Holy Crap, it's Snowdown!

'Round these parts, it was Christmas yesterday. Then I woke up to find that it is already February and time for more celebration and revelry in the streets of Durango for the annual Snowdown Winter Carnival! As in years past, there are several local beer releases for the event. 

Carver's has a "Fairy Tale Pale Ale" on tap. It's a nicely hopped American Pale not unlike the mainline Jack Rabbit Pale Ale.  Though not related to Snowdown, they also had an Imperial Stout on tap that was thoroughly quaffable for being a relatively big beer. In fact, two of these and a burger totally changed my outlook on the day last Wednesday.

Steamwork's will be tapping a "Black Fairy Firkin" on Friday prior to the parade on Main Street. We are told that this is based on their award wining Backside Stout that has be re-fermented in the firkin with maple syrup and anise. This is a continuation of their first Friday firkin releases of experimental brews that have been fun to sample this winter.

Ska Brewing Co. has been tweaking a spiced Brown Ale recipe for a few months now, and the effort pays off in this year's Snowdown special release. Faeries Wear Boots is a spiced Brown Ale that would fit well in a Winter Ale/ Winter Warmer category (for those of you that heed such things). Brewed with all of the holiday spices, this one packs a punch of bold flavorings on top of a mid-bodied Brown Ale base backed with plenty of warmth from all of the delicious alcohol it contains. The brew available on tap, and in 22oz bombers at your favorite local package store. I believe this is part of their "local series" set of releases, so distribution outside of Durango may be limited.

I enjoyed last year's Black IPA, but I have to say that I really dig this year's brew. I was a fan of the Brown Ale release at Christmas as well, which seems to have been an earlier version of this beer.

Ska will also be hosting a "Punk Rock Breakfast Party" at the Lost Dog Saloon on Sunday morning. For those of you still needing to kick some ass on Sunday morning, or for those of you looking to get a start on the celebrations for the "Big Game" later in the day, this might be the place to go. Beer specials and punk music to get your day started.

Pouring at Daddyfest

I got drafted into volunteering Saturday for Carver Brewing Co.'s tent at Daddyfest, Durango's annual Father's Day weekend celebration. As a nonprofit event (proceeds go to the Durango Discovery Museum), volunteers help run the show.

It was an interesting experience for me to work behind the taps, as someone who has no experience pouring beers for customers. Partly, it was a lesson in consumer choice. Carver's was offering five beers: Lightner Creek Lager, Raspberry Wheat, ESB, Powerhouse Porter and Jack Rabbit Pale Ale, in addition to root beer for the kids.

Not surprisingly since temperatures were in the 80s, people were clamoring for the lighter beers, particularly Lightner Creek and Raspberry Wheat. Both of those kegs blew early. The ESB, a new beer from Carver's, was the last to go.

The festival-goers were pretty easy to deal with. When we ran out of one beer, most were happy to accept another kind of beer. People seemed to be enjoying themselves in moderation, for the most part, and that made things more enjoyable for everyone.

Once again, I was impressed by how hard the work is. Dragging kegs around is a young man's game.

Review: Carver's English-style Organic IPA

India pale ales vary as much as any beer style can. Seemingly subtle differences in hop selection can make a big impression on your palate.

The latest IPA from Carver Brewing Co., Durango's Main Avenue brewpub, takes an English approach to the style.

The IPA is completely organic, using Weyermann malt and hops from New Zealand, Carver's head brewer Erik Maxson says in an e-mail.

"This was a first run for these hops, and we are pretty proud of the result," Maxson says.

The hops exhibit a sunny, orange-like citrus quality, quite unlike the grapefruit flavor found in some of Carver's hoppy beers. It's relatively boozy at 6.9 percent ABV, but hop bitterness is well within the English style (and lower than most American-style IPAs) with 50 IBUs.

This is a well-balanced ale, with enough hop flavor to keep you coming back for more. I prefer it to the comparable Left Hand 400-Pound Monkey. B+

Also of note, Carver's is about to tap (if the brewpub hasn't already) an oatmeal pale ale, Maxson says.

"This time around I have left the herbs out (chamomile and yarrow) because of frequent request for a 'naked' version," Maxson says. "It will be carbonated instead of nitrogenated to help all those hops shine through. Lots of oatmeal in the mash makes it super silky, and a plethora of American hops throughout, mash, boil, knockout, fermentation and conditioning. A true Carver's original."

On a recent visit to Carver's, another bar hand was raving about this beer. That's usually a good sign.

Lingerie and home brew at the White House

The above topics are not necessarily related.

• Ska Brewing Co. will host a lingerie show Friday night: "Bottom's Up! A pre-Valentine's Lingerie Fashion Show and Gift Boutique."

Basically, you can drink beer, look at pretty ladies in lingerie and perhaps buy something for your own pretty lady. I'm just wondering if Ska Head Brewer Thomas Larsen will be strutting down the catwalk. Sigh ...

The event is 7-10 p.m.

• Steamworks Brewing Co. has its tasty molé stout on tap. This one is an imperial stout (10 percent ABV) that uses molé made in Steamworks' own kitchen.

This is one of my favorite Steamworks beers: a full bodied and flavorful stout with a bit of spice. I'd recommend giving it a try.

• Carver Brewing Co. recently tapped an organic English-style IPA. I can't wait to try this one, once my death-cold releases its vise grip on me, and beer sounds good again.

• Many of our founders were home brewers — Ben Franklin, George Washington and Samuel Adams among them — but it's another thing to see home brewing in the White House in this most uptight of times.

Yet, one of President Obama's chefs brewed a honey ale for the Super Bowl. It was served alongside beers from a Wisconsin craft brewery and Yuengling, an old-school Pennsylvania brewery.

Whatever you think of the guy's politics, it's pretty cool to have a president who has a brewery in his kitchen.

The rare session beer

An interesting discussion over at the Beervana blog laments the lack of session beers when compared to the ever-increasing roster of hop bombs and boozy beers with alcohol contents like wine.

There's no definitive ruling on what constitutes a "session" beer, but they're generally agreed to be below 5 percent ABV or so. They're meant to be beers you can drink a few of and not be worse for the wear.

In Durango, almost every year-round release exceeds 5 percent ABV. The one exception: Steamworks Colorado Kolsch, an award-winning light ale that follows the refreshing German Kolsch style.

The Kolsch comes in at 4.85 percent ABV. Fortunately, Steamworks recently began canning it, and it's widely available in Southwest Colorado.

There's also a summer seasonal session worth mentioning that's brewed here and distributed throughout Colorado: Ska Brewing Co.'s Mexican Logger.

Mexican Logger brings a lot of flavor for its 4.2 percent ABV. It's brewed with a lager yeast strain from Mexico, and tastes like a much more flavorful version of Corona. Ska is working on canning Mexican Logger and distributing it more widely.

Most of the other year-round beers from Ska, Steamworks and Durango Brewing Co. come in at 5-6 percent ABV. Several of Ska's old-school standbys (Pinstripe Red Ale, True Blonde, Bustern Nut Brown) come in at the low 5s, making them close enough.

So while session beers aren't numerous here, at least two good ones are becoming more available.

Update: Carver Brewing Co.'s Erik Maxson says the brewpub's Lightner Creek Lager comes in at just over 4 percent ABV, putting it in contention with Mexican Logger as Durango's lowest-booze beer.

Maxson adds that Old Oak Amber, Jack Rabbit Pale Ale and Colorado Trail Nut Brown come in right around 5 percent ABV.

"I think that the lower ABV 'session' beers are often ignored, or should I say eclipsed by the biggest, baddest, most nextest thing beery," he said in an e-mail.

"It is at its roots a social beverage.  I'd rather have the opportunity to enjoy more than one well-crafted beverage than to drink myself into the corner of 'extreme.'

"All that being said in praise of the ever-so-humble session beer, I also believe that there is a time and place for the other end of the spectrum. What's that saying, 'all things in moderation ... including moderation.'"

Beer of the Year 2010

The time has come for Beer at 6512's second annual Beer of the Year award. It's the only laurel we award around here, so it's kind of a big deal (ahem).

Durango's four breweries stretched themselves in 2010, brewing Belgian and German styles, fresh takes on long-established styles, beers without any style, beers aged in barrels and other innovations.

Beers eligible for Beer of the Year must have been new or substantially changed beers brewed in Durango for commercial release during 2010.

Old favorites are not eligible - there is no point in debating Pinstripe Red Ale vs. Steam Engine Lager, for example. Nor are beers from outside Durango.

The criteria: taste first and foremost, with uniqueness, complexity, availability, price, packaging and market impact all considered. The usual caveats: This is a subjective decision that you are free to argue with in the comments below. And while I believe I tried every bottled release, a few tap-only beers surely slipped by me.

So without further ado, the winner is:

Beer of the Year 2010
Ska Dementia

Barrel aging beers is a dangerous game, especially in whisky barrels. If the barrel imparts too much whisky flavor, it overwhelms the beer and you're left with a nearly undrinkable pint.

Improving on previous barrel-aging projects, Ska Brewing Co.'s head brewer Thomas Larsen put some Euphoria Pale Ale in bourbon barrels for about five months.

Euphoria, a winter seasonal, is stronger, darker and hoppier than a typical pale ale.

Larsen also dry-hopped his creation with Simcoes, a high alpha acid hop popular for use in IPAs.

Dementia was double-dipped in red and blue wax and sold in 22-ounce bottles. It debuted in August at Ska's 15th anniversary party, where Larsen tapped the ceremonial keg.

At the time, I wrote, "On first taste, you get a deep sense of something old and wonderful, like a musty barn. A suggestion of oak comes across, with perhaps a hint of vanilla. The rough edges in Euphoria have been lovingly sanded off, and Dementia is well-rounded, complex and balanced, with a slightly sweet and vinous aftertaste."

What makes this beer so impressive was the subtle interplay between the Simcoes and whisky taste. The barrel flavors and hops, which could have clashed, worked extremely well. It tasted unlike anything else on the market.

For this impressive variation on an existing beer, Larsen and Ska win Beer at 6512's Beer of the Year award.

Honorable mentions

Many beers could have won this award. The best of the rest, in alphabetical order, are:

Carver's Smoked Baltic Porter. Smoked beers also carry risk. Too much smoke can dominate the taste, as with the much-praised Alaskan Smoked Porter, a beloved beer that reminds me of how a fireplace must taste.

Carver's exercised restraint in using smoked German malt at 15 percent of the grist in this Baltic porter, a style that was new to Durango. This was a deeply satisfying release whose heft (7 percent ABV, 45 IBUs) helped brace us against the cold.

For its restraint, and for bringing the style to Durango and executing it well, Carver's deserves an honorable mention. (Initial review here).

Durango Brewing 20th Anniversary Ale. Coming off consecutive gold-medal wins at the Great American Beer Festival, Durango Brewing decided to brew a Belgian-style ale for their 20th anniversary. It was a great idea to brew a complex Belgian-style ale, but it could have benefited from some hard decisions.

It uses a Belgian souring yeast, but adds wheat malt, coriander and orange peel that obscures the yeast's qualities. It combined the characteristics of a saison, a golden and a wit. As I wrote in my initial review, the ale "seems like a beer trying to do too much, as if given the opportunity to brew a Belgian beer, the brewers couldn’t resist trying to brew three styles in one."

Give DBC some credit for innovation, and having the guts to try these finicky yeasts. It was an interesting experiment that tasted fine, but could have used some restraint.

Ska Brewing Oak-Aged Orange Cream Stout. Long ago, in the depths of January 2010, Ska put out the 14th beer in its Local Series. It was creamy and dark, with more than a suggestion of orange.

A twist on Ska's Steel Toe Milk Stout, this ale was aged for three to four months in oak barrels with sweet orange peel.

The idea came to Larsen after he came down with a head cold and was looking for ice cream. He ended up with one that mixed orange flavor and chocolate chunks.

What resulted from this inspiration was a wonderful dessert beer, an inviting stout with layers of flavor that was fun to drink.

One of the measures of a beer's greatness is how much you miss it when its gone. I miss this one a lot. (Initial review here).


Steamworks Elephant Rider Imperial IPA. It isn't easy to make an imperial IPA of brutish strength (9.5 percent ABV, 123 IBUs!) that goes down easy. But this hop bomb was impressively drinkable.

Using Centennial and Simcoe hops and Cascades for dry hopping, brewer Ken Martin brought a ton of hop flavor while somehow keeping it in balance.

I helped name the beer through a contest on Facebook, but the flavor stands on its own.

In a year when Steamworks began to regain its footing after retrenching from Bayfield, this was an impressive effort that should please the most ardent hop-head. And, I believe, it's still on tap.

Review: Carver's Smoked Baltic Porter

Last week, Carver Brewing Co. tapped something new and different for local craft-beer drinkers. The brewery's Smoked Baltic Porter was a first for Carver's, and, to my knowledge, any of Durango's breweries.

Baltic porter is a centuries-old style that seems to be enjoying a recent resurgence. Pagosa Brewing just tapped its own attempt, and chatter about the style on other beer blogs indicates it is not merely a local phenomenon.

"Why now?" Carver's head Brewer Erik Maxson said in an e-mail. "Hard to say other than maybe the proliferation of breweries and their brewers' desire to explore lesser-known styles is also increasing. I'm sure there are plenty of things not yet explored in the style realm or ingredients-wise, but with so many already established styles it would take a really long time to exhaust all of those possibilities. On a personal note 'is there really anything new under the sun?'"

Ah, the Ecclesiastes-quoting brewer. Seriously, though, it's something I've heard from other brewers — It's very difficult to come up with anything truly new at this stage in the craft-brewing game. Maxson's assistant brewer pushed to brew the Baltic porter.

Carver's Smoked Baltic Porter comes in at 7 percent ABV and 45 IBUs. I picked up a growler last weekend for free with my stamped-out growler card (a great deal, by the way).

It pours an inky black with a big tan head of foam. In appearance, it's not unlike an imperial stout.

It has a grand, roasted malty taste, with a hint of smoke and a depth and complexity that exceeds the traits of basic porters.

Maxson said the beer uses smoked German malt at about 15 percent of the grist.

Incidentally, my fiancée and a female friend with whom I shared the growler were also impressed. It's often interesting which beers women like or don't like. This one passed the test.

Carver's Smoked Baltic Porter is a very tasty and well-executed beer that's worth your time and dimes. A-

Beer of the Year nominations

The advent of December means it's time to start thinking about Beer at 6512's Beer of the Year award, my annual pick for Durango's best new beer.

The winner will be announced in early January. The criteria: New or substantially changed beers brewed in Durango for commercial release (in bottles, cans or on tap) during 2010. This means old favorites are not eligible.

Looking back at my posts this year, the early contenders are Durango Brewing Co.'s 20th Anniversary Ale, and several from Ska Brewing Co.: Clancy's Black Beer, Oak-aged Orange Cream Stout, Saison Du'Rango, Dementia and Sour.

Ska won the 2009 Beer of the Year award for its Wheelsucker Wheat Ale, an excellent imperial hefeweizen brewed in collaboration with Avery Brewing Co.

Ska has a bit of a built-in advantage because they release more new beers than anyone else locally. Durango Brewing only released the one this year that I'm aware of, while good beers can come and go from the taps at Steamworks and Carver's in anonymity.

What's your favorite new Durango beer? What have I missed?

Empty fermenters beckon experiments

Label art for Ska Brewing's 2011 Snowdown's beer.

People don't drink as much beer in the winter as they do in summer. This is because they're ignorant and misguided.

The sorts of knowledgeable folks who read Durango's first, best and only beer blog (I'm liking that line lately) know brewers break out great beers in winter, while summer releases tend to be thinner and slightly less wonderful.

The fact that fair-weather beer drinkers take a break in the winter means there's more space in the fermenters for brewers to geek around. Our local brewers are currently indulging themselves with some huge beers that we'll see over the next couple of months.

Above is Ska Brewing Co.'s label art for their 2011 Snowdown beer, brazenly stolen by me from Facebook (I doubt they mind the publicity). It tells us that Ska is planning to brew a so-called "black IPA" for Durango's annual winter embarassment in February.

Black IPAs are big in the Northwest. They're essentially IPAs brewed with dark malt. They can be quite good.

There has been much discussion about what to call these beers. "Black IPA" is contradictory because you're saying Black India Pale Ale, and a beer can't be both black and pale. The voguish term in the Northwest is "Cascadian Dark Ale," which I find a bit stuffy and provincial.

I'm just bummed Ska missed a chance to call their release "Call of Duty: Black Hops." (Maybe it's not too late!)

The brew geeks at Steamworks, meanwhile, are brewing a ridiculous IPA that aims for 125 IBUs. (I think at that point, you graduate from IPA to Imperial IPA to Ridiculous IPA).

Of course, I will taste this beer, because I'm a glutton for punishment, but I'm not looking forward to it. At some point, this attempt to brew the hoppiest beer possible just becomes painful. If you've ever tried to drink Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, you know what I'm talking about. It's not pleasant.

Steamworks is having a naming competition for the beer. I initially suggested "Second Avenue Hop Flood," after their location on Durango's most in-between of streets. However, I've decided I prefer "Shooting an Elephant Imperial IPA" in homage to George Orwell's writing on India.

At Carver's, the brewers are working on a Baltic porter, a burly style that is cold-fermented and brewed with lager yeast, according to the 2010 Brewers Association Style Guidelines.

I ran into brewer Erik Maxson at the Main Avenue joint. He said the inspiration came from his newest assistant brewer. Pulling out a slide rule (and reminding me of my great uncle, a retired Boeing engineer), Maxson announced the big boy should land at just over 7 percent ABV, right on target for the style.

I had a little taste of the Baltic porter. It shaping up quite well: big, dark and malty.

Carver's has its annual imperial stout and Big Grizz Barleywine on tap, as well as a new Belgian-style dubbel. Flavor: bananas. A trippel and perhaps even a quadrupel may be coming.

Update: I should have mentioned that Insider Apple Ale is on tap at all four Durango breweries. It's a project of the breweries' combined consortium, the Durango Bootlegger's Society. The ale uses locally harvested apples.

It's definitely a beer and quite different from cider. I haven't tried this year's version yet, but last year's had a strong apple taste. I liked the flavor but found the texture a little mealy. We'll see if this year's version is any different.

In any case, Insider Apple Ale is interesting as both a brewing project and a local effort using local ingredients. Give it a try, and let me know what you think. It's also available in 22-ounce bottles.

Review: Big Grizz Barleywine Ale (Carver's)

As mentioned on Durango's first, best and only beer blog last week, Carver Brewing Co. has tapped its Big Grizz Barleywine Ale, a potent English-style beer meant to keep your spirits high and chests warm in below-freezing weather.

I managed to stop in for a Big Grizz on Sunday night as temperatures dipped into the teens. A lovely server brought a little goblet to my table in exchange for a mere $3.50.

Apparently, it was from the 2009 batch, a keg that brewer Erik Maxson must have squirreled away to see how the old bear ages.

Well, it turns out. It has a hint of sweetness and a little fruitiness that is well balanced by hops. It sports  fairly assertive carbonation that cedes to the amber-colored 11 percent ABV body. A full texture gives the ursine beverage a substantial heft appropriate for the style.

I like it. Call it an A-, almost an A. Big Grizz is the only barley wine in town, and many thanks for that. Durango is far too cold to be left without a barley wine.

One nitpick about the name: Big Grizz? Carver's names most of its beers after local phenomena. The Durango area has bears, but not grizzlies.

Barley wine, the ultimate winter warmer

For the first time this season, snow has dusted the streets of Durango. It's not much, but enough to justify Carver Brewing Co.'s tapping of its Big Grizz Barleywine Ale.

Barley wine is, of course, a type of beer. (It is often called "barley wine-style ale" to avoid confusion, but I'm not sure that's any less confusing). It's a broad term for a very strong style of beer of English origin, typically at least 11 percent alcohol by volume.

Because of their strength, barley wines are usually served in goblets instead of pint glasses. Their burly malt profile typically makes them quite sweet, a tendency that must be balanced with generous hopping.

Carver's is the only one of Durango's four breweries to produce barley wine. Barley wine fits well with how Carver's presents itself: a cozy brewpub that feels a little Old World, what with the hand-pulled cask engine and the shelf of single-malt Scotches.

It's has been too long for me to render a judgment on Big Grizz (11 percent ABV), so I'll have to try it again and see if I can review it. Typically, Carver's bottles a few for customers to take home.

Three Rivers Brewery in Farmington also offers a barley wine every winter. Perhaps a side-by-side comparison is in order.

My favorite barley wine so far is Deschutes' Mirror Mirror (11 percent ABV, 30 IBUs), which can sometimes be found in our neck of the woods. It has a wonderful balance of caramel malt flavor and hops that I haven't seen equaled by others.

At the 2010 Great American Beer Festival, 57 entries competed for medals in the barley wine-style ale category. The gold medalist was from Troegs Brewery in Harrisburg, Penn. Given the miserable winters there, they can probably use all the cold-weather joy that a barley wine can impart.

Barley wines are often regarded as the pinnacle of the brewer's art (although brewing something like a lambic is more difficult). Often, I find them too sweet, but a great barley wine is indeed something to behold on a cold night when your belly wants nothing more than a warming swell.

Flash flood warning (beer news)

In the spirit of the summer thunderstorms, I hereby unleash long pent-up beer news:

The Brewers Association reported craft beer dollar sales rose 12 percent during the first half of 2010, while brewing volume rose 9 percent compared to the same period last year.

Total beer volume sales were down 2.7 percent, indicating the macro-lagers continue to stagnate while craft beer sales grow.

Ska Brewing Co. announced via Twitter that its sales rose 36 percent, an astonishing number. The brewery's spectacular growth has been driven by increased capacity at its two-year-old plant and the market success of Modus Hoperandi IPA and other canned beers.

In other Durango craft-beer news:

Durango Brewing Co. has released its seasonal Blueberry Wheat ale. I'm usually not a fan of fruit beers, but this one is worth checking out.

Steamworks Brewing Co. currently has a barrel-aged brown ale on cask at its Durango brewpub.

Carver Brewing Co. has a new limited-release beer, Cornerpocket Pale Ale, on tap. I'll let Carver's head brewer, Erik Maxson, tell you about it:

"Cornerpocket is yet another in our summer long river themed pale ales. It was designed and brewed by my assistant Jeff Albarella. It is a single-hopped pale using all German Northern Brewer hops (from bittering all the way through to dry hopping). The malt profile comes from English Maris Otter and some German Pale Ale and just a hint of caramel malt. ABV is 5.7%, 40 IBUs."

Generous bootleggers

A news release from the Durango Bootlegger's Society:

The Bootlegger’s Society, the local consortium of Durango’s four craft brewers, has established the Durango Bootlegger’s Society Fund under the auspices of the Community Foundation of Southwest Colorado.

The affiliation with the Community Foundation will allow the breweries to collectively donate funds to non-profits as well as organize fundraising events and obtain a liquor license (needed for beer-related events) through the Foundation. Independent donations made directly to the Bootlegger’s Fund will also be tax-deductible.

“This is a unique situation that helps to cement our philanthropic footprint in Southwest Colorado,” said Dave Thibodeau, chairman of the Bootlegger’s new fund advisory board and co-founder of Ska Brewing Co. “I feel it can become a model for other small breweries/businesses to emulate in other communities across the country.”

Ska, Steamworks Brewing Co., Carver Brewing Co. and Durango Brewing Co. originally came together as the Bootlegger’s Society with a mission to raise the awareness and understanding of craft beer by rallying around the needs of the community.

“Our first event was the ‘Pint for Pint’ blood drive back in 2003,” said Brian McEachron, co-founder of Steamworks. “Blood was running short and workers were having little success securing donations. It didn’t take long for us to conspire and decide a little friendly competition might help raise awareness. We all asked our patrons to donate a pint blood and, in return, we offered them a pint of beer at their brewery of choice.”

The “Pint for Pint” blood drive has since emerged as a “best practice” and been modeled by blood services organizations throughout the country, according to McEachron.

The Bootlegger’s Society Fund was established with an initial $1,000 generated from the Spring Tonic event held at Carver’s. Upcoming events designed to help increase the fund include Oktoberfest, Ska’s 15th Anniversary Celebration and all four “Evenings on 8th” events held each Wednesday in September, 4-8 p.m. in Downtown Durango.

“Collectively we’ve always had a desire to help out the people of our communities who have always supported us,” said Thibodeau. “Establishing the Bootlegger’s Society Fund will make it that much easier for us to do so.”

For further information regarding the Community Foundation of Southwest Colorado, or to contribute to the Bootlegger’s Society Fund on-line, visit http://www.swcommunityfoundation.org/.

Sour beers attract attention

The New York Times published a fine article Wednesday on the growing trend of brewing sour beers.

Of course, sour beers describe several styles that in some cases have been brewed for centuries: lambics, red and brown Flanders-style ales, perhaps saisons.

Still, as the article notes, it's a sign of the maturation of American craft brewing that many brewers are no longer satisfied with producing English-inspired beers like India pale ales.

In fact, some craft brewers completely ignore the usual pale ale-IPA-amber/red ale-brown ale-stout-porter-ESB range of styles.

Upright Brewing in Portland focuses its lineup on Belgian-inspired beers that could loosely be called saisons. In Denver, Del Norte Brewing mainly brews Mexican-style lagers (something our own Ska Brewing has done for years with Mexican Logger, but not to nearly the same extent).

I love sour beers. Deschutes' The Dissident, a Flanders-style sour brown ale, is perhaps my all-time favorite beer. Sour Belgian classics like Rodenbach and Duchesse De Bourgogne (sold at Star Liqours in Durango) are often stunning.

Locally, Durango's brewers have been at work on several Belgian-inspired sours. Ska released Ska Sour in January. I thought the strong hop bitterness interfered with what could have been a good sour Belgian, and gave it a C+. I liked a recently tapped Ska Flanders-style red ale better, but it could have used more aging. The brewery's recent Local Series release, Saison Du'Rango, is a nice grassy, refreshing take on the style. I gave that one an A-.

Durango Brewing Co.'s take on a Belgian-style ale, 20th Anniversary Ale, I thought tried to be too many types of beer at once, and ended up muddling the flavors. I gave that one a B.

Carver Brewing Co. occasionally brews a saison, but it's been too long ago for me to offer a judgment.

All in all, I'm thrilled that brewers in Durango and across America are brewing Belgian-style sours. Some kinks remain to be worked out in some cases. But the future is sour, and that's a wonderful thing.

Sunday round-up

- Ska Brewing Co. has a double-dry hopped version of Euphoria Pale Ale on cask. The brewery is also not far from releasing its Mexican Logger seasonal.

- Carver Brewing has Smokey the Beer on tap, a Rauchbier (smoked lager) from Pagosa Brewing. The smoke flavor is not exactly subtle, but try it if you like the style.

Now how about getting some of Pagosa's Belgian-style treats on this side of the Pine River Valley?

- Oregon breweries appear to be taking the hint when it comes to cans. Colorado's breweries have been much more aggressive and early to can their beers. But now a small operation called Estacada Brewing has adopted cans, reports The Oregonian. Caldera Brewing in Ashland, maker of a superb pale ale, is probably the most notable Oregon brewery to adopt cans.

But wait! Cans contain BPA liners, which apparently are going to kill us all. A good discussion of the issue is at The Oregon Economics Blog here. More comments at Beervana here.

A wish list for Durango beer

Durango's four breweries make a pretty impressive range of beers. In fact, I'd put their lineups against those in any town of a similar size in the country.

Nevertheless, there are some gaps that you don't find in great beer cities like Portland and San Diego. So I decided to make a wish list of beers I would like to see in Durango.

Of course, I don't have to run a business, deal with ingredient costs or turn a profit. I just drink beer and write about it. So In the spirit of a childhood Christmas list that always goes half-fulfilled, I humbly submit my wish list for Durango's breweries:

1. A year-round saison. The saison, a beer style of Belgian origin light in color with a crisp, dry finish, is among my very favorite types of beer. It's also deplorably hard to find in Durango. Carver Brewing Co. last summer made a saison called Saison de Tour to mark the Tour de France. It tasted fine, but it lacked the carbonation and big, frothy pour found in exemplary saisons like Ommegang Hennepin. (Hennepin and Saison Dupont, by the way, are the only other saisons I've seen in Durango, at Star Liquors. And that's a crapshoot).

I would love to see a local brewery bottle a saison to enjoy at home - ideally in six-packs, which are far cheaper for their size than the 22-ounce bombers that saisons are typically bottled in. But it seems more likely that a Durango brewery would first test the market with a release in bombers.

When I was in Portland around Christmas, I marveled at how many saisons were available. A new brewery called Upright makes an entire line of saisons, each distinctly different than the others. There were also saisons from Boulevard in Kansas City and The Bruery in California. Can't Durango have just one to call its own?

2. A bottled imperial stout. Carver's and Steamworks both made excellent imperial stouts in 2009. How about bottling one so we can enjoy them at home in our own good time? I realize there's always growlers, but growlers have to be drank almost immediately or the beer goes flat, not to mention that drinking an entire growler of imperial stout is a tall order, even with help.

3. Durango Brewing Co. should add a hoppy beer to its year-round lineup. The current DBC lineup offers nothing for hop-heads. It's silly, because the brewery makes the superb, aggressively hopped Durango Pale Ale that it releases in bombers as a spring seasonal. Why not put it in six-packs year-round, keep it on tap and offer customers who like hops a choice?

4. Steamworks produces two excellent, specialized beers in bombers - Ale Diablo and Spruce Goose. But they've both been around for a while. How about something new along the same lines? Maybe that saison ...

5. When I recently talked to Thomas Larsen, head brewer at Ska Brewing Co., I asked him what ideas he has for Local Series #15 (#14 is the tasty Oak-aged Orange Cream Stout currently on shelves). He hadn't thought that far ahead. (Although I bet Clancy Calhoun's homebrew may end up being #15). How about some ideas, readers?

Another interesting tidbit: Larsen and other Ska brewers have brewed a few beers on Ska's 10-gallon pilot system that have yet to see the light of day. One is a Belgian-style take on an IPA, another is a black tripel. The brewery has a ton of taps, but not enough for everything Ska could put on tap. For now, these beers are hanging out in kegs.

These are just a few ideas of beers I'd like to see in Durango. What do you think? What have I overlooked? Please leave a comment.

Review: El Oso Agrio (Carver Brewing)

At Carver Brewing Co., I generally read past the usual offerings on the menu board to try whatever seasonal is on tap. This time, it's El Oso Agrio, a sour beer gently cared for by Carver's brewer Erik Maxson.

El Oso Agrio comes in a goblet for $5. It's a big beer, about 11 percent ABV and 90 IBUs. The sour taste is up front. I wouldn't want it to be any more sour, but it stops just short of being excessive.

El Oso Agrio (the sour bear) is a relative of Carver's Big Grizz Barleywine that has been hanging out in barrels. I'll let Maxson tell you about it:

"In 2003 I put some of our 120 Shilling Scotch ale in a whiskey barrel, and it sat in the corner of the upper level of the patio for a while. In 2003 the Big Grizz that was barrel aged was consumed, but for the batches of Grizz 2004 through 2007 we held a whiskey barrel on the patio. I'd check them periodically to see where they were going, and tried to act in their best interests; some were fruited, some were not. The goal I had in mind was to let the character that the barrels had developed to go, with minimal interference from me. I never re-pitched the barrels with yeast or other critters.

"When the barrels were no longer 'clean' I put them to work on this project. In early 2009 we brought the all the barrels (one six-year old Scotch, and four consecutive years' versions of the Grizz) back into the cellar and blended them with some of the 2008 batch of Grizz that was on draught. Once the new blend was allowed to age for several months it was racked into kegs and stored for the remainder of the 2009.

"We did briefly put the El Oso on line at the end of spring last year for a test. We had the pleasure of serving it at the Governor's Mansion local beer and food pairing during the (Great American Beer Festival), and also at the Vail Big Beers (Belgians and Barleywines Festival) in early January."

El Oso Agrio is one of those special beers that doesn't quite exist anywhere else. It's heavy, sour and boozy, and not surprisingly, reminiscent of barleywine with a sour kick. It's not an everyday beer, but it makes a heck of a winter warmer. A-

Beer of the Year 2009

The time has come for the inaugural edition of Beer at 6512's Beer of the Year awards.

Beers eligible for Beer of the Year must have been new or substantially changed beers brewed in Durango for commercial release during 2009. (A hat tip here to the Beervana blog in Portland, whose Satori awards helped inspire this effort).

Old favorites are not eligible - there is no point in debating Pinstripe Red Ale vs. Steam Engine Lager, for example. Nor are beers from outside Durango. I don't get to Silverton or Pagosa Brewing often enough to judge them well, and this is Beer at 6512 - not 7,000 or 9,000 feet.

The criteria: taste first and foremost, with uniqueness, complexity, availability, price, packaging and market impact all considered. One caveat: I didn't get to try or review every beer brewed in Durango in 2009.

Durango's four breweries put out plenty for us to ponder, and I think all four are getting better with each passing year. So without further ado, the winner is:

Beer of the Year 2009
Ska/Avery Wheelsucker Wheat Ale

Ska Brewing Co.'s superb collaboration with Avery Brewing Co. of Boulder was born of a bike ride from Boulder to Durango with stops at numerous breweries along the way.

It resulted in a full-bodied imperial wheat ale (Ska refers to it as a "mountainous hefe") with more than a hint of orange taste and around 6.5-7 percent ABV. It was a heavy, flavorful wheat that could be mixed to concoct a Radler or enjoyed on its own.

Wheelsucker Wheat Ale was released July 24 in 22-ounce bomber bottles and on tap. Coming in the mid-summer heat, it made for a wonderful seasonal ale.

Wheelsucker was brewed with 50-50 two-row malt and wheat malt, Hallertau Hersbrucker and Hallertau Mittlefruh hops and yeast from the Hopf Weissbier Brewery in Meisbock, Germany, according to Ska Head Brewer Thomas Larsen. He also added sweet and bitter orange peel at the end of the boil.

Ska and Avery brewed only 25 barrels of Wheelsucker. Although it was a collaboration with the accomplished Avery brewers, it was brewed in Durango on Ska's equipment with significant involvement from Larsen, meeting my criteria.

It has been months since I've had a Wheelsucker, and I miss it. At $4 per bottle for such a strong and accomplished beer, it was a steal. I now think I low-balled it in my initial review, awarding an A-. It deserved an A.

Larsen, a veteran of Wynkoop Brewing in Denver, has made something of a specialty of wheat beers. His upcoming Snowdown beer, Hyper Fierce Gnar Gnar Hefe, uses a wheat body. His wheats so far have been thick-bodied and flavorful.

Congratulations to Ska and Avery for their win.

2nd place
Durango Pale Ale

Durango Brewing turned my head with the spring debut of its Pale Ale seasonal. Released in 22-ounce bottles and on tap in March, it simply tasted great. (Initial review here).

Managing Brewer Scott Bickert released a winner of a standard pale.

I've complained before about Durango's relative lack of pale ales. Steamworks brews its Third Eye Pale Ale (7.2 percent ABV, 56 IBUs), Ska has its Euphoria winter seasonal and Carver's makes its Jack Rabbit, but none of these particularly tickle my fancy. All are fine in their own way, but none are brewed quite to style.

Pale ales, despite their relative commonness, are deceptively hard to brew well. Durango Brewing hit the mark with its Pale Ale (6.1 percent ABV, 35 IBUs). Its return will be welcomed.

3rd place
Ska Modus Hoperandi IPA

Ska dropped an atom bomb on the local beer market in February with the release of Modus Hoperandi IPA. It constituted nothing less than a revitalization of Ska, which had offered the same basic lineup for years.

And what did they choose to revitalize their offerings?: an aggressively bitter IPA, something to make the most jaded beer geeks take notice, a slap in the face from Mother Hops. It was a street-cred beer as punk as Ska itself.

Sold in cans, Modus Hoperandi's surging popularity helped Ska push deeper into new markets and probably introduced casual craft-beer drinkers to other canned Ska beers, now including True Blonde Ale.

The name, the packaging, the can all added up to a triumphant roll-out. Ska President Dave Thibodeau, who named and marketed the beer, should be teaching FLC marketing classes on the side.

Beer geeks loved it. One example: Barley Vine, a beer blog out of Houston (an important new market for Ska), pronounced it a "wonderful beer that seems more bitter and more citrusy than its listed IBUs."

Modus Hoperandi comes in at 6.8 percent ABV and 65 IBUs. But as Barley Vine noticed, those numbers do no justice to how aggressive Modus is. It screams hops.

That's why I gave it a respectful but ambivalent B+ in my initial review. It is so bitter that it's hard to drink without food, an opinion I share with Fermentedly Challenged. (My favorite way to drink Modus is with a slice of spicy pizza at Homeslice in Durango).

Remarkably, although the numbers call me a liar, I think Ska's Decadent Imperial IPA (10 percent ABV, 99 IBUs), is actually more drinkable than Modus.

Modus uses a generous amount of two-row malt, a little bit of wheat malt and caramel 120 for some depth in flavor and color, Larsen said via e-mail. Ska adds Cascade, Centennial, and
Columbus hops in copious amounts to the boil, whirlpool and fermenter along with an English dry ale yeast.

On taste alone, one of the honorable mention beers listed below is more deserving of 3rd place. But there's no discounting the excitement than Modus caused, probably more than all other new Durango beers this year combined. She's a mother of an IPA.

Near misses
Two great beers missed out on consideration for Beer of the Year because they were recurring seasonals and not significantly changed enough to qualify. Still, they deserve mention: Steamworks' Spruce Goose Ale 2009 and Ska's Hoperation Ivy.

Steamworks brewer Ken Martin is responsible for Spruce Goose, an ale that coyly revealed flavors from San Juan National Forest spruce tips and a subtle sweetness lent by a "somewhat complex malt bill which is heavy on the crystal malt, munich malt and some dextrin malt for that added residual sweetness," Martin said via e-mail.

This winter seasonal, brewed since 2005, exhibits extraordinary balance and complexity at 7.1 percent ABV.

Steamworks meant, I think, to make a statement with Spruce Goose, packaging it in expensive ($9.99) wine bottles in a bid for consumers' attention. It certainly caught mine (my initial review is here. Spruce Goose was the only local beer to earn an A+ from Beer at 6512 this year).

Spruce Goose constitutes a highlight for Steamworks during a year when the brewery decided to shutter its Bayfield plant and cease distributing outside of Southwest Colorado.

This release reminds us what Steamworks can do, and inspires hope that the brewery will emerge from its recent business-side turbulence better than ever.

Ska's Hoperation Ivy uses copious quantities of Cascade hops from San Juan Hop Farms near Montrose. It results in one of the best fresh-hop beers I've had, an oily triumph of hop taste. Fresh-hop, or wet-hop, beers simply taste different - better - than other beers, and Hoperation Ivy is an excellent example of what can be done with fresh hops.

Hoperation Ivy was released in September - harvest time - as #13 in the brewery's Local Series. It was last released as #11 last year. Here's hoping they do it again.

Honorable mention
Steamworks Imperial Mole Stout, Carver's Century Hall Tribute and Imperial La Plata Pilsener.

On tap at Carver's

At Carver Brewing Co., as with most brewpubs, the offerings vary widely depending on the season. There are times when nothing special seems to be on tap, and others when one could try a passel of interesting beers.

This is one of those better times. Century Hall Tribute, a smoky version of Carver's Colorado Uncommon, is superb. Uncommon is very smooth, and Century Hall Tribute is even better on nitro. The smoke is pleasantly subtle, unlike some other beers that use peated malt.

I'm also a big fan of the imperial pilsener on tap right now. Heavy-bodied but light-seeming, full of flavor without any one element dominating and deceptively boozy, it's an impressive lager.

Review: Harvest Festbier (Carver Brewing)

Carver Brewing Co. has its Harvest Festbier on tap.

This German-style Oktoberfest lager pours a deep amber, with a substantial white, fluffy head.

It's got a lot of flavor led by a big malt profile. The hop presence isn't assertive.

Festbier is a returning seasonal release from the Durango brewpub. Carver's also poured it at Oktoberfest last weekend. According to Carver's head brewer Erik Maxson, this is the first time it's been brewed with completely organic ingredients.

"This year, we went all organic," Maxson said via e-mail. "Organic German malt, organic Hallertau hops, our special house lager strain, also from Germany; and good ol' Colorado water."

Festbier comes in at 6.8 percent ABV and 24 IBUs. The numbers tell me it's boozy, but Festbier does not have a strong alcohol taste. In fact, I'd call it refreshing. It would be easy to get yourself in deep with a few pints of this one.

I'm having a tough time describing Festbier. But I like it. B+