Cheers to bacon and beer. (photo Credit: Robert Castro)
This past Saturday we visited a magical land – one where beer was king and bacon lovers held hands and rejoiced in unison. What is this mythical place you ask? Well, it is the Bacon and Beer Festival! And it was a celebration fit for any self-respecting foodie/beer enthusiast.
Managing Editor Mcclain managed to grab this shirt for her yoga workouts. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
The event boasted 20 + breweries and over 15 restaurants – all debuting their bacon inspired dishes and beverages. The food ranged from Thai to brunch to the good ol’ American burger. Most breweries stayed true to their brand but, some rolled out bacon inspired libations. A personal favorite of the Ultra5280 staff was the Bacon Bourbon from Ol' Major which took the pairing to a whole new level. They even went so far as to add a mesquite salt chaser – which was absolute perfection.
Where do we get the bacon flavored salt? (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
We love seeing events that celebrate our local scene, when there’s OMF (Our Mutual Friend), Ratio Beerworks and Call To Arms Brewing Co. on the same ticket – you can count us in. Moving outside of Denver’s coveted local watering holes we were elated to taste such classics as Breckenridge Brewery, Left Hand Brewing Company, Great Divide Brewing and Boulder Beer Co. The Fest offered a nice gluten free option (although why a gluten free person would attend a Bacon and Beer Fest is beyond us) by adding some ciders to the mix. Stem Ciders and Colorado Cider Company were holding down the fort for our wheat challenged bacon lovers. Side Note: Beer and cider is an amazing combination… future festival idea? TM
Serving up amazing beer our friends from Ratio were on hand. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Bacon was the ideal sponge for soaking up our beer filled bellies. Some stand out dishes were the Bacon Wontons from Aloy Modern Thai, The Lobby’s bacon-brunch bite, Little Man’s ice cream and from what we’ve heard The Regional had a mean chicken fried bacon dish (sadly they ran out of ingredients before we made the rounds). The food was unique, tasty and answered every day-drinker’s wildest dreams and wishes.
Lovey bits of bacon morsel goodness compliments of Interstate Kitchen and Bar (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
We wish we could have bottled up the scent emanating from the Glitter Dome this past Saturday – it was a scent filled with bacon fumes, hops and love. To quote our girl Taylor, there are just some things that never go out of style – and bacon and beer will forever be one of them.
