Alesong goes to Denver!
As we’ve started this brewery, one of the biggest takeaways we’ve had so far is how much there is to do besides making beer! We’ve been doing plenty of brewing, of course, filling barrels for releases coming this summer and a limited “soft release” of non-barrel aged beers in June and July, but there’s tons to do in other areas as well. Some are not too fun (legal and administrative requirements), but others can be pretty awesome. A quick trip to Denver to start getting things set up for Great American Beer Festival and a visit to a few of our friends and like-minded brewers falls into the latter category.
First stop – Crooked Stave. They’ve put a lot of work into their facility and it shows. We definitely have some foudre envy! Thanks to Chad and team for showing us around and sharing some wisdom as we get up and running!
Then a couple hours over the mountains to visit Troy Casey in Glenwood Springs (in the snow in our subcompact 2wd rental car – note to self: next time we upgrade to midsize for three 6’+ guys and 4wd if it’s going to snow…). He’s doing some really awesome things with mixed fermentation and we were lucky enough to witness a brew day in progress and sample from his upcoming release.
Tons of inspiration from those guys, and working on some really cool events for GABF (stay tuned!), but it’s not all work! We also caught a ball game with some friends and made sure to sample a number of Colorado’s finest breweries. For this Denver newbie, it was a pretty good intro. Excited to be going back this fall!
