Grist Brewing Company (Highlands Ranch, CO) - 9 DEC 2014

Grist is a perfect name for a brewery.  One of 8 breweries (6 local, 2 chain) within a few miles of each along the C-470 corridor just south of Denver, Grist Brewing Company is exciting and unique.  It is different than any other brewery that I have visited.  The brewery has an industrial feel due to the high ceilings, exposed duct work, and clear view of the brewing equipment, but at the same time has a community feel around the bar, where the bar tenders and the patrons all interact.

We came to Grist Brewing Company after visiting 3 Freaks Brewing, mostly because it was the only one still open (small tap rooms often close early).  These two places were as different as night and day:  3 Freaks was small, Grist was large; 3 Freaks had a small selection, Grist had a full assortment; 3 Freaks was quaint, Grist was industrial chic.  Regardless, both were great places to visit.

Grist was pouring a full assortment of beers including many interesting ones and so taster was in order.  I chose one with the American Barleywine, Baltic Porter, Belgian Single with Juniper Berries, Belgian Strong Ale, and Weizenbock (470 Bock).

The industrial feel of Grist is reflected in the design of their taster tray.

The Weizenbock (470 Bock) has an interesting back story.  Earlier this year the eight breweries along the C-470 corridor (Blue Spruce Brewing Company & Restaurant, 3 Freaks Brewery, Lone Tree Brewing Company, 38th State Brewing Company, Grist Brewing Company, Living the Dream Brewing Company, CB Potts Brewery-Highlands Ranch, and Rock Bottom Brewery-South Denver) got together to develop a special recipe for a collaboration brew.  

In addition to this collaboration beer, the breweries were offering a "beer passport” that can be picked up at any of the eight locations. The passport will be stamped as patrons visit each location and the first 300 people that have their passport stamped from all eight breweries will receive a free limited edition C-470 Collaboration pint glass. The glass is etched with all eight brewery’s logos.  What a cool idea.  I hope that we get something similar here in Dayton or Cincinnati or Columbus or ....

Growler fill station at Grist.

Another first for me was the growler fill station.  I am not completely sure how it works, but from the explanation given and my own observation I think that the system evacuates the growler and then fills it with beer diverted from the tap system.  Once full, the growler is removed and the top is screwed on.  This process is supposed to allow the beer to remain fresh for months.  Pretty cool.

The brewery is separated from the tap room by a row of fermenters that seem to serve a similar function as a hedgerow - separating two distinct areas in a very appealing manner.  When I poked my head around the fermenters to snap a few pictures, I was approached by one of the bar tenders.  Expecting to be chastised for breeching the barrier, I was instead offered an impromptu tour of the brewing operations.  The brewery was designed for maximum efficiency and growth potential.  Clearly one of the best designed and equipped breweries I've ever visited.

And they have a full assortment of games.

3 Freaks Brewery (Highlands Ranch, CO) - 9 DEC 2014

3 Freaks Brewery wasn't on my list of possible places to visit.  It didn't even show up on my original google search of breweries near in the area.  However, how could I not stop by since it was just up the street from our hotel, was right next to the Chinese restaurant recommended for dinner by the hotel desk clerk, and had such a cool name.  

3 Freaks is a small place.  A few seats at the bar and a few tables near the store front windows typical of a strip mall location.  The bar looks directly back into the brewery which consists of a couple of closely packed fermenters in one of the most cramped brew spaces that I've ever seen.  The picture below doesn't do it justice.

View of the brewery from the bar.

We sat at the bar and directly in front of us was the sink used by the brewer for cleaning up from brewing.  Because of that, he was pretty much a captive audience for my many questions.  He was pleasant to talk with and proud of what they had accomplished in such a short time - they opened in June of this year.

Their web site states "We love the idea that we can be freakishly creative" and freakishly creative is what I got with the Saasquash English Brown.  This fruit beer, made with butternut squash that had been charred with a blow torch, was a little odd at first, but slowly grew on me.   You could almost imagine a creme brulee taste from the blow torch carmelizing the sugars - and how many times can someone say they've had a beer made with butternut squash.  From my perspective they've still got a few kinks to work through, but they are definitely on the right track and they are definitely forging a path few others will tread.

Neon sign on the front of the brewery. 

Neon sign inside 3 Freaks.

Neon is big at 3 Freaks Brewery.

Pikes Peak Brewing Company (Monument, CO) - 10 DEC 2014

Could Pikes Peak Brewing Company be the perfect small brewery taproom?  Let's see.

Fireplace - Check!

Comfy Chairs - Check!

Board Games - Check!

Variety of beers to accommodate all tastes - Check!

Beer names with local significance - Check!

Beer can holiday lights - Check!

Special glassware for each beer - Check!

Elephant Rock IPA.

Friendly, attentive staff - Check!

Crowler fills - Check! Check!

Crowler machine at work.

Out of all of the breweries in and around Colorado Springs, CO, we decided to visit Pikes Peak Brewing Company based upon personal recommendations AND a Groupon deal - two pints, two pint glasses, and two 32oz Crowlers - hard to beat that.

The folks there - employees and patrons - were all super friendly.  When we heard that they had filled up a bunch of Crowlers earlier in the day (because it is labor intensive to fill them on demand) we said to each other that we wished we could have seen them do it.  The bar tender overheard us, and went through the whole process for us even though they were already fully stocked.  What is a Crowler you may ask?  Well, a Crowler was developed by Oskar Blues Brewery and is a machine that will seal a growler-sized can right at the bar.  The beer will stay fresh just like a commercially available canned beer.  I'd heard about them coming to some places in Ohio, but had never seen one.   It was really cool to watch it in action.  First, the bar tender fills the empty can (no top) with whatever beer you want.  Then he places it in the Crowler machine on a rotating platform.  The pull tab top is placed on top of the can and the machine starts.  It spins the can rapidly and attaches the top to the can.  I was hesitant of the quality of the seal and so double and triple wrapped it in my luggage for the trip home, but it survived just fine.

When some of the regulars heard that we were from out of town, they were really curious how we liked the place.  They loved Pikes Peak Brewing Company so much, they couldn't bring themselves to recommend any place else in the area.  They were right.  There is much to love, and nothing to dislike (except for maybe the fact that a brewpub named after Pikes Peak is in a strip mall near the highway).  

We only tried a few of the beers, and they were all good.  I still have a Crowler in my refrigerator, but based on my experience here, I don't expect my opinion to change. 

Brewery visible through windows behind the bar.  Notice the shelves of glassware designed specifically for each beer.

Blank Slate Brewing Company – Cincinnati, OH 6 DEC 2014

After a little more than two year's of operation (summer 2012), the Blank Slate Brewing Company just opened a taproom at its brewery location.   The brewery is literally a stone’s through from Cincinnati’s Lunken Airport, but hidden in a non-descript space easily missed. 

The brewery is very small in comparison to some of the other recently opened Cincinnati breweries (i.e. Rhinegeist, Mad Tree) and has the look of a “garage” operation, but don’t let that dissuade you.  They have been turning out unique, high quality beers since their opening, all of which has been meticulously documented in their blog posts.  Recent expansion allowed the creation of the tap room – see bags of grains waiting to be turned into beer in newly obtained storage space (bottom right photo below).  

 Notice the Tibetan prayer flags.

View from the tap room into the brewery.

The tap room is equipped with a small bar, a number of two seat tables – repurposed whisky barrels used for aging - and bigger tables that easily accommodate larger groups.  It’s not pretentious, but pleasant and welcoming as were the bar tender (who’d only been on the job 2 days) and the brewer who were both willing to engage in conversation despite the busyness surrounding the new opening.

Repurposed whiskey barrel, now a hightop table.

Without exception, the beers at Blank Slate Brewing Company were excellent.  They include the traditional beer styles, but all with a slight twist.  I had the India White (The Lesser Path) – a traditional white ale hopped up like an IPA.  Incredible!  Followed by the Saison (Ryesing Up) – a traditional unfiltered cloudiness met with a pepper hot finish.  My friend had the Spiced Oktoberfest (Turn for the Wurst) flavored with spices traditionally found in German sausage.

Beer taps with beers listed.

The Annex by Epic Brewing - (Salt Lake City, UT) - 16 DEC 2014

On my last visit to Salt Lake City I visited Epic Brewing Company.  It's a great place, but quite small only sitting 6 people.  Luckily when I was there, it wasn't crowded and I had a seat and with that the opportunity to try some of the more than 36 different beers produced by Epic.  But in acknowledgement that there was more demand that could be filled by this small "restaurant" (Utah law dictates a restaurant have at least 6 six seats, with 2 of them handicapped accessible), Epic created The Annex by Epic Brewing.  This pleasant gastropub focuses on artisanal dishes (read:  eloquent descriptions and small portions) while serving up an assortment of low alcohol draft beers and taster (2oz), snifter (6oz), pint (16oz) or bottle (22oz) amounts of the high alcohol bottled beers.  The place was hipster cool from the bright lighting and exposed brick work to the bearded/hatted clientele.  

The food that we had was great.  Chickpea fries (chick pear flour formed to tofu consistency and fried) with quinoa, whole baby carrots, and figs.  Bavette (French catch-all phrase for thin steak, or as my friend said, when they cut your steak for you) Frites with potatoes and greens. However, once back to the hotel, my friend felt the need to hit the snack bar.

View from our seats at the bar.

Extreme Beer:  Brainless on Peaches

Extreme Beer:  Smoked and Oaked

One of the main reasons for wanting to visit this place was to try two beers hightlighted in the The Brewtal Truth Guide to Extreme Beers.  I knew that there was no way to down 22oz'ers of these 11% behemoths, so was glad of the snifter sized pours.


Both were Belgian style beers, but each with a different barrel aged flavor profile.  Nothing overwhelming in either of these.  Smoked and Oaked has the subtle woody astringency from the whiskey barrel adding a slight complexity to the Belgian base.  The Brainless on Peaches picks up subtle flavors of the peach puree added to white wine barrels.

View from the rear of The Annex.

Festive lighting above the bar.

Wasatch Brewery (Salt Lake City, UT) - 16 DEC 2014

Located just a short walk (a few art galleries, hair salon, and Mellow Mushroom) from the Annex by Epic Brewing, the Wasatch Brewery is newly opened in the revived Sugar House block.  The location is ideal in an area made for parking the car and wondering about by foot.  

We stopped in for a quick one to check it out.  The focus here is obviously on the restaurant and not so much the the bar - it was very short, suitable for just a few people, though there were also a number of couches that probably best serve folks waiting for a table.  The bar staff was knowledgeable and friendly (going out of her way to get me some bottle caps).  

I tried the Outer Darkness Russian Imperial Stout by Sqautter's.  (I don't have a good feel for the difference between Wasatch Brewery and Squatter's.  My best guess is that Wasatch makes the draft beer and Squatter's the bottled beer).  Besides the really cool name, Outer Darkness was a perfect example of a Russian Imperial Stout (RIS as the beer geeks like to say).  It had a boozy alcohol feel with lots of complex flavors like molasses and licorice typical of the style.  It also came in a really cute 7oz bottle.  Probably a good thing, the 22oz option would have left me melted to the to the bar stool.

Delicious Russian Imperial Stout.

Wasatch Test Lab.

View of brewery from the street.

Located right inside the Brewpub is a very small brewing operation, equipped with a homebrew size brew kettle and a couple of fermenters.  All because of Utah laws, which I didn't fully understand.  As the name on the wall implies, this is a test lab and the main brewing is done at a different location.

Red Rock Brewing Company - revisited (Salt Lake City, UT) - 17 DEC 2014

It seems like tempting fate to revisit something that was deemed perfect previously, but how can you not?  Perfection is uncommon and how can you not want the experience again?

That is how I felt returning to Red Rock Brewing Company, home to the World’s Greatest Fish Sandwich, discovered earlier this year while in Salt Lake City for work.  I was tempted to avoid possible disappointment and order something else, but when the Fish Sandwich special this day was different than before, I decided to go for it.  Though not as good as the World's Greatest Fish Sandwich, this version was nearly as good.  It consisted of blackened salmon, serrano pepper sauce, lettuce, tomato, and Munster cheese.  Damn it was good.

Second best fish sandwich in the world.

Red Rock Brewing Company is located in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, a few blocks from Temple Square.  It is a little confusing to find because it is basically at the intersection of West 200 South and South 200 West - those crazy Mormon city founders.  Once there however, you are welcomed into a nearly perfectly designed brewpub.  It has an extensive bar with views into the kitchen as well as a substantial dining area on two levels separated by a few steps which gives a feel of isolation while also being part of something bigger.  My single colleague deemed it a perfect first date spot.

View from rear of the brewpub facing the entrance, bar on right.

As with most brewpub operations in Utah, Red Rock Brewing Company serves both draft beer meeting the legal requirements of 4% (ABV) and higher alcohol beers by the bottle.  I tried the 20th Anniversary Imperial Red from the bottle.  This beer was an appropriate one for commemoration.  It was full of flavor with an alcohol punch that neither dominated or left you feeling cheated.  I followed that with a draft Sunshine for Dark Times.  This Belgian Ale was flavorful with a hint of cherries, but tasted watery at only 4%.  What a great beer this would make at more true to style alcohol levels.

Wall full of metals attest to the quality of the beer. Food items are equally deserving of praise.

The first time that I visited Red Rock Brewing Company I never even saw the brewery.  This time I discovered it looking for the bathrooms (N.B. It seems like bathrooms in Salt Lake City brewpubs are located in the front rather than in the back).  It's a neat setup with the windows and "old timey" look to the space.

Brewery easily missed in the back of the brewpub.

Visiting Mecca - Three Floyds Brewing Company (Muncie, IN) - 23-24 SEP

A recent trip to Chicago simply had to include a stop at Three Floyds Brewing Company in nearby Muncie, IN.  After exiting the expressway, driving through some typical "every city" box stores, and a few turns into an industrial complex, you finally arrive at Three Floyds Brewing Company.  The entrance to the parking lot has this interesting sculpture. 

From the front, in one direction it looks like a typical brewpub, from the other direction it looks like a production brewery.  And of course it is both.

I had orders from friends back home including "Zombie Dust, if they have it".  That question was quickly answered when we approached the entrance to the carryout entrance.  I guess they get asked this question a lot.

Sign on the carryout door - NO ZOMBIE DUST.

Not to be outdone by lack of Zombie Dust we returned the next day.  We really didn't have any intention of finding Zombie Dust available for carryout, but thought we'd have it on tap and get some lunch before our return trip home.  But, as we pulled into the parking lot, the line out the carryout door gave every indication that they were selling Zombie Dust that day.  (BTW - since our visit I have been following their beers-to-go website and it is my conclusion - based on two weeks of data - that Zombie Dust is only available on Wednesdays).  I waited in line - probably 30 minutes - to get my allotted 2 cases of Zombie Dust while the rest of my party went into the brewpub for lunch.

The line for Zomie Dust - no wait is too long for this nectar. 

 The brewpub part of Three Floyds Brewing Company seemed pretty much like any other brewpub, except for the blaring heavy metal music, a full crowd at the bar during lunch hour, and the especially rude wait staff.  However, the food was simply AMAZING.  I had the Basil Pesto Pizza (marinated roma tomatoes, "prosciutto" cured eggplant and fresh mozzarella).  It may have been the best pizza I'd ever had.  My sister got a plain old hot dog, that was nothing plain nor old.  And, the dessert was UNBELIEVABLE.  We had the Ginger Cake (green tea ice cream, candied sesame seeds, wasabi mousse, caramelized honey glaze) and it was fantastic.  We didn't have the beignets, but saw them at another table where they seemed to be enjoyed by two little girls based on the copious amount of dark lord chocolate sauce all over their faces.

Entrance to Three Floyds Brewpub.

 I guess this blog entry wouldn't be complete without commenting on the beer.  Because we had another 5 hours of driving to go after lunch, I didn't try as many beers as possible.  Instead, I savored a single pint of Zombie Dust served right from the source.  It was definitely as good as I had remembered.  This is one incredible beer that is worth the drive and wait in line.

As a side note, some friends had argued that they had done a blind side-by-side tasting of Zombie Dust and The Brew Kettle White Rajah.  They said that everyone had picked White Rajah as their favorite.  I simply could not believe that and so conducted my own blind taste test when I got home. The Zombie Dust was guaranteed fresh as I had picked it up myself from the brewery.   I am not sure about the White Rajah as it just came from the shelf of a local beer store.  But, for me, there was no comparison between the two.  Zombie Dust has an incredible citrus, hop aroma that is only matched by the taste.  It is - without a doubt - my favorite beer.

Blind taste testing between Zombie Dust and The Brew Kettle White Rajah.

Lucky Star Brewery (Miamisburgh, OH) - 1 AUG 2014

Lucky Star Brewery is the latest addition to the Dayton area brewery scene and the sixth one I've hit on their opening day (along with Dayton Beer Company, Fifth Street Brew Pub, Lock 27, Toxic Brew Company, and Warped Wing Brewery).  Lucky Star is literally one block from Star City Brewing Company, both a short distance from the main downtown Miamisburgh hub.

View from the parking lot.

View from 2nd Street.

As with most of the others, opening day was a little hectic and maybe not the best representation
of what the place will be like after they get going.   They had 5 beers on tap.  We ordered the Critical Mash IPA and Wicked Mutha Sweet Stout, my friend ordered the sampler.  Our choices were the best of the bunch.  The Light Red and the Ojos Locos Lager were both watery and without much flavor.  The We Eat Wheat beer showed some promise.  Both the Critical Mash IPA and Wicked Mutha Sweet Stout were a bit too sweet for me, but certainly true to style for the sweet stout.  My friend commented that their root beer was really good.

Kudos for the star shaped sampler tray and the mason jar sampler mugs.

The brewing equipment was essentially located in the center of the brewery and the brew kettles had a dimpled surface which we weren't sure if it was for functional or aesthetic reasons, but either way they looked really cool (especially with the rope lighting).  I don't think I've really ever seen brewing equipment so integrated into the brewery as they have done here.  It was kind of neat.  It will be really neat on a brew day.

Lucky Star is also serving Mexican food.  We didn't try it this time around, but will give the place another go in the near future.

Lost Rhino Brewing Company (Ashburn, Virginia) - 9 JUL 2014

I wasn’t expecting to find a brewery in Ashburn, VA, a small town located north of Dulles Airport, but there it was - Lost Rhino Brewing Company - nestled in an industrial park, identified by the concentration of cars parked near the entrance in an otherwise empty lot.  I wasn’t sure if we’d make it to the brewpub so earlier that evening I had their New River Pale Ale with a fish taco dinner at nearby Ford's Fish Shack (itself a bit out of place in a strip mall).  The beer was very good and I was looking forward to trying some others.

Lost Rhino Brewing Company entrance.

Lost Rhino Brewing Company bar.

We were welcomed by friendly staff at the bar and selected a sampler of 5 beers (plus one later) -  shown below with the Hawaiian “hang loose” sign in acknowledgement of the surfboard culture of Lost Rhino exemplified by the surfboard strapped to the rhino’s back in their logo.  The beer sampler included the following:  Face Plant IPA,  Tupper's Rye IPA, Tank 12 XPA,  Smokey and the Rhino, Birth of an Ace (Brett IPA), and Bone Dusters Paleo Amber Ale.  Bone Dusters Amber Ale has an interesting story that has been featured in a number of recent Science reports including NPR, Scientific American, and Fox News.  It is a collaboration with Paleo Quest.  A wild yeast was found on some protocetid whale fossils discovered in Virginia near the Dismal Swamp was used in the fermentation.  Great story, but the beer wasn't so hot.  Personally I preferred the Tupper's Rye IPA.  The other IPAs were pretty good also.  Smokey and the Rhino was a smoked lager that was just a bit too smokey.  The group sitting next to us leaned over and said, "I noticed that you all didn't finish the smoked beer either".  They obviously felt the same way.

Hanging Loose with a Lost Rhino beer sampler.

The bar area was quite large, with communal tables and seating around the walls.  Through a doorway was another equally large room with a couple of cornhole games going on.

I didn't realize that Corn Hole had made it to the National Capital Region.  

Artistic view of brewing operation.  I wish I could post this on Instagram to see how many likes I would get.

Bohemian Brewery (Midvale, Utah) - 16 JUL 2014

It would have been hard to pass up this place – a German (well at least Czech) themed brewpub.  And check out the way cool logo.  Bohemian Brewery is located in Midvale, Utah, between Provo and Salt Lake City.

Bohemian Brewery logo at the entrance.

When I parked the car I was greeted by the sight of hops growing on the walls of the brewery and the feel of a Bohemian lodge upon entering.

Lodge atmosphere at Bohemian Brewery

Hops growing on the walls of the brewery.

More on the unusual Utah liquor laws.  As noted previously draft beer is limited to 3.2 ABW (4.0 ABV), but I also discovered that you are limited to only 2 beers at a time.  I ordered samples of three of their standard beers, but the bartender only brought me two of them.  He poured the third, but had to keep it behind the bar until I was done with one of the samples.  Interestingly, it doesn’t matter if the beers are 4 oz samples or liter boots – you can only have 2 at a time.  Below is a picture of the first two that I had:  Czech Pilsner and Viennese Lager.  I was pleased to discover lagers with taste.  Why can’t the big commercial breweries do that?  The Viennese ended up being my favorite beer at Bohemian Brewery.  In addition to these two, I also had the Cherny  Bock (‘black‘ in Czech) and both of their seasonals:  Choose the Rye and Landbier. 

Two of the samples of there regular house beers.

The best part of thing about the Utah beer laws in the pricing on samples.  I still can’t figure it out, but look at the receipt below.  Samples are only $0.50.