Boulder, CO

Okay... so i'm back from Boulder... and what a great time. We got to Avery Brewing Co. two seconds after they started their daily tour. They let us join--and it was great! Some of the greatest guys running that thing! Small operation--big beers! Reminded me of a "Dogfish" attitude. We tasted the grains; they handed out hadfulls of hops (yes, i still have some); we got to see the whole operation. At the end of the tour we were given five tokens for five free tastings (5 oz. each). I thought this was mighty generous, especially since the tour was free as well. Let me just say, the only thing better than their IPA on tap, is their Dry-Hopped IPA on tap. They are making a huge shift to Barrel-aging and Brett induced beers. They also have 3 lines of "big beers" (9 varietals all together) that we can't get in Lincoln: I purchased their Mephistopheles (part of their Demon Series). It is a 16 % ABV stout with special B and other dark caramels. I would bust this out for Stout night... but for 11 oz and a suggested 3-12 year aging recommendation, I hope you'll understand if I choose to cellar this guy for a while.

On the lighter side, I picked up some Green-Flash-West-Coast-IPA while I was in Boulder. This is the beer I had on tap in San Diego that I said was the "hoppiest beer I've ever had." While I may be retracting my initial statement, I still put it on my top 5 (maybe 3) IPA list.

And speaking of IPAs, I had Pliny on tap at a local brewery (BJ's Brewery). They had all of their in-house brews on tap and then Pliny. I had to laugh. I thought to myself, "You know, if I were to start a brewery, and only picked one commercial brew to put on tap, it would be Pliny, too probably!

At the local liquor store, I asked the Beer Manager if there were any Pliny's in the back (since there was a place for them on the shelves, but none out). He said: "Man! We just got a case on Friday!" And I said, "Oh cool, where are they?" And his reply: "No! We got the case on Friday, and I put them all out on the shelves! I can't believe they are already gone!" (Keep in mind, I was there on Monday morning!).

Anyway, it was a great trip with great beer. I tried a bunch of micros that were brewed only in Boulder with no plan of distribution any time soon... so that's always fun to find the tucked away spots!

Sounds like you had a lot of fun Hammonds. I am still usure how you get to travel to so many delicious places around the states.

I have been drinking some Weyerbacher "Hops infusion" lately. Pretty solid beer! I am a little indifferent on the Weyerbacher quad. I think those of you who really like the trappist beers would appreciate this one. The raisin/plum/fig quality is definitely there, just not to the point of overkill.

Also, a few weeks back I had that Thiriez Biere de Noel. The best way I could describe it is "flanders-ish". It did not have the vinegar aroma, and it lacked the extreme tartness. It was much better as it warmed. I drank the entire bottle and was having a pretty good time with it. You could definitely pick up some orange-apple-honey notes, and it made me pucker a little on the first couple swigs. Beer advocate had it as a 3.97 (B+). I would agree with that. It's seasonal though, but it might still be available at the still if anyone is interested in trying it.

Sounds like some tasty beers! As far as the Weyerbaucher Quad, I have yet to have an American Strong Belgian (trappist style, dubbel, quad, or trippel) that I've enjoyed. I think so many of them come close, but miss the mark. Maybe it's the water or maybe it's the slightest touch of brett and other indigenous yeast/bacteria cultures from the Abbey walls, but there's an "X" factor in most all true belgians that Americans are missing. (And Yes, I'm open to the notion that this is all in my head; and yes, I'm willing to do a blind taste test on someone else's dime..haha).