Drink
Where to drink the love away
Famed Colorado yahoo Mojo Nixon once sang, “Everybody knows that beer ain’t drinkin’.” Apparently the folks at downtown Boulder’s West Flanders Brewing Company agree a bit, as they will be launching a new brunch series in which the beer is there for altogether ...
Holiday beer guide
Why is it that most holiday beers are as dark as the early nights of winter, contain warming spices and have alcohol levels approaching that of wine? It’s likely because these complex-flavored beers pair well with the heavy meals and endless desserts we enjoy around ...
It’s medal time
The first Great American Beer Festival (GABF) was held in the Harvest House Hotel in Boulder in 1982. The motley collection of 22 breweries brought 40 beers, and the 800 people in attendance can say they sampled the beginning of the craft beer revolution...
Every dog has its day
As far as drinking buddies go, they don’t come much better than Tobias. He’s always at the bar at SKEYE Brewing in Longmont. As I get deeper into the flight of seven house beers and grow untidy, he’s spilling his drink all over the floor, too. And he doesn’t say a ...
Looking for a wine list bargain?
One recent Saturday morning, a friend sent me the wine list for Green Zebra, one of Chicago’s top vegetarian restaurants, and asked for my advice. He was dining there that evening with friends who enjoyed wine but weren’t obsessive about it. So he would be tasked ...
In with the old
At a recent wine tasting in Boulder, there was a rarity being poured. We were all assured of it. The wine was made from 100 percent bobal grapes, a red varietal that is rarely seen in the U.S. on its own and is often used in blends. It’s mostly grown in Spain, where ...
Water, water everywhere
After four days, six breweries and 13 beers, my conclusion on Northeast Ohio beer is that there’s something in the water. I’m not a chemist, but I am blaming the water for the little differences in the taste of the beer...
Prince-worthy findings at Smiling Toad
My brewery tour companion and I approached the door to the Smiling Toad Brewery in Colorado Springs with expectations that were ... let’s call them modest. When I spotted the sign from the street, a little A-frame by a skinny sidewalk that read “brewery” and drew ...
Digging for gold
Erie may not be the correct spelling, but it’s the perfect word for the experience. On a chilly, October evening, the dark storefronts and empty sidewalks of this old town strip of the small East Boulder/Weld County town didn’t need much in the way of Halloween ...
This hat is money
At face value, the Bourbon and Bacon Fest, which was held at the McNichols Civic Center in Denver on a late January Saturday afternoon, is what shows up in the dream catcher. It’s two hours of unlimited samples of about 50 bourbons, and variations on bacon ranging ...
Saving Sauternes
So it’s telling that Bernard’s estate in Sauternes, Clos des Lunes, focuses almost exclusively on dry wines...