Firestone Walker Double Jack

While at Freshcraft in Denver, I finally was able to try Firestone Walker Double Jack. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly off-white colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of grapefruit with sugar, tangerine, orange, pine, and pepper. The taste is bitter and citrusy with loads of grapefruit, sticky hop oils, tangerine, and orange. The finish is dry with an alcohol hint and pepper spices that tickle the back of the tongue. The after taste is all about the hop oils that linger and leave a film on the mouth. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. For as much as I have heard how good this beer was, it lived up to its expectations. It is certainly one of the better double IPAs out there, and I thoroughly loved the oily residue that remains in the mouth after drinking.

Ska Brewing ForniSKAtor

For the second year in a row, I attended the Beer for Boobs Brunch at Freshcraft in Denver during the Great American Beer Festival. This year, the owner teamed up with Ska Brewing to provided a beer for the event called ForniSKAtor, a maple syrup infused doppelbock. The beer pours a ruby-brown color with a thin off-white colored head. The aroma is big on maple syrup, smoked malts, and caramel. The taste is smoky and malty with a wonderful maple syrup flavor. The beer had a thick, syrupy, and bold mouth feel. Bacon and caramel flavors were also present before a warming alcohol finish wakes you up. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 9.0% ABV. The intent of the beer was to pair with maple syrup chicken and waffles, and Ska Brewing nailed it. The  beer went extremely well with the food, and the smokiness in the beer was the best part of the experience.

Uinta Monkshine

My buddy Jason took me and my fiancee out to meet up with some of his doctor friends at The Three Lions in Denver, and I ordered a glass of Uinta Monkshine. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of alcohol, banana, lemon, pepper, and earthy hops. The taste is smooth and sweet, with banana, lemon, pepper, and grass. A bit of alcohol shows on the finish, which was surprising given how prevalent it was in the aroma. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. The Monkshine was a very enjoyable beer that wasn't too sweet and was balanced well with earthy hops and a bit of citrus.

Denver Beer Company Ichabad's Revenge Pumpkin'd Ale

Another beer I ordered at Denver Beer Company was the Ichabod's Revenge Pumpkin'd Ale. The beer pours an apple cider color with a thin filmy white head. The aroma is full of fresh pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The taste is smooth but dry with a good pumpkin base. There is a taste of oven-cooked pumpkin seed flavor as well and a bit of whipped cream. A plethora of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice comes out in the finish. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 5.5% ABV. This was a great pumpkin beer and the first one I can recall with the taste of pumpkin seeds, and new but very enjoyable aspect to the beer.

Denver Beer Company Fresh Hop IPA

I decided to stop into the Denver Beer Company while out for Great American Beer Fest, as it was a new brewery and I had not been there previously. I ordered a glass of the Fresh Hop IPA first, as it was the perfect day for a harvest ale. The beer pours an orange-tinted amber color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of caramel, pine, grass, and lemon. The taste is big and bold especially for a harvest ale with roasted toffee, caramel, and pine and grass hops. The alcohol content is is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 6.5% ABV. The Fresh Hop IPA from Denver Beer Company was one of the better harvest ales that I have ever had and it was mostly due to the excellent toasted toffee flavor that provided the base to this beer.

Wit's End Brewing Jean-Claude Van Blond

The other beer that Wit's End Brewing Company had on tap when I visited in Denver was the Jean-Claude Van Blond (great name!). The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of lemon, meringue, pepper, and grass. The taste was yeasty up front with lots of lemon in the profile. Most enjoyable were the meringue hints that went very well with the lemon flavors. Grassy and earthy hops provide balance to this beer. The alcohol content is not available online, but if I recall, I think the brewmaster Scott said it was about 6.5% ABV. The higher alcohol content is well hidden in this beer when compared to others in the style. The lemon and meringue flavors were excellent and it was bittered nicely with earthy hops.

Wit's End Brewing Company Kitchen Sink Porter

While in Denver, I decided to check out the newly opened Wit's End Brewing Company. It was Thursday, and they had only opened the previous Monday. The first beer I ordered was the Kitchen Sink Porter. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of roasted malts, chocolate, and very balancing light grass hops. The taste is dry and roasty with plenty of dark bitter chocolate. The alcohol content is not available online but I would estimate it to be about 6.0% ABV. The beer drank surprisingly smooth despite being bitter and having some hints of smoke lurking in the background.

Bull & Bush Captain Midnight Black Saison

Another beer I ordered at Row 14 was the Bull & Bush Captain Midnight Black Saison (they had a Bull & Bush tap takeover previous night). The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of chocolate, roasted malts, and lemon. The taste is dry and chocolaty with roasted malts a plenty. A good helping of lemon and orange citrus accents was provided as well. There is a Belgian yeast finish with pepper spices on the back of the mouth. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 6.5% ABV. I'm new to the black saison category, but I must say that I was a big fan of this beer and its citrus flavors on top of chocolate malts. It's not as bitter as a Black IPA, but provides a lot of the same flavorings.

Bull & Bush Hop Karl

I met up with Lee from Hoptopia for lunch in Denver at Row 14, as they were having a fresh hop beer event. The only beer that had since it was the first day of the promotion was the Bull & Bush Hop Karl, but I didn't hesitate to give it a try. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of caramel, ice cream (weird, I know), grass, and pine. The taste is dry but has a wonderfully sweet caramel undertone. There were plenty of earthy hops strewn across this beer with dirt and grass accents and hints of pine and lemon. The alcohol content is not available online but I would guess it to be about 5.5% ABV. This was certainly a delicious harvest ale that hit all of the right notes, from fresh hops to caramel flavors.

New Belgium Blue Paddle

My buddy Jason had a bottle of New Belgium Blue Paddle in his fridge in Denver, so I decided to give it a try. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white head. The aroma is fresh smelling with grassy hops and butterscotch. The taste is light and refreshing with grassy hops on the front end and a hint of lemongrass. The best part of the beer is the earthy finish. The alcohol content is 4.8% ABV. Most of all, I enjoyed the lemongrass flavor that came along with this beer as the citrus gave the beer the relief it needed and made it refreshing.

Elysian Mr. Yuck Sour Pumpkin Ale

At Falling Rock Tap House, Elysian was tapping several of their pumpkin beer, 10 in total. The one beer that stood out to me on the menu was the Mr. Yuck Sour Pumpkin Ale due to both my love of sour beers and Pittsburgh (the Mr. Yuck sticker was created in Pittsburgh). The beer pours an apple cider color with a thin white head. The aroma is big on pumpkin with some sour lemon accents, yeast, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The taste is dry and focused on the spices which was rather surprising to me. The sour pumpkin flavor is also prevalent, but it does not appear until the finish of the beer with some vinegar and lemon. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 5.0% ABV. This was a great sour beer with lots of spices taking the focus. I would say another home run for an Elysian pumpkin beer.

Funkwerks Saison

On the east coast, I have never seen any Funkwerks beers, and having heard such great things about their beers, I ordered a glass of the Saison at Falling Rock Tap House in Denver. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of sour lemon, barnyard funk, grass, and hay. The taste is funky with barnyard characteristics, some horse blanket, lemon, hay, and grass. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. This was a great funky saison, that stands out in my memory as pushing the envelopes of saison funk. There were wonderful flavors with just enough lemon to provide that citrus sweetness needed with the funk.

Avery Out of Sight

On the last stop of the day in Boulder, I visited the Avery Brewing Company and ordered a glass of Out of Sight from the tasting room. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy tan head. The aroma is heavily weighted on fresh coffee with some roasted malts, vanilla, oak, and dark chocolate. The taste is dry with a cornucopia of coffee, providing a fresh and pungent kick to the tongue. Caramel, dark chocolate, and bit of toasted malts comprise the backbone of the beer before some vanilla and oak appear on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.3% ABV. The Out of Sight makes my list as an excellent beer and I would surely like to have another one of these beers.

Twisted Pine Mr. Brown's Pumpkin

To ease the burning pain of the Ghost Face Killah, I ordered a glass of Twisted Pine Mr. Brown's Pumpkin Ale. The beer pours a brown color with a red tint and a giant beige head. The aroma consists of fresh pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and caramel. The taste is roasted malts with a light pumpkin flavor, dry cinnamon, and nutmeg. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would guess it to be about 5.5% ABV. While I thought there was more pumpkin in the aroma than there was on the palate, it was delicious as this beer is about the dry spices.