Around the Brewhouse

Just as lynx have been admirably reintroduced to Colorado, I'm introducing some links here at Beer at 6512, where they have been known to roam in the past (groan, I know). Sprinkled in are a few brief impressions from recent pints guaranteed to produce hilarity and baldness-fighting riboflavins.

- Pagosa Brewing Co. is pulling cask pints of a wassail, a dark holiday ale spiced to hell and back. It's quite sweet, but balanced well by a big malt base. The cask presentation is ideal for this sort of beer. It's not something you would want to drink all the time, but for a holiday treat, it hits all the right notes.

Pagosa's also offering its seasonal Ice Cave Lager, Nipple Mountain Nip barley wine and a Baltic porter in addition to its usual lineup. Not a bad way to warm up after riding the ridiculous champagne powder at Wolf Creek Ski Area.

- Speaking of Wolf Creek, it was there that I made the mistake of passing up Steamworks' very tasty Alberta Peak Pale Ale for a beer I'd never seen before: San Luis Valley Brewing Co.'s Hefe Suave. Apparently, the Alamosa brewery is now bottling. Wolf Creek also had San Luis Valley's amber ale.

The hefeweizen came in a standard 12-ounce bottle. It was thin-to-medium bodied with only a little yeast character. It might be OK on a hot day, but it was inadequate to help me dodge vacationing Texans ("I'm from an hour north of Dallas, sir!" "Yes, sir." "Do you know anywhere on site that sells cigarettes, sir?" Dude was maybe five years younger than me). This 4.5 percent ABV featherweight wheat ale reminded me of what I like about craft beer: beers better than this. I want my $4 back.

- The Durango Herald has a nice article on a business started by a Carver's bartender that leads tours to all four of Durango's breweries. This idea has been needed for a long time, so it's nice to see someone doing it. The breweries are too far apart to walk to all of them. The article also has some basic facts on each brewery. The tour's Eugene Salaz is also known to Durango radio listeners as DJ I-Gene. Dude makes the best bloody mary in the world at Carver's. It's out-of-control good. He's one of those people who makes Durango what it is.

- Ska Dementia gets reviewed at a blog called The Greatest Beer of All Time. My initial take on Dementia is here. I'll have more to say about that beer in my annual Beer of the Year post shortly after the New Year.

- Elsewhere on the Webernet, CraftCans.com interviews Ska Brewing president and co-founder Dave Thibodeau, who reveals his infatuation with big cans.