LowDown Brewery Epitomizes the Modern Brewpub Experience

Denver's craft beer spotlight seems to be drawn most to the River North district in recent months, but south Denver is quickly becoming its own beer mecca. From the Golden Triangle neighborhood stretching south and outward along the south Broadway corridor, an influx of diverse and high quality breweries have opened in the past couple years. One of the newest is LowDown Brewery + Kitchen, located at the northeast corner of Lincoln Street and 8th Avenue.

LowDown opened in February of this year, and its owners are well-versed in producing excellent beer and serving delicious food to go with it. Co-owners Philip Phifer and Scott O'Hearn were brewmasters at the Rock Bottom Brewery chain, and the latter brings 20 years of Rock Bottom experience to LowDown. The brewery currently has capacity for about 15 taps, most of which are LowDown beers that cover a variety of styles. The rest, which numbered four on my most recent visit, were guest taps from other breweries. LowDown also serves a nice selection of wine and spirits, so there are plenty of options to satisfy all types of customers. The food at LowDown helps it stand out from the rest as well. Phifer and O'Hearn want to focus on serving healthy, fresh, seasonal and sustainable food items. Customers will find a diverse selection of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas and more.

I've made two visits to LowDown recently, and was really impressed with the atmosphere and space. The interior is a sophisticated but casual space with high ceilings that expose pipes, brick and wooden beams. The seating area is set up well in a rectangular shape, with the bar toward the back, and the brewing equipment in view in the front corner. There's a handful of different seating format options to accommodate groups large and small, younger and older. Service is friendly, prompt, and professional - just what you'd expect in any high quality dining establishment.

Breweries are ultimately judged by their beer, though, and LowDown hits it out of the park in this area. No matter the style, the beers I've tried are excellent and well-balanced. LowDown's Belgian styles, a white ale and a strong pale ale, are two that really stood out. The Belgian strong pale ale is a delightfully complex beer that brings a fruity aroma and flavor from the Belgian yeast. Flavors of banana, lemon, pepper, and clove flow into a slightly spicy and hoppy yet smooth finish. For the hops lover, Lowdown brews two great IPAs, the Lowdown IPA and the stronger Impotent IPA, in addition to a beer called called Selfish, which is a citrusy and refreshing pale ale brewed with Pilsen malt. Some LowDown beers are flagship offerings, and some rotate in and out to make way for other great styles. For food, I enjoyed the Dylan's Dipper sandwich with herbed quinoa. This very tasty Italian sausage sandwich on ciabatta delivers some spicy heat, and pairs well with any of LowDown's beers.

The standards for craft brewing excellence in and around Denver are very high, and thanks to places like LowDown, the bar keeps rising. If or when you're in Denver, plan to head just south of downtown and check out LowDown Brewery + Kitchen for a great craft beer and dining experience.

Session Beers Gain Ground in the Craft Beer Market

The term "session beer" is becoming more ubiquitous all the time in the craft brewing community. Beers of sessionable strength, about 4 to 5 percent ABV, are nothing new though. Styles like hefeweizens, pilsners, pale ales, brown ales, and many more have typically been brewed to this more moderate strength. So why is there so much focus now on session beers? A lot of it has to do with the rise in popularity of bigger, stronger, and seemingly more complex beers coming from American craft breweries. This trend is true with the very popular India Pale Ale style, as evidenced by the number of double (imperial) IPAs, or even triple IPAs available in the beer market.

Stronger beers, however, aren't always the best choice for every occasion. Sometimes drinkers want to be able to enjoy more than a couple at a time without feeling the effects that come with strong beers. Breweries have picked up on this sentiment, and have deliberately put more emphasis on brewing beers that are big on flavor and complexity but lower in alcohol content. Session IPAs have emerged as a popular style, likely due to the popularity of their stronger siblings. A couple of breweries known for pushing the envelope in boldness, Great Divide and Stone, have each had a session IPA hit shelves this year. One that's been around for a few years is All Day IPA from Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I've known of this beer for some time, but finally gave it a try on a recent trip to visit my family in the Midwest. All Day IPA, at 4.7 percent ABV, pours a translucent golden color with a thin head of foam. The aroma and flavors measure up to those of regular strength IPAs. The hops flavors are all over the map, from citrusy to floral, to earthy and grassy. The malt presence gives it a slight sweetness, and the mildly bitter finish lingers for a few seconds. It's a complex yet approachable and refreshing take on an IPA. While I typically gravitate toward bigger, aggressive IPAs, this one doesn't disappoint. All Day IPA is available in bottles or cans, so it's convenient to bring this great session ale wherever your adventures take you.

Regardless of what you may think of the session beer concept or lingo, one thing is certain - a diverse array of high quality products is great for the craft beer consumer.

World of Beer Holds Its Own Among Denver Beer Bars

I'll admit I was skeptical about World of Beer in southeast Denver. As part of a national chain of craft beer taverns, I wasn't sure World of Beer could measure up to the level of character and quality that many Colorado Front Range beer bars have set. After finally stopping in and checking the place out on a recent Saturday night, I'm happy to say I was wrong. World of Beer stands up to the best of Denver's craft beer bars in many ways, starting with its vast selection of draft and bottled beers.

World of Beer was founded in 2007 in Tampa, Florida, and has since launched dozens of franchises around the country. The Denver location opened in early 2013 in the CitySet development in Cherry Creek, which includes a handful of great restaurants and a couple of hotels. There's also a World of Beer franchise in the Belmar shopping center in Lakewood, and one in the works in downtown Denver. For a corporate chain of bars, World of Beer has a surprisingly authentic look and feel inside. There are logo signs from different U.S. craft breweries lining the walls and upper area railing. Brick walls placed strategically around the interior, including behind the bar, add a nice touch. There's no food service, which may surprise and frustrate unknowing patrons. However, World of Beer allows food to be brought in or delivered, and there are plenty of nearby options if you choose to go this route.

Sitting at the bar, my experience is that service was friendly and relatively quick, even when the place became packed. The draft menu is excellent, with more than 50 rotating taps of craft beer from near and far. There were a lot of beers I haven't seen on tap at other bars, so I was able to try beers that were new to me. One such beer was the Bourbon Barrel Aged Quad from Funkwerks in Fort Collins. Funkwerks is a great brewery known for crafting saisons and other Belgian style ales, and just won a silver medal at the 2014 World Beer Cup for its Belgian Style Golden Ale named Deceit. The Quad is an excellent complex Belgian strong ale with flavors of vanilla, bourbon, caramel, and dark fruits. It's smooth and highly drinkable despite its elevated ABV of 11.5 percent.

In addition to the extensive draft list, the bottle and can selection includes hundreds of beers from all over the world, filling several large coolers behind the bar. It's quite impressive how much choice World of Beer gives customers who stop in to savor and explore. World of Beer also hosts special events like its recent sour beer night and Epic Brewing tap takeover. While I love to check out a lot of different beer bars, this is one that I'll definitely return to sooner rather than later.

Station 26 Brewing: A Shining Example of Repurposed Space

Any new brewery and taproom that opens these days must exude a certain amount of character, in addition to producing high quality beer. One of Denver's newest breweries soars in both those areas. Station 26 Brewing Company is housed in what was previously a northeast Denver fire station. The building exterior is beautifully preserved, but what's on the inside is really special. Excellent craft beer and simple, classic firehouse charm await thirsty patrons.

Station 26 opened in December of 2013 near the Park Hill and Stapleton neighborhoods. This part of Denver continues to grow, so it made sense to the owners to set up shop there. Co-owner Justin Baccary discovered the vacant fire station, sparking the idea for a great brewery location. After a lease deal was worked out with the building's owner, the new brewery was in the works. Station 26 has quickly become a popular neighborhood craft beer destination, and they just expanded their hours to be open seven days a week. Guests can bring in food or order from whichever food truck may be on site that day.

The left side of the facility is devoted to production space, with brew kettles and fermentation tanks in view near the front windows. The large bar and seating tables, made from reclaimed wood, take up the rest of the space. The interior walls are covered with simple yellow tiles which help the space retain the firehouse ambiance. Add in some appropriately funky metal light fixtures, and the decor is complete. On my recent visit, staff was very friendly, knowledgeable, professional and laid-back. Best of all, the beer at Station 26 is outstanding.

Station 26 keeps about 10 beers on tap, with a wide variety of styles represented. There's something for everybody, from a Scottish session ale or a Euro pale ale, to bolder offerings like a black IPA or a wheat wine. Station 26 also has a cherrywood-smoked beer series, and the cherrywood smoked red ale was on tap that day. This is the second in the three part series, and it's a delicious, complex, subtly smoky and sweet beer. On tap as well was a great citrusy single hop IPA brewed with the Centennial variety of hops.

I could say much more about the beer, but you should really find out for yourself. I suggest you take a trip down to the station!

Stout Season Winds Down, But It's Not Over Yet

In light of the spring snow the Colorado front range received last week, I'm featuring one more imperial stout to close out the colder months of early 2014. I recently enjoyed a glass of Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout by New Belgium Brewing at Parry's Pizza in Greenwood Village, Colorado. This beer is part of New Belgium's Lips of Faith series, which means it's a limited or special release. I hadn't seen this one out in the beer market since I first tried it more than a year ago. When I noticed it was one of Parry's 50 craft beers on tap Friday evening, I figured I'd give this tasty beer another go while I had the chance.

The beer, which I'll call Stout for the sake of brevity, is one of the more straight-forward beers I've had from the Lips of Faith series. That's not to say it's boring or lacks complexity, not in the least bit. New Belgium uses the Lips of Faith series as a format for its most creative and experimental brews, often incorporating unconventional ingredients or brewing methods. Perhaps the most well-known Lips of Faith beer is the outstanding La Folie sour brown ale. Others have included Cascara Quad, a Belgian dark strong ale made with dates and coffee cherries; Paardebloem, an ale brewed with peach juice and dandelion greens; and Coconut Curry Hefeweizen. Compared to these and most of the Lips of Faith series, Stout sounds a bit mainstream.

Don't mistake mainstream with ordinary, though, because Stout is a big beer that's loaded with flavor. The flavors are a great combination of dark roasted malts, coffee, and dark chocolate. It's a very balanced beer that doesn't tilt too far in any one direction, with the flavors playing nicely off each other. My only critique is that the body feels somewhat thin for this style, but that doesn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the beer. It's a great cold weather beer, and one I hope New Belgium continues to brew periodically.

Indulge in the Flavors, Save on Time & Money

Are you in the mood for a delicious seafood meal paired with an excellent beer? Seafood restaurants can be pricey, but it can also be tricky to cook seafood at home. However, there's an alternative option. Some grocery stores have great ready-to-eat items to take home, and making a stop at a good liquor store gives you a chance to pick the right beer for your meal.

Seafood and fish have some intricate flavors, from light and delicate to strong and rich. When it comes to crab, lobster, and shrimp, beers with a paler malt profile and moderate hop character make the most sense. Specifically, I've found that Belgian styles with these elements go particularly well with seafood, as the complex fruity esters created by the Belgian yeast complement the light yet rich flavors in the food. Some examples are Belgian blonde ales, tripels, golden ales and saisons.

For a recent meal, I picked up shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon dip with tortilla chips, and lobster salad with a focaccia roll. For my beer, I chose Le Merle Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale, or Saison, from North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California. Le Merle is part of North Coast's American Artisan Series. It pours a slightly hazy golden color, with an aroma bursting of citrus, white wine, honey and pepper. The mouthfeel is very carbonated, and the bubbles give way to flavors of pears, citrus, pepper, and a buttery richness. Le Merle matches up perfectly with all the flavor components in the meal: the light and crisp shrimp, the moderate richness of the lobster salad, and the strong smoky flavors of the salmon dip.
 
There's certainly nothing wrong with picking up pre-made items and calling it an excellent meal, especially if you have the right beer to make it complete. Of course, there's never just one "right" beer or style for a meal. With so many new craft beers constantly being brewed, never has there been a better time for creating some excellent pairings of your own.