Equinox Brewing coming to Fort Collins

The Northern Colorado brewery scene is about to get even busier. News came this week that yet another craft brewery is coming to downtown Fort Collins in 2010. Say hello to Equinox Brewing.

Equinox Brewing is planning to open in the Spring of 2010 and will be located next door to Hops & Berries, a downtown homebrew supply store at 133 Remington Street, in Fort Collins, CO.

According to an article by Kristen Olsen, the Fort Collins Craft Beer Examiner, Equinox Brewing plans to open in April 2010 and have 7 beers on beer engines as well as a weekly special beer on firkin.

Equinox Brewing already has a web site started as well as a Facebook page.

Plans for the brewery include an outdoor beer garden as well as easy access to the Hops & Berries homebrew supply store. The beer garden itself will tie together the brewery and the homebrew store. Click image to enlarge.

Plans started to get out about the new venture back in late November. The brewery will be within walking distance of several other breweries including Coopersmith's, New Belgium, Odell and the Fort Collins Brewery. Another new brewery, Pateros Creek Brewing, is also planning to open up in Fort Collins in 2010.

With all of the breweries already in the area will there be enough interest in yet another small brewhouse? Apparently so. Craft beer is quite popular despite the slow economic conditions. Time will tell whether or not Fort Collins can sustain all of these breweries long term.

The idea of combining the attraction of a homebrew store and a brewery is nothing new to Colorado. Another popular brewery in Colorado, Dry Dock Brewing in Aurora, Colorado does the same thing.

Look for this new brewery to open it's doors this Spring. More news about their upcoming brews should be posted in the near future.

Equinox Brewing (map)
133 Remington Street
Fort Collins, CO 80521
http://www.equinoxbrewing.com/

Related articles:
- Pateros Creek Brewing coming to Fort Collins.
- Fort Collins Brewery reveals new building plans.
- Odell Brewing expansion moving along.
- Rocky Mountain Homebrew opens in Fort Collins.
- Touring New Belgium's Liquid Center.

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Inaugural Boulder SourFest tix on sale December 22

Hot off the presses. Avery Brewing has announced that tickets for their 1st annual Boulder SourFest to be held February 27, 2010 from 12pm to 5pm and will go on sale at 8:00am Mountain Standard Time (10:00am EST) on December 22, 2009.

There will only be 400 tickets available to this event and will likely sell out fast. All tickets will be sold in advance only. No sales at the door. The event will be held in the Barrel-Aging Room at the Avery Tap Room, 5757 Arapahoe Avenue, Unit B1, Boulder, CO 80303.

This festival will Featuring 35+ of the best sour, wild and brett beers from across the nation! Presented and hosted by Avery Brewing Company. All attendees will receive a complimentary, full size tasting snifter commemorating this inaugural event. Please call 303-440-4324 with event related questions or go to www.averybrewing.com for an up-to-date listing of confirmed breweries who will be in attendance.

Tickets will be sold for $35 (plus tax) a piece and can be purchased online at ticketalternative.com or from the Avery website or at the Avery Tap Room itself. Remember, they go on sale at 8am December 22, 2009 at 8am MST.

I believe this will be a very popular event. Sour beers were very popular across many beer festivals this last year. Avery Brewing has decided to focus on the Boulder SourFest in February instead of it's annual Boulder Strong Ale Fest which may be rescheduled for May (stay tuned).

All attendees will receive 20, 2oz. sample pours, a complimentary .4 liter full-size tasting snifter to commemorate the occasion and the opportunity to mingle with the brewers and creators of many of the beers on display. This festival promises to be one of the best opportunities to taste sour ales anywhere in the Rockies!

I plan to go. Anyone else going to get tickets to this? Let's hope the tickets don't sell out too quickly. I'd hate to miss out on this event.

Related articles:
- Avery Brabant Barrel-aged Wild Ale review.
- Third in Avery barrel-aged series coming.
- Avery Salvation review.

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Interviewed by the Beer Wench

A week ago, I was asked to answer a series of interview questions for Ashley Routson (The Beer Wench). Today, my interview was posted on her beer blog: "Drink with the Wench". Check it out. You might be surprised about what you read about me!

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Here we go again with Colorado beer laws

Coloradoans obviously want choice. Choices like: what day they buy their liquor, where they buy their beer, and how much alcohol content is in their beer. For some Colorado legislators, keeping up with these choices seem to be a non-stop issue.

Law makers in Colorado have been busy for years looking at bills to alter the liquor laws of this state. Last year in 2008, the issue was Sunday liquor sales. This year, the issue seems to be whether or not to allow full strength beer and wine to be sold in Colorado grocery and convenience stores.

Didn't we just kill this bill?

A recent bill, House Bill 1192, was defeated in Colorado back in March 2009 that would have allowed grocery and convenience stores to sell full-strength beer. Apparently a large opposition of Colorado craft brewers and liquor store owners helped stomp this bill.

Now, a new measure has popped up with a similar theme, Initiative 29, that largely copies a 2008 legislative proposal that was killed in committee. Under this initiative, grocery stores and convenience stores could set aside 5 percent of shelf space for sales of full-strength beer and wine.

But what about liquor store owners and craft brewers?

In an effort to calm the concerns of liquor store owners, they would be able to sell non-perishable food items on 5 percent of their shelf space under the initiative.

The initiative also requires at least 20 percent of space reserved for alcohol in grocery and convenience stores be set aside for craft beers and boutique wines. This was added to address some of the issues that Colorado craft brewers had.

According to a recent Denver Business Journal poll, nearly 8 out of 10 people out of 1100+ responders stated that they would favor allowing full strength beer to be sold in grocery stores.

If legislators can't come up with a decision on this issue then it may go directly to the Colorado voters next year.

So is this really a big deal?

Many other states already allow full strength beer and wine to be sold in grocery stores. So why should it be an issue here? For one, Colorado is one of the biggest beer making states in the nation with over 100 independent businesses making craft beer and protecting this billion+ dollar industry and maintaining consumer's choice in beer is of utmost importance.

This issue is likely to drag on well into 2010. Fermentedly Challenged will be sure to follow all the latest news regarding this issue.

What do you readers think?

Is it about time that Colorado allow full strength beer sales in these stores? Do you think it will make it any easier for minors to illegally obtain alcohol? Do you believe this would hurt local craft breweries and liquor stores?

My take on the issue:

I feel the lines between the small mom-and-pop liquor stores and grocery stores have already been drawn a long time ago. Certainly sales will be affected at local liquor stores but I believe craft beer buyers will still choose to head to a liquor store to get a much better selection in craft beer. I just don't believe chain stores will stock a good selection of craft beer. At least liquor stores would be able to start selling a small amount of cheese, chips and other food.

If anything, grocery store sales could help boost beer sales, not limit them. Sure, the big chain stores might not have the same taste in beer selection that liquor stores have, but if they do happen to have a 6-pack of the craft beer I'm looking for then ya, I might buy it there.

But chances are, the small space that would be reserved for local craft beer will be generally limited. The big macro beer companies are probably chomping at the bit to get this bill passed. It'll definitely mean more sales for BudMillerCoors type beers.

3.2 beer will finally go away for good in Colorado. Not that I ever cared about 3.2 beer before. It's just that when people buy a macro beer, it will be full strength swill instead of near-water swill that it used to be. I'm sure that will make Mothers Against Drunk Drivers more unhappy.


Source articles:
- Liquor stores, grocers set to clash again over liquor.
- Grocery sales of most wine, beer are inevitable.
- Grocers' sale of wine, beer still unresolved.
- Ballot measure would let Colorado groceries sell wine, full-strength beer.
- DBJ Business Pulse: 8 in 10 readers favor booze sales in groceries.
- Proposal to sell stronger beer likely to have rivals.
- Colorado’s craft brewers wield clout in Legislature.
- Ballot initiative submitted to allow beer, wine sales in grocery stores.
- Sunday liquor sales legalized in Colorado. (April 2008)

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May 2010 Colorado Beer Festivals

May 2010 Colorado Beer Festivals

Here is a list of the upcoming Colorado beer festivals, beer dinners, tapping parties, seminars and related events that are known or planned for the month of May 2010. These listings are updated every week, so stop back often to see the latest happenings with beer in Colorado. Dates and events are subject to change. If you know of a Colorado event that you don't see here, please leave a comment and let us know. I'll be happy to add it.

Note: Most dates for May 2010 events have not yet been finalized. The following list is intended to give an indication of the recurring events that are typically held each year.

Spring Beer Festival
Early May, 2010 (Sat) Unconfirmed
Pumphouse Brewery & Restaurant
Longmont, CO
Pumphouse Brewery and Restaurant announces the Spring Beer Festival, a beer tasting event held to raise money for local charities in need, and raise awareness of Colorado and U.S. Craft Beer Brewers. This fest will focus on lighter brews of spring and summer while continuing a commitment to local charities. Festival attendees will receive a Pumphouse Brewery logo pint glass, ten 4-oz. taster tickets, and one festival meal for one admission price. Tickets will be available at the door, on a first come, first served basis. Additional beer taster tickets will be ~$1 each and the meals will consist of a mix of choices from the Pumphouse menu. Participating breweries have included all Boulder County Brewers as well as other breweries as far as the Pacific Coast. http://www.pumphousebrewery.com/

6th Annual Brew-Ha-Ha
Early May, 2010 (Sat) Unconfirmed
Veterans Park
Cañon City, CO
One of the top 4 beer festivals in Colorado. This is the 6th annual Brew-Ha-Ha, a benefit for the Fremont Center for the Arts. There will be beers from more than 20 Colorado and regional microbreweries served plus a bug line-up of top-notch comedians. Live music after the tasting. Open 3:00pm - 6:00pm. Web site.

American Craft Beer Week
May 17-23, 2010 (Mon-Sun)
Multiple breweries
All across Colorado
Last year's American Craft Beer Week celebration boasted a record number of breweries celebrating the week that highlights the positive impact of small and independent breweries. Over 200 breweries posted more than 500 events in recognition of the 2009 American Craft Beer Week. Also, Breweries along with beer enthusiasts signed the Declaration of Beer Independence, a document that celebrates America's small and independent craft brewers. Stay tuned as the 2010 celebration will be held May 17-23, 2010. Web site.

9th Annual Festival of the Brewpubs
May 30, 2010 (Sun) 12pm-4pm
Arapahoe Basin Ski Resort
A-Basin, CO
Join spring skiers for A-Basin's largest party of the year! Spend the day sampling mugs of beer from a variety of Summit County brewpubs for one low price per 14 oz mug (must be 21). Breweries include Pub Ryan's, Breckenridge, Dillon Dam, Backcountry and Wolf Rock. Expect great live music, springtime skiing and much more. Live music will be playing from 1:00 - 4:00pm in the base area. Web site.

Small Batch Beer Festival
Late May, 2010 (Sat) Unconfirmed
Odell Brewing Co.
Fort Collins, CO
Pending completion of their brewery expansion this annual festival may or may not take place. In years past, this festival pays homage to innovative brews, fine malts and whole flower hops. A variety of ales handcrafted on Odell's five-barrel brewing system, also known as the pilot system, will be featured. Over 20 different Odell beers will be on tap. Live music and food. http://www.odellbrewing.com/


Additional events will be added as they become known. Please report additions or corrections to Chipper Dave (see email on the side column).

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Boulder Beer Obovoid review

Seasonal beers can be hard to find at times. I've been looking for a bottle of Boulder Beer Company's Obovoid for a while now and finally found one. Obovoid is an oak-aged oatmeal stout and is one of Boulder Beer's seasonal offerings that is only around between October and December. It seems that this dark stout doesn't stick around on the shelves much so when I spotted one I had to pick it up.

Despite the fact that BeerAdvocate classifies this beer as an 8% Russian Imperial Stout, it's not. In fact, this year's batch of Obovoid only weighed in at 6.8% ABV and 40 IBU. Still, even at 6.8%, this beer was a bit more powerful than your average ale. So I proceeded with respect.

Boulder Beer put in a wide mix of grains into this aged stout including: Pale malt, 80L caramel, roasted barley, black malt, chocolate malt and rolled oats. Hop inclusions are UK Progress, US Cascade and UK Fuggle hops.

Appearance: Obovoid poured a very dark brown (not black) with hardly any ruby edges. The pour yielded a decent 2-finger tall light brown head that dissolved within a minute. Swirling the beer left a decent lacing. The beer seemed to be appropriately carbonated.

Aroma: The dominant aromas I got from Boulder's Obovoid was a rich roast with a hint of chocolate, licorice, vanilla, dark fruit and a slight alcohol whiff. I couldn't make out the oak per se but I figured the vanilla component accounted for the wood in this stout. It almost smelled like a Russian Imperial Stout. Later I could pick up on some citrus aroma from the Cascade hops. All in all, Obovoid was very aromatic.

Mouthfeel: One things I've noticed about beer made with oats is that it tends to make my mouth salivate excessively once it hits the back of my tongue. Obovoid is medium bodied, lighter than I expected from a dark stout, but that's not a bad thing. It was slightly drying and it tingled my tongue during the initial sampling. As expected, this stout had a slight tongue coating effect. Carbonation was present and appropriate for the style.

Taste: Obovoid filled my mouth with the taste of unsweetened chocolate, dark roasted malt and a mild bitterness that stuck to my mid palate. Later on in the sampling this stout became much creamier and smoother. It was still medium bodied with a noticeable watering effect.

Obovoid became a bit sweeter as I went along. The oak imparted a pleasant vanilla overtone and slight earthy flavor that wasn't overdone. I got a very slow warming affect from this beer, short of the quick warming that imperial stouts normally give.

I liked this beer for what it was. Obovoid was a bit different than most stouts in that it wasn't thick and chewy. I believe Boulder Beer didn't want Obovoid to be too heavy. It was a lighter and refreshing stout. The bitterness was subdued a bit and that sat well with me that night. Sometimes a regular stout can be a bit "chalky" but not this one.

Overall: I wasn't sure about this stout at first, but I have a personal rule not to judge a beer until I had sampled at least a half a glass of it. After I got past the mouth watering effect of the rolled oats, this beer satisfied my dark beer craving. For a regular stout, this was a decent brew. Obovoid wasn't spectacular but was surprisingly good. I would definitely buy this beer again for times when I want a dark brew but something not quite as thick.

Have you had this beer? What did you think of it? Please add your comments below.

Related articles:
- Boulder Beer Mojo IPA review.
- Boulder Beer Planet Porter review.
- Boulder Beer Cold Hop review.
- Boulder Beer offers Flashback 30th Anniversary Ale.

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Goose Island Christmas Ale 2009 review

What could be better for the holiday season than a holiday ale? Here's another seasonal ale from Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois. It's their 2009 Goose Island Christmas Ale. The label features a Christmas goose with a Santa hat and the beer comes in a big 22oz bomber bottle. Surprisingly absent from the label is the ABV rating. I had to go to Goose Island's web site to find out that this is a Brown Ale weighing in at 5.7% ABV. The IBU rating is not listed, but if it's anything like their regular Nut Brown Ale I imagine it's low around 25 IBU.

Appearance: Goose Island Christmas Ale poured a brownish red (like a typical brown ale) with a decent 2-finger light tan head. The bubbles in the head seemed to be a bit bigger than most other beer bubbles I've seen. The head lasted only a minute but leaves a nice bit of lacing around the edges of the glass. This beer was see-thru and had very little haze.

Aroma: Smelling this beer leaves no doubt that this is more than just a typical brown ale. I could smell not only sweet malts, but also some citrus from the hops, a slight fruitiness and some mild spices. It is a very pleasant smell. Surprisingly, Goose Island didn't list any spices on the label or the web site. I'm wondering if the spiciness is due to the hops or actual holiday spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or clove? The spices seemed familiar but somewhat different.

Mouthfeel: Brown ales can vary from somewhat watery to medium bodied. Goose Island's Christmas Ale seemed to fit in the middle of that range. It felt medium bodied but a bit less than that. It felt creamy in the mouth and had a slight drying bitterness going down.

Taste: If you take a typical brown ale and add a hint of spices to it, that's exactly the description I'd use to describe the taste. Served cold out of the fridge, it was crisp, semi-sweet from the darker malts. Goose Island stated that they added Pale, Extra Special Briess, and Dark malts to this beer, but I think part of the dark malt is caramel.

I picked up some citrus flavor from the hops in this beer as well (Cascade?). It's an easy drinking holiday brew. Being at a modest 5.7% ABV, you could get away with finishing the entire 22oz bottle yourself. However, I found that I was feeling rather full after the first glass and had little desire to finish the rest. Not because of the alcohol but because I felt that's all I wanted of this beer.

Truth be told, most brown ales to me are a bit unremarkable but the addition of spices to this beer helped it out quite a bit. Goose Island recommends serving this beer at a fairly cold 40 degrees. Now I know why.

As it warms, the beer took on additional tastes. Late in my sampling, the creaminess of the beer almost seemed to acquire a bit of buttery sensation in my mouth. Not exactly diacetyl, just a slickness that wasn't there earlier. It was much better tasting when it was colder.

I paired this beer with sharp cheddar cheese and multi-grain crackers. They seemed to go well enough together, but I was rather full from previous holiday food so it was difficult to tell.

Overall: As a holiday ale, Goose Island Christmas Ale seems to fit the style rather well. It's decently spiced, but not overly so. It's lighter fare than most and it was nice and crisp when cold. Still, I had mixed feelings about this beer. It was good, just not my favorite style of brew. It's more like a Newcastle brown ale than anything else. The spices felt like an after thought but made the beer more enjoyable. I don't think I'd want more than 12oz in an evening. I felt like seeking out something with a bit more flavor and potency for later (like their Bourbon County Stout).

Goose Island's web site says that this beer should last up to 5 years in the bottle. Really? A 5.7% ABV beer can last 5 years in the bottle? Their Nut Brown Ale says it is best up to 180 days. That I'd believe, but this being a low ABV beer probably won't taste as good a year or two later. I could be wrong but normally a beer needs to be around 8% ABV or higher to stand up to time. Perhaps the spice acts like a preservative.

If you like a mild holiday spiced beers then the 2009 Goose Island Christmas Ale should be just the thing for your holiday gatherings. But if you like a beer with a bit more kick, look elsewhere.

Related articles:
- Goose Island 2008 Bourbon County Stout review.
- Fort Collins Brewery Big Shot review. (holiday ale)
- Left Hand Snowbound Winter Ale review.
- Jolly Pumpkin Nøgne Ø Stone Special Holiday Ale review.

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