Aspen Brewing Company,Aspen, CO, GABF 2010, Cool BrewsAspen Brewing Co Aspen, CO The Process Part 1
The Process Part 2
Fresh, local, small batch microbrews at 7822 ft.It's been awhile since the fine residents of Aspen have had a brewery to call their own-and now we're proud to stake claim to offering the freshest beer and gear in the local high-country. With a decent cache of microbrews and some great seasonals, there's always a reason to keep the growlers full and the glasses cold. We invite you to come by the tasting room and learn about our beers and the brewing process. The brewery is open for tasting and tours every day. We've got sampler trays, pints, growlers, merchandise and beer-to-go 7 days a week. Our tasting room hours are Monday through Saturday from noon to 9pm, and Sunday from noon to 6pm. We look forward to seeing you here-cheers from Aspen's Brew Crew! How it came to be.A short time ago, Duncan and Brad were roommates at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Boulder exposed these keystone light drinkers to the world of craft beer. Weekly specials at Mountain Sun Brew-Pub, frequent trips to Twisted Pine Brewery, Boulder Beer and other establishments helped the guys take to the world of craft beer without reservation. Soon, these converted craft beer drinkers were home-brewing with the intention to expand their knowledge of beer and the brewing process. The hands-on approach to beer education was their first step towards opening the Aspen Brewing Company. Having frequented Aspen throughout their time in Boulder, Duncan and Brad were confident that Aspen was the perfect place to open a brewery. The craft beer market had been tested by Flying Dog a decade earlier, and their success was further inspiration to make the dream happen. Following graduation in Boulder, the guys moved to Aspen to pursue opening a brewery. In September of 2007, after months of careful planning and industry research, their dream began to take shape when they leased a space in downtown Aspen. After months of construction to renovate the building's interior as well as assembling the brew system, brew team, and the millions of other parts and pieces that go into opening a craft brewery, the doors finally opened in March, 2008. Ajax Pilsner
The Team at the Aspen Brewing Company was asked one day, why is it that craft breweries focus on ales, paying less attention to different styles of lagers? There wasn't much of a rational answer for the question, so we decided to roll the dice, make a lager, and man, we think we've won! Think that lagers are bland, flavorless, boring, or worse... nasty tasting? Try our Ajax Pilsner. This beer is a crisp and thirst quenching lager, a beer that's a bit lower on the alcohol scale than our other offerings, allowing that après ski party to last well into the night. Sterling hops are what Head Brewer Terry Butler generously doses our Ajax Pilsner with, allowed to mellow with age, these hops provide the definition of a 'bouquet' for a beer. Ajax Pilsner does not have the bitterness that can be found in the Independence Pass Ale, or even the Conundrum Red ESB, but instead has just the right amount of delicious floral character.
Ajax, like that cartoon guy? Nah, Ajax is Aspen's local name for Aspen Mountain. Visible from the brewery-come on, lets be honest-visible from everywhere in Aspen, Aspen Mountain dominates the southern sky. Offering amazing skiing both for the tree- and groomer-lovers alike, Ajax has everything... but beginner runs (no green circles on Ajax!). So, keep Aspen local, impress the locals, and order an Ajax Pilsner after shredding the gnar pow pow of Ajax Mountain Tastes Great WithIn our estimation, lagers (Pilsner is a style of lager) are the easiest beer to pair food with. Drink lagers with food ranging from curry to bratwurst-it's hard to go wrong. Not thirsty for water with dinner, but don't want too much competition between your food and beverage? Drink a crisp Ajax Pilsner! StatsBeer style: Czech Pilsner Brown Bearale
Get ready to enjoy an amazing balance between Golding's aroma characteristics and rich, chocolate, even slightly woody or smokey maltyness. Vienna, Munich and Caramel malts provide the muscle behind this beer-but don't get intimidated, this Brown's smooth finish will leave you thirsty for a second, or even third pint. Brown ales are some of the oldest ales in written history, British drinkers have been enjoying this style for many hundreds of years. Our goal is to provide Aspen with the best beers possible, we feel we would be short- changing our beer-drinking friends if there wasn't a dark, delicious & mysterious Brown.
The Aspen area is full of black bears, so why is our beer called Brown Bearale? Funny story-many of Aspen's black bears aren't really black, they are a sort of cinnamon-brown color. So when a momma cinnamon bear and two of her cubs (one black, one cinnamon) broke through the garage door of the house where Duncan, Brad, and Rory were living-and began to chow down on the homebrew grain supply- a name was born. P.S. it's pronounced Brown Barrel. We hope that you will have as much fun drinking the ale as the bears did eating its ingredients! Tastes Great WithTry Brown Bearale with a piece of venison, elk, or buffalo. If you are a grill/smoker master, smoke poultry, pork and pair it with Brown Bearale. This ale goes wonderfully with rich, hearty, cold-weather stews very well too. Don't be afraid to add some Brown Bearale to the stew's base! // Chef Jason Casey's Brown Bear Ribs StatsBeer style: Brown Ale Conundrum Red AleHave you ever heard of an ESB? In most cases, it stands for Extra Special Bitter, and man is this red extra special. Conundrum walks the line between a malt-centric sweet ale and a hop-centric bitter ale so well, it's tough to describe. Quite the conundrum indeed! Think if it in simplest terms: it has a sweet malty profile like the Brown Bear Ale at first, though mostly caramelly instead of chocolaty, but then the taste sensation in your mouth changes to the floral bitterness of our secret hop recipe. If you love the Independence Pass Ale, but sometimes just want something a little 'mellower', something with a little more malt profile, this beer may be what you're looking for. If you like our Brown Bear but are thirsty for something with a bit more snap, give it a try! So far, everyone's loving the stuff! Tastes Great WithThink of shepherd's pie, lamb and mashed potatoes, or even fish 'n chips-pub fare. Conundrum Red also compliments finer cuts of red meat too. Its smooth caramel characteristics mean that it will not overpower such delicacies as filet or even a slice of Kobe beef, instead the beer will compliment and accentuate many of the meat's subtleties. StatsBeer style: Red Ale Independence Pass IPA
Independence Pass Ale is our super-hopped high altitude rendition of the classic India Pale Ale style. Independence Pass Ale utilizes insane amounts of Palisade hops-a hop that is relatively new on the IPA scene. With alpha acids up near the 10% mark, IPA aficionados will love the hoppy brew as much as they love their Magnum and Cascade-hopped IPA's. In addition, we use Columbus, Cascade, and Simcoe hops. Set in contrast with our secret mash recipe, be prepared to be wowed. This beer radiates hops, hops, hops.
Why is this style called India Pale Ale? During the height of the British Empire, Brits working and living in India craved their English style ales, however the traditional English ales would not survive the journey from England to India. English brewers discovered that increasing the hop content of a beer preserved the ale enough to survive the long sea journey. West Coast brewers discovered nearly a century later that 'over-hopping' a beer increased the delicious hop flavor of the ale, paying more respect to rich American hop flavor than even the malt flavor base.
Independence Pass marks the eastern boundary of the Roaring Fork Valley and the City of Aspen. With a summit elevation of 12,095 feet, we HIGHLY recommend that the inexperienced beer drinker is EXTREMELY careful drinking this high-alcohol brew at such altitude. You wouldn't want to fall down the pass! We couldn't help but name our high-hop beer after this high-elevation pass-maybe due to the combined delirious effect, or maybe because the initials worked out well. Tastes Great With
Food enjoyed with this brew should be very rich, stinky, pungent, spicy, zesty, tangy, citrusy, or a combination of as many of these adjectives as possible. Our IPA has proven to stand up to and compliment spicy Indian curries exceptionally well, as well as Duncan's secret red hot Buffalo chicken wings recipe. If you're not one for spiciness, try the IPA with super-stinky cheese, or even a rosemary pork or lamb chop. StatsBeer style: India Pale Ale Pyramid Peak PorterReady for something dark and delicious? Something that looks as great as it tastes? Something smokey, malty, and smooth? Get into a pint of our Pyramid Peak Porter! Brewed with tons of Roasted, Chocolate, and Black malts, balanced with a heavy dose of delicious and earthy Fuggle hops, this porter is just what the not-afraid-of-the- dark (beer drinking) person is looking for. When Aspen Brewery's head brewer, Terry Butler expressed interest in brewing a porter, it didn't take much convincing to follow through with one. After all, Terry has won medals for porters at the Great American Brew Festival in years past! What poured out of our tap that first day the porter was ready was nothing short of euphoria.
Aspen is nestled between two enormous mountain ranges, the Elk Mountains, and the Sawatch Range. These two ranges are home to some of Colorado's highest mountains, known as 'fourteeners' as their altitude is above fourteen thousand feet-there are many within a short distance from Aspen, but one of the most breathtaking to behold is surely Pyramid Peak. Impressive aesthetically, Pyramid and its neighbors the Maroon Bells are also some of the most difficult fourteeners to climb. We couldn't help but name a badass beer after this badass mountain. Climb that peak and get high-altitude wise of course-then come tell the crew over a pint with its namesake! Tastes Great With
Sweet and smoky-can anyone say barbeque? Pulled pork, grilled corn and smoked anything is a delicious pairing-trust us. Other thoughts would be traditional foods like stews, shepherd's pies, and anything that includes meats with those dark, earthy taste signatures. StatsBeer style: Porter Smuggler Wheat Ale
This is our unfiltered Hefeweizen style Wheat Ale, designed for outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen who want a refreshing brew after a fun day of making the most of Aspen's amazing landscape. Whether its mountain biking, hiking, fishing, running, or just going for a stroll, Smuggler Wheat is what you need to reenergize after a day in the outdoors. The low hop and therefore low bitterness of this beer means it is truly a thirst quencher that also provides much-needed nutrients after an active day. Thankfully for all you outdoorsy people out there, the beginnings of both the Hunter Creek Trail and Smuggler Mountain Road are located really, really close to the brewery. These trails offer every level of difficulty from the casual nature walk to the clinically insane climb.
Smuggler Wheat is named after the nearby mountain and its historic silver mine, Smuggler Mountain and Smuggler Mine. It was from Smuggler Mine that North America's largest silver nugget was unearthed. Before Aspen was known as a ski and/or vacation town, it was a thriving mining town, and we at Aspen Brewery don't want people to forget the city's rich and dynamic history. So, celebrate the days of old, and raise a pint of Smuggler Wheat! Tastes Great With
Best accompanied with light, delicate fare-salads and seafood do particularly well with this unfiltered brew, as do fruits and fruit-oriented desserts. Try a a salad with a vinaigrette dressing, with a piece of flounder as an entrée, followed by a fruity sorbet or even a raspberry chocolate dessert. // Chef Jason Casey's Smuggler Rueben StatsBeer style: Wheat This Season's BlondeAspen Brewing Company's first real "seasonal" offering was our Spring Blonde Wheat Ale, which made it's debut during the spring season of '09. It was released without fanfare or publicity, but despite this under-the-radar status, it was a hit. Like, a huge hit. Such a hit in fact that it's name on our menu in the tasting room was magically changed to Summer Blonde Wheat Ale as the temps warmed up through the late spring into the early summer. So, guess what's happened now - the Blonde has become a year-round offering known as "This Season's Blonde"! Horray! Every season should involve a Blonde, right?
Similar to our Smuggler Wheat Hefeweizen-styled Ale, this This Season's Blonde beauty is a Wheat Ale, however it does have some notable differences to our favorite Hefeweizen. First and foremost, where Smuggler Wheat is a cloudy, yeasty, and nutrient-rich ale, This Season's Blonde is served clear, with playful carbonation leading to wonderful head and beautiful lace along the side of your pint glass. This Season's Blonde goes down dangerously easily, but you won't be disappointed! We have been told by our local regulars that This Season's Blonde is a bit more floral, citrusy, and generally 'hoppy' than Smuggler Wheat, which the Aspen Brew Crew agrees with - though don't be scared, its not bitter like Independence Pass Ale or Conundrum Red. Tastes Great WithEnter Info here... StatsBeer style: Blonde Ale Related PostsAsher Brewing Company, Boulder, CO, GABF 2010, Organic BrewsBlind Tiger Brewing Co. Great American Beer Festival 2010 Auburn Alehouse-Auburn,CA, GABF 2010 August Schell Brewing Co, GABF 2010 |
