Beer: Water to beer from Colorado snowpack
Local beer's long, loving trip to LoDo starts with gorgeous Colorado water

Douglas Brown--The Denver Post

People from around the world come to Colorado to make beer. Not for the hops or the grain. They come for the gorgeous water.

The collision of Pacific-borne storms and towering mountains yields enormous reservoirs of pristine snow in the state, much of which melts and submits to gravity, ending up in water-treatment facilities 5,000 feet lower and miles away along the Front Range.

And, eventually, in your pint glass. Hops, barley, yeast and time transform millions of gallons of Colorado water every year into ale and lager. Colorado breweries (more than 100 of them) pump out more beer — 23,370,848 barrels in 2006 — than any other state.

New Belgium in Fort Collins sits somewhere between brewing leviathan and microbrew startup. Hundreds of workers create an array of beers, from sour Belgian-style ales that cost $15 for a 22-ounce bottle to more-straightforward mugs of suds that sell for $4 at LoDo sports bars.

What goes into that six-pack of bottled blizzard? It starts with snow, in the northern fringes of the aptly named Never Summer Range.

Read the entire article here.

Here's To You, Old No. 7

Yo Jackie D! Happy birthday, my whiskey brother. As they say, "Hells to the yeah, Jack Daniels, put on the birthday hat and party like a rock star!"

Jack Daniels...and, there really was a Jack Daniels...was born in September, but we don't know on which day. There was a fire in the courthouse that destroyed all the records and anybody that knew his birthday has passed on to that great distillery in the sky.

So, we celebrate his birthday all month long.

There is a funny story about Jack Daniels, not about how he was born, but how he died in 1911.

"As the story goes, Mr. Jack arrived at work early one morning and tried to open the safe in his office.
Thing is, he couldn’t recall the combination. In his frustration, he gave that safe a good, solid kick. The blow broke his toe and infection set in, leading to the blood poisoning that would take his life in 1911.
Because he never married or had children, he deeded the Distillery to his hard-working nephew, Lem Motlow. Some people say Jack Daniel not only left his Tennessee Whiskey behind, he left us all a valuable lesson as well: Don’t go to work early."

(from http://www.jackdaniels.com/)

So in the spirit of our dearly departed friend, who's birthday we celebrate each and every day of the month of September, let's all raise our right hand and take this solumn oath.

"I ____(your name here)_____ promise to love the ones around me, help others when I can and use my turn signal at all times.

I also promise that I will never get to work early and I will avoid kicking any thing harder than a football. Amen."

****On Tap****
Today, Sunday (Sept. 6th)

**Beer and Yoga? Sure, why not! Robyn, The Bristol Beer Ninja, leads a yoga session at Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Don't sweat it...it is guy friendly, too. $10 gets you the session, bottled water and a post yoga beer. BYOM (bring your own mat) http://www.bristolbrewing.com/
**Didn't make it yesterday? That's ok, the Oskar Blues pig roast in Lyons, CO continues today, 2-6pm. Then, enjoy country AND western when Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams brings their honky tonk out starting at 6pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/
**Catch Hot Club Sandwich at the Mountain Sun Pub in Boulder. http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

**A Taste of Colorado Continues-downtown Denver. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

Monday, Sept. 7th (Labor Day)
**Come celebrate the labors of Doug and the Odell Brewing when they roll out their Bourbon Barrel Stout. The keg tapping and tasting starts at 1pm in at Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins. http://www.odells.com/
**Another new brew is coming out. New Belgium Brewery just announced that Hoptober Golden Ale, their new autumn brew is on the way. This puppy is described as “...a Hop Lover’s dream within the Belgian idiom.” http://www.newbelgium.com/
**A Taste of Colorado-downtown Denver-Last Day. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

New Belgium's Newest Seasonal....Hoptober

Watch for it! It is Hoptober Golden Ale. It's is New Belgium's newest seasonal.

Hoptober is brewed with 5 hops and 4 malts, which NBB says gives us a nice medium bodied ale with a creamy mouthfeel. They say they used Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette and Glacier hops and pale and wheat malt and mashed it with rye and oats.

This is suppose to be a "Hop Lover’s dream within the Belgian idiom, a bonfire of citrus notes, fruity cheers and a bold finale."

Whoa! Sounds very interesting!

Let me know how you like it!

*****In The News*****
Nice article from NPR on the success of canned craft beer. Oskar Blues Brewing in Lyons, CO was the first brewery in the country to put their craft brews in cans. That was 7 years ago. It's great to see the rest of the country getting in step. Pass me a Chubb, will ya?

*********On Tap Today******
Speaking of Oskar Blues, they have a pig roast going today, Noon to 6pm. Live music from The Dan Treanor Band starts at 9pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Left Hand Brewery's Summer Concert Series continues today at the tap room in Longmont. This afternoon, it's bluegrass with Backwoods Galaxy, starting at 5pm. Tickets are still available for their Boulder County Brew Cruise, Wednesday, 9/23. http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/

The Boulder Beer Garden is a great hangout at the Boulder Hometown Fair which continues today. http://www.boulderbeer.com/

It's the Tour de Fat at the home of the Tour de Fat today. Ride your schwinn over to New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins. http://www.newbelgium.com/

Grab a Breckenridge brew today at the Four Corners Folk Festival--Reservoir Park--Pagosa Springs, CO. http://www.folkwest.com/

And if you must, A taste of Colorado rolls on in downtown Denver through Monday. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

What A Weekend For Us Beer Lovers.

Ah, Labor Day....one of the biggest weekends of the year for bodacious brew stuff to enjoy. So, let's get to it.

Tonight, (Friday Night, Sept. 4th), you can kick off the weekend with equal parts folk, country, blues and bluegrass. The Kort McCumber Band performs at Oskar Blues in Lyons. The show starts aboout 9 and it'll cost ya 5-bucks to get in. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Close your eyes and you might think you are hearing Joni Mitchell and the Counting Crows, but Jill Cohn has a sound all her own. Catch her free concert tonight on the Patio at Carver Brewing in Durango. It starts at 8:30pm. http://www.carverbrewing.com/

Speaking of the Four Corners, this is the weekend for the The Four Corners Folk Festival. Grab yourself some great Breckenridge brew and enjoy the live tunes. It happens all weekend at Reservoir Hill Park in Pagosa Springs, CO http://www.folkwest.com/

The Boulder Hometown Fair is this weekend, too. You might wanna chill out in the Boulder Beer beer garden with a Cold Hop or Mojo. http://www.boulderbeer.com/

It's the Taste of Colorado in downtown Denver this weekend. Go people watch, then head over to Great Divide, or Breckenridge, or Wynkoop, or the Falling Rock Tap House and wash that turkey leg taste out of your mouth with a good brew. http://www.atasteofcolorado.com/

Saturday, (Sept. 5th)
It's Fat Tire Time! Head to the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins for the Tour de Fat. I just wish I'd kept my old Schwinn Rocket. http://www.newbelgium.com/

Oskar Blues in Lyons pigs out! They have a pig roast going Saturday and Sunday. And, after you've porked yourself on Saturday, hang around for The Dan Treanor Bandis free concert starting at 9pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

Sunday (Sept. 6th)
Beer and Yoga? Sure, why not! Robyn, The Bristol Beer Ninja, leads a yoga session at Bristol Brewing in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Don't sweat it...it is guy friendly, too. $10 gets you the session, bottled water and a post yoga beer. BYOM (bring your own mat) http://www.bristolbrewing.com/

Didn't make it yesterday? That's ok, the Oskar Blues pig roast in Lyons, CO continues today, 2-6pm. Then, enjoy country AND western when Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams brings their honky tonk out starting at 6pm. http://www.oskarblues.com/

DVS 3 plays at The Vine Street Pub in Denver. 10pm. Catch Hot Club Sandwich at the Mountain Sun Pub in Boulder. http://www.mountainsunpub.com/

Monday, Sept. 7th (Labor Day)
Come celebrate the labors of Doug and the Odell Brewing when they roll out their Bourbon Barrel Stout. The keg tapping and tasting starts at 1pm in at Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins. http://www.odells.com/

Another new brew is out. New Belgium Brewery just announced that Hoptober Golden Ale, their new autumn brew is coming out. This puppy is described as “...a Hop Lover’s dream within the Belgian idiom.” http://www.newbelgium.com/

Whoa.