First things first, yes I have bangs. Sometime between San Diego and Denver I cut my hair. I have had them for 3 weeks, I’m ready to grow them out.
Moving on.
I think I should rename October Beertober because I drank a LOT of beer in the month of October. Oddly, I’m not a beer lover. Wine and cocktails, YES, I love them. Beer, I like it, but I don’t love a wide range of beers. But when your boyfriend is a self proclaimed beer nerd…well, drink up baby!
So being supportive of my beer nerd, I headed to Denver to drink A LOT of beer at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). My first day in Denver we headed to Boulder to several of the breweries. Prior to our brewery tour we carb loaded at The Buff Restaurant. My pancakes were awesome and so were the Saddlebags.
We then went to Avery Brewery Company. There were five of us so we sampled several beers. I enjoyed the White Rascal. It was light and fruity.
After Avery, I headed to a bar to meet up with my friend, Bethany. You really should check out her blog. She is trying to run/walk a race (5K, 10K or 1/2 Marathon) in every state. She is awesome in my book.
After a great visit, we continued on our tour and landed at Twisted Pine Brewery, home of Ghost Face Killah. Yes I tried it, No I didn’t like it. But the beer nerds that surrounded me enjoyed it plenty. I was, however, a fan of the La Petite Saison.
After sampling several of their beers we headed down the road to Upslope.
We enjoyed a sampler. I enjoyed the Pumpkin Ale and the Belgian Wit.
After an fun day tasting beer we head back to Denver and had dinner at Breckenridge Brewery. The food was standard brew pub food. I drank water.
After dinner we called it a night and headed back to our hotel. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn. The place was a step above a dump. Newly Renovated…MY ASS. When your glad the bathtub is just stained vs. dirty…well, like I said, it was a step above a dump. And the freight train yard next door did nothing to add to its ambiance.
The next day we woke up for the main event, the members session. We started with breakfast at Sam’s No. 3. I had a breakfast burrito. Both the coffee and the burrito were very good. The buritto might look like a greasy mess, but it wasn’t. The Kickin’ Pork Green Chili was just that Kickin’.
Well fed we were ready to drink, Beer!
I tasted a lot of good beer, I tasted some okay beer and I only tasted one really awful beer. But the highlight of the day was having our beer poured by Dogfish Head founder, Sam Calagione.
We had tickets to the second session but opted to sell them. Instead we decided to get some food and check out downtown Denver.
We walked to Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. We tried the Elk (with cream cheese and caramelized onions), Boar (with cream cheese and caramelized onions) and Pheasant (plain) dogs. They all were very good but my favorite was the Elk. The fries were also hot and crispy.
We then went across the street to Star Bar. They were having a craft beer cocktail event with Beer Advocate.
I tired the Sweet Lady Country Cocktail
– Great Divide Colette Farmhouse Ale
– Leopold Brothers American Small Batch Whiskey
– Leopold Brothers Rye Whiskey
– Mint Infused Dancing Pines Brulee Liqueur
– Dancing Pines Chai Liqueur
It was interesting.
Before heading back to our luxurious room for a nap we stopped at Great Divide for a beer.
I had the Strong Ale. It was strong. To strong.
That night we headed to Falling Rock Tap House. I sipped a Funkwerks Saison while Charlie participated in some fancy beer tasting.
We ended the night with a slice from a food truck. A wood burning food truck!
The next day we flew home. We had a great time and I loved Denver. I’d defiantly recommend the GABF even if your not a beer lover.
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