Crazy Mountain Adds a Big Offering to Its Lineup of Cans

Big beers packaged in cans are nothing new, but it's always nice to hear of a brewery going this route. As cans continue to be a popular packaging option, some breweries aren't afraid to put some of their higher end, more decadent beers in cans. One older example is Ten FIDY Imperial Stout from Oskar Blues Brewery. This beer has been available in cans seasonally since 2007. The almost cult-like status Ten FIDY has achieved is proof that many consumers will purchase great beer regardless of its package. The latest big beer in a can to hit shelves in Colorado is a barley wine ale called Lawyers, Guns & Money from Crazy Mountain Brewing Company in Edwards, Colorado.

Most of the beers that Crazy Mountain has brewed for distribution have been packaged in cans, so canning a beer like Lawyers, Guns & Money was the natural progression for the brewery. They also recently released in cans their Old Soul Strong Belgian Ale. Both beers had been brewed and released previously, but their availability in cans is new for the brewery. Crazy Mountain was founded in 2010 by Kevin and Marisa Selvy, who moved from San Francisco to the Vail Valley with the dream of starting a brewery. Their tasty brews, which cover a wide variety of ales, have quickly caught on in Colorado and beyond, thanks to high quality and the draw of craft beer in cans. More portable and ideal for the outdoors, cans are a great packaging option for any brewery.

Lawyers, Guns & Money is an American take on the barley wine style, with a big focus on complex hop flavors. It's a hefty and strong beer, at 10 percent ABV, that hits on all the right notes as a barley wine. The beer features a robust and complex malt profile that's balanced well with a large dose of American hop varieties. Crazy Mountain ratchets up the hop flavor and aroma by dry-hopping during fermentation, and their use of Belgian candi sugar adds another layer of malty richness. As you'd expect, this beer is like a huge party on the palate - sweet, bitter, intricate, intense, and very satisfying. It's a strong ale that's big on character and drinkability.

Do yourself a favor, if you get the chance, and grab a 4-pack of Lawyers, Guns & Money. While this beer tastes great fresh, it's also the kind of beer that can be aged in the can, so maybe save one to enjoy during the colder months.

Deschutes "Fresh Squeezed" Exemplifies the Evolution of American IPAs

It's safe to say that American craft beer drinkers love hops. The American IPA style is arguably the most popular beer style in the nation, with thousands of versions produced from craft breweries large and small. Yes, they're bitter, but American IPAs, including stronger imperial versions, are packed full of complex flavors that always beg for another sip. American hops varieties like Centennial, Amarillo, and Cascade have helped define American IPAs with their citrus, grapefruit, and other tropical fruit qualities. As craft brewing has evolved, so has the base of brewing ingredients, and new hops varieties are being bred and engineered all the time.

Many craft breweries want to push the envelope on innovation, and routinely embrace the use of newer and experimental hops varieties. Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon uses the relatively newer varieties of Citra and Mosaic as the core aroma and flavor hops in their exceptional Fresh Squeezed IPA. Deschutes formed in 1988, and has consistently put out a wide variety of great beer throughout the years. It's not surprising that Fresh Squeezed is so delicious given Deschutes' reputation, but it really does stand out in an American IPA market that's closing in on saturation.

When Fresh Squeezed is poured into a glass, a thick head of foam is accompanied by an aroma of grapefruit, orange, and tropical fruits. It's a very pleasant preview of the thirst-quenching flavors to come. The key to this beer is balance, as the sturdy malt presence melds very well with the hops flavors. The Mosaic and Citra hops impart flavors of grapefruit and lemon, with slight bit of pine. While bitterness is low for the style, it's there on the finish but gives way to zest and spiciness. Smooth and easy drinking, this excellent American IPA shows more depth than most of its kind. Fresh Squeezed is a refreshingly different kind of IPA, and definitely one to seek out.

Coda Brewing Brings Creative and Delicious Beer to Aurora

Craft breweries in Colorado continue to open, and some can be found in rather unlikely places. One such brewery is Coda Brewing Company, located in northwest Aurora in a development that's adjacent to the northern edge of Anschutz Medical Campus. Coda opened in May with the focus of brewing experimental beers, some with unconventional ingredients, and pairing their beer with music.

In many ways, setting up shop next to a massive medical school and hospital complex makes plenty of sense. The campus and surrounding area, where I work for my full-time job, continues to grow. It's a huge employer from which to draw customers to try Coda's elixirs. It's also very close to the RTD Light Rail line that's being built and will connect lines from downtown Denver, the southeast part of the metro area, and Denver International Airport. I recently stopped in to see what Coda's all about, and had a very enjoyable brewery experience. The service is friendly and personal, and the beer is definitely up to par.

The Coda taproom is medium-sized, with seating for roughly 50 people, and includes a small patio. It's a simple environment, with a cement ceiling, floors and beams, and exposed piping. Wooden tables, chairs, and a nice sealed wood bar give it a rustic charm. There's also a stage built in, allowing for live music at any time. According to Coda's Facebook page, brewer and co-founder Luke Smith is a former microbiologist and researcher, and also a musician who performs with a band based in the town of Golden. Connecting beer to music is a priority for Smith and co-founder Scott Procop, and some beers have been named in honor of Smith's musical collaborations with different bands.

During my visit, five beers were on tap - a Munich Helles lager called The Black Seeds, a Belgian wit called Wit 10, a red ale called Dogcatcher, along with a nitro version of that beer, and a double IPA called Elwood. I tried all five as tasters, which came in small Pyrex beakers. The Helles is crisp and refreshing, with a light, bready malt character associated with the style. The use of New Zealand hops adds an extra spicy and peppery character that enhances the beer. The wit, brewed with lemongrass, coriander, and orange peel, is equally as refreshing, with a flavor combination of lemon, citrus, and other fruity esters from the Belgian ale yeast. The red ale is brewed with orange blossom honey, and the standard version is a robust beer with a hefty malt presence and substantial hop bitterness. Its great balance makes it fairly smooth and very drinkable despite its initial aggressive nature. In the nitro version, the nitrogen gives the red ale a different complexion - sweeter malts, less hop flavors, but just as bitter. The double IPA features big citrus and tropical fruit flavors, with lighter malts to balance it out. It's strong, delicious, and goes down easy.

These beers comprise just a selection of the ones Coda has brewed in the past and plans to brew, but they show that this new brewery should be taken seriously. Coda Brewing combines innovation, creativity, and brewing expertise to create finished products that truly shine.

Big Belgians and More From Elevation Beer Co.

At its best, the beer style of Belgian tripel ale is a mesmerizing enigma: complex, yet approachable; strong, but very smooth and pleasant. It packs a punch with its higher alcohol content, but goes quite easy on the palate with its lack of bitterness or aggressive character. Belgian tripel ales are relatively easy to find as well. In addition to some great tripel ales from Belgian breweries widely available, many American craft breweries distribute their own versions of the style. One excellent tripel I picked up recently is Third Base Belgian Style Tripel Ale from Elevation Beer Company in Poncha Springs, Colorado.

In existence for only two years, Elevation has made a big push to become one of Colorado's notable up-and-coming craft breweries. Part of their focus includes barrel-aged and other specialty beers, and their complete lineup covers a wide range of styles. Elevation brews other Belgian styles as well, two of which are the equally outstanding Apis IV Quadrupel and a barrel-aged farmhouse ale called Signal De Botrange. Third Base is one of Elevation's spring seasonal releases. Its smooth and refreshing character makes it a lovely treat on a warm afternoon or evening, and the 750 milliliter bottle makes it easy to share with friends.

Third Base pours a translucent golden color with a medium head of foam. From the glass come aromas of Belgian ale yeast, pale malts, fruit, and spices. Taking a sip, the beer feels medium-bodied, moderately-carbonated, and creamy. Esters, which are flavor compounds from the yeast, are everywhere in the taste - fruit flavors of pineapple and pear, with a subtle spiciness. The use of candi sugar in the brewing process also adds some sweetness and complexity, while noble hops play in the background without adding much bitterness. Like many great tripel ales, it's hard to believe Third Base contains 9 percent alcohol by volume.

Elevation Beer Company has impressed me so far in the short time they've been brewing commercially. With well-crafted beers like Third Base, they stand out fairly well in an artisanal Colorado beer market that's becoming increasingly crowded. Check out Elevation's beer if you get a chance at your local beer bar or store.

Reimagining the Traditional Pairing of German Beer and Pork

A good German wheat beer, called a hefeweizen or weissbier, has distinct characteristics that make it unique. Anyone who has become familiar with this style will recognize its cloudy, unfiltered appearance, and the aroma and flavors of banana, citrus and spices. A hefeweizen is a delicious, refreshing beer that's great for enjoying any time of the year. Its darker sibling, the dunkelweizen, offers all the elements of a hefeweizen, but with another layer of malty depth.

Like a hefeweizen, at least 50 percent of the grains used in a dunkelweizen recipe must be malted wheat. The remainder of the grains used are Vienna or Munich malts, giving it a richer, maltier character and darker appearance. Noble hops provide bitterness, but their influence is minimal and hard to detect. Fermentation with weizen ale yeast gives this beer its signature fruity esters and spiciness, and the finished product is an approachable, easy-drinking darker wheat beer. Dunkelweizen is perfect on its own, but also pairs very well with a wide variety of foods due to its complex, yet tame, flavor profile.

I recently paired one dunkelweizen from Germany, the Erdinger Weissbrau Hefeweizen Dunkel, with a favorite light and flavorful recipe that brought out the best in the food and beer. The meal, which my wife, Kris, makes often, is a salad that features a bed of spinach and anjou pears that's topped with pieces of pork tenderloin. The pork has been cooked with a mixture of dried cranberries, shallots, Dijon mustard, thyme, garlic, and several other ingredients. The dunkelweizen complements the meal perfectly - the spices cooked into the pork are met with the beer's subtle spiciness, the pear and cranberries are balanced with the fruity esters from the yeast, and the darker malts stand up well to the pork's flavors. This is the kind of food and beer pairing that's sure to please and satisfy a wide range of palates.

Many American craft breweries have embraced the dunkelweizen style, either in regular rotation or as a seasonal offering. Seek them out and give them a try at breweries and taprooms. If you're looking to enjoy one at home, I don't often see dunkelweizens packaged for distribution, so German imports from breweries like Erdinger, Ayinger, Schneider Weisse and Hacker-Pschorr are probably your best bet.