Denver Beer Company Mayor Mike's 5280 Brew

For GABF and Denver Beer Week, Denver Beer Company collaborated with the mayor of Denver to create Mayor Mike's 5280 Brew and I tried it at the brewery. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, cinnamon, pumpkin, and nutmeg. The taste is dry with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice with hints of pumpkin, ginger, and graham cracker on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a nice fall-inspired beer with nothing overdone. However, I can't say that it was too memorable either.

Denver Beer Company Graham Cracker Porter

I was upset last year at GABF when I didn't get to try Denver Beer Company's Graham Cracker Porter, so I made it a point to return to the brewery to try it. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of toasted malts, chocolate, coffee, and graham cracker. The taste has coffee on the front end with lots of toasted malts. Graham cracker arrives in the finish and has a touch of sweetness to it from vanilla. The alcohol content is 5.9% ABV. I am glad that I was able to try this beer finally. I liked the addition of graham cracker flavors to the typical porter flavor, making this beer more dessert-like and exquisite.

Crooked Stave Chardonnay Barrel Aged Surette Reserva

While at the Crooked Stave barrel room, my friends and I ordered a glass of Surette Reserva Chardonnay Barrel Aged to share. The beer pours an orange-tinted golden color with almost no head. Some white bubbles did appear, but they were few and far between. The aroma is tart and consists of vinegar, lemon, and chardonnay. The taste is also tart with a light pucker. Lemon, wheat, vinegar, oak, chardonnay, and white grapes all find their time on the tongue. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. This is one of the better beers that I have ever tasted. The grape and chaddonay flavors the infused the lemony and tart beer played so well with the oak flavors. I'm glad I have a few bottles of this to let aged and see how it develops.

Crooked Stave Wild Wild Brett Orange

My friends and I decided to share a bottle of Crooked Stave Wild Wild Brett Orange. The beer pours an orange-gold color with a lofty and bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of orange, tangerine, coriander, and vinegar. The taste is sweet with orange and tangerine at first before it becomes dry with oak, and vinegar. Coriander and pepper come out on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. The Orange was a wonderful blend of citrus flavors with a nice sourness.It wasn't the best of the beers we tried that day at the brewery, but it certainly was a great beer.

Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Nightmare on Brett Street

I stopped in to the Crooked Stave barrel room to sample some beers and check out the reserve club that I am a part of. The first beer I tried was the Bourbon Barrel Nightmare on Brett Street. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, vinegar, cherry, and oak. The taste is lightly tart but built strongly with chocolate, licorice, and toasted malts. Some bourbon and vanilla flavors come out before the dry oaky finish. The alcohol content is not available online but I would estimate it to be about 7.5% ABV. This soured baltic porter was more than enjoyable and I wouldn't hesitate to order another glass or bottle if I had the chance.

Left Hand Brewing Java Lava

I ordered a glass of Left Hand Brewing Java Lava at the Colorado Brewer's Guild Brunch at Freshcraft. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of coffee, milk chocolate, toasted malts, and vanilla beans. The taste is dry with coffee, dark milk chocolate, and toasted malts. A vanilla smoothness and sweetness comes out on the finish, tying the flavors together quite nicely. The alcohol content is 6.4% ABV. The vanilla beans are what absolutely made this beer, as they bridged the gap between the dark chocolate and coffee flavors together.

Denver Beer Company Pueblo Chili Beer

The Denver Beer Company Pueblo Chili Beer was served at the Colorado Brewer's Guild Brunch at Freshcraft. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of spicy chili pepper and a hint of caramel, but not much else. The taste is spicy with lots of chili pepper. As with the aroma, there is a faint caramel backbone, but the beer focuses on a lingering warmth. The alcohol content is not available online but I would assume it to be about 5.0% ABV. Typically, I like my chili pepper beers with more of a chocolate base, so the light-bodied caramel base didn't quite cut it for me with this one.

Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti

At the Colorado Brewer's Guild Brunch at Freshcraft, I ordered a glass of Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti. The beer pours a black color with a frothy brown colored head. The aroma consists of espresso, coffee, chocolate, toasted malts, caramel, and oak. The taste is dry and bold with dark espresso bean and bacon flavors. Oak accents are strong with bold Belgian chocolate making up the backbone. The finish has a touch of vanilla and caramel. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. For a coffee infused beer, this one ranks near the top of them all. It had such a strong coffee presence build upon dark chocolate, and the oak really added the drying aspects to make it spectacular.

Dry Dock The Ambassador

Another beer made available to the Colorado Brewer's Guild Brunch at Freshcraft was Dry Dock's The Ambassador, a barrel aged sour. The beer pours a golden color with specks of white colored head floating atop the liquid. The aroma consists of vinegar, funk, tart cherry, oak, and lemon. The taste is tart and very puckering with lemon, wheat, and tart cherry. A dry oak finish accompanied with plenty of vinegar all around rounded out the flavors. The alcohol content is 6.2% ABV. The Ambassador was an,amazing beer that announces its sour presence with all of vigor of vinegar.

Upslope Pumpkin Ale

During the Colorado Brewer's Guild Brunch, I ordered a glass of Upslope Pumpkin Ale. The beer pours an amber color with a thin filmy white colored head. The aroma consists of pumpkin, cinnamon, graham cracker, nutmeg, and vanilla. The taste is strong with pumpkin, nice hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and a graham cracker finish that has a slight ginger spice. The alcohol content is 7.7% ABV. For a pumpkin beer, this had a wonderful blend of flavors and was not too heavy on the spices, keeping it from being too dry. It ranks in the top five of my favorite pumpkin beers.

Avery Tangerine IPA

The final Avery beer I tried as part of the tap takeover at Alehouse at Amato's was the Tangerine IPA. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head that leaves a moderate lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of tangerine, orange, lemon, grapefruit, and caramel. The taste is bitter and dry with lots of citrus including tangerine, orange, lemon, and grapefruit. Pepper, pine, and spruce all combine to yield a hell of a bitter finish. The alcohol content is not available online but I would estimate it to be about 7.0% ABV. Tangerine was prevalent in this beer and I think it did the beer well, making for a refreshing and very citrusy beer.

Avery Ale to the Chief

Note: This was not intended to be posted on election night, but it just happened that way. Fun!

Another beer on tap at Alehouse at Amato's as part of the Avery tap takeover was Ale to the Chief, a beer only brewed once every four years. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of tangerine, orange, grapefruit, hop oil, pineapple, and caramel. The taste is hoppy and bitter with tangerine, grapefruit, and orange flavors abound. There was plenty of hop oils that lingered on the tongue with a very bitter and dry finish brought to you by pine and spruce flavors. The alcohol content is 8.75% ABV. This beer was the definition of fresh and had great citrus and hop flavors. I absolutely loved the oily residue left behind on the tongue and wish I could drink this beer several more times.

Avery Lilikoi Kepolo Mahu

As part of an Avery tap takeover at Alehouse at Amato's, I ordered a glass of Lilikoi Kepolo Mahu. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of passion fruit, pineapple, lemon, and pepper. The taste is full of passion fruit, pineapple, lemon, and pepper. Overall, the beer tastes like a fruit cup. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. I thought it was a nice beer, but typically I'm not fond of fruit cups and their slightly sugary flavor. While I would drink this beer again, it wasn't my favorite.

Ska Brewing Autumnal Mole Stout

The manager at Alehouse at Amato's had three extra cans of Ska Brewing Autumnal Mole Stout left from a beer pairing dinner, so he brought the cans over to our table. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy tan head. The aroma consists of spicy pepper, chocolate, toasted malts, and cinnamon. The taste is bold with chocolate and a light spicy chili pepper flavor. This chili flavor is not overdone but nicely balanced and is also accompanied by a cinnamon and caramel finish. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. Overall, this was a nice chili pepper stout with good balance and a nice flavor profile.

Funkwerks Nit Wit

While out to dinner at Alehouse at Amato's in Denver, I ordered a glass of Funkwerks Nit Wit. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, wheat, pepper, grass, and hay. The taste is light and refreshing with lemon, pepper, and grass. There is a dry finish that leaves an earthy flavor on the tongue. The alcohol content is 4.7% ABV. The Nit Wit had a wonderful wit flavor and was very refreshing, perfect for the first course of a meal.