Big Choice Brewing (Broomfield, CO)

Drinkability with uncompromising flavor. That’s what you’ll find at Big Choice Brewing in Broomfield, Colo. Eight taps line the downstairs taproom, ranging from a light wheat beer to a big, bold American amber. In addition to your typical taproom with a few tables and stools at the bar, Big Choice has a second level, complete with vintage pinball and arcade games that compliment the ’90s punk vibe.

The best deal is a sampler of all eight offerings for $10. The Disconnected Red is their biggest seller, however there is a beer for everyone, from the dark beer lover to the biggest hop head. Ollie-Weizen is a German Hefeweizen, light in body, with the characteristic banana and clove flavor derivatives of the yeast, but not overwhelmingly so.

Another yeast-forward beer, 10,000 Summers Saison, is a farmhouse ale with a mild, spicy character and dry finish, which makes it a good choice as a summer beer with complex flavors.

Big Choice offers plenty of hoppy varieties, including the extremely approachable Rail Side Extra Pale Ale, with its high level of mellow, citrusy hops and low alcohol. Two other heftier, hoppy brews include the Type III IPA, an American Style IPA, and Disconnected Red, an American Amber Ale.

Type III has a medium level of bitterness, combined with the resiny qualities typical of many West Coast IPAs, balanced with a malty backbone. Disconnected Red has notes of toast and caramel, balanced with spicey, citrusy hops. For those looking for a big, creamy body, Big Choice brews Hemlock Double IPA, clocking in at 9.5% abv, and100+ IBUs, compliments of several varieties of American hops.

The welcoming surprise of the bunch is bar far the #42 Poblano Stout. Without the burn of most chili beers, the poblanos add an additional note of roastiness to this very drinkable oatmeal stout. There is a noticeable hint of smoke on the nose, and like a well-made stout, finishes thirst-quenchingly dry.

Big Choice embodies everything you look for in a local microbrewery: well-made, approachable, and unique beers, a convivial vibe for locals and travelers alike, and a personality all its own.

Surly Brewing Co. (Brooklyn Center, MN)

Much like many nano and microbreweries, Surly is located amid a small industrial complex, with a portion of the brewery devoted to a taproom and gift shop. Do not let the spartan exterior fool you though, there are some seriously creative beers being made here. Once you pull around the back of the complex and park, and then walk up to the metal facade, the feeling of a faceless building that sits next to a screw manufacturer quickly evaporates as you see groups of smiling faces with full pints in their hands.

Despite having an in-your-face brand that is bent on exuding an attitude of “shut up, and drink a full pint of beer”, there are no employees here with pretentious airs. Although I was a bit disappointed that they only do full 8-16oz pours of their eight available beers in the taproom, I do have to say, Surly might be one of the few breweries in the country where you can enjoy a full glass of 10% abv beer, as well as several wild and sour ales for only $5.

After explaining to the bartender that I had never visited before, he quickly grabbed a glass and poured me a Furious, one of Surly’s American India Pale Ales, and said, “you have to have the Furious then to start with.” Furious uses mostly West Coast, high alpha hops, however isn’t as big as I expected, and is highly hopped beer that won’t put you on your ass. It is also available in cans, and is one of their year-round options.

My second pour was Misanthrope, a Belgian saison aged in white wine barrels inoculated with brettanomyces (wild yeast). It is extremely tart and fruity, and true to a saison, quite dry and finishes very crisp. The beer paired well with the ahi fish tacos I purchased from the outside food truck, a rotating fixture available each evening while the taproom is open.

Several other brett options were available, from another Belgian aged in red wine barrels, to a Brett IPA collaboration with 3 Floyds of Indiana. I expect big things, and big beers, to come of Surly, and absolutely recommend it as a place to explore new beers, as well as kick back for a casual beer or light dinner after work.

Fat Head’s (North Olmsted, OH)

I don’t know what it is with these no-name towns on the outskirts of major cities, but I think that’s the beginning of a formula for great brewpubs: be in the middle of nowhere, but within driving distance of a well-known city + have a great name + a penchant for the ridiculous + an obsession with quality = absurdly good beers.

Fat Head’s is brewed in both PA and OH, and this particular brewery and saloon is located just outside of Cleveland in North Olmsted, OH. The exterior (and even interior) is no different than your typical sports pub, but once you start reviewing the chalk board of taps and reading their respective descriptions in the menu, you quickly develop tunnel vision (or rather, tunnel “taste”) for a wide variety of extremely well-made beers.

I’ve always thought that the mark of a great brewery is one that can handily make a standard and seemingly simple beer like a bitter or pilsner, as well as create complex fruit, aged and other distinctly unique brews. Fat Head’s does the former, latter, and everything in between in droves.

Their Head Hunter IPA has gained accolades at several international beer festivals, but outside of being a classical example of the style, this beer packs an amazing punch of fruity/resiny hops that will surprise even the most jaded of hop heads. The tried and true hops of Simcoe, Columbus and Cascade dominate this ale, with just enough added sweetness and body to allow for the hops to shine through. The lighter body masks that fact that this is a pretty big beer at 7.4% abv. An absolute must try if you visit Fat Head’s.

Duke of Lager, a self-described German Fest Bier, begins with a touch of honey-flavored malt, and finishes dry to make this a great summer beer to enjoy on a hot day.

The Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Ale is another good summer drinking beer. It tastes of a light lager with a hint of blueberry, dowsed with a dollop of honey, without the cloying or artificial flavor of most commercially brewed blueberry beers.

I saved the heavy Bourbon Barrel Aged Battle Axe Baltic Porter for my final Fat Head, and am glad I did. This is an absolute palate wrecker (and delight), which begins with a big waft of Bourbon, which is also noticeable in the flavor, along with other common whiskey barrel-aged flavors such as vanilla and oak. The beer has a alcohol hotness to it, but is nice, as it reminds you of a snifter of a hearty, quaffable whiskey, but is also balanced with plenty of dark chocolate and roasty coffee notes.

There were no less than eighteen Fat Head’s taps available, not to mention a treasure trove of other craft brews from across the nation. Both widely recognizable brands such as Stone and Troegs could be enjoyed, as well as beer-cult rarities such as 3 Floyds Gumballhead, one of the first American Wheat Wines.

Fat Head’s is one of those brewing rarities that enjoys both commercial success (they now brew in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and have won multiple International awards) as well as a distinguishing itself as a unique and distinctly local saloon.

Sawtooth Brewery (Ketchum, ID)

While on a recent trip with several friends to Sun Valley, Idaho, we stopped in for a post-dinner drink at the Sawtooth Brewery taproom. The five-person bar area and about twenty-person seating area is perfect for a quick brew after a long day of skiing, or in our case, a long day of fly fishing. It seemed only fitting that we go local after several hours of taking fly lessons from a local legend who went simply by “the Dude”.

About eight Sawtooth taps are pouring the local beer at any time, in addition to four guest taps of craft brew. I went with the Ketchum Cream Ale on nitro to quench my thirst on this unseasonably warm 90+ degree day. It has a very full and thick body with very little carbonation and is made even smoother coming out of the nitro tap. This ale is also made with both ale and lager yeasts, something I’m not sure I’ve seen before with a cream ale, however it does make sense when compared to the similar California Common or “Steam” beers which are made with lager yeasts and fermented at ale temperatures.

A full line of other classic ales were on tap, including the very nice Freeheeler Rye IPA. It’s a big floral and citrus IPA, with just enough rye spiciness to balance it out.

All in all, Sawtooth is a nice place for locals to unwind in a simple environment or for the casual tourist to find something they’ll enjoy from the full range of classic beers. It just goes to show how something as simple as some well made craft beers and not much of anything else but a place to gather is really all you need to have a good time. Ketchum is a pretty small community, and Sawtooth fits it well. I hope that this is the trend for the future as far as small town breweries go. Not every start-up needs to have ambitions of becoming the next Dogfish or Sierra Nevada, but just being able to cater to your neighbors is often not only good enough, but preferable to truly have a locally brewed beer and call it your own.

Tired Hands Brewing Company (Ardmore, PA)

I strive to be as objective as possible and let the reader decide whether the brewery or pub described is someplace they’d enjoy or plan to visit. In this case, my bias is sure to show through, so I’ll go ahead and preempt my overview of Tired Hands by saying it truly is a place of unique character, and embodies more so than any other brewpub I’ve visited so far what craft beer is all about.

Ardmore, PA is much like any other ‘historical’ district you might encounter on the East Coast, with various craft and knick knack stores, ripe for window shopping. The town has a laid-back vibe and being within reasonable driving distance of Philadelphia, embodies the type of genuine sensibilities often associated with this area of the country. Tired Hands is at the end of one of the main streets in Ardmore, but feels tucked away due to its nonchalant and cozy features.

The menu, for the most part, consists of locally-sourced (all within 100 miles) charcuterie, including house made bread. On this occasion I wanted plenty of room for the varied menu of beers and ordered a simple platter of bread and butter. Rather than acting as a means of cleansing the palate, the nearly whole loaf of bread I received enhanced each and every beer I ordered. Accompanying the just-hard-enough crunchy exterior and fluffy, slightly sour interior bread, was a super creamy, dark yellow butter and dash of sea salt and very pungent fennel.  I had to not just pace my drinking, but my eating of this amazing bread so as not to fill up too quickly.

To say that Tired Hands does not brew to style would be an understatement.  It becomes clearly evident with each subsequent tasting of the nine taps that the brewer had a distinct vision for each creation and chose ingredients to both enhance and dazzle the taste buds.

The beers themselves offer a complex array of flavors so extensive, that I would be doing them a disservice by trying to describe them in simple objective terms, plus their website attempts to provide detailed descriptions already. I will say, that for the ‘wild beer’ drinker, you will assuredly find Tired Hands a mecca for these types of beer. They are not shy about using Brett (ie. brettanomyces, a yeast strain heartier than your typical ale strain, with additional complex tastes and aromas ranging from tropical fruit to barnyard), as I noticed in at least three beers including a saison, a hoppy pale and a grisette (made with wheat, honey and tea).

Whether you are just dropping in few a quick bite of some local bread and cheese, or plan on making Tired Hands a destination in itself, I would find it extremely difficult not to endorse either. Regardless, I assure anyone that you will likely find that time has quickly fleeted by when you leave this amazing brewery.

Lancaster Brewing Company (Lancaster, PA)

Just over an hour west of Philadelphia, amid a plethora of Dutch and Amish farms, stores, and yes, a Wonderland (no joke, check it out), you’ll find Lancaster Brewing Company, the first brewery in Lancaster in over 40 years. Lancaster has a pretty surprisingly rich history of brewing tradition, and as the menu at Lancaster Brewing says, it was once even referred to as “little Munich”. The brewpub isn’t hard to spot, as it resides within a converted tobacco barn, and has kept a majority of the original exterior for a truly unique look. Plenty of seating is available both inside the restaurant, at the sprawling bar, and outside on nice days. Much like many other small-town bars, Lancaster definitely cultivates its share of loyal locals, as I soon found out that most of my bar companions were from the area and very much versed in the offerings.

I find that in order to test the meddle of a craft brewery, it’s often best to sample the most basic of their creations to see how they are able to showcase the subtleties of classic styles, such as an English Mild or Bitter or German Pilsner. So, on this occasion I paired my soft shell crab sandwich with Lancaster’s Country Cream Ale. Smoooooooth…. no noticeable bitterness, lots of creamy mouthfeel, no astringent aftertaste, but a touch of hops to balance it out. This ale still carried a 5.5% abv, so I’m guessing this combined with its easy drinking quality has led to many a long summer days followed by even longer next mornings. I also sampled the Boss Hog Double IPA and would’ve gladly ordered a full pint of this bitter and hoppy punch in the mouth had I not still had several more hours of driving ahead of me.

Trinity Brewhouse (Providence, RI)

I dropped by Trinity Brewhouse for a quick lunch en route to Newport, and was able to try two of their craft brews. The brewhouse has a cool, laid back vibe and is festooned with some pretty great custom painted vintage-like sideshow banners.

I had their Redrum Imperial Red with a corned beef reuben (quite good) and it’s everything you’d want in an amped-up version of a red: big and juicey, caramel maltiness, lots of floral and fruity hops, and a lingering bitterness that balances out the heavy sweetness.

I got a sample of the Belgian Saison, and got the impression that it was more like a Belgian dubel, as it had a very prominent Belgian yeast flavor and nose, and was not nearly dry enough to be considered a true saison. That being said, the beer itself had lots of flavor, and if you enjoy a big, yeasty Belgian, by all means try it.

Moonlight Meadery (Londonderry, NH)

I am well aware that this is not a post about a brewery, but guess what, it’s my blog so I’ll write about anything I dang well please (except vegan restaurants… god no, there will never be a vegan restaurant/brewpub posting on here). Plus, mead is basically beer with a different sugar source, and even our President is using honey in his own homebrew in the White House. Good enough for the Commander in Chief, good enough for me.

I had been sampling beers throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, so while en route to visit a friend in Boston I figured I’d change it up a bit a go a bit sweeter. First off, I GUARANTEE there is something at Moonlight you will enjoy, as by my count, there were nearly forty varieties at my visit. The categories range from your standard traditional meads made with honey, sugar and yeast to the outrageously flavored coffee, pepper and barrel-aged concoctions.

I won’t even begin to try and describe each mead I tried, but I’ll offer a general overview, as well as some of my favorites. For wine drinkers who enjoy big, bold, red styles,  Moonlight offers several melomels (mead fermented with fruit) made with dark fruits such as cherries and black currants. The meads fermented with the currants pack an intense pucker factor and boldness that is unique only to melomels, so a definite must-try for wine drinkers seeking a brazen alternative to typical full-bodied wines.

For those seeking a more subtle flavor with the honey being at the forefront, try one of Moonlight’s methlegins (mead with spices). Many are infused with tea leaves, as well as other bolder spices such as ginger and cinnamon, as well as smoother choices made with vanilla (my personal favorite was a mead fermented with whole oranges and spiced with vanilla beans). For a taste like you’ve never had before, try ‘Breathless’, a cinnamon-spiced mead that is like a fireball candy explosion. Other unique spices and infusions include Sumatra coffee, lime, mint and peppers, just to name a few.

Finally, for the beer aficionados (see, I didn’t completely forget about my fellow beer geeks), Moonlight offers a barrel-aged series, utilizing spent barrels that formerly housed the uber rare/expensive Utopia beers from Sam Adams/Boston Beer Co. (an American Strong Ale that drinks more like a sherry as it clocks in at an astonishing 29% abv, which is roughly the equivalent of seven Bud Lights). These meads are rarely available for tasting but have garnered critical praise, earning Mazer Cup (the Olympics of mead) honors in 2012.

Being a fan of variety and uniqueness, Moonlight Meadery really has it all. For those of you who have never tried or even heard of mead, the guys there do a great job of explaining the process as well as offering advice on varieties. And for those us who enjoy the craft of spirits it’s hard not to appreciate the range and depth offered for such a simple item that usually just requires water, yeast and honey.

Random side note: I made a wrong turn that cost me an additional hour, but located 40 miles northwest on Highway 9 (connecting US 91 and US 89) I came across the below pictured barn and stopped because I was famished. 
Thinking I would just grab a quick deli sandwich and a soda, I pulled up and saw there was also this gnarly, vintage Airstream serving gourmet sandwiches and ice cream. I ordered a marinated veggie sandwich with goat cheese and pretty much just grinned for 15 minutes straight, and then washed it down with a Squamscot craft soda. I couldn’t help but go up to the trailer afterwards and thank them for such an amazing sandwich. So if you aren’t already, don’t travel the major highways or you will miss out on hidden gems like these! Oh, and if you get the name, please tell me. Or, perhaps it’s better being unknown to me so it retains that mystical quality (but I certainly encourage you to tell others).
Update to the update; Farm Store found! http://winterhillfarmstore.com/about/the-farm-the-market/

Crop Bistro & Brewery (Stowe, VT)

I randomly found Crop in between a hike up Vermont’s highest peak and a night in Burlington (see previous post), but am sure glad I did. Crop had several beers on tap, but as I had just finished a pretty exhausting morning all I craved was a refreshing American pale ale to go with my cobb salad. Luckily they had just the thing (no notebook on hand, so can’t remember the name of the brew) to quench my thirst. What I do remember is that it definitely packed a hoppy punch with all the fixin’s of your typical West Coast style: big, juicey fruit and floral flavors, with just enough bitterness to balance it out. I could’ve had several of these, but had plenty more drinkin’ to do later in the day!

There are several other hiking trails in this area, as well as skiing in the winter, so if you’re ever in or near Stowe, definitely check out Crop for some apres ski. I used the site EveryTrail.com  to find my course (Mt. Mansfield), which also has a great app for locating and logging hikes.

Zero Gravity Craft Brewery at American Flatbread and The Vermont Pub and Brewery (Burlington, VT)

Burlington, VT is home to four breweries, three within about four blocks of each other. I was fortunate enough to check out two of them on my recent pass-through of this area. The city of Burlington has an eclectic, artsy air about it, which supplies fertile ground for creative types, including brewers.

I started at Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, which is located within American Flatbread. In addition to a nice offering of multiple classic ales including several pales, a California common and a porter, Zero Gravity was also pouring some more experimental brews. The first, and by far one of the more rare offerings you’ll find, was a gruit. Gruit is essentially a beer made using several herbs and spices as opposed to hops, as was the custom prior to the 16th century (and earlier in some areas such as Germany… you should read about it, and you can actually thank political and religious oppression for the use of sweet sweet hops!). Zero’s Summer Gruit Ale contains some of the more traditional herbs you’d likely find in a medieval-style, including sweet gale, yarrow, mugwort and even tea. It really is the perfect summer ale on a hot, balmy day, as was the case on this 80% humidity day in July. There is hint of fruitiness, with a light body, and little to no bitterness despite the clear presence of herbs.

Zero’s Organic Saison was another great summer offering. It was not as dry as you might typically find among saisons, but still crisp and refreshing. My last sample was Hopscotch, a Peated India Pale Ale. This brew was not as smokey as I was anticipating, but definitely still had a moderate to high level of roast and bitterness.

After devouring one the phenomenal pizzas (ahem… flatbreads) at American Flatbread, I headed up the street to Vermont’s oldest brewpub, the aptly named Vermont Pub and Brewery. The restaurant and pub definitely have more of a neighborhood vibe than the bohemian, hipster feel of Zero Gravity, and offers a pretty wide range of beers as well as pub fare. I had a sampler of too many beers to review, but the highlights were definitely of the German and Belgian variety. Beetlejuice is a sour-mashed weissebier. It has your typical big yeasty flavors with the expected banana and clove, but with a nice added twist of a sharp acidic bite at the end. I’m assuming this comes with the sour mashing, which is likely pretty short as it is by no means tart. This beer definitely inspired me to try and recreate a beer that has quite honestly come to be a mainstay at craft brewpubs, with a pretty low amount of imagination. Most brewers seem to rely exclusively on the yeast to provide a majority of this style’s character, so it was nice to try a spin on a very classic beer. The other must try in my opinion is the Spuyten Duyvil, a Belgian sour red ale. This sour red had a little less tartness than is typical of say a Rodenbach Gran Cru, but had an added flavor of ‘barnyard’ (yes, I promise that is a common beer descriptor) from brettanomyces yeast. There is still the lactic acidity you would typically expect, but the brett quality really shines through for a complex and really tasty brew.

The city of Burlington itself is well worth the visit outside of the several breweries (also in Burlington is the brewpub 3 Needs, which I’m told has an extensive draft and bottle list of other sought after craft beers from Vermont, as well as the production brewery Switchback). A meadery and cidery are also within driving distance, and if you have the time (and have yet to begin your tour of imbibing) definitely check out some of the myriad hiking trails. Below is a snapshot I took while hiking halfway up Vermont’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield: