberfest beers to be big and malty with only slight sour hop accents, and I was taken aback by the wet socks aroma.

Great Divide Hoss

On of the first things I did upon arriving in Denver for Great American Beer Fest was to find a soccer bar to watch the Arsenal match. Google Maps on the Droid pointed me to The British Bulldog, where I ordered a Great Divide Hoss, a rye beer. The beer pours an amber color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, rye, and a hint of lemon in the background. The taste is malty and sweet that also is dominated with rye flavor, with some tea and lemon coming through on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. While drinking the beer, all I could think about was what an amazing beer the Hoss was. The best word I can use to describe it is wonderful, as it is the best rye I've had to date.

Brouwerij de Molen Storm & Averij

I must admit that I have fallen in love with the Falling Rock Tap House in Denver. This will be my go to craft bar for all future visits, as their draft and bottle selection is superior to almost any place I have been. One of the bottles I selected from the list was the Brouwerij de Molen Storm & Averij. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty frothy white head. The aroma consists of fresh hops, lemon, grass, earth, and yeast. The taste is smooth but bitey, big on yeast and banana, and has copious amounts of spices. Following all of that flavor explosion is a big hop finish that lingers into the after taste. The alcohol content is 9.2%. Wow. Wow. Wow. The amount of flavors actually packed into the bottle were amazing, and I passed this beer around to several other craft beer lovers. Each one of them reacted similarly, and it could been seen in their eyes. If you can get your hands onto one of these bottles, jump at the chance to do so.

Breckenridge Small Batch Regal Pilsner

While in Denver for Great American Beer Fest, I stopped into the Breckenridge Ballpark Pub for lunch and a few brews. Having had a such positive impression from the Small Batch 471 IPA, I jumped at the chance to try another Small Batch offering, the Regal Pilsner. The beer pours a golden color with a foamy white head. The aroma is crisp and fresh with a good hop offering, more so than a typical pilsner. The taste is smooth and crisp with a good malty backbone and a sour hop bite. The finish is lemony and pine hops, with a dry and bitter after taste. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. The Regal Pilsner provided a very good experience and was extremely enjoyable with a surprising hop transition.

BJ's Piranha Pale Ale

On my way out of Denver and leaving Great American Beer Fest (tear), I stopped into BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, as it was on the way to the airport. I ordered a Piranha Pale Ale to go with my chicken and avocado sandwich. The beer pours a beautiful copper color with a frothy white head. The aroma has good caramel base with lots of fresh pine hops. The taste is smooth and caramel at first before transitioning into a light pine hop bite. The mouth feel of the beer is light and bubbly on the tongue with a partly dry after taste. The alcohol content is X.X% ABV. I thought that BJ's definitely has delivered a very solid pale ale, and I would go back to order this beer, as well as any of their other offerings.

Ska Brewing True Blonde Dubbel

While attending the Beer for Boobs Brunch at Fresh Craft in Denver, I ordered a bottle of Ska Brewing Two Blonde Dubbel. The beers were donated to the even, promoting breast cancer research, and sold for $3, with all proceeds going to charity. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma is sweet and malty with banana and Belgian yeast. The taste is smooth and sweet, and big on banana and yeast. There is a spicy after taste with a finish that is lightly drying. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. I thought that the Two Blonde Dubbel was delicious and a great way to start the day. The big banana flavor will make you think it was made for breakfast, considering I popped open the bottle at 11:00 AM.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Mars

I grabbed a bottle of New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Mars from a bottle shop in Denver. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of spices including nutmeg and cinnamon with a malty undertone. The taste is yeasty but big on nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon. The spices in this beer remind me a lot of a pumpkin beer or a winter ale, but without the pumpkin or big alcohol content, which is 6.2% ABV. I thought that the Biere de Mars from New Belgium was great on the spice accents and a light malt accent. While the flavor profile did not fit into exactly what I was expecting, I really enjoyed the beer, and it was quite refreshing.

New Belgium Abbey Belgian Style Ale

I picked up a six-pack of New Belgium Abbey Belgian Style Ale from a bottle shop in Denver. The beer pours a red-amber color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of sweet malts with a good alcohol accent and banana and Belgian yeast. The taste is sweet and smooth with a big dried banana flavor and Belgian yeast hitting on the end. The finish comes with some spices. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I was really surprised and impressed with the dried banana flavor, as opposed to the banana flavor that comes with most Belgian beers. The New Belgian Abbey provided quite a different flavor profile, but was very enjoyable.

Appalachian Brewing Company Outta Focus Double IPA

I stopped into Appalachian Brewing Company to try their new September release Outta Focus Double IPA. I was pretty excited that ABC was adding a double IPA to their lineup. The beer pours a red amber color with a foamy white head. The aroma consists of grapefruit with caramel, tangerine, and sugar. The taste is big on grapefruit with underlying caramel and some tangerine mixed in. There is a bitter pine hop finish. The after taste has the sugar and grapefruit returning to the palate. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. Where does this Double IPA stack up? I would put it as slightly above middle of the road double IPA. However, it definitely is one of Appalachian Brewing Company's best beers.

Troegs Splinter Blue

So my girlfriend waited for five hours in line to get Troegs Splinter Blue the day of release. Sadly, it coincided with Great American Beer Fest, so I couldn't wait on my own (reasons why she's the best!). Splinter Blue is the DreamWeaver Wheat beer aged in wood barrels with tart cherries and Bettanyomyces. The beer pours a strawberry color, due to the sour cherries injected into this beer, and very foamy white head. The head sizzles as it disperses, which is a very cool sound to hear from a beer. The aroma consists of sour cherry, wheat, and a hint of lemon. The taste very big and tart, really hanging on the sour cherries. The mouth feel is very bubbly and almost champagne-like. In the background, there a light wheat flavor with hints of lemon and orange. On the finish, the oak flavors come out of the beer, but are not overpowering. The after taste is dry and sour with some wheat, almost similar to a crybaby candy (remember those?) The alcohol content of DreamWeaver is 4.8% ABV, but I feel that this beer with the cherries took on an additional alcohol content, maybe in the 6.0% to 7.0% ABV. Wow, what a beer. The sourness and tartness that attacks the tongue up front is very pleasant while not overpowering. There are some hints of the original DreamWeaver in the background, but this is a completely transitioned beer.