So last Friday, our Happy Hour run started at Asher Brewing Company in Gunbarrel. Asher claims to be the first all organic brewer in Colorado. This isn't all that important to me, but is a nice touch. What is even better is that I discovered the bus stop 10 feet from my front door puts me on a bus that drops me off about 20 feet from Asher's front door. (and in the fall, about 1/4 mile from Avery). This was the most significant find of the evening.
The run is actually quite nice. (course map.) It runs around the Twin Lakes and picks up on a couple of other trails north of Gunbarrel. It is one of my more favorite Friday runs from a brewery. I hadn't done this run in awhile, and it showed as Andrew and I ended up missing a turn and running the loop clockwise instead of our normal counter-clockwise fashion. It was a pleasant evening and a relaxed run.
Asher is located in a light industrial park. That would suggest the ambience wouldn't be that great. But that couldn't be further from the truth. In the summer, it is a great place to sit outside and drink a few brews. They have a number of chairs and tables out front and they will spill out into the parking lot. But there are a couple of trees along the parking lot in front of the building, so it doesn't feel like your sitting in a parking lot.
Inside, even though it was originally built as office space, they have done a good job with the taproom. It isn't anything fancy, but it has the neighborhood, corner bar feel. You just feel comfortable when you walk in the door. Like this is home. There is a back room with corn hole and pinball. And they will have live music regularly. While Asher has no food service, on the weekend there will be food trucks parked out front. And they all are quite good.
Tonight I started with their stout. Early in the day, I had kicked-off Stout Month at the Southern Sun with a couple of stouts for lunch. My co-workers treated me for my birthday. Stout Month will be a whole other blog entry. But let me say the River North Belgian Stout was fantastic. 5 Tail wags for that one. So coming off that, Asher had a big act to follow. And maybe it was too much to ask, but the stout wasn't exciting. 3 Tail Wags. No harm, though. I sorta knew this wasn't a good idea.
Beer number 2, however, was great. In partnership with the now opened Fate Brewing, they have brewed Cocoa Punk 'N Porter. A good nutty flavor, with hints of cocoa. 4.25 Tail wags. A really nice beer. I wasn't planning it, but a birthday beer was bought, so I ended up with a Green Bullet I.P.A. I haven't been drinking IPA's lately, but wanted something different. Asher makes a good, hoppy IPA. Solid 4 tail wags on this one.
Then it was back to Southern Sun to meet some out of town friends. One more stout and this was turning into a late night. A 5:30am alarm was beckoning. A day at Vail on the slopes was on tap tomorrow for my birthday. Gotta get up early to beat the traffic. So I called it a night and headed home.
The morning wake up was rough, but it was worth it as Vail finally had some snow. Lines were typical Vail size, but it didn't matter. Bluebird day, soft snow, I'll deal with the longer waits.
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| Lines forming early at Lift #5, out of Sun Up Bowl. |
Asher's ratings :
Food : N/A (But generally have good food trucks on weekends)
Beer : 4 Tail Wags (Their IPAs are solid. The Porter was outstanding. The stout fell a bit short)
Service : 3.5 Tail Wags (Just a couple of gals behind the bar. Previously it seemed like they would be more interested in chatting with someone sitting at the bar, but lately been more attentive and serving you right away.
Ambience : 4 Tail Wags (while in a light industrial park, it really has a cozy, comfortable, neighborhood bar feel)
Overall Rating : 3.8 Tail Wags
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