Vail Big Beers Pour List & Must Tries

Cover image courtesy of vaildaily.com

AC Golden – Kriek Noir

The base sour beer was then allowed to ferment on 800lbs of Colorado grown sweet and sour … Read More

New Belgium Brewing | Blackberry Barleywine

ABV: 10% | IBU: 50

New Belgium Brewing Blackberry Barleywine is just the fruit forward jammy jam beer you needed this winter.

It should come as no surprise that New Belgium Brewing Company holds a special place in my heart. As I’ve documented before, I first fell in love with craft beer in the winter of 2009 while taking advantage of free tasters in the New Belgium Brewing Liquids Center (tap room). At the time, I was an AmeriCorps member serving the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer Co, with a living stipend that was below minimum wage. So free tasters of beer was about all the entertainment I could afford at the time.

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Georgia’s Wild Heaven Brewery Adds Tequila-Aged Twist

Georgia’s Wild Heaven brewery busts into the barrel-aged release game with a tequila twist—and a little bit of heat—with the introduction of Height of Civilization. And true to form for this growing Atlanta-area brewery, Wild Heaven delivers.

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Bell’s Brewing Co. | Saturn – The Bringer of Old Age

Bell’s Brewing Co.

Saturn – The Bringer of Old Age

Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine

ABV: 11.5%

Deep, rich, robust, and smooth. These are all flavors that make up Bell’s fifth … Read More

Peticolas Brewing Co.| The DUKE

ABV: 12% | IBU: 35

They say Texans are crazy and indeed we are. For one the weather in Texas can be quite temperamental, going from incredible warm sunny days and then dropping to freezing temps on another.

Luckily for us, the weather has been in our favor lately. So good, that it’s allowed for nights on the patio accompanied by great friends, a craft beer in hand and Cards Against Humanity mayhem. Causing for one heck of a hilarious and memorable game night! Read More

Vail Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Craft Beer’s Best Kept Secret

*This post has been updated to reflect the 2016 Vail Big Beers Event*

Laura Lodge is a pro. Checking in at a slender 5’4”, with conservative short locks, a … Read More

Perennial Artisan Ales | Vermilion Barleywine

ABV: 10% | IBU: 60

Perennial Artisan Ales’ Vermilion Barleywine is a big, sweet softy. Little to no heat from its big ABV, this is a smooth drinking English Barleywine you can drink on the dark days of winter or on a warm day while barbequing.

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21st Amendment | Lower De Boom

ABV: 11.5%
IBU: 92

I normally do not drink things out of small cans. The only things that come in small cans are energy drinks and pineapple juice. I was, however intrigued when I spotted a four pack of 21^st Amendment’s “Lower De Boom” Barleywine on an endcap. It was on sale – the deal was sealed. Read More

Evil Twin Brewing Freudian Slip

Evil Twin Brewing – Freudian Slip
ABV: 10.3%
IBU: ??? People still tabulate this bullshit?! Stop Analysing things, Sigmund!

A Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of an unconscious (“dynamically repressed”) subdued wish, conflict, or train of thought guided by the super-ego and the rules of correct behavior. They reveal a “source outside the speech”. The concept is thus part of classical psychoanalysis.

Blah, blah, blah . . . Outside of psychoanalysis, Freudian Slip, should only refer to a beer made with no mistake, no error, no subdued wishes, no conflicts, no trains of thought derailed . . . And if my super-ego wants to delve into a delicious American Barleywine like Freudian Slip, so be it!

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The Ultimate 6er | Barleywine

I love all things barleywine. Although I enjoy them year round, I believe that fall is the best season to sit back with a slow sipper and truly appreciate this robust style of ale. If you are like I am, handsome and mad-funny, barleywine ales stir up a slew of recollections and a certain sense of decadence. I picture a dreamy, dreary evening spent in front of the fire (insert favorite place to hang out) with a snifter of ale being slowly nipped from the glass like a whiskey or fine port. There are few greater occurences than enjoying finely crafted old ales when the weather is less than warm. Traverse the variations of booze-laden bliss with me as I highlight my Ultimate 6er of fall-friendly barleywine ales.

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Corkscrews Wine Storage of Denver | A Beer Cellar Home Away From Home

1845 W 12th Ave, Denver, CO 80204

Although they may not have “and Beer” in their moniker, they have been appropriated with that name by yours truly.

We all know much like wine, beer has the ability to age, evolve and develop complex new aromas and flavors. Think that Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine is a loaded treat right now? Try it in 10 years, when it has smoothed out into a melodious elixir commendable only by a snifter. Time, along with yeast and bacteria, can polish a beer’s rough edges and unlock its full potential—or, given a few months too many, create a liquid best sent down the drain. I found the perfect place to help me prevent most drain pours and it is right down the street from my employer. Enter Corkscrews Wine “and Beer” Storage of Denver and how they are changing the face of craft beer and long term storage.

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Southern Tier Brewing Co. | Back Burner Imperial Barley Wine Style Ale

ABV: 9.6% | IBU: 53

Southern Tier calls Back Burner an “imperial barley wine style ale.” As it turns out, barley wine is not something hobbits drink. I know, I feel completely betrayed too. It took me, like, a half an hour to get my Frodo costume together. It is, however, a super tasty beer with a respectable alcohol content. Read More