Craft Beer Tour 2019: Nampa and Meridian, ID
These photos were taken Friday, October 11, day 12 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. The photos were taken at Crescent Brewery and 2C Family Brewing in Nampa, and Ram Restaurant and Brewery, in Meridian, Idaho.
As this was going to be my last day in Idaho, my friend Catherine and I decided to head out to the Nampa area. This is my second year in the Boise area, and I have always wanted to check out Mother Earth in Nampa, but they are only open three days a week and they don’t open until 4:00 PM. I figured there had to be something else there, and sure enough I found two; within a five minute walk of each other. Continue reading
Craft Beer Tour 2019: Boise and Garden City, ID
These photos were taken Thursday, October 10, day 11 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. The photos were taken at Edge Brewing and Woodland Empire in Boise, and Bella Brewing in Garden City, Idaho.
As I am spending three days in the Boise area, I wanted to split my time up evenly; and have new places to visit the next time I come here. Edge Brewing had been mentioned by a friend or two; and Woodland Empire was recommended by Charlie; the guy I had met at Square State Brewing; his recommendation of Western Collective was enough for me to trust his recommendation of Woodland Empire. Continue reading
Craft Beer Tour 2019: Garden City and Boise, ID
The first few photos were taken Tuesday, October 8, on my drive from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Meridian, Idaho. As I was almost in a major accident, once I reached my destination in Meridian, I decided I was not going to press my luck and stayed in for the night. The beer photos were taken Wednesday, October 9, day 10 of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. Those photos were taken at Western Collective in Garden City, Idaho, and Cloud 9 Brewery in Boise, Idaho.
Tuesday I spent five hours driving a very scenic but tedious drive from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to Meridian, Idaho. I followed my GPS which took my on what was probably a weird route, but it was scenic. I only passed one brewery but it was far too early for it to be open. About 100 miles from my end destination an oncoming car tried to pass a truck and didn’t notice me; or he was playing chicken. I don’t know, but by the time I reached my friend’s home in Meridian I was done for the day. Craft Beer Tour 2019 was going to have to resume on Wednesday. Continue reading
Craft Beer Tour 2019: Pinedale and Jackson, WY
These photos were taken Monday, October 7, day eight of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Wind River Brewing in Pinedale Wyoming, followed by Roadhouse Brewing and Snake River Brewing in Jackson Wyoming.
If you have are a regular reader you might recall that I attempted to visit Jackson Hole last year but was denied due to a forest fire. As I backtracked to Rock Springs I came upon Wind River Brewing, but they were too busy and after a significant wait, I left. Someone from there did reach out to me later and explained that due to the fire they were extremely busy, so I decided I would give them another chance. Continue reading
Craft Beer Tour 2019: Rock Springs, WY
These photos were taken Sunday, October 6, day seven of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Square State Brewing in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Regular readers may recall that I discovered Square State Brewing last year when I got detoured from Jackson Hole due to a massive forest fire. I enjoyed the experience enough that I went ahead and made it a scheduled stop this year. I left Denver this morning, and I do not plan on doing any drives that take more than six or seven hours this year; so the four hour drive to Rock Springs was ideal. Continue reading
2019 Great American Beer Festival – Day Three
These photos were taken Saturday, day three of the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival which is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
After the GABF Awards ceremony, everyone headed to the convention center for the first of the two sessions scheduled for day three of the Great American Beer Festival and the Brewer Lunch which was put on by Yeti. After a quick sandwich I headed back into the hall to visit parts of the country I had missed the first two days, like the Southwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic breweries. Continue reading
Photos From the 2019 GABF Awards Ceremony
These photos were taken Saturday morning at the Brewers Association GABF Awards ceremony, which was held in the Bellco Theatre at the Colorado Convention Center.
This year, the competition portion of GABF was the largest ever with 9,497 entries from 2,295 breweries across the country. To say the competition was stiff would be an understatement. Some of the biggest surprises for some were not who won, but who didn’t. Continue reading
2019 Great American Beer Festival – Day Two
These photos were taken Friday, day two of the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival which is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
My day had a relatively early start as I joined a media tour of three relatively new Denver breweries with Visit Denver and about 40 other media types.
Our first stop was Dos Luces Brewery. All Dos Luces beers start with corn as the main ingredient, and they brew Chicha and Pulque styles which come from the major cultures of Pre-Columbian North and South America. Continue reading
2019 Great American Beer Festival – Day One
These photos were taken Thursday, day one of the Brewers Association Great American Beer Festival which is being held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
My day started off at Park Burger Rino, where Jameson Irish Whiskey hosted a VIP Happy Hour featuring Caskmates; the Irish whiskey that was aged in whiskey barrels that formerly held barrel-aged beer. Attendees were treated to cocktails made with Caskmates, appetizers, and a demonstration on putting a barrel together.
After that I headed over to the Colorado Convention Center to attend Sierra Nevada’s Sneak Preview of their 40th Anniversary. Sierra Nevada’s founder Ken Grossman was there with the original 10bbl brewhouse he constructed 40 years ago. Apparently they are taking it on tour around the country; who knows where it will end up or who will brew with it next. Continue reading
Craft Beer Tour 2019: Colorado Springs, CO
These photos were taken Wednesday, October 2, day three of Craft Beer Tour 2019; my annual craft beercation taken before and after the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in Denver. These photos were taken at Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
A couple weeks before leaving home I reached out to some old friends that I have not seen in over a decade, that happen to live in Colorado Springs. It was decided that I would pop into town on my way to Denver for a visit and a beer; however, they had something come up that prevented the meetup. Since I had already planned on stopping by Colorado Springs anyway I looked at the list of potential breweries and picked Bristol Brewing solely because they have been brewing in Colorado Springs since 1994; once again, my instincts did not fail me; they brew outstanding beer. Continue reading