Monthly Archives: August 2011

08.22.11
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Tips for a Great Beer Tasting.

Wine lovers delight in the tasting. A chance to sip, sniff and spit with upturned pinkies in a fancy winery while a man named Guy waxes poetic about tannins. While most beer drinkers would take great pleasure in the sniffing and sipping, we would consider spitting a mortal sin. And as for Guy, well, he just doesn’t seem like our type. But the beer tasting party can be a great time for beer lovers, serving as a great place to discover new brews while enjoying the sense of well-being and community that comes when people gather in the name of beer. We recently enjoyed one heckuva good tasting party, and thought we’d share a few tips on hosting your own party and making it an unforgettable affair.

Tip #1: BYO Bombers.

As much fun as it would be to sample a bunch of session beers, we feel that the best tasting parties are poured out of 22oz bottles. Most of us like to think we are spontaneous, but if you’re the only one in charge of selecting brews, chances are high you’ll pick a few of your personal favorites instead of expanding your horizons. With a BYO Bomber party, you’ll ensure a wide, diverse range of styles and brews are ready for tasting come party time.

Your pocketbook will thank you as well, since the cost of providing enough big beers for a large group to taste could very quickly and easily cross the $100 mark. Going “BYOB” will keep your party affordable and ensure that everyone has something to contribute.

The Beauty of BYO Bomber

Tip #2: Keep the Session Beers Small.

Most beer tastings are going to consist of sampling a few large, unique brews every hour or so. But your guests are going to stay thirsty between tastings, so it’s not a bad idea to have a nice session beer on hand. And while it’s tempting to want to impress your guests with a high ABV, expensive beer for your “session” beer, your party is going to go a whole lot smoother if you stick small for the session.

We prefer to grab a fairly inexpensive, refreshing lager or pilsner for our session beers. You don’t want something that’s going to overpower or ruin your guests’ palates between samples, and smaller beers will be nice and unobtrusive. The whole idea of a session beer is to be drinkable in fairly large quantities, so selecting a beer with a fairly low ABV makes the most sense to us. We’ve even been known to grab some of the evil macro-brews as a session beer, as the light lager and pale pilsner categories can slake your thirst but keep you in great tasting shape.

For a really cost-effective party, find a local brew-pub that sells their beer in Growlers. A decent growler will only set you back around $8-14 per bottle, and you can get a decent low ABV mild ale, pilsner, or amber lager to keep your guests happy in between samplings.

Tip #3: The 3 H’s: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate.

Let’s be real. You’re probably going to sample some pretty heavy beers. At our last tasting party, we didn’t sample anything below %8, and a couple of our bombers weighed in above 10% ABV. So unless you plan on running a hostel for drunkards overnight, you’re going to need to make sure everyone is drinking plenty of water. It’s easy and inexpensive to put pitchers of ice water out at your party, or better yet pickup a couple cases of bottled water and make sure your guests are drinking them.

Alcohol can dehydrate your body, and your guests are going to drink a lot of it. But if they’re heading off to pee every 20 minutes or so, then you’ll be doing your due diligence as a host keeping them hydrated.

Tip #4: Start Early and Pace Yourself

We once hosted a tasting party with a pretty large selection of expensive, hard to find beers. Within the first hour, our selection was almost entirely gone, leaving us fairly tipsy and extremely sad.

Serving your samples too close together is going to up the chances of over-embibing, and your palate needs time to recover between tastings if you really want to get the most out of your beer. Sampling no more than 1-3 beers each hour of your party will keep people happy, in a reasonable state of mind, and gives plenty of time for session drinks, water breaks, and those good times we all love so much.

Spread the good times out across a few hours and your guests will long remember your party.

Tip #5: Don’t Forget the Food

People love beer. But man, do people love food. If you want to serve up a memorable tasting party, then serve up a great selection of food that compliments your beer selections. With a BYOB party, there’s going to be a diverse mix of beers to try, and you want food that will compliment the beer.

It’s worth taking the time to do a little research on great food/beer pairings to make sure your party is a smash; we try to serve spicy food with hoppy beers, dark desserts with dark beers, and so on.

It’s also never a bad idea to have pretzels, nuts, and other high-carb snacks around. Pretzel rods are our “session snack” of choice, helping clear palates and fight hunger. Plus, the boost of carbs helps balance the alcohol intake, again helping your guests stay in tip-top tasting shape.

And if you’re still hoping to keep this a frugal affair, ask each guest to bring a bomber and an appetizer to share.

We think we’ve outlined some pretty great tips for serving a wonderful craft beer tasting party, and we’d love to hear your own tips and input. Now it’s time to go plan your next tasting!

Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? Leave a comment or hit us at milehighbrew@gmail.com

08.09.11
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The Ale House @ Amato’s

Resting in the shadow of the downtown Denver skyline, the Highlands are one of Denver’s most unique and vibrant neighborhoods. Located just across the Platte River from downtown, the Ale House at Amato’s is one of the greatest places to enjoy great beer in Denver.

There are a myriad of places in Denver to drink great beer. With the plethora of craft beer being brewed right here in the Mile High City, you can throw a stone and find a place to drink local brews. So what sets a place like the Ale House apart?

It’s more than a great beer list.
It takes a more than a few local taps to make a place truly great, and the Ale House offers a lot more. One foot in the door and you’ll realize that you’re not in another craft beer dive bar. The gorgeous wood floors, rooftop patio, and 360º bar make the Ale House a premiere craft beer spot. But don’t let the trappings fool you: the Ale House is dedicated to beer. Serving brews from its parent Breckinridge Brewery, Ale House is a premiere tap house for the wonderful Breck’ brews. But far from content in self-service, the Ale House also keeps on tap brews from Dry Dock, Wynkoop, Odell, Bristol, Left Hand, Oskar Blues and Avery. And for those looking to expand their horizons beyond the Rocky Mountains, you’ll even find Dogfish Head, Victory Brewing, and more out-of-state guests on tap at the Ale House. If you want a place to come and love your beer, the Ale House @ Amato’s is it.

The people make the place.
The staff at the Ale House are second to none. Never far away, and always friendly, the Ale House has done a great job of choosing the best and brightest servers, hosting crew, and bartenders. The staff are always eager to talk craft beer, and never hesitate to offer their opinions or make recommendations. We love being able to walk in, sit at the bar, ask a server what they like, and trust that they’ll make an honest recommendation based on their unique tastes. But what sets the staff of Ale House apart is their welcoming, open-minded attitudes. Always happy to serve up delicious, craft brews, the Ale House staff are just as happy serving up PBR and other “domestics.” People are way more likely to try new, craft beers if they don’t feel judged for liking that fizzy yellow stuff, and the staff at the Ale House will make longtime and first-time craft beer drinkers alike feel perfectly at home.

A place for everyone.
The problem with a lot of craft beer bars is, they feel like…bars. The Ale House at Amato’s has one of the best bars in Denver, but also has a great dining room set apart from the bar and patio area. Superfluous to some, we love the fact the the Ale House caters well to people looking for a beer bar, people wanting a nice sit-down dinner, and the people who want a little of both. The rooftop is perfect for working-class summer evenings, the bar is built for beer nerds, and the dining room screams “bring the whole family!” The Ale House at Amato’s is the perfect place to bring…well, everyone.

But can they cook?
Never judge a book by its cover. Always judge a restaurant by its burgers. Serving great beer in Denver is as easy as drinking it. You have to work harder to find bad beer in town than you do to find great beer. But great food? That’s a different story altogether. Cooking in the Mile High City can be a challenge. Burgers get dryer, steaks get tougher, and mashed potatoes get a whole lot less fluffy. The Ale House at Amato’s may have one killer beer list, but the food takes things to a whole new level. The burgers are juicy, fresh, and grilled with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside. We know good burgers, and the Ale House makes great ones. The sandwiches and salads are crafted to perfection, while the portions won’t leave you feeling like a Man vs. Food contestant when you’re all through. Add in fantastic sides like mashed sweet potatoes and darn good french fries, and the Ale House truly has it all: Great beer, great people, and great food.

Don’t waste a night in the Highlands.
The next time you find yourself anywhere near 16th and Central, you owe it to yourself to head to the Ale House at Amato’s. With great Breckinridge Brewing beers like Agave Wheat, Regal Pilsner, and Lucky U IPA, there’s no better place to drink great Colorado beer. The staff will make you feel at home and welcome regardless of your beer knowledge, while the food will be on your mind for days after. The Ale House at Amato’s is one of the best places to go in Denver, and we can’t wait to come back for more great beer, food, and people.

The Ale House @ Amato’s
2501 16th Street,
Denver, CO 80211
Tel: 303.433.9734

$$:$15 – 20 per person for dinner, highly competitive beer prices
Food: American
Beer: Breckinridge Brewing, Dry Dock, Wynkoop and more locals on tap. Rotating list of out-of-state beers available as well.

08.07.11
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Gnarley Barley Brew Fest 2011

The Larimer County Fair is a fantastic event every year, and more than anyone, beer lovers will find endless delight at the Gnarly Barley Brew Fest, happening alongside the Fair. We couldn’t wait to get to breathtaking Loveland, Colorado to take in our first beer festival as Mile High Brew. We’ve got our full experience after the break!

In plain sight of the majestic Rocky Mountains, under a (mostly) clear blue sky, we arrived at the Gnarly Barley Brew Fest, eager to start strolling, sampling, and loving beer on such a wonderful Saturday. With sample tokens in hand, we made our way towards the beer tents.

Some of the MHB team ready to enjoy!

With so many amazing brewers in town for one event, it was tempting to try and hit each and every one. But despite our mighty fortitude, such an act of over-sampling would have left us far removed from our wits. But despite our overactive sense of responsibility, we managed to have a great time sampling some stand-out ales. Rather than wax poetic about every brewer in attendance, we instead did our best to pick our 4 favorites and focus our affections thusly.

Rocky Mountain Brewing, Colorado Springs

We were so wonderfully surprised by the quality of beer and people we found at the Rocky Mountain Brewery tent. Brewed just south of Denver in the shadow of Pike’s Peak, Rocky Mountain Brewery offered little in the way of pomp and circumstance. But what we drank under that tent showed us where the efforts of Rocky Mountain’s brewers are concentrated: brewing great beer.
We sampled both of Rocky Mountain’s sample offerings, the Mountain IPA and the Lady Lemongrass. Mountain IPA was everything we love in IPAs: piney, citrusy, bitter, and refreshing. But Lady Lemongrass was a knockout. She had the smell of fresh wheat, mountain air, and – you guessed it – lemongrass. The smell was no lie, either. Lady Lemongrass was as delicious as she was lovely, with a light, refreshing finish that quenched our terrible thirst. The blonde taste was welcomed under the hot sun, but the notes of fresh lemongrass added a depth and sweetness to Lady Lemongrass that left us wishing we had a few pints to drink instead of a small sampler.
Rocky Mountain Brewery was a surprise and delight at Gnarly Barley, and we can’t wait for an excuse to jet down to Colorado Springs to drink some more Lady Lemongrass and spend more time around the great folks from Rocky Mountain Brewery.

New Belgium Brewing, Ft. Collins

We at MHB are no strangers to New Belgium. In fact, we can’t think of anyone in Colorado who is. With many of the most popular beers in the state, and a nationwide reach approaching Sam Adams’ proportion, New Belgium is easy to find but hard to be disappointed by. Their showing at Gnarly Barley was no different. With their impossible-to-miss red tent, New Belgium was one of the most-visited tents of the entire festival. One sip of their offerings and it wasn’t hard to understand why.

New Belgium gets Gnarly


Ranger IPA, one of our favorite IPAs at Mile High Brew, was welcome and refreshing. However, New Belgium had one stellar ace-in-the-hole: Super Cru. A 20th anniversary ale described as a “double Fat Tire with lots of alcohol,” Super Cru was an instant favorite. While the elevated ABV made us a bit light in the britches, we took our sweet time polishing off our samples of Super Cru. Sweet, tart, tangy, malty, delectable. Super Cru was among the most unique beers we tasted at Gnarly Barley, and we were eager to pickup a bomber ASAP once we got back home to Denver. Do yourself a huge favor and find Super Cru as quick as you can. Like most beer from New Belgium, you won’t be disappointed.

Check out New Belgium and find out where you can get Super Cru.

The People’s Choice: Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, Loveland

The night before Gnarly Barley, we were fortunate enough to be presented a growler filled with Grimm Brothers’ “Little Red Cap” altbier. After picking our jaws off the floor, we poured ourselves a second (and third) pint. For a small, unassuming operation in Loveland, Grimm Brothers are producing some serious beer. Every attendee of Gnarly Barley received a special “voting token,” to be dropped in the bucket of your favorite sampled beer. With so much great beer, it seems hard to believe that any one brewery could have a serious chance of being chosen as #1. But the attendees of Gnarly Barley felt otherwise, and voted the Grimm Brothers Brewhouse “People’s Choice” by a landslide. And after visiting the brewhouse and tasting the beer, it came as no surprise.

The people have spoken! Congrats to Grimm Brothers

Grimm Brothers are hardly an “old” brewery, but they brew with a mastery and passion that sets them far apart many breweries in Colorado. We can’t wait to see what next year at Gnarly Barley holds, and are even more eager to drink more from Grimm Brothers!

Were you at this years Gnarly Barley? What were the highlights? Did your favorite beer win?

We had a blast at Gnarly Barley, and couldn’t have had a better choice for Mile High Brew’s first ever beer fest. We can’t wait to see some of you again at GABF this year!

We’ll be back soon with more news, reviews, and tales of the beer we love. Love your beer. Thanks for reading!