Romero's K-9 Club and Tap House in Lafayette, Colorado

The first time I heard of this tap house I was a little wary because of the k9 aspect, all I could image was dogs running all over the venue. I have to say, I was wrong! It is a wonderful place to have a beer and you don't have to worry about the other patrons dogs either. Romero's is one of a handful of tap houses that has a wonderful tap list, I think with Lenny's background in beer helped shaped the venue.
On any given day they could have some local and out of state breweries, Romero's also has wine on tap and canned beers which is for drinking on premises only. You can buy pretzels from a local company and snacks for your pooch.

Lenny and Maria have it worked out. First you have to register your dog with all of the dog's information. Secondly, they also have house rules that are fairly enforced. The tap house has a nice size bar with a few tables that have carbine clips to secure your dog's leash. There is a large patio area that is enclosed during cold weather and two areas for dogs to run under owners supervision. Since it is a dog friendly bar, children under 16 aren't allowed. Lenny and Maria are very adamant about that, it is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Lenny Torres and Maria Redondo started this idea of a tap house in 2013 while on vacation in the Southeast.  My husband and I met them at Oskar Blues taproom, The Tasty Weasel around 2014. They were on a beer vacation so we recommended a few of our favorite beer venues and also told them about our beer app, The Colorado Beer Tour. So we were surprised to see that they opened a tap house in our neck of the woods in Lafayette, Colorado. In Boulder county, there's a high per capita of dogs to people so I imagine that was a selling point.

In an email interview, Lenny told me that it was Maria that got him into craft beer. She was a bartender at World of Beer in Orlando, Florida and became infatuated with craft beer. Maria went from bartending to Opening Coordinator for the WOB franchise where she traveled to many cities outside of Florida. In that position she trained all new employees in beer, such as the background and the different styles.  Maria continued to work at the World of Beer as a Product Manager and General Manager when they moved to Colorado.

Lenny background was in distribution of beer. He started working as an assistant product manager at a farm to table restaurant when an opportunity came his way for an accountant manager position at a specialty beverage distributor in Florida. There he was able to make beer connections with the top breweries from around the country. When they moved to Colorado, Lenny was able to get a sales position with Crooked Stave Artisans, the distribution part of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project in Denver.

It really didn't take long before they had a business plan, secured capital, and found the right location for the tap house. They have been open since August 12, 2016 and will be celebrating their first year soon. Some time late 2017 they plan to have a permanent food truck on site and they will also continue hosting other food trucks. Due to the Health Department rules of forbidding animals in food production areas, Romero's can't have food preparations in the taproom.

Former Future Brewing with Barley's Angels CO and Brewed Food.

Last week in Denver, Barley’s Angels hosted an event at Former Future Brewing with Chef/Cicerone Jensen Cummings of Brewed Food. This was a very strange but interesting beer and food pairing event that I’ve ever attended.

Former Future Brewing co-founder Sarah Howat was there to give us a tour and was the spokesperson for the brewery.  They brew on a 4 barrel system where yeast is a defining ingredient in their beers. Sarah mentioned that " we tend to use more varieties of yeast then any other ingredient, allowing each beer to stand out on it's own." Sarah also talked about their sour ale brewing, Black Project, where they kinda have an open fermentation with two large cooking kettles. Black Project never uses lab yeast in the fermentation process but collect what's floating in the air. Jensen Cummings is the founder of this pop-up group, Brewed Food. They push the boundaries of cooking with beer but they take it to another level, instead of cooking with beer they use the ingredients or techniques in brewing; hops, yeast, malt or fermentation in their dishes. I was confused at this point until he talked about the sauces on our plates that were going to be paired with beer.

Deborah Cameron, Sarah Howat, and
Jensen Cummings.

Sarah and Jensen explaining the pairings.

Fermentation kettles for the sour ales.

First course was a plate of 3 sauces or marinades, I understand they can be either. The red sauce was a fermented sriracha and blueberry sauce that was paired with Lage Landen, a Belgian tripel with a 9.0% ABV.  This pairing went well, the beer cut the heat from the sauce.

The second sauce was sweet with the flavors of a teriyaki marinade but it only had 2 tbsp of soya sauce in the whole batch, so it was a wort reduction from Former Future's and it had a molasses thickness and flavor.  The third wasn’t a sauce but a powder substance which turned out to be a hop cured egg yolk. Yeah, this was one of the weirdest thing I have ever tasted. Cured with salt, sugar, spent grain that was aged for 5 months and it turns into a Parmesan cheese with funkiness. This was paired with Bonne Ace IPA with Citra hops. to me the beer gave the egg more egg flavor. Weird, I know.

The next pairing was a vegetarian dish with a Korean BBQ influence. Bugolgi style squash with baechu kimchi, soured mango and pueblo chilie bbq. All of the vegetables were fermented so there wasn’t a pickled taste but I was really hungry and this dish didn’t satisfy me very much but all the other women really enjoyed this pairing. The beers for this dish were in contrast of each other, one was the Gadabout Lager which had herbal notes and the Pabulum, a Grisette which is a low alcohol Farmhouse ale.  I liked both beers and thought they both worked well with the fermented vegetables.

All in all it was an interesting night and I am impressed with Former Future Brewing that I will go there again. If in the neighborhood, check them out Jan 29 and 30, it’s their 2 year anniversary party.

An evening with Andy Parker of Avery Brewing discussing, Gestalt Theory: United Forces

Barley’s Angels had an educational event hosted at Avery Brewing with Andy Parker, Barrel Herder. We got to experience the process that goes into choosing which barrel-aged sours goes into production at Avery Brewing.

Kirsten Mundorff, one of the Barley's Angels organizers.

Andy Parker, Barrel Herder.

Andy Parker has been an employee at Avery for 13 years and asked Adam Avery’s permission to buy a few barrels which ultimately started the barrel-aging program at the brewery. In 2009, Brabant, a barrel-aged wild ale became the first in their Barrel-aging series and the success of that program is evident in the soon to be released number 33, Lunctis Viribus.   We were privileged to be the first outside of Avery Brewing to get a taste of Lunctis Viribus, when translated from Latin means Joined Forces or United Forces. Avery Brewing has over 2000 oak barrels and 300 wine barrels.   

Balcony area behind the brew house.

The event was in the back balcony of the brew house where there are tables and a portable bar. On each table there were place mats labeled with tank 1-3, Tequila sour, Eremita IX, and the final product that will soon be bottle and sold sometime in February of this year. We were poured a two ounces glass of tank 1-3 sour ale and asked which one we liked. Then Andy told us what the tasters from Avery thought of them. Of course, the Avery tasters were in a blind test, they didn’t know what they had while we did. It was very interesting hearing the results.

Tweak, barrel-aged Mephistopheles with coffee.

Andy went through the long blind tasting process that every barrel of sour ale goes through before it is good to go into bottles. It has to be anonymous for the sour ale to go into production. He said that 5% of the barrels of the sour ales on average gets dumped while 1% of non-sour barrels do.  Many sours ales are a blend of barrels, since they don’t know how each is going to taste after being in the barrels. In barrel-aging, Andy noted that the barrel is the fifth ingredient along with water, hops, yeast, and malt. He talked about the Avery house strain of yeast Drie, that was developed from a Tre Foutane bottle with the latter's permission, of course. Templates for the sour ales aren’t from any Avery base beer, these are made from scratch.

The Avery restaurant provided some snacks to pair with the sours we were tasting. It was a very interesting event and hats off to the staff at Avery including Andy Parker for such an educational night.

Andy, Amy, Corie, and Austin, the Avery Staff.

Powder Keg Brewing in Niwot, CO

New breweries are popping up so fast that this blogger has a difficult time keeping up but we (my husband and I) stopped by a fairly new brewery, Powder Keg Brewing in Niwot, CO.

It was a few days after Christmas so the places was fairly empty and the wait staff were the two of the founders of Powder Keg,  Mark Krebs and Charlie Schira.  The brewer is Phil Joyce but he wasn't there that day. Two of the founders were home brewers that decided to take it the next step, owning a brewery.

Mark Krebs and Charlie Schira, co-founders
of Powder Keg Brewing.

They had five of their beers on tap plus 17 guest taps so we ordered a taster set;
6.2% ABV Steam Steed IPA.
4.2% ABV Seize One Saison,
Totes McOats Stout is 5.8% ABV,
Noble Barbarian Baltic Porter is 9.8% ABV ,
and a 4.4% ABV Blueberry Claussenni and Blueberry Drie Sour Ale.

All were solid beers but I liked the Totes McOats Stout and the Noble Barbarian the best. I think with the winter weather, I'm more apt to drink the darker beers. Larry enjoyed the Steam Steed IPA but was disappointed the the double IPA was sold out. He heard from a friend that it was excellent.  To be a taproom/brewery they have food available, empanadas and snacks. I really like that idea of having food on the premises instead of a food truck.  We tend to visit breweries early in the afternoon and food trucks usually are a early evening food source.

I think that this brewery will do well in the future and I recommend this to anyone interested in a new brewery.

Post Brewing- Chicken and Beer Dinner

Last week Post Brewing had a beer dinner organized by Barley's Angels Colorado.  This event was mix gender so I brought my husband, Larry.  Post Brewing is located in downtown Lafayette and has become a very popular place with the locals.  Along with being a brewery, Post Brewing is a restaurant that specializes in chicken, cooked in many ways and comfort foods.

The night started with checking-in with Deborah Cameron, who is the founder of the Barley's Angels Colorado .   Scheduled as a added activity was a brewery tour with Brew Master, Brian Selders. Cyn Goodman, of the Colorado Beer Trail was there video tapping the event.

We were given 2 beer tickets that were included with the dinner. While we waited, beer sounded really good so as it turned out if you were going on the tour there was a complimentary 5 ounce pour of any beer they had for the event.  The "bar" was a table that had a jockey box on top with three taps; Ol' Zippy, a Premium American Ale that is 4.5% ABV,  Meathooks, Dark Mild Ale at 4.1% ABV, and a collaboration with Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Bulky Oxen is a session Barley Wine that is 7.7% ABV.

Meathooks, Dark Mild Ale.

Bulky Oxen, a session Barley Wine.

Brew Master, Brian Selders.

The brewery tour was with the Brew Master, Brian Selders. Brian designed the brew house to be very efficient with quality control.  As we know, that is a major issue with small breweries, inconsistency from batch to batch of beer.  The brew house was very clean and very technological. The start of the tour was the grain room then to the main brewing area.  All was clean and shiny, so he probably wasn't brewing that day.  The brew house was very impressive for such a small brewery. Brian brews on a 15 barrel system with 75% of the finish product going into kegs.  He supplies beers for the other restaurants owned by Big Red F.

After the tours were done, Deborah spoke about the upcoming events of Barley's Angels Colorado and Brian Selders spoke about his philosophy of brewing beer for Post.  He brews for the food like what compliments the menu at the restaurant. None of his beers will be big. I know it is disappointed especially with his long employment at Dogfish Head as one of the brewers. But you have to give him credit that he wants the customer to enjoy the beer with any of the dishes on the menu.

First course was a side salad and rosemary cheddar biscuit paired with one of the two beer tickets. I had the dark mild ale that went well with the salad.

The next course was rotisserie chicken with brown gravy, fried chicken with country gravy, and green chili mac & cheese topped with bread crumbs, all was served family style. I had the rotisserie chicken with the brown gravy and chili mac & cheese, I thought the biscuit would have been good with this course as well.

We met some nice people from Denver and Thornton, who we chatted with before and during dinner. Thanks to Deborah Cameron for this event, I really enjoyed the evening. Thanks to Post Brewing for provided the dinner and beer.

2014 Craft Brewers Conference in Denver

The 2014 Craft Brewers Conference was held in Denver, CO on April 8-11 at the Colorado Convention Center.  I didn’t attend this conference for many reasons (not really in the business and it cost more than I can afford) but a good friend of mine, Dennis Koss as there as my on the spot reporter. This is his account of the weeks events.

The conference was well attended with over 9000 craft brewers and allied trade members participating with approximately 1100 breweries were represented.   I attended as a brewer who is planning to one day open my own brewery.

Weeks Events:

Tuesday was a day for registration, first time attendees meeting, bus tours to local breweries and a welcome reception held at Sports Authority Field.

The Conference started in earnest on Wednesday with the keynote address.  Speakers included:

Charlie Papazian, President, Brewers Association

John Hickenlooper, Colorado Governor

Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association

Julia Herz, Craft Beer Program Director of Brewers Association

Gary Fish, Deschutes Brewery

Bart Watson, Staff Economist at Brewers Association

Dick Cantwell, Elysian Brewing

John Mallet, Bell's Brewing

Keynote Speaker Michael Pollan, author of several books including Cooked, where Michael learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer.  His topic was "Are we, as brewers controlling the yeast making our fermented beverages or are the yeast controlling us?"

Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday were filled with seminars with topics regarding all aspects of operating a well-functioning brewery. Topics covered a broad range from start-up funding to the very technical subjects.  Many seminars were dedicated to protecting your brand, from protecting your intellectual property to making quality beer.  

Josh Lampe, Marc Sorini, Kim Jordan, and Sam Calagione.

By far, the most well attended seminar was Friday with the topic of “Entitle Using Belgian Yeast: Three Belgian’s Perspectives”, hosted by Vinnie Cilurzio of Russian River Brewing, Vinnie introduced the panel of Yvan De Bates of Brasserie de la Senne, Hedwig Neven of Duvel Moortgat and Steven Pauwels of Boulevard Brewing.  Yvan De Yates spoke about fermenter design and its influence on fermentation. Hedwig Neven spoke about yeast flocculation while Steven Pauwels spoke about mixed fermentation with yeast fermentation and the influence of brettanomyces and lactobacillus on sour beers.

Along with the Craft Brewers conference was Brew-Expo America, a trade show for the brewing industry that included nearly 500 exhibitors from equipment and ingredient suppliers to service providers.  100 plus breweries provided beer donations for attendees from Alaskan Brewing to Wynkoop. Hospitality suites and sponsored demonstrations were provided by many vendors.

Many events were held outside of the conference as well.  On Thursday Lagunitas Brewing and Left Hand Brewing presented The Funktion at the Filmore while Oskar Blues sponsored a bluegrass show at the Ogden Theater. Several beer focused bars in the area also had several special events in conjunction with the conference.  I was able to get to the Falling Rock Tap House on the evening where they had 20 barrel aged beers on tap.  Another event held in conjunction with the conference was the 2014 World Beer Cup.  Beers were judged early in the week with the awards ceremony on Friday evening.  Several Colorado brewers won awards.

The Craft Brewers Conference was extremely well organized and a great deal of valuable information was shared. Next years conference will be held in Portland, OR April 14-17.

City Star Brewing in Berthoud CO

Ending our brewery tour at City Star Brewing. They have grown since last time here. Very good, they have a solid brown ale, a raspberry version that I liked, and they have a chili pale ale that doesn't burn going down.

Big Choice Poblano Stout

I have had this beer at the Big Choice tap room and loved the subtle chili flavor but when I saw it in the liquor store I had to buy one. '42 Poblano Stout is only 5.7% ABV but rich in flavor. There's a pepper on the nose then a sweet malt front-end with that slight pepper burn on the throat as an afterthought. This is available locally in 4 pack cans.

Gestalt Theory: Blending a Barrel-aged Sour Beer. Hosted by Andy Parker, Barrel Herder at Avery Brewing Co

Avery Brewing has been a brewery that does more than brew and pour beer. It's become an educational brewery where they have hosted events that focus on the process of making beer. Gestalt Theory was one of those educational events with Head Barrel-aging Master, Andy Parker as host and lecturer. He has been a brewer at Avery for around 11 years. The start of their barrel-aging craze was as Andy calls it, "On a whim".   Andy ask Adam Avery if he could barrel-age a few of their beers and of course, it was given the thumbs up.

Andy Parker is behind the bar.

Salvation, Reverend, and Hog Heaven were barrel-aged with various results. At this stage of the learning curb, Andy was an infant. But since then he has become "The Master".

The "lecture" was about the blending process of the making of Emermita V. When you open a bottle of a sour beer, the first thing is nose,  the lovely aroma and then the taste of the beers flavors burst in your mouth and the last phase is the after flavors which is much like drinking any other beer except the process of making the sourness or tartness isn't at all like brewing a brown or an IPA. Just for Emermita V is took many barrel-aged beer and many blind tasting for this sour beer.

 I learned that blending sour beer is a long process that on first glance seems like a sweet job, but after the lecture I realized it takes dedication and a good palate. Andy said that on some days of barrel tasting, his palate becomes saturated with the sourness of the beers that he has to walk away and drink a palate cleanser such as Avery's Joe's Pilsner.

Avery Brewing has these kinds of events throughout the year and it's well worth the price of a ticket. Andy Parker did a wonderful job with his knowledge and humor.

Bed and Breakfast + BEER! Purple Mountain B & B in Crested Butte.

This post is not really about Purple Mountain Lodge Bed and Breakfast but about what they are offering guest, Colorado crafty beer.

Chris Haver and his wife bought the B & B in 2003 and did a complete renovation with keeping the integrity of the historical building. If you've been to a B & B, you know it's not just the room and breakfast that keeps guest coming but that personal touch that hotels just can't give due to the volume of people. This homey touch includes an afternoon happy hour, usually with wine as a ice breaker for the owners to engage with their guests.  Chris Haver really didn't enjoy drinking wine or was really interested. He has been a home brewer for over 20 years and started serving his guest beer instead of wine. With the boom in Colorado with microbreweries, his guest became more interested in craft beer. He found that in some areas the B & B's would offer tours of the local breweries or they were associated with a brewery. Chris realized that there wasn't enough to offer in Crested Butte, one brewery and one distillery which doesn't make for a long tour.

After a long weekend checking out breweries in Denver, he decided to have a special  beer month were he could showcase a specific Colorado brewery. Purple Mountain Lodge is small enough that he can enjoy drinking a beer with his guests and discuss the beer, share information about the brewing process, and the beer history.  March is the start of featuring a brewery and pouring the "beer of the day" for his guests. This is a daily event that is complimentary to his guests.  Left Hand Brewery Co is the brewery for March. This "afternoon beer" started as an end of the season special that was such a success that now there will be a new brewery featured each month.

Photo provided by Chris Haver.

Chris choose Left Hand for their extensive number of beers that he can offer to guests each day. He has a college buddy that works at Left Hand Brewery who was there to give advise if there were any issues but it went very smooth.

Chris Haver

(970) 349-5888

Purple Mountain B & B + Studio Day Spa
714 Gothic Ave.
Crested Butte, CO 81224