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On our way out of Denver my wife needed a book for the plane, having finished the one she brought from home on the way there.  So we popped into one of the airport book shops and ended up with a Tom Robbins book called B is for Beer.  I've read some Robbins before and his writing is best described as a trip.  He's got a real talent for turning phrases and describing human experiences in irreverent and insightful terms.  That holds true in this short children's book.  However, this isn't a typical children's book and I'd say is best read and discussed with an adult.  Basically, Robbins tells the story of beer through the voice and experience of a six-year-old girl, Gracie, who encounters beer through the adults and the media surrounding her.  The author uses several fun and enlightened characters to help Gracie explored the history and the joy of beer.  To complete the picture Robbins gives appropriate treatment of the downsides of alcohol and people who abuse it.  This book is quick and cute with a decent explanation of the history of beer and the brewing process.

Last weekend my wife and I flew out to Denver to visit our friends Drake and Julia.  We had a wonderful time and fit plenty of beer-centric behavior into the trip.  Denver has a great beer culture and the options are plentiful when deciding where to go for a beer.

On the first night we went to the Vine Street Pub which is an offshoot of Boulder's Mountain Sun pub (they share a website). We found the food and beers to all be very enjoyable.  Vine Street has a number of their own beers on tap with a good selection of "guest" beers on tap from other breweries.  I noticed that they had Stone's Pale Ale on tap and was tempted but no, I was here to try the local beers.  I tried their XXX Pale Ale which was a bit overwhelming, but not bad.  After such a big beer I switched to their much lighter Quinn's Golden Ale which went very nicely with the BBQ sandwich that I had for dinner.  I also got to taste their Rasberry Wheat beer and thought it was spot on.

The next day we headed up to the Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park and took a hike up to BierStadt Lake... that's right, Beer Town here we come! I don't believe Julia picked this hike simply for the name, but it fit the beer theme of this trip.  Anyway, as we reached the top of the hike we encountered some mountain lion tracks and decided it was prudent to go ahead and head back to the car.  After getting back to the car and dodging some elk we headed to Fort Collins and the New Belgium brewer.  Sadly, we arrived to late to get a ticket for one of the day's brewery tours, but all was not lost as we all sampled some of their beer and generally enjoyed ourselves.  Afterwards we headed back to Ft Collin's main drag and had dinner at a British style pub that had a number of local brews on tap from New Belgium and Odell's.

On Saturday we spent hours at Denver's excellent zoo.  The only thing that could make the day better was a good meal at a local brewpub, so we headed downtown to the Breckenridge Brewery Pub.  Again, good beer and good food.  Off the top of my head I don't remember what beer I had here, but whatever it was I liked it and bought a shirt.

Sunday was baseball day- we attended a rainy Rock's game against the Phillies.  Before hand we made a point of taking in the Wynkoop Brewpub (beware their website has some obnoxious music that isn't readily disabled).  The sampler at Wynkoop was fun as it included a tasty chili beer, a smoked porter, and a very nice ESB.

Monday was our last day in Denver and while Julia wa tied up with school work, Drake went with us into the city to be touristy.  We failed in our attempt to get into the mint, but we did get a tour of the state capital building.  Afterward we headed down to the downtown pedestrian mall for a meal and beer samples at the Rockbottom Brewpub.  After five days of good beer rockbottom didn't dissapoint.

This write up certainly isn't an exhaustive analysis of the beer that I experienced on this trip.  At some points I did take notes thinking that I'd use them to freshen my memory of the various brews, but I ended up disregarding that.  I think it's telling to allow my memory to distill the experiences of a trip and see what's left.  Here's what I remember as the beer highlights from this trip.  New Belgium is an inspiring brewery.  Their beer isn't my favorite, but what they're doing with respect to sustainability is fantastic and I was impressed by the friendliness and knowledge displayed by the employees that we encountered.  Of the brewpubs we attended Vine Street was my favorite- it's just the right size and has a comfortable, cozy feel.  Wynkoop was my second favorite bewpub with the most enjoyable sampler.  All of the brew pubs were great.  Most importantly though beer just tastes better with good friends.

Cheers Drake and Julie and cheers Colorado!