The Napa Valley of Beer

So, it's been awhile since I've done a post- after feeling like it took up too much time, I made the executive decision to only do blogging as a hobby and only do it when the mood hit!

Let's just say that after a most excellent weekend in Ft. Collins, Colorado (aka The Napa Valley of beer), the mood hit! Earlier this year, my niece and her boyfriend migrated from Tennessee to Ft Collins, and they graciously invited us to come celebrate the 22nd Annual Brewers' Festival with them this year.  This was our first trip to Ft. Collins, and the hubs and I returned to Tennessee contemplating a move out west, ourselves!

When we arrived, we were greeted with a variety of Colorado beverages to choose from, and toasted to the upcoming weekend- it was their version of a lei ceremony, and we approved!  I kicked off the weekend with a "Buffalo Gold", brewed by Boulder Brewing Company.  It actually ended up being a great choice, as I liked it so much that I made sure it was on hand for the remainder of the weekend!

We took it easy our first night- hung out at their place, then went to dinner at a hibachi grill.  Other than a chef pouring sake down our throats, it was pretty tame.  The next morning, we got up and headed to Horsetooth Reservoir for breakfast.

My sister's in-laws live in the area and offered to cook us a mountain breakfast of some of the best eggs I've ever had, pancakes and ham.  We had mimosas, something called "red beer" (which is kinda like a bloody mary, only with beer), good scenery, great company and even some excellent tunes.  It was such an awesome way to start the day- out enjoying nature, food, friends and family!


We took the scenic route out of the park and were surprised to see no less than 15 Ferrari's parked along a bend in the road.  It was like they were having a horsie parade of their own, and it was beautiful!  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture, but there was definitely awe and wonder in our car, and possibly even a little drool!

Anyway, from Horsetooth, we parked off the downtown Ft Collins strip and headed over to the Bike Library.  I had never heard of a Bike Library until then, but basically, you rent a bike for a day or two, only it's free.  They hold a credit card, in case you decide to keep the bike, but nothing gets charged to your card if you return the bike.  They had a variety of bikes for all shapes and sizes, including a bike with a wheel barrel looking contraption on the front for hauling tools OR children.  The guy running the place was really helpful and would adjust seats and handle bars for you and pump up tires, etc...  Since Ft Collins in mostly flat, it's an easy way to get around no matter what kind of shape you're in. 

Our agenda for the day included local brewery tours.  We were biking to all of the breweries for tours and tasters! First stop- New Belgium Brewery!  Home of Fat Tire, Abbey, 1554, Mothership Wit, Ranger IPA and a few others!  The New Belgium Brewery Tour is like nothing I've ever seen before.

When we arrived on our bikes, I was first taken aback by the beauty of the place as well as the very strong bike culture.  Having never done any homework on the place other than sampling their fine products, I didn't expect the rows and rows and rows of bikes.  It was pretty cool.
So, the tour.  Ummmm, yeah, The Tour!  Probably the best brewery tour EVAR.  Of course, I haven't been on all that many brewery tours, but lets start with the basics.  It's FREE.  Yes, completely FREE.  It seems like in the world of free beer, you usually only get Bud Light or Miller Lite- never the good stuff.

At New Belgium, you check in at the tent before your free tour.  They give you a bottle cap.  You go inside to a very cool bar and merchandise area, turn in your token and drink whatever you choose.  Then you start your tour.  They take you into a big room and tell you about the history of New Belgium.  They answer questions, and let you check out memorabilia. During this time, they bring you 2 or 3 different types of beer to try.  I had Somersault and Abbey.  Then we move into an area where the giant metal vats that are making up the wort are- you get a story, see some cool mosaics, and pour your own beer from their draft selection.  I tried the Blue Paddle, but didn't like it, so the hubs traded with me and I drank the Trippel (maybe?).  Whatever it was, it was better than Blue Paddle.  

Next we move on to the bottling area.  We happened to be there when they were bottling Fat Tire, so again, more glasses of fresh Fat Tire, brewed about 10 minutes before we drank it.  SO GOOD!  It was cool to see it all in action.  After that room, we checked out all of the parking lot- filled with bikes.  Apparently, every employee gets a bike on their 1 year anniversary with the company.  They have a different bike every year.

Anyway, from there, we went into another room where they ferment beer in used oak wine barrels.  This is where we tasted the sour beer.  I think it was named something french, but I can't remember.  Anyway, it tasted a little like a dry wine and I don't recall it having a lot of head on it.  Some people love it, some people hate it, I thought it was good enough to drink both mine, and the hub's glasses!

The tour lasted about an hour and a half, and you have fresh beer in your hand the entire time.  Fresh, FREE beer.  Seriously, it was awesome.  It was fun, it was high energy, it was informative, it was high quality and it was beautiful.  The tour ends with a ride down a twirly slide, for those interested, but I opted for drinking my sour beer in the lobby.  Since I got a nice bike for my birthday earlier this year, I did purchase a New Belgium bell for my bike for only $5.  It was the least I could do to support such a great brewery tour.

From New Belgium, we headed to Odell Brewery, where we decided that after a brew tour like New Belgium, we'd just taste the beer and skip the tour- no one would likely compare.  Odell makes several great beers, some of which I received as a birthday gift earlier this year.  I like the 90 Shilling, the 5 Barrel Pale Ale and the Levity Amber Ale.  If you're a wheat beer person, a lot of people really like the Easy Street.  When ordering tasters from Odell, they have 3 different varieties of taster trays, each with 6 different types per tray.  We got 2 trays of their classics, 2 trays of their high alcohol content beers, and 1 tray of their seasonal.  Split between 5 people, we felt like we got to taste quite a bit.

Classics

The hubs really likes Myrcenary double IPA, but it took me 2 glasses of other (better tasting) beer to get that pungent hops out of my mouth.  Not.A.Fan.  but the boys seem to like it.  They have some really great porters and stouts, but it was just to heavy to drink on a tour like ours.  We finished up at Odell and picked up a couple of shirts, then biked over to Ft. Collins Brewery.

This was a small brewery with a pretty modern decor.  I think we bought 2 "flights" here- each flight had 5 or 6 different types of beer, and I think they were both the same.  I don't recall any of the beer being particularly memorable, but they were all still very good.  What I remember most, is reading the crazy descriptions for each beer.  We decided we must read all descriptions out loud "in character".  It was at this point that we realized that all of us were in need of some food, so our visit to Ft Collins Brewery was short and sweet.

From there, we biked back to the main square in downtown Ft Collins and turned in our bikes, then headed the CooperSmith's Pub and Brewery.

They are right in the square and have 2 buildings- 1 is the pub side and one is the pool side (pool tables, not water).  Word on the street is that the pool side has terrible service, so we went in the pub side.  CooperSmith's is the home of the green chili beer.  Since I'm not too big on spicy, I ordered a "Not Brown Ale" and watched the hubs run with the Green Chili beer.  My "Not Brown" was more like a porter, and by that point, I had maybe 3 drinks and threw in the towel and went with water.  Too heavy for the 90 degree weather and as a closer for a 4 stop brewery tour.  I did have a few sips of Scottie's green chili beer and found it to be really tasty and refreshing- at first.  Still tasty, but after a few sips, the heat comes.  It's not outrageous heat, but it's no longer "refreshing".  We ordered food, which we all shared with each other, and it all seemed to be pretty good.  We had planned on 5 brewery tours, but called it a day after CooperSmith's.

After our eventful tour, we headed to the neighborhood pool to cool down and enjoy the weather, then had a pretty mellow evening back at the house that included hanging out on the balcony, once the sun set.  The great thing about Ft Collins in June is that it is hot during the day, sans the humidity and cool in the evening.  LOVE IT.

Sunday morning was great, as we had a leisurely breakfast before heading to the brewers festival.  It was good to get our grub on before heading out for another day of tasting!

The festival was great- there were TONS of craft brewers there and the staff and workers we so pleasant.  The weather was great and the whole vibe was fantastic.  With the cost of our tickets, we got 10 tokens and 5 oz mugs.  1 token per beer, regardless of the type of beer.  Every station washed out your glass before refilling and there were lectures and contests as well.  I actually won a beer nerd sticker for getting 100% right on a blind taste test!  I made sure to try beer from breweries that we didn't visit the day before and was impressed with the taste and quality of the beer on hand.  There was 1 brewery who only used organic ingredients local to Colorado.

There were 2 stages at each end of the road and they both had pretty decent bands playing rock and ska and disco and a variety of other things.  They had plenty of port-a-potties that were clean and included hand sanitizer.  Once you ran out of tokens, you could buy more for $1 each.  There was plenty of water and pretty good street vending food.  The fellas found a cigar vendor and enjoyed their wares, as well.  It was a great festival and we had a fantastic time!

While the beer in Colorado is awesome, clearly, the jewel in Colorado's crown is the scenery. It's just breathtaking! The next morning we headed to Estes Park- a nice little mountain village that serves as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.  While the drive up is long and windy, it starts in a beautiful canyon!

For a girl from the hills of Tennessee, just the canyon itself was breathtaking.  Incredible rocks and trees, and a beautiful river runs along the side of the highway most of the way up.  Once you get up to Estes Park, it seems quaint, yet grandiose at the same time.

The town is full of shops and Inns and there is even a winery and a brewery there.  I didn't manage to get a picture of the lake, but while stopped at a stop sign, I did manage to get this not so little piece of wildlife on camera!

Elk Crossing

Ummmmm, yeah, that would be an elk crossing the street in front of our car.  Just chillin' in traffic in the nice weather.

Anyway, the trip to Estes Park wrapped up our weekend.  We had a fantastic time and enjoyed every bit of it!  We came home with great memories, new friends and chapped lips (hey southerners- you better moisturize while you're out there!).  I highly recommend visiting the area!