![Picture](/uploads/1/2/9/2/12929432/1745466.jpg?319)
My amazing wife bought me tickets to GABF for my Birthday. Paired tickets at that! Here's a recap of our fantastic trip to Denver as well as a complete list of the more than 100 beers we were able to try (almost all of which were for the first time):
Tuesday
We worked a full day and headed straight from the office to the airport. We were lucky enough to get on a flight leaving 2 hours earlier than our ticked flight, which gave us extra time out in Denver.
You can't throw a rock in Denver without hitting a brewery. Once we checked in to our hotel, we walked a block down the street to a brewery called Alpine Dog. After a few quick beers there we moved further down the street and sneaked into to another brewery called Lost Highway right before closing. The last stop we made was right next door at Cheeky Monk where we were able to grab some food and a flight of big beers.
Beers
Alpine Dog - Howl at the Moon Imperial Red
Alpine Dog - Black Rye Session Pale (still don't understand how you can have a black pale..)
Lost Highway - Golden Ghost Blonde
Lost Highway - LostOberFest (bad enough we sent it back..)
Lost Highway - District 6 Pils
The Bruery - 2015 Cuivre
The Bruery - 2014 Sucre
Coronado - 19th Anniversary Imperial IPA
Lost Highway - Grave Robber Quad (surprisingly, my favorite of the night)
Wednesday
After catching up on some much needed sleep, we headed out for brunch. Our destination was Hops and Pie for a Crooked Stave tap takeover. However, by the time we arrived the line was half way down the block so we audibled and slid into The Royal next door for a couple delicious burgers. Our next stop was Mondo Vino in hopes of snagging some rare (for Houston anyway..) bottles. I was hoping to get my hands on some Russian River because, at that point, I had never had it. Unfortunately, they were holding all their RRBC bottles for a 4:00 release later that day. I ended up walking out with bottles of Bell's Two Hearted Ale, The Bruery's Tart of Darkness, Cascade's Apricot Ale, and a 6er of Bear Republic's Red Rocket (Bear Republic distributes to Houston, but I've never seen Red Rocket, plus I've got an Imperial Red/American Strong Ale fermenting so I wanted to try the BJCP's #1 example). Not a bad score.
From the bottle shop we decided to head over to Crooked Stave's taproom since we were still so far down the list on the Hops and Pie wait list. Glad we did! The beers there were fantastic, plus we ended up chatting up a group from Montana who had been all over Colorado stocking up on Russian River and other beers. When they learned my wife and I had never had any Russian River beers, they immediately offered to sell us one of their Pliny bottles for $5! Stunned by their generosity, we negotiated the price up to $10 and gladly added the bottle to the day's collection.
After the tap room we headed back to the hotel to change for our dinner out in Boulder at Avery. We just happened to be ready and on the road around 4:00 so we swung back by Mondo Vido to see if they still had any Russian River. I walked in at 4:10 and was told they only had one bottle of sour left - Consecration. Consecration happened to be the #1 beer on my list to try on the trip, so I took it. I suppose he just assumed anyone coming in for Russian River wanted the 2 bottle limit of Pliny because he also sold me two even though I didn't ask for them - at first I thought the price of Consecration was just really high until he added the two Pliny bottles to my bag. So while I probably wouldn't have bought them if he had asked (not enough room in my bag to fly them home, plenty of good beer to try in Denver), I figured I could find a way to put them to good use.
After the bottle shop we went out to Boulder for what ended up being the highlight of the trip - Dinner with the Brett Pack. This was a 5 course meal hosted by the owners of, and paired with beers from Avery, Russian River, The Lost Abbey, Allagsh, and Dogfish Head. Boy did it deliver. The list of beers was incredible, as was the food. We had the chance to spend time chatting with each of the owners, including about 15 minutes with Vinnie Cilurzo who is as nice as everyone says. I was blown away by the level of quality of each beer, especially the sours. Veritas and Supplication were so amazing, they inspired me to start up a more serious sour program at home - a lot more on that to come...
Tuesday
We worked a full day and headed straight from the office to the airport. We were lucky enough to get on a flight leaving 2 hours earlier than our ticked flight, which gave us extra time out in Denver.
You can't throw a rock in Denver without hitting a brewery. Once we checked in to our hotel, we walked a block down the street to a brewery called Alpine Dog. After a few quick beers there we moved further down the street and sneaked into to another brewery called Lost Highway right before closing. The last stop we made was right next door at Cheeky Monk where we were able to grab some food and a flight of big beers.
Beers
Alpine Dog - Howl at the Moon Imperial Red
Alpine Dog - Black Rye Session Pale (still don't understand how you can have a black pale..)
Lost Highway - Golden Ghost Blonde
Lost Highway - LostOberFest (bad enough we sent it back..)
Lost Highway - District 6 Pils
The Bruery - 2015 Cuivre
The Bruery - 2014 Sucre
Coronado - 19th Anniversary Imperial IPA
Lost Highway - Grave Robber Quad (surprisingly, my favorite of the night)
Wednesday
After catching up on some much needed sleep, we headed out for brunch. Our destination was Hops and Pie for a Crooked Stave tap takeover. However, by the time we arrived the line was half way down the block so we audibled and slid into The Royal next door for a couple delicious burgers. Our next stop was Mondo Vino in hopes of snagging some rare (for Houston anyway..) bottles. I was hoping to get my hands on some Russian River because, at that point, I had never had it. Unfortunately, they were holding all their RRBC bottles for a 4:00 release later that day. I ended up walking out with bottles of Bell's Two Hearted Ale, The Bruery's Tart of Darkness, Cascade's Apricot Ale, and a 6er of Bear Republic's Red Rocket (Bear Republic distributes to Houston, but I've never seen Red Rocket, plus I've got an Imperial Red/American Strong Ale fermenting so I wanted to try the BJCP's #1 example). Not a bad score.
From the bottle shop we decided to head over to Crooked Stave's taproom since we were still so far down the list on the Hops and Pie wait list. Glad we did! The beers there were fantastic, plus we ended up chatting up a group from Montana who had been all over Colorado stocking up on Russian River and other beers. When they learned my wife and I had never had any Russian River beers, they immediately offered to sell us one of their Pliny bottles for $5! Stunned by their generosity, we negotiated the price up to $10 and gladly added the bottle to the day's collection.
After the tap room we headed back to the hotel to change for our dinner out in Boulder at Avery. We just happened to be ready and on the road around 4:00 so we swung back by Mondo Vido to see if they still had any Russian River. I walked in at 4:10 and was told they only had one bottle of sour left - Consecration. Consecration happened to be the #1 beer on my list to try on the trip, so I took it. I suppose he just assumed anyone coming in for Russian River wanted the 2 bottle limit of Pliny because he also sold me two even though I didn't ask for them - at first I thought the price of Consecration was just really high until he added the two Pliny bottles to my bag. So while I probably wouldn't have bought them if he had asked (not enough room in my bag to fly them home, plenty of good beer to try in Denver), I figured I could find a way to put them to good use.
After the bottle shop we went out to Boulder for what ended up being the highlight of the trip - Dinner with the Brett Pack. This was a 5 course meal hosted by the owners of, and paired with beers from Avery, Russian River, The Lost Abbey, Allagsh, and Dogfish Head. Boy did it deliver. The list of beers was incredible, as was the food. We had the chance to spend time chatting with each of the owners, including about 15 minutes with Vinnie Cilurzo who is as nice as everyone says. I was blown away by the level of quality of each beer, especially the sours. Veritas and Supplication were so amazing, they inspired me to start up a more serious sour program at home - a lot more on that to come...
Beers
Denver Beer Company - Graham Cracker Porter
Crooked Stave - Nightmare on Brett
Crooked Stave - Falconer's Flight Hop Savant
Crooked Stave - Flor d'Lees (batch 2)
Crooked Stave - Progenitor (batch 4)
Avery - Perzik Saison
Avery - Raja Imperial IPA
Avery - Twenty Two Anniversary Ale
Avery - Vienna Session Lager
Avery - 10# Strawberry Sour
Avery - Raspberry Sour
Allagash - Allagash White
Russian River - Pliny the Elder
The Lost Abby - Veritas (this was the best beer of the trip, hands down)
Russian River - Temptation
Allagash - Fluxus
Russian River - Supplication
Dogfish Head - Festina Peche
Avery - Vallum
Dogfish Head - 2010 Immort Ale
The Lost Abbey - Hop Concept
Allagash - Farm to Face
Avery - Antonius' Carmen
The Lost Abbey - Track 8
Dogfish Head - 2008 Fort
Thursday
The dinner stretched out way longer than we anticipated, which was definitely a good thing. As amazing as it was, it really made the next day tough. We woke up at 5:30, packed up a couple backpacks and drove up into the mountains. One of my favorite hobbies is climbing/hiking peaks with altitude (too bad I live in Houston..). Again, my wife is amazing and agreed to join me on not one peak, but two! We decided to hike Grays and Torreys since they are close enough to Denver to do as a day trip, and are relatively safe and easy. The weather was amazing, as were the views, but the short night upped the difficulty level and the plethora of sour beers gave a new meaning to 'sour stomach'. We eventually summited both peaks, and enjoyed one of the bottles of Pliny on the 2nd summit.
The climb took WAY longer than I had anticipated, and we were exhausted by the end. On our way back into town we stopped by our favorite post-14er pig out: Woody's Wood Fired Pizza & Watering Hole in Golden. They make fantastic, all you can eat pizza, plus their salad bar is fantastic. Their beer selection isn't half bad either. After dinner we were so tired we ended up going back to the hotel and passing out by 7:30..
Beers
Russian River - Pliny The Elder
Great Divide - Hoss Rye lager
Friday
The big day! We slept in late (super late considering how early we went to bed..) and walked to Hot Cakes Diner for breakfast, then over to The District Bistro to map our our game plan or the festival. After killing some time there, we decided to check Euclid Hall off the list and grab a small bite to eat. Then it was time for the festival!
The game plan was to make one pass through the convention center hitting the breweries I considered musts, then turning and working our way back the other direction hitting a lot more great breweries. After that we were going to go check out Paired before making one final pass. Of course, it didn't exactly work out like that, but I'm still glad we had a game plan.
After stopping by all the must-see breweries, we actually saw Vinnie again, who not only recognized us but remembered that we were from Houston and that we had paired tickets (like I said, super nice guy!). He poured us samples of the pitcher he was holding (STS Pils), told us how amazing he thought Paired was, and suggested we head over there next and try out Societe, which was founded by a former Russian River brewer. We were getting hungry so followed his advise.
The food and beer at Paired were great. Lots of really interesting combinations, plus a much more relaxed atmosphere. The Paired tickets, btw, also had the benefit of a super short line for the entrance - we got out of the cab about 10 minutes before the doors opened, and by the time we got our wristbands the line to get in had already dissipated and we walked straight in. We ended up going back and forth a bit between the main festival and Paired, and I'm really happy with the list of breweries we got to try. So many great beers!
After the festival we met up with some friends and had a few more plus a late night grilled-cheeze before calling it.
Beers
Ska Brewing - Modus Hoperandi
Lone Tree - Lone Tree Peach Pale Ale
Crazy Mountain - Horseshoes & Handgrenades
Great Divide - Colette Farmhouse Ale
Renegade - Consilium Pale Ale
City Star - HydroPony Express HYPA
Telluride - Wet Hopped American Summer
City Star - Bandit Brown
The Post - Howdy Beer
GABF:
Sam Adams - Kriek
Sam Adams - Rebel Rouser
Firestone Walker - Sour Opal
Firesone Walker - Feral One
Russian River - Beautification
Russian River - STS Pils
Taps Fish House - Rubescent
Taps Fish House - Grapefruit IPA
The Rare Barrel - Ensorcelled
The Rare Barrel - Another World
The Rare Barrel - Becoming
Third Street Ale Works - Odins Beard (my dog's name is Odin - had to try..)
The Lost Abbey - Veritas (still great, but hard to appreciate with only 1 oz..)
The Lost Abbey - Track 8
The Lost Abbey - Framboise de America
The Bruery - Heart of Darkness
The Bruery - Jardinier
Russian River - STS Pils (again)
Societe - The Gleaner
Societe - The Heriess
Dogfish Head - Bitches Brew
Dogfish Head - Noble Rot
Allagash - Golden Brett
Hopworks Urban Brewery - Simcoe IPX
Hopworks Urban Brewery - Survival 7 Grain Stout
Deschutes - The Specialist
Firestone Walker - XVIII Anniversary Ale
Same Adams Utopias
Allagash - Curieux
Allagash - Speciale Blonde
New Belgium NBB Love Felix
Goose Island - Lolita
Goose Island - Bourbon County Stout
New Glarus - Vintage 2015
3 Floyds - Zombie Dust
3 Floyds - Last Funeral
St. Arnolds - Devine Reserve 14 aged in tequila barrels
Stong - Matts Burning Rosids Imperial Wood Smoked Saison
Stone - Imperial Mutt Brown Ale
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse - Oktoberfest
Lickinghole Creek - Supreme Leader
Epic - Double Skull Doppelbock
Epic - Brainless on Cherries
Twisted Pine - Agaveras
Rhinegeist Brewery - Gramps Barley Wine
Black Tooth - 307 Blonde
Black Tooth - Les Ginge Saison
Lone Tree - What the Dill IPA
Lone Tree - Drunken Monk
Victory - Sour Monkey
Victory - Headwaters Pale Ale
Elevation - Fanboy
Port City - Oktoberfest
Modern Times - Fortunate island
Modern Times - Gerry Gose
Modern Times - Aurora
Pizza Port County Line
Pizza Port Carlsbad IPA
Green Flash - Citra Session
Green Flash - Le Freak
Bear Republic - Bear Black Stout
Bear Republic - Racer 5
Alpine Dog - Notorius Monk
Societe - Harlot
Cigar City - Guayabera
After the festival:
Peticolas - Kolsh
Souther Star - Bombshell Blonde
Boulder Beer - Hazed Session Ale
Saturday
On Saturday we slept in again. We didn't have any plans, so we decided to go to a sports bar downtown and watch all the great college football matchups. After the second round was over we walked to Falling Rock where we ran into a couple groups of friends. The rest of the night was spent bouncing around different bars/restaurants downtown. It was a super relaxing day and a great way to wrap up the vacation.
Beers
Tommyknocker - Maple Nut Brown
New Belgium - Pumpkick
Dry Dock - Apricot Blonde
Breckenridge - Autumn Ale
Avery - IPA
Allagash - Cuvee D'Industrial
Dry Dock - Double IPA
Russian River - Damnation
Epic - Imperial IPA
Breckenridge - Barrel Aged Double IPA
Goose Island - Bourbon County Barleywine
Oskar Blues - G'night
Fate - Eric the Red
Sunday
On Sunday we woke up and blitzed to the airport for an uneventful day of traveling home - all of the bottles made it safely home safely!
The trip was amazing, and inspired me to try and step up my game as a brewer. I'll certainly be returning in the future, and when I do I'll hope to snag tickets to another Dinner with the Brett Pack!