Nothing indicates a greater love for beer than a willingness to risk the need to visit a porta-potty on a 100-degree day. NoCo?must be rife with beer lovers because that fear did not keep folks away from the twenty-third annual Colorado Brewers? Festival at Civic Center Park in Old Town Fort Collins last weekend.
Over forty Colorado breweries and dozens of food and merchandise vendors braved the heat at this year?s festival to serve the thirsty thousands who attended. Sure the thermometer pushed triple digits, but it only seemed appropriate as we set out to complete NoCo50 Challenge No. 24: Attend the Colorado Brewers? Festival.
While Sadie is not big on the brewed beverage, I consider myself a beer guy. I like the stuff and have a rather adventuresome barley pop palette. So the Colorado Brewers? Festival presented me with the perfect opportunity to sample the products of so many brewers? hard work.
I am thankful to live in an area many describe as the ?Napa Valley for beer.? I understand why wineries flock to the Napa area: it?s the climate conducive to growing grapes. Barley and hops are not as picky and can be?grown in nearly all temperate climates. So why do brewers choose NoCo?for their home? I asked Russell Fruits, one of the Founders of Grimm Brothers Brewhouse in Loveland, to help me solve that riddle.
?Northern Colorado is home to a very educated, very artistic populace that appreciates nicer things,? said Fruits, who will celebrate Grimm Brothers? second anniversary in July. ?Beer is artistically driven. You can make world class beer anywhere. It?s just reliant on the guy who is brewing it having a consumer who appreciates it. That appreciative consumer is easily found in Northern Colorado.?
Steve Jones is the self-described ?beer maker? at Pateros Creek Brewing Company. Steve added availability of natural resources to Fruits? demand-based beer model.
?We really have great water here to brew some fantastic beer,? Jones explained. ?We also have some outstanding older breweries that have helped pave the way for smaller breweries such as myself. Colorado State University is starting to teach classes in the fermentation sciences. There is also a very large home brewing community here.?
If there was a common theme among the brewers, other than the product itself, it was the fact that many were brewing beer in their kitchens and basements just a few short years ago.
?I started brewing in 2004 when my wife bought me a brew kit from the internet. I stared with a couple batches a month.? Jones said. ?I joined a local homebrew club known as The Liquid Poets. I learned a lot from great brewers in the area and built good relationships in the brewing community. Pateros creek has existed for just over a year now.?
Grimm Brothers? Russel Fruits tells a similar tale.
?My two partners and I all started as home brewers,? said Fruits. ?I?m a huge foodie?and I?ve always been in to really good food and really good beer. All three of us ran up a bunch of credit cards, bought some equipment and started brewing beer. We expanded and began bottling in December. We?re undergoing another expansion now and hope to be statewide in August.?
Judging by the lines at the Grimm Brothers? tent and my personal fondness for their brew named ?Fearless Youth,? the high interest plastic gamble should pay off. The professional judges agree. Grimm Brothers? best selling beer, Little Red Cap, recently earned a gold medal in the Alt category at the Great American Beer Festival.
Home brewers are big attendees of the Colorado Brewers? Festival as well. Adorned in chilly?necks to ward off the heat, Mark and Robin Lindeman of Windsor came to the festival Sunday to enjoy a couple of beers and maybe pick up on a tip or trick. I asked Mark, who just cranked out his second batch of beer, what attracted him to home brewing.
?I like to drink beer,? Lindeman said. I sure can ask the probing questions. ?I had a German Alt beer as my first batch and an IPA as my second. They turned out pretty good!? Lindeman?s pick for favorite went to New Belgium?s ?Lips of Faith? beer.
While I did not sample the wares of every brewer, a new favorite emerged from those I did try; Pateros?Creek?s Cache la Porter. I like dark, robust beers. Not as heavy and lacking in the coffee notes present in most porters, this well balanced brew had a hint of chocolate. I asked Steve Jones from where the inspiration for my new frothy friend came.
?Most of my beers are old, home brew?recipes,? Jones said. ?Cache la Porter is a play on the name of the river Cache la Poudre?and was developed originally for a homebrew competition for the porter style. It was popular among friends and colleagues and has become our flagship beer. It represents us in both flavor and name so it fits really well!?
I found it quite yummy. That?s a highly technical, beer taster?s term. I?m no connoisseur. I just know what I like. Looking for a non-bias and more seasoned opinion, I set out to find a connoisseur. I found Joseph and Kimberly Rodriguez of Fort Collins.
?I am a connoisseur,? Joseph said with the resolution of a child professing his good behavior at Christmas. Already known for my probing questions, I asked what makes someone a beer connoisseur.
?A connoisseur is not only someone who loves beer,? Rodriguez explained, ?They reach out for it. They love the ingredients, the taste, and everything that is involved in the process. They have a desire to try every beer they can. They develop a relationship with beer.?
To think I?ve been accused of struggling to develop and maintain relationships. For those who want to develop a relationship with the brewed and bottled adult beverage, the Colorado Brewers? Festival is a lot like speed dating. Now excuse me, my sixty seconds at this table are up.
Source: http://www.scottkjames.com/?p=754
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