I had planned on doing a 5 hour ride on my mountain bike Saturday but free tickets to a beer tasting threw a wrench in that plan. I got out for a little road ride and then, after some lunch, Heather and I headed down to Bristol Brewing. We entered through the front door and then proceeded straight to the back VIP style. We were given our mugs and wristbands and then ushered passed the rather large guys working security. What a scene. If there's a heaven it probably smells, looks and sounds like the back of Bristol did yesterday. The place was PACKED. I grabbed Heather's mug and made a beeline to the casks. I stood there in awe for a few minutes as I read the descriptions. Feeling confident...I made my selections. Then we shuffled even further back to where the fermenting tanks are and savored our firkin beers.
I think this was number 9 and 10. With Heather not being a beer drinker, my strategy was to fill up both mugs with different brews and then I double timed it. It was a technique that served me well.
The list of brewers on hand was quite impressive. New Belgium, Trinity, Pagosa, Great Divide, Wynkoop, Boulder, Bristol, etc. The list went on. It was all Colorado brewers. Most of the beers were simply heavenly. The nectar of the Gods. Only a few of them were brews that I didn't care for (surprisingly enough...New Belgium's beer was extremely sour and Denver brewer Wynkoop who has a fabulous restaurant in the LoDo area and makes delicious beer bread had a brew there that was very bitter...an after taste reminiscent of grapefruit). Still though, I soldiered on and had my way with both of them.
This was taken back in the back by all the fermentation tanks. Notice the guy on the far right. Yes...the one wearing a Dark Side of the Moon patch on his fleece. That's one smooth son of a bitch.
This was the scene at the cask area. Initially my strategy was to hand pick brews each time I went back for more. But then I began having trouble remembering which ones I had already had. So in my infinite wisdom, I then decided to work my from the top right and then to the left. In this photo, the very important gentlemen in the picture was actually getting me a glass of a brew (there's simply no way I can remember what brewery it came from) of green chili beer. It was fantastic. I have had jalapeno beer before it was tough to get through and punishing the next day. This was very drinkable. It smelled delicious. I spent a lot of time with my nose buried in the glass in between sips. I wanted another glass of it but....alas....I had work to do damnit.
This was the scene back up front. You can see all the casks on the left and the tanks are all in that back room. At this point, I was actually considering trying to steal a cask and making a run for it. Then I was reminded of the larger guys working security. This was a really good time. I'll definitely be going back next year. I am so thankful that the person that actually paid for the tickets was not able to attend. At one point I did send him a text indicating my love for him. Worry not my dedicated readers, for I had a highly skilled designated driver in my lovely wife. She only sampled beers every once in a while and was more content to go with the water.
I also had a very serious discussion with Heather after who knows how many beers were consumed. The subject centered around mustaches and wax. I'm going to leave it at that for now.
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