Denver Brewery Tastings

Earlier in August we headed west to Denver for a friends wedding. We arrived mid-day Thursday which gave us plenty of time to take in the Rockies game and all-day Friday to explore the city. Of course in such a great beer town like Denver we made sure to hit up handful of local brew pubs.

Colorado Native beer at Coors Field

Thursday after the baseball game we walked a few blocks down to Wynkoop Brewing Co. for a late night snack and a few craft brews. They had a wide selection on tap of their beers and a few guest taps as well.

At Wynkoop

Having all day Friday proved to be good planning on our part. A group of 5 of us headed out to explore the city and take in a few tastings at the brew pubs. First stop was the Great Divide Brewing Company

Great Divide

They had a pretty sweet set-up with 20 taps available for tastings and even a short 20-30 minute behind the scenes tour if you wanted. We stuck to the beer, as I have been on a handful of tours and feel that they are mostly the same. We were able to check out the facilities from the windows inside the tasting room. Don't worry the 5 of us shared those samples!

The next and last stop was Breckenridge Brewery. This was the public house right down by Coors Field, a restaurant and not a brewery/tasting room. They had a handful of there beers on tap and a bunch of guest taps. I was a little dissapointed in the small sample size of their beers, but I was able to get a Small Batch 471 on draft.

Cheers and Happy Drinking!

Top 20 Craft Breweries

In 2011, all top 25 craft breweries experienced increases in revenues. Craft breweries recorded 15 percent growth in volume of barrels shipped, compared to a 1.5 percent decrease in the beer industry overall, according to industry estimates from Beer Marketer's Insights. Currently, 1,900 craft breweries are in operation across the nation, with an additional 900 in the planning stages, making great beer a more accessible treat for the 95 million beer lovers in the U.S.

via Huffington post (full article)

1. Boston Beer
2. Sierra Nevada
3. New Belgium
4. Craft Brew Alliance
5. Spoetzl
6. Magic Hat
7. Deschutes
8. Matt
9. Bell's
10. Harpoon
11. Lagunitas
12. Boulevard
13. Stone
14. Dogfish Head
15. Brooklyn
16. Alaskan
17. Shipyard
18. Abita
19. Long Trail
20. Great Lakes

Brewery Roadtrip: Market Garden Brewery - Cleveland, OH

Beer Sign in the Market Garden Brewery

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was able to sneak away with my brother-in-law Joe and head up to the Market Garden Brewery in the Ohio City neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio. The brew pub opened earlier this year (2011), right next to the West Side Market and also near the Great Lakes Brewery. It is worth the trip to downtown Cleveland for a few tasty beers and a really cool atmosphere. I think they brew some pretty distinct beers and are in good hands...

Brewmaster, Andy Tveekrem, has been a professional brewer for 20 years and prior to this venture has been the Brewmaster at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware (2004-2009), Frederick Brewing Company in Maryland (2000-2004), and Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland (1991-2000) (Source: Market Garden Brewery)

Taps at the Market Garden Brewery

I was able to sample the Viking Pale Ale and the Festivus Ale (paying homage to the Costanza non-Christmas holiday in Seinfeld), "It's a Festivus, for the rest of us!". Both were pretty good choices on my part and I would love to stop back and tick off a few more for my beer list. My only concern about the beers is the number of beers on tap. While having a choice is a great thing, my worry is that with so many beers to attend to, does the quality suffer? I can't answer that question now because I've only had the 2 to think about, but it is a question that I will bring back with me on my next visit.

Festivus Ale

The brew pub is a re-purposed grocery store and poultry shop and the marriage between new and vintage is done right. It's pretty easy to see how this place could have been a hopping place to grab a beer back in Cleveland's heyday but yet still feels new and in the right place. I love that this is right across the street fro McNulty's Bier Markt and down the street from GLBC. I'm hopeful for another beer stop to make Ohio City a destination for craft beer (if it isn't already). Ohio City seems to be going through a Renaissance, much like Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati. What is old is new again.

Cheers and Happy Drinking.