Breckenridge Brewery Tour & Dinner

January 28, 2018

Saturday night we got to go behind the scenes of the Breckenridge Brewery facilities at their Farmhouse in Littleton, CO and were treated to a special private beer dinner in their Barrel Room! Since being acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev December of 2015, the facilities and beer production has greatly expanded and contributed to their cool new Farmhouse "campus" as they call it.

We got a great tour from Katie who literally walked us through each step in the brewing, aging and bottling process. Yes, some of their beers are aged, including their newest Brewery Lane Series release, the Imperial Vanilla Porter. This limited series beer is aged in Rum barrels, which we later dined among, and brewed with Madagascar vanilla beans.

At the end of the tour we each got a full pour of the Irish Stout and headed down to the Barrel Room where they had set up tables for us lucky 30 to sit and dine. The first course was a Roasted Beet Flatbread paired with an amazing Barrel Aged Imperial Cherry Stout. Next we had an Agave Wheat Shrimp Ceviche served on an avocado with an Oak Aged Saison which was light but flavorful, just like the Ceviche.

The entree was a big bowl of Duck Confit atop Risotto and Brussels Sprouts with a dry hopped orange glaze. This dish was so delicious and had a wonderful caramelized taste with an orange undertone from the glaze. It was paired with their seasonal holiday beer, the Holidale wich paired the holiday flavors of cinnamon and spice perfectly with the warming dish tinged with orange flavors. The beer itself is more of an Amber Ale with savory spices reminiscent of winter.

For the fourth course we finished with an Imperial Vanilla Porter Orange Ganache Tart with a vanilla whip. This was a dense chocolate tart with a strong orange zest flavor and delicate whip and nitrogen shattered blood oranges sprinkled on top! They did the shattering in front of us which was fun to watch and added a unique taste and dining experience. This was paired with the Imperial Vanilla Porter of course which was dark and thicker like the Irish Stout.

We were so impressed with this special Barrel Aged Beer Dinner by Executive Chef Nate Gravina and GM Joe Porter, and encourage you to look out for the next time the brewery hosts one of these. And after such an excellent dinner you should definitely make it a point to get some food with your beer the next time you're there. Cheers~

Full photo gallery below. https://www.breckbrew.com/beers

Words by Tiffany Candelaria Photos by Josh Stephens

GABF: Beer, Beer, and More Beer!

October 12, 2016

The Great American Beer Festival rolled through Denver last weekend, sending a shockwave of beer lovers into our streets, breweries and bars. The GABF spirit was felt all across the mile high, but we dared to venture into the swarming epicenter of the Colorado Convention center to give you the low-down on the nation’s largest and most-loved beer festival.

To an outsider, the festival might seem like nothing more than pretzel necklaces and a beer holiday. The festival is in fact the most esteemed judging ceremony for breweries nationwide, large and small. It saw it’s 35th birthday this year, it hosted nearly 800 different breweries, and it’s awards leave lasting impacts on our national beer scene. Its awards are pared out by an elite panel of judges have the ability to make or break a brewery, and this year over one hundred different beers left decorated in silver, bronze and gold. For the full list of awarded beers, click here.

Colorado is known to be a craft beer destination, and tons of local breweries were representing this weekend. Breckenridge Brewery, Denver Beer Co, Fermaentra, Dry Dock, Black Shirt Brewing, New Belgium, and the list goes on. The "Napa Valley of Beer" not only created the festival, but has helped build a craft and microbrew culture that spreads from sea to shining sea.

Basically, more medals equal more credentials for up and coming brewers, and for those who don’t have the chance (or the tolerance) to sample every single beer, these medals give us a necessary steer in the right direction. Not to say that this festival is all stern faces and serious beer talk; the GABF is at once a make or break moment for breweries and a party. When you’re in the business of beer, it’s all about having fun too, and the GABF is proof.

I spoke with Greg the home-brew knowledge guru and member of the national GJCP about his favorite aspects of GABF. He called the festival the “longest running, annual gathering of beer geeks.” He takes his beer seriously, but the heart of the festival was the reason he attends. For Greg, the festival is a time to reconnect with once-a-year-friends, and to share a really good up-and-coming craft beer. He was buzzed on the energy in the air, not just the brews. The GABF has been bringing friends and beer enthusiasts together for decades, transcending from a tasting spree into a tradition, and creating strong connections between breweries across the nation. It’s a microcosm of the beer community at large, and it’s simply really, really fun.

The festival goers were kilt-sporting, rung with pretzel necklaces, and all in good spirits. I stopped to chat with a brewer from Hopworks of the Pacific Northwest about the attendees. They iterated, “Everyone here is stoked. Drunk people are prone to fight, but no one has. There’s a strong sense of comradery, everybody’s happy.”

In terms of logistics, the festival was a crowded swarm of costumes and shoulders to navigate through; some lines spilling out into the alley-space and it was sometimes a test of patience and dedication. It goes without disagreement, though, that the convention center, despite it’s inevitable, unavoidable closeness, was extremely well organized. Free water stations were spaced between every twenty or so booths. Huge signs marking every section and easily understood maps left little room for confusion. The crowd was heavy, but that’s to be expected.
The flock gathered often at hot-spot breweries, and the best breweries were sometimes dry within the first couple of hours of a session. The flock was a permanent fixture for Black Project Brewing, a local South Broadway brewery who touts their wild caught microbes and meticulous brewing practices. The line was over twenty minutes, but it was well worth the wait. On the upside of things, the flock would coagulate in pockets, leaving a lot of little known, great booths open for conversation and slow sampling. As long as you knew the patterns of the flock and which beers were worth the wait for, you were home free.

This festival is a chance to refine your tastes and discover what makes American beer special. Also, it’s the perfect chance to finally break out that old kilt you’ve been hiding in the back of your closet. Regardless of what you string on your pretzel necklace, the GABF welcomes all beer-weirdos and weird beers, so if you have the chance to snatch up a ticket for a session next year, don’t wait until it's too late!

Check out GABF's photo gallery to see if you made it in. If not, there's always next year!

Lifestyle | Bud & Burgers Street Festival Presented by Budweiser | June 4, 2016 | 35th and Walnut

June 1, 2016

As the weather begins to heat up here in the Mile High City, the city of Denver becomes a playground for any enthusiast of the outdoors. This Saturday RiNo (35th and Walnut) will play host to amazing event featuring two of our favorite things...Burgers & Bud.

Beer season is officially here! And what better way to enjoy a cool, refreshing beer than with a delicious burger and listening to some great music. Join Budweiser as they sponsor the Bud and Burgers Street Festival at 35th and Walnut in RiNo.

Music performances by Barns Courtney, Pandas and People, and AJ Fullerton will be on hand to get the vibes going. Various Denver chefs will be on hand sampling their awesome burger creations. The event is free to those 21+. We will be there with our burger cravings and thirst quenching Budweiser. #ThisBudsForYou #BudandBurgers #sponsored