Need help - West Coast Beer Tour

SSBrew - 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
mjdonnelly68

mjdonnelly68

Always drinking - never drunk.
HBT Supporter
Joined
Oct 19, 2011
Messages
1,509
Reaction score
544
Location
Glenmont
I'm in Denver this week for business, so I'm going to watch the playoff games today at The Falling Rock Tap House.

Finally going to get to try all the West Coast heavy hitters that I can't get on my native East Coast.

I'll chronicle what I try today. I have two games to get through and I'm within walking distance of my hotel so I'm planning on covering a bit of ground (strike while the irons hot and all that).

I have a couple of West Coasters that I'm definitely going to go after. If anyone has any recommendations for stuff I should try throw them out - I'm all beers.
 
Waaaaaay to many to list without knowing what is available where you're at. Also, there are a crapload of great beers brewed in Colorado. Don't overlook these.
 
Well, I won't be wanting for choices...

image-2190934085.jpg
 
First choice - Pliny The Elder. This beer is the Holy Grail where I come from, and for good reason.

It's as good as everyone says it is and better on tap than in bombers by half. It's an IPA that is flavorful enough to wow IPA fans and clean enough to appeal to soon to be IPA fans. May be the single best beer out there so far. Just saying'...

Thanks to Chris Black (owner of Falling Rock) for being serious enough about beer to merit two kegs of PTE a week. He gets Pliny The Younger too. Add this man to your Christmas card list, right now.

image-501663835.jpg
 
I'm not sure how accessible North Coast is to you in NY, but their Old Rasputin is fairly highly-regarded. I'm sure you can find it in CO.
 
mjdonnelly68 said:
I'm in Denver this week for business, so I'm going to watch the playoff games today at The Falling Rock Tap House.

Finally going to get to try all the West Coast heavy hitters that I can't get on my native East Coast.

I'll chronicle what I try today. I have two games to get through and I'm within walking distance of my hotel so I'm planning on covering a bit of ground (strike while the irons hot and all that).

I have a couple of West Coasters that I'm definitely going to go after. If anyone has any recommendations for stuff I should try throw them out - I'm all beers.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Left Coast.
Pliny really is the nectar of California. If you are going to be around for a few days, you need to go the the RR pub in Santa Rosa. Russian River Brewing is more than just a few beers. Just about all of their beers are really good.

Another really cool place to visit is Lagunitas. They recently expanded their tap room and have live music a couple of times a week. They have a bunch of experimental beers on tap at the brewery that you will enjoy. The place is like a bunch of really good home brewers gone wild. On the weekends, the place just crawls with locals having fun and enjoying the beer. The nice thing is that it is still a locals hangout and has a relaxed feel.
Did I mention hot girls? You will find out if you visit.
 
I knew just from the picture that was falling rock. Love that place.

BTW, you have to be hammered at this point
 
Youre killing me!


You are only trying california beers in colorado. I lived in colorado for a year and I can tell you that with the exception of a few fantastic breweries in CA (Russian river, Lost coast, Stone...) Colorado beats the hell out of california beer!!!

Try some brews from Avery and 100% try Odells IPA (orange label with an elephant on it).

Other breweries worth trying are Great Divide, Boulder Brewing, and just about any other CO brewery.


Dont waste your time/money on Wynkoop or Breckenridge beers. They are lacking in quality IMO.
 
Having spent a wonderful afternoon into evening at Falling Rock drinking some exceptional beers I've learned a couple of things:

1) There are a ton of great beers out there.
2) You shouldn't drink great beers by the ton.

Seriously, the iconic breweries are iconic for a reason.

The Russian River beers were uniformly great. They were masterfully complex and balanced simultaneously - deserving of the praise and reverence they've received.

Same goes for the Stone concoctions. I love my East Coast brews (large and small) but we have a long way to go before we can play in the same sandbox as our West Coast brethren. Something to aspire to.

That being said, I also agree that the Colorado breweries are running a close second to the CA trend setters. (CO also has some of the nicest urinals in the lower 48).

Avery, Odell, New Belgium, Fort Collins, Grimm Brothers, Breckenridge, Left Hand, Twisted Pine, Great Divide - these are all top notch breweries putting out top notch brews.

I understand now why the GABF picked Denver for ground zero. There is a world class beer scene in CO.

Finally, I learned that the CA/CO beer scene is like the Smithsonian Museum: only a fool would try to take it all on in one day. :)

image-372835471.jpg
 
scottland said:
I knew just from the picture that was falling rock. Love that place.

BTW, you have to be hammered at this point
Click to expand...

Yesterday's beers were all on the big side, luckily the back-to-back playoff games gave me reason to pace myself. Definitely slowed me down some.

Can't wait to go back tonight and try a couple more.
 
Ya, that's a really cool place. The bar right next store (1UP) is pretty cool too, it's a retro video game bar.

If you have a car there, if you drive the 20min up to Boulder, Avery Brewing is pretty damn cool, and worth the drive.
 
Try some brews from Avery and 100% try Odells IPA (orange label with an elephant on it).

You are absolutely right - the Odell's IPA is great.p

image-3673439475.jpg
 
mjdonnelly68 said:
Try some brews from Avery and 100% try Odells IPA (orange label with an elephant on it).

You are absolutely right - the Odell's IPA is great.p
Click to expand...

Awesome. Glad you enjoyed it. Their other IPA's are fantastic as well. Also try their 90 shilling.
 

Similar threads

Bramling Cross
Driving Coast-to-Coast in a Miata....with DC plates. Advice?
Replies
11
Views
670
MaxStout
MaxStout
gorlox18
First sour - sanity check
Replies
5
Views
1K
gorlox18
gorlox18
Yooper
Good beer in Maui and Honolulu?
Replies
16
Views
918
Yooper
Yooper
oldschool
Making the best, West Coast IPA
Replies
21
Views
6K
Group W
Group W
P
First batch using a 'family recipe' from the ages - Wondering if I have problems
Replies
13
Views
1K
JAReeves
JAReeves

Latest posts

Back
Top