The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [62]
PHILOSOPHY
From end-to-end, GABF is a celebration of everything that craft beer has achieved in the United States—the vibrancy, the variety, the quality, the fun, and ambition behind it all. What’s missing is adequate space for food vendors whose ambitions equal that of the brewers. One solution would be to dedicate an entire row to food carts, the gourmet type that pack in customers in New York City and Portland, Oregon. But no matter what, it’s impossible not to come away awed at what America’s small breweries have achieved, and with a broad smile on your face.
KEY BEER
They’re all key. The question is, which one will you try next?
HIGHWAY to ALE
Mercator has his world map, but true beer lovers will fall in love with the ultimate map of Colorado’s beer scene, the Beer Drinker’s Guide to Colorado. The 27 x 40-inch topo chart can be ordered flat and folded, laminated, or rolled, and includes over 120 destinations, with a table for computing driving distances and $150 worth of coupons for beer and free glassware. From $12.95 plus shipping; beerdrinkersguidetocolorado.com; (719) 636-3565.
WYNKOOP
BREWING CO.
1634 18th St. • Denver, CO 80202
(303) 297-2700 • wynkoop.com • Established: 1988
SCENE & STORY
The Wynkoop as it’s sometimes known is a vast, three-story bar with acres of pool tables on the second floor and an inviting downstairs area. The place holds a special place in Colorado beer history: Colorado Governor (and former Denver Mayor) John Hickenlooper was part of the vanguard that made it Colorado’s first brewpub. (The company recently returned the favor by brewing him an “InaugurAle” for his January 2011 swearing-in.)
Housed in a massive brick fortress known as the J. S. Brown Mercantile Building (built in 1899), Wynkoop has preserved many vestiges of an earlier time without devolving into a kitschy tourist trap, which easily could have happened. It’s the home of monthly poetry and science enthusiast meetups (known as “Café Scientifique”), comedy and burlesque shows, beer dinners, and the Beer Drinker of the Year contest, which is a bit more serious than it sounds. This is a very nice place to meet some local beer lovers, or simply enjoy a beer and catch a game.
PHILOSOPHY
Wynkoop feels traditional, local, and a bit roadhouse-esque inside, utterly Western. The owners have long taken great pains to reduce their carbon footprint. It’s a no-frills, friendly operation, with malt-forward beers that are generally well made and quite sessionable.
KEY BEER
Railyard Ale, at 5.2% ABV, is a straightforward, copper-hued session beer somewhat similar in flavor to an Oktoberfest or Märzen-style beer, but with a more fruity finish that takes it in another direction. Like many Rocky Mountain brews, it’s more on the slightly sweet, malty side, good for extended pool games. Hop heads will want to try Mile Hi-P.A., an American IPA, and Mister Fister, a Double IPA (also known as IIPA), both of which are well-made, big, brassy beers with ample but not too much bitterness.
DETOUR
CHARLIE PAPAZIAN
Not many brewers are asked for their autograph. But not many brewers have résumés like Charlie Papazian’s: The University of Virginia-trained, former nuclear engineer heads up the Brewers Association (an industry group representing some 1,000 of America’s craft breweries), launched the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in 1981 and Zymurgy magazine, and authored the home brewers’ bible, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, in 1984 (now sailing beyond 25 reprintings,