I don’t know when the word “accessible” became a dirty word, but read any movie/music/book review and it always seems like a slight. The snoots concur if it’s accessible, if any old Joe can enjoy it, then it can’t be all that good. But accessibility isn’t that at all. In fact, accessibility should be the highest of praises. Works that are accessible open the gateways to lifelong passions and obsessions. The films of Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg are accessible; The Beatles and Nirvana wrote accessible music; Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut wrote accessible novels; and Fate Brewing makes accessible beer.
The brewpub is the perfect place for those who have not yet dived into the adventure that is craft beer, and for those who call it home, to mingle over cobb salads and pastrami sandwiches while watching a football game or quaffing pints on the patio.
For those who need an introduction to the 30 diverse taps featured, Fate offers a reasonably priced flight of their five core beers: Laimas Kölsch (5% ABV), Parcae Belgian Pale Ale (5%), Norns Roggenbier (5%), Moirai India Pale Ale (7%) and Sudice American Stout (7%). Of the five, the Kölsch and the IPA will be the most familiar to casual drinkers, but the Parcae — with its soft breadiness and crisp citrus — and the Sudice — which is not overly burnt or weighty — will intoxicate novice drinkers and introduce them to a world beyond Coors Lite and Sierra Nevada.
The standout for my associate and me was the Norns Roggenbier, a malty rye ale with hints of caramel, nutmeg spice and cinnamon. It’s pleasing to the palate and pairs perfectly with Fate’s food offerings, which is typical bar food with a fancy slant.
For those who crave the adventure, Fate has plenty of offerings. The Uror (4.9%) is a gose style sour German wheat ale spiced with coriander and sea salt, and it’s hands down delightful. The sour brings tartness and the salt lends the beer a wonderfully briny characteristic, but it is the coriander that adds complexity to the flavor. Heavier beers — like scotch ales, stouts and porters — typically dot dinner tables during the holiday season, but Uror deserves every right to be called up to the majors.
Not all of Fate’s offerings are as good as the Uror or the Norns, but they all manage to pair nicely with just about everything. That’s the beauty of a proper brewpub — there is plenty to discover. And Fate maintains a pleasant atmosphere that isn’t too noisy, isn’t too hip and isn’t too calculated. You won’t have any reason to hurry back into the real world.
On tap: Fate Brewing Company. 1600 38th St., Boulder, 303-449-3283. fatebrewingcompany.com
