Hang On To Summer With FCB's Big, Black Elephant

Are you ready for winter? Me neither. As I stared into the glass brew cages at the liquor store last night, I wasn't ready to surrender to the fall seasonals or the porters and stouts of winter.

I wanted summer to hang around a little longer. I wanted another nice IPA.

So, I reached for the big, black elephant.

Rocky Mountain IPA
Ft. Collins Brewery
Ft. Collins, CO
ABV: 6.20%
http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/

I have enjoyed this brew before, but haven't taken time to talk about it (shame on me.)

Ft. Collins Brewery's Rocky Mountain IPA is one of my favorite IPAs. It has a nice coppery-orange color with a tight cream colored head that really lasts.

Give it a sniff and you'll get a generous noseful of citrusy hops. Wait a minute. There is something else in here. Yes, its hoppy....but, there is a really nice bready malt aroma, too. That's what I really like about Rocky Mountain IPA. There is loads of hops...pure, wonderful hops. But, there is plenty of bready malt too. It's a great blend that you don't find in some other IPAs.

You taste the blend too. Lots of grassy and citrusy hops and some nice malts, too. The hoppy-ness really lingers after you swallow, giving you a chance to enjoy Rocky Mountain IPA's flavors just a little while after its gone.

This brew is so well done, you could drink it all day. So, you have another and another...and, another. Suddenly, here comes trouble. This brew is blended so well you haven't noticed it carries a 6.2% ABV. Look Out!!! A Big, Black, Elephant Buzz Is Rumbling Right Atcha!!! (maybe that is why they put that thing on the label...)

Overall, Rocky Mountain IPA is a great beer. It's the blend of hops and malts I really like. You will too, if you are lucky enough to live in one of the 19 or 20 states where Ft. Collins Brewery beers are sold.

Go grab yourself one last gulp of summer.

****ON TAP THIS WEEKEND****

All Weekend:
*It's the Telluride Blues and brews festival this weekend. The grand beer tasting is on Saturday. http://www.tellurideblues.com/

*Oktoberfest is Oompahhing in downtown Denver http://www.oktoberfestdenver.com/ and up in Breckenridge. http://www.breckenridgeoktoberfest.com/

Saturday, September 19th:
*Colorado Pork and Hops Challenge continues in Lincoln Park in Grand Junction, CO. http://www.porknhops.com/
*Wynkoop will roll out The Obamanator. This dry hopped Maibock lager was originally brewed for President Obama's historic visit to Denver during the DNC. 5pm. http://www.wynkoop.com/ *Denver's RooBar's Anniversary Party is tonight with Great Divide brews. http://www.greatdivide.com/

Live Music!
*It's Bluez House with Paul Soderman ($5) at Oksar Blues in Lyons.
*Crank up the tunes with Jon Cody on the patio at Left Hand Brewing in Longmont. 5pm. http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

Sunday, September 20th:
*The Zooma Women’s Race Series takes off at 7:30am from Central Park in the Stapleton neighborhood in Denver. After the running, Left Hand Brewing does the pampering. http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

*Vesta Dipping Grill Beer Dinner is tonight with beers from Great Divide Brewing in Denver. http://www.greatdivide.com/

Live Music!
*Scott Von on the patio of Left Hand Brewing in Longmont at 4:30pm http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/
*Felonius Smith acoustic blues band plays Oskar Blues Brewing in Lyons.

Missed the Boat at the Mountain Sun in Boulder at 10pm and Paper Stars plays the Vine Street Pub in Denver at 10pm http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

Want to go to Boulder Beer's 30th birthday party? Tickets are still available

Remember when we used to call them micro breweries. Well, they used to be…well, micro. These days, many of them have outgrown their tiny, little brewery status.

Tomorrow night Colorado's first craft brewery, Boulder Beer, celebrates its 30th birthday and you are invited. The Throw Down bash takes place at the historic Boulder Theater on 14th & Pearl. There will be live music by Great American Taxi featuring Vince Herman from Leftover Salmon, and Oakhurst. They will have crazy prize drawings (you can win BEER FOR A YEAR!), beer celebrations, and of course, pints of Boulder Beer for only $2.50. Tickets are still available and you gotta get them on the Boulder Theater website or at their ticket office. http://www.bouldertheater.com/

****ON TAP****

Ft. Collins Brewery releases their Oatmean Raisin Stout today. It is a benevolient brew. According to the label, "this style of stout, developed in honor of brewer & Colorado State University Alumnus Matt Wensman and all proceeds from sales are being donated to the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, CSU, to be used in teaching the FTEC 460 Brewing Science and Technology course.” It's on tap at the brewery in Ft. Collins. They will also bottle it and sell it by the 6 pack. http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/

Left Hand Brewing is doing another beer tasting. This one is at Proto’s Pizza, in North Boulder, from 6-8p. http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

Hungry? It's beer dinner season. The Avery Brewing/Le Central Restaurant beer dinner is tonight. http://www.averybrewing.com/

It's Great Divide Brewing night at City, O' City. http://www.greatdivide.com/

And, get set, because tomorrow is the beginning of the Denver Beer Fest. It is a celebration of all things beer, wrapped around next week's Great American Beer Festival. I'll post a lot of cool things each day so you can get your fill of this foamy fest that turns all of Denver into a large college keg party. Party on, dude!

Chilly Temps Put Me in a Nefarious State of Mind

Night time temperatures are dipping below 40 in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. That means my beer tastes go dark. Instead of the hoppys of summer, I find myself choosing a stout or porter instead.

One of my favorites comes from the Ska Brewing bunch in Durango, CO. Never mind what you will find inside, you could like their Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter just for its packaging. Under its blue wax coated bottle top, its label is guarded by a really pissed off gold crowned skeleton brandishing a bowling pin and ball sceptre. Open it up and pour it into your pint glass and you will find yourself holding a dark, almost midnight black brew topped with a tight, khaki colored head. Nefarious is a rich, bold brew that is loaded with coffee, chocolate and sweet fruit flavors. I am thinking a couple bottles of Nefarious would go perfectly with a big bowl of stew, a thick, chunk of heavy German bread and a roaring fire on a snowy Colorado evening. And, with Nefarious Ten Pin Imperial Porter's powerful 8% ABV, if I drank a couple 22 oz. bombers of this brash brew, I am pretty sure I’d be nefariously off to bed as soon as the dishes were done.

*****On Tap Today*****

Looking for work? The "werk fer us" job fair continues for Oskar Blues' new brew bar and restaurant, The Homemade Liquids & Solids restaurant. 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm at The Tasty Weasel, 1800 Pike Rd. Longmont, CO. Get an application online at http://www.oskarblues.com/

Avery is teaming up with some of Boulder's best for the Cultiva, Growing Gardens dinner at the Harvest House, in Boulder, CO. 5pm tonight. http://www.averybrewing.com/

Left Hand Brewery hosts the The Indian Peaks Alers, Longmont’s homebrew club, in their tasting room tonight at 6pm. http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

Lonesome Traveler brings bluegrass to Oskar Blues in Lyons, CO. 8pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Glove Trucker plays at Odell Brewery, Ft. Collins tonight. http://www.odells.com/

And, speaking of Ft. Collins, the brew bunch at Ft. Collins Brewery are getting firked up. Today they add firkins to their Tap Club Series. First up, a tasty Cherry Cream Ale made with 3 pounds of cherries from Grant Farms CSA. Get it quick, a five gallon firkin is gone freakin' fast. http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com/