The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [70]
The fact is that this is what matters in a small town: fresh beer, and no Big Country attitude. And while Ourayle House might not have cultivated the time-consuming brewing techniques of, say, Avery, or the polish and feel-good politics of New Belgium, there was something about it that night that made me feel I might well have found the best brewpub in the world. Hutch was sliding side to side on his bar swing, clutching a giant bierstein from Munich’s Hoffbräu Haus, a couple of regulars hooting and egging him on. “I didn’t move here to see how much money I could make, or to see how much beer I could make,” he said. “And I didn’t come to Ourayle looking for a nice place to live—I was looking for a nice place to die. I get to kayak, I get to ski, snowboard, mountain climb; there’s unbelievable cycling out here. You know, I brew beer when I just have to come up with money for a new toy, basically, to support what I really want to do. It’s rewarding—I’ve done a lot of brewing, too, and I really love it.”
I loved it, too, and paused for a few more minutes to hang out with Hutch and have a few sips of his Biscuit Amber, a malty, copper-hued brew that really needs to be consumed whilst seated in a rocking chair by the woodstove. This was one of the places I was looking for, long before I knew I was looking for it. But for me it was also time to make the white-knuckle drive to Durango over Red Mountain (see “The Million Dollar Highway,”). On the way out, I told Hutch I’d be back and paused to contemplate one last sign. It read, YOU HAVE THE FREE WILL TO FOLLOW YOUR DESTINY HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE. If the good-beer life be a choice, as it was for Hutch, then I’m in.
The MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY
US Route 550 snakes between Montrose and Durango, Colorado; up, through, and over Ute Indian country, the Uncompahgre Gorge, several historic towns, and a spate of precipitous passes. The Million Dollar Highway is the route’s most famous section; Russian immigrant engineer Otto Mears somehow managed to build this 23-mile stretch between Ouray and Silverton, a tortuous curlicue of switchbacks following old stagecoach routes and mining roads (and lacking almost any guardrails above the plunging ravines).
It’s a wonder he ever finished. Soaring skyward through a series of tight turns overlooking void-like chasms, the road tops 11,018-foot Red Mountain before easing—mercifully—down into Silverton. No one’s sure if the Million Dollar nickname comes from the richness of those mines, now quiet, or the quality of the views. And while this particular road is the only direct route between Ouray’s excellent breweries and Silverton and Durango beyond, it’s not a drive to be taken at night, or in a gutless car, or with even the slightest buzz from one of Ouray’s excellent local watering holes. On a good day, it’s a white-knuckler; in darkness and driving sleet (as I drove it) it’s a roll of the dice.
Durango
DURANGO
BREWING CO.
3000 Main Ave. • Durango, CO 81301
(970) 247-3396 • durangobrewing.com • Established: 1990
SCENE & STORY
Just the third brewery established in the state of Colorado, Durango Brewing Company’s taproom is located perfectly for the local après-skiers headed back to town from Durango Mountain Resort, aka DMR, who huddle around its U-shaped bar. It’s worth noting that the resort was founded under the name Purgatory, after a group of Spanish soldiers who got lost and perished exploring the area, and for a flat area near the base of the mountain where later miners without money for a toll road would find themselves stuck. It’s also famed for ample snowfall (260 inches per year), so locals ski religiously, and drink with gusto. The taproom was recently (and tastefully) remodeled after a freight train