Colorado and the Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountians...a place of , endearment, mystery.....and for the un-initiated Aussie....destruction.

We rolled into town,  Barney had been on the Xanax, so all were relaxed.  First stop, Odells Brewery.  Doug Odell took us on an intimate tour of the brewhouse and an exclusive tasting of barrel aged brews.  These guys are experimenting with some funky belgian yeasts including Brett and are getting some great results with barrel aged beers.  Not only are they pushing the boundaries for beer, but are also trying to minimise thier impact on the environment.  Check out the solar panels below which at peack covers 30%-35% of production demands.

Stand outs were the Sabotuer Brett Barrel Brown, Woodcutter No. 2 Barrel Aged Belgian Golden and the Rice King Ale.  Damn fine beers!


Next was New Belgium....we hear it would be a life-changing experience....this was confirmed by the slide on premises, which took you from the upstairs bar to the lower ground toilets!  Started out with a few imformal drinks at the bar, and the standard tour.  We had the rare privelage of meeting with Lauren Salazar and Chris Keogan, two guru's of New Belgium.  Lauren took us through some barrel tasting of thier sour beers.

I cant tell you how much awesome stuff we tasted, but it included a rare batch of apple whisky.  Needless to say things got a bit hairy and we started the night looking like a Hey Hey skit.

After the Burritos, I cant really be clear on what happened.  But  the next morning, Jason, Tom and Barney awoke to the absence of our friend Miro.  After calling the hospital and local jail and finding no trace of Miro, we set south for Denver.  On the way we received a call from a man with a husky voice saying that he had just woken up at a local Mexican's house.

Luckily we all got the flight in Denver, though Miro's cab fare cost about $200.

Most importantly we out-drank Chris Keogan from New Belgium Brewery, but then again he is only an Irishman!!!