Peaks N Pines (Colorado Springs) August 2019 Visit

September 6, 2019 Jesse

I don’t know why it’s been so long since I’ve been to Peaks N Pines, it’s in a very convenient location (for me, at least), the beer is excellent and the people are great. But, sadly, I haven’t been there is a quite some time. However, since we started this blog a little over a year ago with the mission of visiting and writing about each brewery, that forced our hand and we found ourselves there this week. A lot has happened to the Peaks N Pines folks since my last visit, most notably the opening of the new location in Fountain. I’m sorry to say I missed the festivities of opening day, but from what I heard, there was no shortage of well-wishers celebrating the grand opening.

Mike beat me there by a few minutes and found as quiet a table as was possible. The place was pretty busy with a few larger groups there having a good time. I always like seeing the local breweries busy – that means they’ll stay in business and keep making me delicious beer! One we got settled, we didn’t have to wait long for the beertender to come by and see if we had decided on something. She was so quick, in fact, that I actually hadn’t and had to shoot from the hip on my first beer. Considering she was the only one that seems to be behind the bar and how busy it was, I was surely impressed.

I was surprised at the number of beers they had on tap, I didn’t think to count but it was north of a dozen and all of them sounded pretty tempting. I didn’t notice a pattern to the styles, so there was a nice mix; a little something for everyone.

Hibiscus IPA – 7.1% 68 IBU – Honestly, I couldn’t taste any hibiscus/floral notes in this beer at all, so I was a little taken aback. However, tasting this as just an IPA (ignoring the hibiscus), I think it was one of the better IPAs I’ve had in a while. It was hop forward but still nicely balanced so the hops were the star but they didn’t overwhelm your palate. If you want a good IPA, give this one a try.

Blizzard Pilsner – 5.5% 34 IBU – I have to be brutally honest, I’m not the worlds biggest lager fan. Because of that, I don’t drink them very often and therefore, I’m not very familiar with the style. But, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m trying to expand my “beer horizons” and try new things. I’m glad I did, this is a pretty darn good pilsner. It was just as I was expecting – true to style, you might say. Light with a crisp flavor. I noticed that as it warmed up a bit it got noticeably sweeter. A definite bonus.

Double the Need for Speed Red – 5.7% 33 IBU – I usually let Mike get the red ales since he’s a fan, but I was in the mood for some malt after the pils and this seemed to be the way to go. I wasn’t wrong. This is a classic red ale, sweet and malty with a great mouthfeel. As this one warmed up, it got a bit boozy which complimented the sweet malt perfectly.

Wabo Watermelon Wheat – 5.4% 21 IBU – I thought I’d give this a try as my last 1/2 pint for the evening. I like wheat beers and I have to admit that it might be similar to the hibiscus in the Hibiscus IPA that is to say, not really present. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. The watermelon jumps out at you in the aroma and really come forth in the flavor. Fortunately, while it’s undeniably there, watermelon is a light enough flavor to not overpower the wheat characteristics of the beer. I really liked this beer. Perfect for a hot day. Oh, and it’s served with a watermelon ball as a garnish (see the pink ball at the bottom of the glass). Nice touch.

[Mike]
Jesse is the official keeper of the spreadsheet when it comes to our brewery visits, and when he told me we still haven’t written anything about Peaks N Pines, I was shocked and appalled. I mean, I’ve been there a whole bunch of times over the last year, surely we’ve written something.

If it’s convenient for Jesse to visit Peaks N Pines, it’s super convenient for me, like within walking distance. When the wife and I want to go out for a quick beer, this is usually where we head to, although we’re starting to get more choices on the south east side of Colorado Springs, we still usually end up at Peaks N Pines.

Cucumber Chili Lime – 5.4% ABV – This is going up there with some of my favorite cucumber beers. It wasn’t watery at all, which is a problem that seems to plague a lot of cucumber beers.
The aroma of cucumber flesh is pretty heavy in the aroma, so it’s easy to guess what it’s going to taste like, and then the flavor is more reminiscent of the cucumber peel.

Mouthfeel is pretty light, and then the finish leaves you with a hint of chili spiciness in the back of the throat. It’s a pretty refreshing beer, and I have to say I enjoyed it greatly. Could have used a little bit more chili spiciness and flavor, but I’m not complaining.

Backcountry Brown – 6.8% ABV – The moderate dark malt aroma is really nice, exactly what you want from a brown ale. Really nice roasty flavor that carries through all the way to the finish, and even a hint of chocolate. It’s really a great brown.

Ohana Nut Stout – 6.3% ABV – This may be a little on the light side for a stout, more of a session stout, but it’s really delicious. There’s all these levels of flavors when you drink it, the nut flavor hits you right away, then goes to a coffee flavor, and then chocolate. I really recommend trying a pint of this.

Beers we’ve reviewed at Peaks N Pines: