Manitou Brewing Co. – September 2019 Visit

September 18, 2019 Jesse

Mike and I took advantage of our wives spending the afternoon with friends to take our kids to the Manitou Penny Arcade which just so happens to be conveniently located near Manitou Brewing Company. So, of course we couldn’t pass up this opportunity to stop in and check it out. I have to admit that I’m kicking myself for not making the effort to get here sooner. The beer was delicious and the service was excellent.

Anyone who’s tried to find parking during the summer tourist season in Colorado mountain towns in the past, could understand if I told them that I was apprehensive about making the trip to Manitou Springs on a warm, late summer day. My fears were for naught, however. There was plenty of parking to be had at a nearby metered parking lot. Once inside, we easily found seating for six and were served quickly, ordering beers for Mike and I and fries and water for the kids. I was later told by the “pub-reviewers-in-training” that the french fries were most excellent. One thing that I might suggest to MBC would be that hand-crafted soda would be a fantastic addition to their menu.

We continued the practice of ordering half-pints of the beers so we could sample a few more than we could if we ordered full pints.

Wheat Up, Peaches! – 5.5% ABV – Even without the peach flavor, this would be a good American wheat beer. The peach was present in the aroma and really came through at the finish. As I let the beer warm a bit, the coriander started coming through as well.

Sucker for You – 5.1% – This was only offered in a 13 oz pour, but, considering the “half pours” are 10 oz, I thought I’d be OK with an extra 3 ounces. I was warned when I order this that it would be sour. It really wasn’t. It was pleasantly tart, however and the blackberries were very present. Light and refreshing, it’s the prefect beer after an afternoon of shopping in Manitou.

High Ground IPA – 6.9% – As much as I was enjoying the Peach and Blackberry beers, I wanted to finish the day with a non-fruity beer so I decided to try one of the IPAs on tap. I’m not sorry I did – this is a really solid IPA. True to style and well balanced, I’d be happy drinking this anytime.

[Mike]
I had heard that the brewers at Manitou brewing knew what they were doing, and I have to say, I agree. It ended up being a worthwhile evening adventure for everyone involved, and we had some really great beer too!

First off, the Penny Arcade is a good time, it has quite a few pinball machines, both new, old, and really old, scattered throughout the buildings. I happen to love pinball, so I’m already on board. If that isn’t enough, they also have the classic games from my youth, like PAC-Man, Rampage, Galaga etc, as well as newer games and the classic games you would expect from a carnival or amusement park, like Skee-ball. The kids always have a good time, and you can play forever on about $20 if you choose your games wisely.

The Manitou Brewing Company is located pretty close to the Penny Arcade, and at the brewery, the kids were happy to get a couple of platters of fries and hang out with their buddies, while Jesse and I geeked out on the beer. I have to say, not only was the beer top notch, but the service was pretty excellent! I think it won’t be hard to find more “excuses” to head out to Manitou in the future.

Here’s the limited number of beverages I was able to sample:

Burro Barn Brown Ale – 5.5% ABV – American Brown Ale – This is a great Brown Ale, I mean really good. Nice and malty, with some chocolate flavors hanging around. It’s pretty balanced, not a whole lot of hoppiness, which really lets the malt shine. Delicious!

Dry Irish Nitro Stout – 4.7% ABV – I’m not very well versed in Dry Irish stouts, but if this is any example of the style, I’m going to have to get much more familiar with it. Much lighter than you would expect, considering the style name and color. Had some nice roast flavors, malty, not cloying at all, and of course, dry. Really enjoyed it!

Rastafarye – I enjoyed this beer a whole lot. I haven’t had many rye ales, and every time I hear one described, “spicy” is always mentioned. I have to say, I didn’t get much spiciness from this one, but I don’t know yet exactly what spicy is describing. It was delicious, lightly sweet, lightly malty, and I guess it’s another style I’m going to have to delve into a bit more.

Beers we’ve reviewed at Manitou: