Bronze Age Brew Blog: Great Divide/Wynkoop Denver, CO

Many a one horse town and crappy drive after Portland, our travels led us to the wonderful town of Denver. I was pretty excited as I had heard its beer-putation was comparable to that of Portland's. Unfortunately, I only had the ability to get to two breweries but I am quite satisfied with the results.

Great Divide Brewing Co.

Apparently everyone and their mother had heard about this brewery except for me. Color me ashamed. Rated 7th in Beer Advocates 2009 "Greatest Brewery on Planet Earth" category. I can see why. This is a craft brewery for the thrill seeker (i.e. ME!). Anyone looking for beers of huge character, flavor, alcohol content and imagination will be more than delighted. Make sure to take a look at the roster on the website, few beers fall under 6%. If visiting, get there early in the day and raid the tap room. Four generous free samples await your taste buds. As you drink, enjoy friendly conversation with the beertenders and wafts of wort from beyond the brewery walls. Also, for you Bostonians, this stuff is available at the new Marty's location in Brighton, as well as pretty much every other beer ever (GET YOUR ASS OVER THERE).

Chocolate Oak Age Yeti 9.5% ABV
With a flavor as big as its cryptozoological moniker, this is by far one of the best fucking beers I've ever tasted. Just look at the damn picture and you'll get the idea. Black in appearance with a thick chocolate brown head that quickly dissipates. This beer smells of spices and coffee up front, with malty chocolate undertones. The taste is incredible. The first thing I notice is the pepper, cayenne to be exact. As a hot sauce lover, I think this is great. There is a slight bitterness to balance spice, as well as some bold coffee flavor. The feel is creamy with a fine carbonation.

Samurai 5.1% ABV
Defined as a "Rice Ale" this beer pours a cloudy gold with a light white head. Light hops and crispy spiciness in the aroma. Was hoping for something more interesting with the flavor. Goes down like your average wheat beer. Good, but unspectacular. Meh.

Honorable Mention: Claymore Scotch Ale, a must try for the scotch lover (duh).

Wynkoop Brewing Co.
wynkoop.com
An incredible Brew Pub, Denver's oldest dontcha know? Important to note: cheap eats with big portions and free pool Mon-Fri 11am-5pm (of which I took full advantage). This joint also makes their own hot sauce and employs an unusually friendly staff who will kick your ass at pool. Oh and hey, the beer is pretty good too. Andy Brown, head brewmaster, upon hearing that I was blogging his beer came out of hiding and gave me a brew, a tour and a six pack to go home with (the brewery has just begun a canning operation. The machine is pictured below and right).

Patty's Chile Beer
I'd like to meet whoever Patty is, so I can shake his or her hand and ask if he or she had me in mind when creating this delicious beverage. Drinking this beer is like biting into a fresh bell pepper, though as I came to find out, anaheim chiles and smoked anchos were the veggies of choice. Pours a nice gold color, no fizz, no head, slight cloud to it. Smells like a peppery pilsner. Light and refreshing, almost no carbonation, which I think it needs more of. Not sure if there was something going on with the keg, or if the lack of bubbly was due to the breweries air stone conditioning, but the other beers I sampled suffered the same flatness, save one or two. If this beer had the carbonation it should have, it would most likely be my favorite out of all those I have sampled on this journey.

The other beers I consumed I did not properly log. I must however recommend the B3K Schwarzbier and Wynkoops limited edition special release of their "Tut's Royal Gold." Inspired by the brewing methods and ingredients of ancient Egyptians, this beer was crafted for the Denver Art Museums new exhibit for said pharaoh. The result is delcious and original and more info can be foundhere.