Barley's Angels Pizza and Beer pairing at Hops & Pie, Denver

Sunday was pizza and beer pairing at Hops & Pie in Denver hosted by Barley's Angels Colorado. There must have been 19 women not including the hostess, Deborah Cameron, all seated in the main dining area. Deborah greeted everyone and took a seat at my table with three other lovely ladies who hadn't been to a Barley's Angels event before. Our host from Hops & Pie was Remi, who is the taproom manager. He describe the pizzas and beers for each course.

Remi, taproom manager of Hops & Pie.

Ladies at my table, Deborah Cameron is on the
very left.

When I arrived there were  two glasses at each table setting. I thought it was rather odd for a pizza pairing, a small snifter of soup with a taster of beer. The soup was a chilled strawberry and goat cheese with a balsamic reduction. The beer was Elevation Brewing's 3rd Base, a Tripel that is 9% ABV. I have to say the soup had that earthy sweet flavor with the combination of the fruit and cheese but it surprised me in that it was quite tasty. The Tripel with it's lemon, pepper, and orange notes went very well with the soup.

3rd Base Tripel and chilled strawberry goat cheese soup.

The first course was my favorite, it was a southern fried chicken, waffles, sweet potato, bacon, and roasted Brussels sprouts pizza with aged white cheddar cheese with a maple bourbon gravy that we asked to have on the side. I decided to pour some of the gravy on my piece of pizza and I'm glad I did because it was so good. A great brunch pizza especially since the weather outside was cloudy and chilly. The beer paired with it was Triple XXX, 9% ABV barrel-aged Old Ale from Eel River Brewing. I enjoyed both pizza and beer, the dark slightly sweet with a boozy finish of the Triple XXX complimented the sweet and savory flavor of the pizza. With luck, I will hope to be able order this pizza and beer combo again.

Southern fried chicken and waffle pizza.

The next course was a pulled pork, smoked ham hock, smoked pork loin on top of a blackberry barbecue sauce pizza. It was paired with a Tequila barrel-aged Oskar Blue's Gubna, a 10% ABV Imperial IPA. I don't really enjoy IPA's but the Gubna cut through the smokiness of the pork.

Tequila barrel-aged Gubna and pork, pork, pork pizza.

The last course I would have thought would have been a dessert pizza but I was disappointed. The last pizza was a vegetarian with jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, and white onion. The beer paired with this pizza was Why Can't IBU, a Belgian IPA from Stillwater Artisanal Ales. This lower alcohol beer at 5.6% ABV was just as bland as the pizza, so they went very well together. I'm not sure if the beer should have been more of a contrast where it would have brought out the flavors of the pizza. Not my favorite course.

Belgian IPA and vegetarian pizza.

But all in all this was a good event where women were enjoying the beer/pizza pairing along with the company of other women. This is why I like gender specific beer events, such camaraderie among women who are friends and women who are making new friends over beer and food.

Facebook Page: the colorado beer scribe

I have a new Facebook page that is devoted to this blog which is all beer related. I am trying this out to see if I can get more people interested. Please check out the Facebook page.

The Bruery at Backcountry Pizza in Boulder

Tart of Darkness (sour stout) very sour with a raisin finish. White Oak 2012 (blend of wheat wine aged in bourbon barrels and Mischief (Strong Golden Ale), I like this smooth sweet with a bourbon tones.

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.

Tap n' Handle Tap House in Ft Collins

We took the day off and headed to Ft Collins. Tap n Handle is a tap house with over 72 taps plus a shit load of bottles. Today I have a pineapple apple hard cider from Rocky Mountain Wild, it's 6% ABV with a nice sweet flavor of apple and a backend of pineapple.

Choice City Butcher and Deli, beer and lunch in Ft. Collins

Epic Blackberry Saison and a Rueben Buffalo
Burger, so decadent!

Beer and lunch at Choice City Butcher and Deli. Russ Robinson owner and beer geek has over 35 beers on tap from local breweries like New Belgium to overseas ones from Belgium breweries. Choice City is also a deli and butcher shop that has some special  beer brats and crazy sausages. We bought sausages that are made with exotic meats; rattlesnake, rabbit with habanero peppers, and chardonnay wine, wild! 

 Epic epication, a blackberry saison and Het Anker, 2012 Gouden Carolus Blue, a quad 11% ABV. The sandwich is a buffalo Reuben burger, heart attack lunch!