Brewer’s Republic Visit February 2020

February 19, 2020 Mike

This week we headed to downtown Colorado Springs to a beer bar / tap house that we’ve been to before, but it was way back when we did our Downtown Pub Crawl. At the time we were pretty impressed with the selection on tap, but we limited ourselves to one pint. We had many more stops to make, and didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but we resolved to come back. Which of course, we did.

We had a pretty full table this time around, with regulars Jerry and Dave joining us, and some new faces, John and Drew, who were able to join in the fun.

I’ll tell you, it was a pretty good night to be inside and enjoying a beer. The temps have been pretty low lately, and it gets pretty chilly in the evenings. It’s nice to be able to see the snow and cold outside through big glass windows while you’re sipping delicious beverages with friends.

On to the beers:

Where the Helles Santa – Helles Lager – Tivoli Brewing Company – 5.1% ABV

Tivoli says they “got festive and threw some Cranberry into our original lager”. I know it’s not Reinheitsgebot, but I sure approve. With a light berry aroma, slightly tart, light cranberry flavor, this one is a winner. I’ll have to keep an eye out for this next Christmas time. Heck, I’ll just keep an eye out for it in general.

Sour Monkey – Victory Brewing Company – Sour – 9.5% ABV

This was just delicious. Had a light Brett aroma and flavor, with fruit and citrus. No funk that I picked up, which would have been even better, still an incredibly drinkable beer. I would call it moderately sour and tart.

Moondoor Dunkel – 5.5% ABV – Wibby Brewing

Everything I had was great, but this one was probably my favorite. Rich and delicious, it had a chocolaty flavor to it. It really hit the spot. Medium bodied, it was a beer you took your time with.

I enjoyed it so much that I had to search for Wibby Brewing, and seeing as they’re in Longmont, and specialize in German lagers with an American Twist, it’s safe to say this won’t be the last you hear of Wibby brewing on this site.

[Jesse]
Even when we go to taprooms around these parts, I typically try to limit myself to “local” beers (and by that I mean Colorado). This evening, however, I thought I’d stray from my self imposed restriction and try some beers or breweries from far-away lands that I may have heard about, and have been wanting to try.

Hell – Surly Brewing – Helles lager – 5% ABV 20 IBU

I’ve been on a little bit of a lager / Helles kick lately having just discovered my fondness for the style so I thought I’d give this one a go. I’m glad I did. This one reminded me of the helles beers that I had while drinking the 2019 Brewers Advent Calendar a few months ago.

It had a nice malty sweetness with just a little bit of a hoppy bitterness at the finish. The mouthfeel was pleasant as well in that it had a light to medium body to it.

Pseudo Sue – Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. – Pale Ale – 5.8% ABV 45 IBU

One of the “things” that I catch myself doing a lot, especially lately, is to be influenced in what beer I want to try by people talking about it on social media. I try to avoid doing it, but sometime I get caught up in the hype. Sometimes, this works out amazingly well, other time…well, not so much.

This is one of those “other times”. I frequently see people raving about King Sue from Toppling Goliath so when I saw Pseudo Sue I thought that I simply had to have it.

The problem is that hazy / juicy / New England style pale ales have lost their appeal for me and this one is a textbook example of one. If you’re into that type of beer, and a lot of people are, I think you’d love this beer.

It’s a juicy / hazy pale ale with a dusty grapefruit or grapefruit peel hop finish. The flavors didn’t seem to build up over the course of the half-pint I had so I think having a full pint wouldn’t over saturate your palate with it.

Powder Session – Comrade Brewing – IPA – 5.3% ABV

I succumbed to the power of persuasion again and ordered my only Colorado beer of the evening based on the brewery’s performance at GABF. Denver based Comrade was named the 2019 Small Brewery of the Year and a lot of the chatter on social media confirmed that this is a great brewery.

Well, this is one of the time that listening to the folks on social media paid off for me. This is a delicious beer.

This beer is a west coast IPA (my preferred style of IPA these days) that is well balanced and mellow. It starts with a great malty sweetness and finishes with just the right amount of hop bitterness.

Java Latte – Victory Brewing Company – Coffee Stout – 8.2% ABV 30 IBU
Apologies for the terrible photo

As I had finished my last beer, but the conversation was still going strong, I thought I give a nod to stout month.

I can keep this one brief – If you’re a fan of coffee flavored stout beer, this one is a must have for you.

The coffee flavor dominates this beer but, and this is worth noting, it’s not too much. It flirts with the “too much coffee” line without actually crossing it.

Beers we’ve enjoyed at Brewer’s Republic