Some Love for the Lagers

There's no doubt that ales are the classification of beer that dominates the American craft beer market. Top-fermenting beers cover a huge range of styles and can be produced relatively quickly, ready to be consumed within several weeks of brewing. Lagers, or bottom-fermenting beers, take more time and care to produce. Some things are definitely worth the wait, as Saint Patrick's Brewing Company has proven. This small craft brewery in Englewood, Colorado brews exclusively lagers, with an incredible range of variety and innovation.

Saint Patrick's was founded in 2012, and it currently resides in a small business park off Santa Fe Drive. The taproom is small but cozy, and the staff is inviting, knowledgeable and friendly. Saint Patrick's serves about 10 beers at any given time. Some selections will be familiar to seasoned beer drinkers as traditional lagers, like Czech pilsner, German pilsner or dunkel. Many others, when reading the names, just might blow your mind - beers like the Sour Cherry Saison or the Rawbone Dubbel Dog, which brings together elements of a Vienna lager, porter, saison, and dunkel. These beers and many others aid Saint Patrick's in achieving its mission, which is to re-invent what a lager can be. Perhaps one of the best examples of this mission in action is the Limoncello Lager, a decadent and strong but very smooth dessert beer brewed with honey.

All of Saint Patrick's beers are unfiltered, but have excellent clarity due to the lagering process. Each beer is fermented and lagered in cold tanks for 8 to 12 weeks. With this longer time period for production and limited space in its current location, the amount of different beers Saint Patrick's puts out is quite impressive. Brewmaster Chris Phelps uses a large variety of fine ingredients to come up with lagers that incorporate many elements you'd often find in ales, in addition to brewing traditional or common lager styles. Pictured below are two beers I tried on a recent visit, the Kolsch on the left and the Midnight Mocha Lager on the right. Both beers are great representations of traditional German styles. A Kolsch is typically top-fermented like an ale but then cold conditioned like a lager, so the Saint Patrick's Kolsch was similar to an authentic one. It's a refreshing light-bodied, crisp, lightly hopped and slightly sweet lager. The Midnight Mocha Lager is a Schwarzbier, with a slight variation due to the addition of lactose and honey in the brewing process. It's a dark, medium-bodied beer with low hop bitterness and lots of chocolate and coffee flavors from the roasted malt. While the Kolsch and the Midnight Mocha Lager contrast in appearance and flavor profiles, both are crisp and refreshing, and most importantly, very delicious.

Saint Patrick's Brewing Company is one of many hidden gem breweries in Colorado. They'll soon be moving to a more prominent location on Santa Fe Drive just west of downtown Littleton, with more space for brewing and serving their special lager beers. Whether you gravitate toward ales or are well-versed in lagers, Saint Patrick's is a must stop for anyone who just loves great beer.