Colorado Breweries and Restaurants

The land of brews, in my opinion, is Colorado. There are numerous breweries throughout the state, including my personal favorite, New Belgium. I was introduced to New Belgium in the winter of 2005 by a good friend of mine Seth Wilcher. Their Amber Ale, Fat Tire, has been my favorite beer since. New Belgium is located in Fort Collins, CO. It sits about an hour and 15 minutes north of Denver, or 2 Hours if Seth is driving. The brew tour is awesome, as are most of the people that work there (plan on arriving early if you are going to take the tour as they fill up fast). If you do the tour, make a special request and ask for Earl. I can't imagine anyone else giving a better tour than he does. Try the New Belgium Trippel while you are there, its over 8% alcohol by volume. Down the street from New Belgium is the Odell Brewery. It's considerably smaller than New Belgium, but offers some outstanding beers including 90 Schilling. They have a bar inside the brewery where you can buy a pint or sampler, as well as some souvenirs. The beers are cheap at $3.00 and the merchandise is pretty reasonable as well. The tour isn't quite as in depth as the New Belgium, but is fun nonetheless. After a day at the breweries, you can hit up the brew pub in downtown Ft. Collins, Coopersmith's. They have some good beer and good food. Downtown Ft. Collins is also pretty cool. If you head back to Denver, there are several breweries to hit up. First is Wynkoop, located near Wynkoop and 16th. Wynkoop is a very cool place, with great bison burgers and numerous pool tables, shuffleboard tables and dart boards. What Wynkoop lacks, is good beer. Of all the breweries that I have been too, this is one of the worst for beer. Most beers lack flavor and taste flat. My recommendation, stop in for some food, then head over to Breckenridge Brewery, which is located off of Blake Street on the north side of Coors Field. Try and Avalanche Ale and shoot some pool. They also have good food for you to try out. Just down the street from Breckenridge is Blake Street Tavern, which is attached to Flying Dog Brewery. Being an avid Georgia Bulldogs fan, Blake Street plays host to the UGA Alumni Club on Saturday's during the fall. The LSU Alumni Club also spends its Saturday's at Blake Street. If you are in Denver on Oct. 25th 2008, stop by Blake Street as it sure to be some sight with a host of Bulldog and Tiger fans. As for the beers, the Snake Dog is offered as the special of the day on Saturday's, therefore, it's what I drink. It's also a very tasty beer, considerably different on draft, compared to the bottle. For those that don't like the IPA's, you might want to try the Tire Bite, Caroline's favorite of the bunch. If you want to try out another place late night, I recommend, Celtic Tavern at 1801 Blake Street. They offer numerous beers on draft and in the bottle, as well as mini-bowling. For those that have never done mini-bowling, its quite the addictive sport. The cost is about $4 per game, and the ball is about the size of your hand while the lane is cut in half in length and width. The pins are on puppet strings and bowling shoes are not required. Personally, I am pretty terrible at it, but its a lot of fun, especially while drinking. Other restaurants of interest in the Denver area include College Inn for the best Hot Wings in Denver, very meaty and numerous choices of sauces along with My Brother's Bar, located near the huge REI store off of 15th Street. It offers up the best Bison burger in town and for those that like it, I hear the Jalapeno Cream Cheese Burger is a delight on the palate. Another bar of interest in the area is El Chipultepec. It holds a special place in my heart as this is where I had my first taste of the wonderful New Belgium creation, Fat Tire. Live Jazz is also a reason to hit up this hot spot.

In-N-Out Burger (West Coast)

For those of you that have not traveled to the west coast, you have missed out on what I consider to be the best fast food on the planet. In-N-Out burger with locations throughout California, as well as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Reno, is phenomenal. The menu is simple with the only options consisting of a single, a single with cheese or a double-double. They have one size of french fries, 3 varieties of milk shakes and several diffrent fountain drinks. The burgers come with some kind of special sauce that I won't touch, but I hear that its pretty amazing for those that are adventurous enough to give it a whirl. The fries are fresh potatoes that are cut diced and dropped straight into the fryer, not stored in some freezer like all other fast food places. Buns are slightly toasted on the burgers which adds to the overall taste considerably. Simply put, In-N-Out is amazing and I wish that they would venture away from the west coast and open up some more locations. If you are out west, stop by and you will understand why there is a 10-20 minute drive-thru line at every location regardless of the time of day.

San Francisco and Arcata, CA(Jan 26th-29th)

Let me start by saying that San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the states. From the culture to the food to the overall beauty, the city is simply amazing. I have visited San Francisco several times and try to find new restaurants and brew pubs whenever I am in town. There are several brew pubs in the area that are simply fantastic. Over the weekend, I was able to hit up 3 pub/breweries in San Francisco and another one in Eureka. Caroline and I started our weekend at Rogue's Public Ale House near Union and Columbus in the North Beach area of San Francisco. Rogue is simply one of the better microbreweries in America. Dead Guy Ale is in my Top 10 Beers. They offer more than 20 beers on draft, many of which are their own, while also having some Guest Beers. I recommend trying the sampler which will allow you to try 4 of the brews on draft. Not only does Rogue do the beer right, but they also offer up some damn good food. Mine and Caroline's menu selection consisted of a couple of Kobe Beef Burgers, simply the best burger I have ever tasted. All in all, Rogue is top notch and is highly recommended to anyone traveling within 50 miles of San Francisco. Next stop on the trip was San Francisco Brewing Company. It is located near Columbus and Kearney Street in the Financial District. Its a short walk from Rogue. I sampled two beers including the ShanghaIPA, which was very tasty. It was full of flavor and not as hoppy as some other IPA's that I have had in my time. Other beers sampled during our stop included the seasonal Anniversay Ale, Albatross Lager and Emperor Norton Lager. All of which were very good beers. The place itself is very cool and the bartenders were very engaging as well. Overall, San Francisco Brewing Company is a good place to stop in for a few beers while you are out on the town. Our last of the 3 Breweries in the Bay area was at Magnolia Brewery in the Haight/Ashbury District. Atmosphere is the key here. With murals lining the walls and numerous beer selections on draft including several cask ales, it was a very good experience. The Proving Ground IPA, on draught, not cask, was my favorite of the bunch. The cask offers a slightly different taste as it is served slightly warmer and with less carbonation. Caroline's beer of choice was the Bonnie Lee's Best Bitter, also on Draught, not cask. This was probably Caroline's favorite of the 3 that we visited on this trip due to the location and the overall atmosphere. The last stop we made on our trip was at Lost Coast Brewery in Eureka, CA. I enjoyed an Alleycat Amber Ale, which was typical of most Amber Ales that I have tasted. Not too hoppy, but full of flavor. I also had the Famous Hot Brown, a Roast Beef Sandwich with Chedder and Bacon, a very tasty sandwich with the Lemon Peppered Parmesan Cheese Fries. Caroline's meal included a Downtown Brown and the "Chicken Little Was Right" sandwich. She enjoyed both, but men, let me tell you that the chicken sandwich is for ladies or men who are looking to watch their girlish figure. Other stops along the way that are highly recommended include Calzone's, an Italian restaurant in the North Beach area of San Francisco. The food is fantastic, and they have Fat Tire on Draft (My favorite Beer). The prices are reasonable as well ($4.50 for a 20 oz. draft). Stella's, a little pastry shop, is located directly next door to Calzone's and has the best Chocolate Croissants I have ever tasted. I would weight well over 400 lb's if I lived within close proximity of that place. The Cliff House, located just south of Lincoln Park on Highway 1, is located directly on the Pacific Ocean. They offer high-end dining, as well as a bistro upstairs. The food is above-average, however, the view is top-notch. Stops to be made on the next San Francisco trip include 21st Amendment brewery and Pizza Orgasmica and Brewery.