Top 5 Colorado summer beers

A great summer beer must be light. It must be refreshing. It must also be flavorful and interesting. In Colorado, where the winters are long and cold and the summers are sunny and beautiful, craft breweries have the summer beer dialed in. The five beers pictured above and praised below represent the best Colorado summer beers.

All five represent different styles and separate breweries. Three are ales, two are lagers. Two are from Durango; three are from the Front Range. Two are Belgian-inspired, two are German-inspired and one is Mexican-inspired. Two are strictly summer seasonals, while the other three are light beers brewed year-round.

This isn't a definitive ranking. But it gives you an idea of the quality and breadth of summer beers in Colorado.

1. Great Divide Colette
7.3 percent ABV

It was a pleasant surprise when Great Divide Brewing of Denver started bottling a first-rate saison in six-packs. Before Colette, it was impossible to find a saison locally that wasn't sold in expensive bomber bottles.

The price would be irrelevant if the beer weren't great. Fortunately, Colette, a summer seasonal, is among the best saisons anywhere. This tasty Belgian-inspired farmhouse ale took home a silver medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival.

Saisons are wonderful, yeasty beers that manage to be light and refreshing and extraordinarily flavorful. Colette is as good as it gets. (Full review here).

2. Ska Mexican Logger
4.2 percent ABV, 18 IBUs

It's difficult to make low-alcohol beers like Ska's Mexican Logger carry much flavor, because alcohol acts as a sort of wave on which flavor can ride.

While Mexican Logger is light in alcohol, this little beer punches far above its weight. The deliciousness that is Ska's Mexican Logger defies explanation. Just drink it. (Full review here).

3. Left Hand Polestar Pilsner
5.5 percent ABV, 33 IBUs

The folks in Longmont got something right when they brewed their Polestar Pilsner. This lager has a perfect amount of hopping that doesn't get in the way of the funky yeast flavors. Delicous. Refreshing. Not to be missed.

4. Steamworks Colorado Kolsch
4.8 percent ABV, 17 IBUs

Not long ago, I found myself sharing an affordable $8 pitcher of Colorado Kolsch at Steamworks' bar in Durango. It was a hot day, and this ale was everything I needed at that moment in time. This kolsch is another beer that manages to be very flavorful while relatively low in alcohol.

It's also one of Steamworks' signature beers, and one of the cooler cans (or bottles) around, featuring the Colorado flag.

5. Avery White Rascal
5.6 percent ABV, 10 IBUs

A fantastic Belgian-style witbier from the consistently excellent Avery brewery in Boulder. These sorts of Belgian-style wheats are tough to pair with food, but they're great on their own and with some foods.

There's a nice hint of citrus along with ample Belgian yeastiness. This Rascal is worth confining in your refrigerator, until you can let it runneth over the top of your glass.

Please feel free to argue in the comments below. I tasted all five of these with my wife and a friend. My wife would have ranked White Rascal and Polestar Pilsner up top. My friend would have ranked the pilsener lower. Others would have included local favorites Durango Wheat and Carver's Raspberry Wheat. What do you think?

Review: Great Divide Colette

The saison is a beautiful thing. Dry, crisp, light, bubbly, flavorful — this traditional Belgian style is the true Champagne of beers (apologies to Miller High Life).

Up till now, however, drinking saison was an expensive proposition. You could get a bottle of Saison Dupont or, my personal favorite, Ommegang Hennepin, but you'd pay something like $10-$12 for a 22-ounce bottle (or the slightly larger 750 ml Champagne-style bottles).

Delicious!

Great Divide Brewing Co. has upended this situation with a game-changer: a truly tasty saison bottled in a six-pack.

Colette just showed up on liquor-store shelves in Durango, packaged in regular 12-ounce brown bottles. It has enjoyed a well-laureled young life, winning a silver medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival.

Colette is brewed with barley, wheat and rice and fermented at high temperature with four yeast strains. Like most saisons, it's relatively boozy at 7.3 percent ABV.

It pours a straw yellow, with a healthy, frothy white head of foam that quickly recedes against the strong alcohol content. A tip: when pouring Colette, maybe leave a little bit in the bottle, as mine had a thick layer of yeast gunk on the bottom. Or don't; it's a free country. (And it wasn't due to age — my Colette was bottled on March 3 and poured on April 2).

A wonderful, earthy aroma introduces a dry funk on the palate. The wheat and rice — arguably nontraditional ingredients for this style — are actually nice additions, rounding out and strengthening the flavor. The carbonation pops.

Saisons are not usually hoppy, and Colette follows suit, with very mild hopping laying down a backbeat while the yeast solos up front.

Saisons are just a great summer style, light but very flavorful. Colette is a seasonal release, April through July.

A brewer friend of mine not long ago bitched about how trendy saisons have become. I fail to see the problem.

Colette costs about $9 for a six-pack of 12-ounce bottles. That's 12.5 cents per ounce. Compare that to $10 for a bomber, which comes out to 45 cents per ounce.

Great Divide has made drinking saison much more affordable. Colette is a fantastically tasty beer. You should buy it and drink it. A

Winter beers come in from the cold

The first taste of Spruce Goose Ale is akin to a first taste of a fresh-hop beer. It carries a remarkable flavor, unique among local beers, lent by recently harvested high-altitude spruce tips.

Like fresh hops, the spruce taste is subtle but most present as soon as the beer is available. It recedes, and within a few months Spruce Goose will taste rather muted.

Last weekend, I made it down to Steamworks Brewing Co. for my first pint of this year's Spruce Goose release. It pours a dark amber color with a sizable head of foam. At 8.1 percent ABV, it's on the strong side. Spruce Goose is lightly hopped to 21 IBUs.

I love this beer. The spruce flavor, as I've said, reminds me of raspberries, but that's not quite right. Spruce really has a taste all its own.

Spruce Goose seems to fly under the radar. A good friend of mine who has lived in Durango for 12 years and drinks his fair share of craft beer had never tried it before I brought a bottle over to his house. It's seasonal (November through January), which limits its visibility.

Spruce Goose also costs about $10 a bottle. Some craft beer drinkers will not pay $10 for a beer, even if they wouldn't hesitate to pay that much for wine.

This is one worth trying.

Snow is expected in the mountains tonight, and around town, other winter seasonals are beginning to emerge. Ska's burly Euphoria Pale Ale is their lead winter seasonal. The purple cans ought to fit in your ski jacket, not that I would ever condone sneaking beers on the mountain.

At Carver's, an imperial stout just went on tap, and the brewpub will presumably have its annual barley wine available before long. November is Locals' Appreciation Month at Carver's, and they're having some good deals: pints are $3.75 (if I remember correctly; they may have been $3.50), while growlers are only $6.50.

I got my 64-ounce growler filled with imperial stout. You would have to look long and hard to find a deal better than that.

As always, the Front Range breweries have unleashed a flurry of winter beers. There are too many to mention here, but I was impressed by a Great Divide Hibernation Ale (8.7 percent ABV) I had recently. The old ale has a big, malty body that is nicely offset by fresh hopping.

A visit to Ouray Brewery

Ouray Brewery has swings instead of bar stools. The swings appear to be sturdy, attached to the ceiling by strong cables. We'll see if the staff has any issues with over-exuberant swinging by customers.

The new brewpub is now fully open so I figured I owed a visit. Three house beers were on tap: a Kolsch, a rye pale ale and an IPA (the rye is at left in the accompanying photo, along with the Kolsch).

A taste of the Kolsch revealed a well-balanced, crisp and clean version of the German-style beer. It was less than 5 percent ABV, making it an ideal beer for summer refreshment.

The IPA is strong and well-rounded. It appears fairly dark for an IPA, a rich mahogany color. The hops give off a piney taste.

My favorite was the rye pale ale, a full-bodied, tasty and idiosyncratic craft beer. I could easily see this becoming a local favorite.

All three of Ouray's beers were above-average craft beers (a fourth, Box Canyon Brown Ale, is coming soon). All of them would rate at least a B.

My friends and I didn't eat there, but Ouray Brewery has a Louisiana-inspired menu. Visitors can either enjoy the tasting room or an inviting rooftop patio that was not yet open when we stopped by. (The tasting room opens at 4 p.m., but the kitchen and patio open later).

Also noteworthy were the pair of guest beers offered on tap: Pinstripe Red Ale from Ska Brewing Co. and Yeti Imperial Stout from Great Divide Brewing in Denver. These are exceptionally well-chosen: Pinstripe is a Southwest Colorado classic, and Yeti is perhaps the most sought-after craft beer in the state.

Ouray Brewery came out of the gate swinging with three good beers. This is an auspicious beginning.

Three brief reviews

Brief reviews of three newish beers:

Soggy Coaster really enjoyed Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale. This full-bodied strong ale (8.7 percent ABV, 90 IBUs), pours very dark, with a big head that recedes quickly. It's got a big hop flavor up front that yields to a nice, subdued smoky note. Sublimely is similar to, but better than, Stone's very popular Arrogant Bastard Ale. The flavor profile is more interesting. Sublimely is available in 22-oz. bomber bottles in liquor stores and, as of last weekend, on tap at Lady Falconburgh's Barley Exchange in Durango. A-

In constrast, Great Divide Brewing Co.'s Belgica was a huge disappointment. A summer seasonal from the Denver brewery, Belgica comes in at an aggressive 7.2 percent ABV. The idea was allegedly to create a Belgian-style IPA. Belgica more or less slams together an abbey ale with a big IPA like, say, Modus Hoperandi. An interesting gamble, but unfortunately the flavors clash in a most unwelcome manner. It tastes like an industrial cleaner - I kept being reminded of Windex, ammonia and powdered soap. Belgica was disgusting, and I struggled to finish a 12-0z. bottle. One of the worst craft beers I've had in years. F

The third newish beer to pass Soggy Coaster's lips lately was Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA. Sierra Nevada, of Chico, California, is a well-respected industry elder, having been around since 1980. They're known for their commitment to quality ingredients, using only whole-cone hops, for example. Torpedo is a big, hoppy IPA, coming in at 7.2 percent ABV and 70 IBUs. Although Soggy Coaster isn't a hophead, he recognizes this is a fine example of the style. I prefer slightly mellower IPAs, like Avery's version. But the hopheads among you will love it. B+

Denver

Denver is Colorado's metropolis, the biggest thing between Chicago and L.A (besides Phoenix). It's an odd town, sustained largely by massive corporations requiring a way station in the vast American West.

The suburbs have exploded; Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins have metastasized into one sprawling organism. Every time I visit, I wonder: Where are all the weird people?

Fortunately, it is also one of the best beer towns in the United States, right up there with Portland and San Diego. I won't bore you with an exhaustive list of area brewers, but here's some of the heavy hitters: New Belgium, O'Dell, Avery, Fort Collins Brewery, Great Divide.

Soggy Coaster had a few days in the area, but made it to only Avery Brewing, Great Divide and the brewpub Bull & Bush.

Avery Brewing was a must-visit. Founded in 1993 by Adam Avery, the brewery has become known for making big, complex and innovative beers, sort of like a Rocky Mountain version of Dogfish Head. I love their Belgian interpretations and freaky experimentations.

Their brewery reminded me a lot of Ska's old digs: it's buried behind other industrial operations in an anonymous corner of Boulder. It's not easy to find, and when you get there you wonder if you're at the right place.

Inside, a very (Avery?) nice tap room was well-attended with beer geeks. All the regular brews were on tap plus a few special offerings.

The tap room manager led a brewery tour. It was one of the best tours I've been on. He was informative and funny. "It's all about the flavor," he said, among other wisdom. That would make a fantastic ad slogan, certainly better than macrobrew propaganda like "cold-filtered" and "triple-hopped."

We got a look at Avery's barrel-aging room, where 108 wooden barrels that once held cabernet sauvignon, Heaven Hill whiskey and other concoctions are now aging various beers. Each barrel carries a page denoting its provenance and history. Those beers were getting tastier and more interesting before our eyes.

Avery has been a leader in barrel aging with beers like Brabant. Currently aging, among other things, is an ale brewed with Brettanomyces yeast and sour cherries. Tentatively known as Cherry Mess, the beer will be re-named before its release. Interestingly, at least two Avery staffers are former sommeliers.

Back in the tap room over a game of Trivial Pursuit, Soggy Coaster enjoyed two saisons: a Van Diemen and a Sixteen Anniversary Ale.

Traditionally, saison is a yeasty Belgian farmhouse style. Beers within the style can vary hugely.

Van Diemen is a rare concoction, labeled a black saison. As the bartender reminded me, that's not a recognized category.

Avery brewed Van Diemen in collaboration with Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, also based in Boulder. The bartender claimed it's the first beer in North America brewed with Tasmanian pepper berries.

Poured into a 10-oz. taster glass, Van Diemen was black in color but light in body. A fruity nose gave way to a similarly fruity taste. It carried a certain pleasant tartness. Soggy Coaster enjoyed the strange offering (give it a C+), but thought a thicker-bodied beer such as a stout might have carried the berry flavor better. How about a version of The Czar with Tasmanian pepper berries?

The latest of Avery's annual anniversary releases, Sixteen is the more traditional of the two saisons. It poured a frothy golden color. Honestly, I didn't good a good bearing on it. The taster glass just wasn't enough for me to render a verdict. Fortunately, Soggy purchased a Sixteen bomber bottle for later review.

Avery's last anniversary ale, logically dubbed Fifteen, won a silver medal in the 2008 Great American Beer Festival's "experimental beer" category.

Avery deserves its outstanding reputation. The brewery is flippin' sweet.

Great Divide Brewing Co. is in the heart of Denver near Coors Field. The brewery, best known for its Yeti Imperial Stout, has a tiny tasting room. When I went before a Rockies game, it was packed with locals.

I sipped a Yeti served in a globe glass. (Props to the brewery for serving in proper glassware). It poured that characteristic imperial stout black, with a dark brown head. As everyone knows, Yeti is an excellent, flavorful and complex imperial stout.

I ran out of time to try other Great Divide beers as Ubaldo was about to take the mound. But rain fell, delaying the game for 45 minutes. I took that as a sign that God wanted me to have another beer, so Soggy and compatriots proceeded to Falling Rock Tap House.

I was eager to try Falling Rock. They have a huge array of beer on tap from all over the world, and bottles aging in a refrigerator for someone flusher than I to purchase.

I wavered at the bar before settling on a New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Mars, a fruity ale brewed with Brettanomyces yeast. It was smooth, malty and complex, with a bit of lemon and orange flavor.

Another day, we went to Bull & Bush, a Denver brew pub popular with locals. I tried a Hail Brau Hefeweizen and a Stonehenge Stout over lunch. The hefeweizen was totally decent if unexceptional, a nice summer beer. Say a B-. The stout carried a delicious light sweetness that was well balanced with hops. Give it a B+.

Finally, Soggy Coaster and a friend emptied the shelves at Argonaut Liquor. Soggy picked up a few bottles rarely found in Durango, including Deschutes' Mirror Mirror barleywine ale, the legendary Belgian product Orval and an Avery Samael's Ale.

Soggy drove out of Denver while a tornado was developing north of town. Luckily, it missed all the breweries.

Photos by Soggy Coaster and Dustin Bradford