Tuesday's Denver Adventure

My Tuesday morning started at 3 AM. Jennie and I finished packing and drove to the airport to make our 6 AM flight to Denver. The Southwest flight was thankfully uneventful, and arrived at our Bed and Breakfast just in time to for bagels and espresso.

We ate brunch at Snooze, home of the best pancakes I have ever put in my mouth. I devoured a Bella Benny, which featured an addictive balsamic glaze sauce. Oh my!

After snooze, we wandered past Great Divide Brewery. The Great Dividers were in the process of installing what appeared to be new fermenters. Expanding capacity. Right on!

Beer time started a little earlier than expected when we learned our pal Dan of Bison Brew had arrived in town and was eating lunch at Falling Rock. We made a hard starboard tack towards the tap room.

Dan and Jennie and I had a interesting talk about the business sustainability of breweries. The recent trend of craft brewery acquisitions really makes me wonder about how you set up a business so that the founders can cash out when they want to retire, but the brewery can still continue on as an independent and quality-oriented business. Wouldn't it be nice if the founder could retire and hand the reins over to a like-minded brewer rather than an accountant or MBA?

For Dinner, Jennie and I hitched a ride to the home of @SpeakeasyKitch (also known as Charmaine). On the way, we picked up the usual necessities: ice cream, beer, cheese, and shrimp. @BeachBumChris arrived a little later and cooked Great Divide Titan IPA shrimp etouffee. I think we tasted eight or nine different beers, three cheeses, lots of fresh veggies out of Charmaine's garden, and that was just while dinner was cooking. What a feast!

Beer and Food Pavilion at GABF

Have you peeked at the Great American Beer Festival's Beer and Food Pavilion Schedule yet? Holy mole sauce Batman, I want to go to all of the sessions!

Chef Teddy Folkman will be back to put on another awesome show (see photo on left). Last year's pairings were wonderful. I expect this to be packed.

Sam Calagione will probably fill the house with his pairings of exotic-wood aged beer and food. Exotic woods? That's news to me. Wow.

Hosea Rosenberg and Adam Avery will pair street foods with Avery beer. Street foods? Sign me up!

The other sessions look great too. Don't miss the other shows just because I didn't mention them here.

Some hints on the Beer and Food Pavilion:

• Get there early. Be in a seat at ten minutes before the start at the earliest. The seats fill early.
• Sit near the table off to the side of the stage. You'll probably get served first.
• Sit in a chair. Folks who stand often get served last, and only if there is beer and food left.
• Hang around after the show. The speakers are often available to chat for a few minutes after each show.
• If your plate or glass is empty, you might get seconds. Cool!
• Bring your own fork and napkins just in case. Supplies can run out and things can get messy.
• These sessions are awesome, go to at least one even if pairings aren't your thing.

There are nine different shows over the three days, and they all look delicious to me. Be sure to look at the schedule and let me know which you'll attend.

Beer for Boobs Brunch

Did we scare off all the prudes? Good! Actually, there are probably fewer prudes in craft beer than there were zombies on the Titanic. But you never can be too careful.

I'll be attending the Beer for Boobs Brunch in Denver, Colorado on Friday September 17th at 10:30. That is a GABF day, so I bet we'll have a lot of crafties attending. The amazing Jennie will be there, and so will "cooler than a Antarctic cucumber in July" Taylor Shaw. 

Wouldn't Titanic be a better film if there were zombies?