I'd like to welcome a brand new brewery to the Denver area, a region whose brewing culture keeps getting richer. Chain Reaction Brewing Company is a nanobrewery in south Denver that's big on quality and variety. It opened today to a thirsty crowd that was eager to try the broad selection of creative beers that's generated a lot of buzz in recent weeks.
Chain Reaction was started by cousins Chad and Zack Christofferson, who have been brewing for about five years. They decided to take the plunge and open their own brewery, choosing to brew on a one-barrel system. As a nanobrewery, which is a brewery producing beer on a three-barrel system or smaller, they'll have the tall task of keeping plenty of beer available to serve. The Christoffersons seem to have learned a lot watching some nanobreweries struggle to keep up with demand in recent months, so they've decided to serve 16 beers at any given time. Chad, the head brewer, started brewing in May to get ready for the grand opening. They have six fermenters that can hold two barrels of beer, or a double batch, and four fermenters that can hold one barrel. They'll ferment small batch beers in kegs.
The taproom and brewery is housed in a somewhat industrial area of south Denver on Lipan Street. Beautiful wood is the hallmark of the taproom decor, including the bar and tables. It's wood that's been logged from beetle kill near the town of Tabernash, and milled at the Christofferson's family facility in the Denver area. The taproom is in the front part of the brewery space, with the bar in the middle, and the production space in the back. At today's grand opening, the taproom quickly began to fill shortly after business got underway. The staff on hand for Chain Reaction was nothing short of professional and friendly. The bartenders were extremely busy and worked hard to keep up with beer pours, while Zack, Chad and others frequently made their way around to each table to chat and check in with customers.
The beer at Chain Reaction was some of the best I've had from such a small brewery. With 16 beers on tap, getting a taste of everything wasn't quite feasible, but that's a wonderful problem for a customer to have. I sampled a nice variety, including all six flagship beers and a handful of seasonals. A lot of hop-forward beers dot the taplist, including a pale ale, red ale, IPA, Rye IPA, and Lemon IPA. Fans of beer that's on the more malty side can currently find an amber ale, English mild, brown ale, and barley wine. The easy drinking beers include the pink peppercorn saison, orange cream ale, pale wheat, and cilantro serrano lime wheat. For fans of the dark side, a Belgian rye stout is part of the flagship lineup, and the crème brûlée imperial milk stout is a seasonal that made an appearance Saturday before going underground until the winter. The incredibly delicious crème brûlée is creamy and sweet, with huge chocolate and roasted malt flavors. In addition to this one, some of my favorites so far are the IPA, lemon IPA, pink peppercorn saison, and Belgian rye stout. It's a hard choice though, since everything I tried exuded complexity and excellence.
Chain Reaction plans to be open four days a week, Thursday through Sunday. With the start they had at the grand opening, there's no doubt this will quickly become a popular Denver taproom.
No comments:
Post a Comment