New Mud Fest 2015. Otherwise known as New Brew Fest 2015

Time to talk about some beer.  Along with exciting adventures on the trails, spring starts the outdoor beer fest season.  This past Saturday (May 9), was New Brew Fest in Niwot.  Last year was the inaugural fest, so this year is the 2nd Annual.  Remember you can not have a 1st Annual event.  This was a fun time last year and is super convenient.  Held at Whistle Stop Park, I can hop on the Bolt around the corner from my house and get dropped off right at the park.  The idea of this beer tasting fest is to showcase Boulder County brewers who are less than 5 years old.  Which is a lot.  I like this fest as it wasn't super crowded last year, includes a large number of good brewers, has generous pours, is reasonably priced and gives me a chance to check out the ever growing number of new breweries I haven't had a chance to taste yet.

Unfortunately, the weather leading up to Saturday wasn't great.  Rain everyday of the week and some chilly temps.  Not exactly the type of weather you want to stand around outside for 5 hours in.  When I woke up Saturday morning, it was raining hard.  But at 11 it stopped and began to clear out.  By noon, the Fest opened to a little bit of sun.  There was quite a bit of mud but most everyone there was prepared to deal with it.  At about 12:15 my friends and I had entered and started tasting some fine brews.  Again, likely due to the weather, it wasn't super crowded, so you could quickly get a beer.

The wind picked up around 2 and the temps began to drop.  By 3 it was starting to get cold.  Then it began to rain/sleet.  It felt more like football tailgating weather (if you are from the midwest), then a brew fest (or maybe more like the infield at Pimlico).  But those tailgating experiences make you hardy, and we held out till about 4, when we bailed to head over to Bootstrap.  I would say most everyone else had bailed long before then.  I doubt many people made it to the 5 o'clock closing time.

Mud and Beers.  Mmm .... tasty.

A few breweries bailed out and were no shows.  Here are the highlights and lowlights from those brave souls who risked frostbitten fingers to pour us some beers.

Best Beer:  Blond Stout, Industrial Revolution Brewing Co., Erie

Judged strictly on the merits of a tasty stout, this was incredible.  Good coffee flavor without being overpowering, some vanilla notes in there and a smooth chocolatey finish.   Just a great stout.  But the kicker is that it is the same color as a pale ale or wheat ale as it is brewed without any roasted barley.  Your mind becomes confused as it can't process what your eyes see and your mouth tastes.  So instead of trying to figure it out, you just drink more, which with this stout is a good thing.

Best New Brewery I Haven't Tried Yet:  Grossen Bart Brewery, Longmont

Last year's New Brew Fest introduced me to Powderkeg. They weren't even open yet, so I was in anticipation until they opened a few months later.  This year, Grossen Bart made a great first impression.  I will definitely stopped in sometime soon.  They were serving Walrus Oatmeal Stout and Soul Patch Porter (catch their theme yet.  Grossen Bart is German for "Big Beard")
I started the day with the stout and was pretty happy with it.  I went back later for the Porter.  Both were solid beers.   Looking at their website, they seem to have a good selection of beers and a couple that are intriguing, like the Soul Patch Smoked Morita Chili Porter.

Great Beer From Place I Have Only Had Once or So : Wee Rauchy Scottish Strong Ale, 

Liquid Mechanics Brewing, Lafayette

Brewed as a collaboration with Grimm Brothers Brewery (Loveland), I really liked this beer.  It had a very unique but balanced taste.  I have had Liquid Mech brew last year at New Brew and at Colorado Brewer's Rendezvous, but haven't been in their taproom yet.  Will now be more interested in stopping by.

Still Tastes Great.  Best Old Standby:  #42 Poblano Stout, Big Choice Brewing, Broomfield

On a chilly day, it was a perfect choice.  Great taste.  Smokey.  Chili flavor but doesn't hit you with the chili heat.  I don't regularly seek out Big Choice, but when I see the Poblano Stout, I usually grab a pint.

Other Breweries I Hadn't Been To, but left good impression:

Front Range Brewing Co., Lafayette

Skeye Brewing, Longmont

Front Range is nearly 2 years old, but I haven't had anything from them yet (that I remember).  Skeye hasn't opened yet.  Both had good beers.  They weren't, OMG this is the best beer EVER!!!, but they were good beers.  Will try to make an effort to check out their taprooms.  Plus, Skeye has one of the better logos out there.  That might be another blog.  Best Brewery Logos.

               

Disappointing No Shows: Odd 13 Brewing, Lafayette and Wibby Brewing, Longmont

I love Odd 13's Eric the Red.  Love it.  Looked forward to having it only to be left disappointed that Odd 13 wasn't there.  As for Wibby, they are opening this summer so haven't had their beer at all.  But was interested in trying them out.  Tasteful lagers are their specialty.  I am glad they are keeping things tasteful, just wish I could have tried them.

Disappointing Did Show: Shoes and Brews, Longmont

A shoe store and a micro-brewery taproom all under the same roof.  Why didn't I think of that?  Oh wait I did, but just didn't follow through.  When they opened last year, I was excited to try them out.  This was my first time I had any of their brews.  Unfortunately the Pale Ale tasted like it was fermented in shoes and the Imperial IPA didn't have much aroma and instead had disappointing taste.  I usually give a new brewery a couple of chances as I have seen quality vary from batch to batch early on, so I'll try Shoes and Brews again.  One caveat is that when you are tasting a bunch of different beers, it can lead you to have a beer taste weird when it otherwise doesn't.  But my friends were also not impressed.  So S and B, I'll give you another chance, but in this state, there are too many good beers around to keep drinking something less than good.  I do hear they have a great selection of other Colorado beers on tap, so at least it wouldn't hurt to stop in and see their setup.

And as this is both a beer and running blog, I got up the next morning to 4-5 inches fresh snow and did 17 miles.  Oddly didn't feel all that bad.  Took a couple hour nap that afternoon, but didn't feel that bad.  http://www.movescount.com/moves/move61941712

Friday Night Lites and Darks - Big Choice Brewing / Arvada Beer Company

In Texas, Friday nights are all about High School football under the lights.  Coach Taylor and the Dillon Panthers.  Clear Eyes.  Full Hearts.  Can't Lose.  Here in Colorado, it's all about the brews.  For quite some time now, a group of my friends that I run with, get together ever Friday to do a run from a different brewpub.  The run is usually pretty low key and easy.  Not so with the drinking, discussion, and friendly insults tossed around afterwards.

So I figure I'll compare and contrast my last two Friday Night Runs.

A few weeks ago the run was at Big Choice Brewing in Broomfield.   Big Choice is located in an industrial park off of West 120 Ave.   Not exactly a picturesque setting.  But luckily there is a bike path just a few blocks away that leads to the Big Dry Creek Trail.  So it made for a decent run.

Big Choice itself has two levels.  The first floor has the bar, a few of tables, and the brewing area.  Upstairs is a large window looking down into the brewing area, along with a few more tables, a picnic table, a couch, some nice TV's and a free foosball table (donated by a loyal customer).  The decor is okay, the lighting is a bit bright. I do have to say I am a fan of the free foosball.  Like many taprooms, they don't serve food, but there are a number of nearby places that will deliver.  And they typically will have food trucks on hand.

The beers are okay as well.  On this night I had their Brown Ale and their Disconnected Red Ale.  The red was much drier than I expected.  The Brown didn't really leave an impression.  Both beers were serviceable, but neither was special.  I have been told their Pablano Stout is outstanding.  (My co-worker loved it and I generally trust his beer tasting opinion. )   I had a taster.  Maybe I just wasn't in a stout mood and so didn't really give it a chance, but it didn't do anything for me.  I will try it again.

I always give any place more than one opportunity.  So at some time, I will be back.  But it's not high on my list.  The consensus of the group seems to be the same.  Big Choice likely will do well as their isn't much in the area outside of the chain brewers, Gordon Biersch and C.B. Pott's near Flatirons Mall. And Rock Bottom in Westminster Promenade.  I also have to say, Big Choice's logo confuses me.  What are they getting at with this?  A compass to guide you thru the many choices out there?

As of now Big Choice's rankings :
(Will get around to describing ranking system in full detail in later blog.  But it's based on level of Brisco's tail wags.  1 : Tail tucked between legs. Fearfully.  2 : Tail is sticking straight out.  Nothing to be afraid of but not excited.  3 : Tail is lazily wagging back and forth.  Something is going on.  4 : Tail is sticking up and starting to wag not just back and forth, but also in circles.  I'm getting excited, maybe someone is going to play ball with me.  5 :  Crazy, out of control, tail wagging has taken over.  The whole butt is shaking.  Somebody is home and we definitely are going to play ball.  This is beyond exciting.)

Food : N/A
Ambience : 3 Tail Wags.  A bit overly bright.  Do like the couch and foosball table.  Bar is okay.
Staff : 3 Tail Wags.  The do have a server who serves upstairs but found it quicker to just go to the bar. The bartenders did seem nice and quick to serve.
Beer : 3 Tail Wags.  Beer was okay.  Nothing wowed me.

Overall : 3 Tail Wags.

This past Friday, we completely left the Boulder Bubble and headed down to Arvada.  I don't necessarily have many fond memories of my time commuting and working in Arvada, but one thing I did enjoy and miss, is Olde Town Arvada.   This few block area has a number of great bars, including the Grandview, along with a fantastic bakery, Rheinlander Bakery, and a cool candy store, Scrumptious.  And opening right about the time I got a job in Boulder and no longer would be hanging out in Aravada, the Arvada Beer Company.  Bad timing.

Like Big Choice, there is a bike path nearby, the Ralston Creek Path. The relatively warm temps (in the 40s) and full moon made for a relatively pleasant run.  I was beginning to feel beat up and get the dead leg syndrome after putting together a couple of good week's of training in.  This 7 days had gone like this : Sat - 10K hard snowshoe race.  Sun : Ski hard at Vail.  Mon : Easy run at Fleet Feet.  Tues : Tempo run dodging cows on Bobolink.  Wed : Hard snowshoe race at night at Eldora.  Thurs : Wake up and do hill workout in morning.  Fri : Glad to have easy day and enjoy a few beers.

I started with their Floyd's ESB, which they were offering on Nitro.  Always get the nitro version of a beer.  So much better.  This was a good ESB.  It had very nice bitterness to it.  But the nitro also made it smooth and easy to drink.  Much better than the ESB at Big Choice.  I was impressed already.   I had a taste of the PoolHall Porter my friend had ordered.  It had a good nuttiness to it, how I like a porter to be.  So far Arvada Beer Co was 2 for 2.  My second order was the Renovator Doppelbock.  This beauty was 9.7% ABV and served in a 10oz snifter glass.  Extremely smooth with a hint of caramel aftertaste.  Arvada Beer Co was batting 1.000.  Unfortunately I had driven so was done after these two, but will be back.

The taproom is fairly large area with quite a few tables.  The place has a nice feel, not overly bright like Big Choice.  Very open room.  Tables were close to each other.  They have board games that you can grab and play.  They also don't serve food, but there are many options close by that will deliver.  And Manneken Frites is in the same building, right down the hall, so you can enjoy your pomme frites with a variety of different dipping sauces as well as getting some Vienna Beef hot dogs.  Didn't try any this night, but was very tempted.  Did stop at the candy store, right next to the taproom for some chocolate for the ride home.

Ratings :
Food : N/A - But do have many choices closely available.  And with Manneken Frites connected to them, it probably makes for some good beer grub.
Ambience : 3.5 Tail Wags.  Open area in a cool, old building in Olde Town.  Good place to hang out and have a few beers.
Staff : 3.5 Tail Wags.  Server came by quickly after sitting down.  Didn't have to wait around for a second drink.  Didn't really interact with the staff on this night.
Beer : 4 Tail Wags.  Was impressed with their beer.  Good quality.  Worth the drive to Arvada.

Overall : 3.75  Tail Wags