Once upon a time in Golden, Colorado a man named Adolph Coors started a brewery bearing his name. You may have heard of it.
But around the corner from the huge Coors facility is another brewery, a microbrewery called Golden City Brewery priding itself as “The Second Largest Brewery in Golden!” Their website even mentions to “Be sure to visit the other brewery in Golden, located just 4 blocks east of us!”
I was lucky to try some of Golden City Brewery’s beers at the Beaver Creek Brews, Blues, and BarBQ Festival last summer and was excited to visit the brewery this past Tuesday. The beer was just as amazing as I remembered, and all six I got to sample were delicious! It’s not often I like every beer in a sampler, but GCB really knows how to brew a great beer. Maybe it’s something in the (fantastic) Rocky Mountain water…
The first beer I tried was the one I was most skeptical about—it is their summer seasonal chili beer. In the past, the chili beers I have tried were spicy and burned my palate, but this beer was flavorful, capturing the taste of chili peppers without the overwhelming spiciness. It was crisp and delicious, even for a spice wuss like me!
The second beer I tried in the sampler was the Evolution IPA. I’m not a huge fan of IPAs, but I was blown away by Evolution. The hops gave it the bitterness and fruitiness expected of an IPA, but the malts used balanced it out and gave it a smoothness I don’t normally associate with IPAs. It’s one of the top two IPAs I’ve ever tasted, that’s for sure!
The third beer I had is one of the beers first brewed at GCB called Clear Creek Gold Pale Ale. The malts were subdued only enough to let the citrus notes of the hops shine through without compromising the taste or the smoothness of the beer. It’s a great outdoor beer with a fresh taste.
The other beer GCB started brewing in its infancy is the Legendary Red Ale and it definitely lives up to its name. It has a gorgeous reddish colouring and a smooth taste, which seems to be a recurring theme here at Golden City Brewery. The hops and malts balance each other out perfectly, and the beer has hints of spice giving it a greater complexity.
Their autumn seasonal brew is an Oktoberfest ale. Although it has less spice than what is normally associated with Oktoberfest brews, the spice and nuttiness can definitely be tasted on the back end. It’s also lighter than most Oktoberfest styles are normally. But this doesn’t take away from the beer whatsoever. If anything, these differences add to its drinkability.
Mad Molly’s Brown Ale is fantastic—a gorgeous brown in color, with caramel and chocolate hints balanced with a crisp, malty sweetness. It’s not as filling as most of the brown ales on the market and is one of the best brown ales I’ve tasted. As it warmed up a bit, the ale released more flavors, becoming even more delicious than when it was poured.
Finally, the Oatmeal Stout. Probably my favorite beer of the sampler. The beer was extremely smooth and not too bitter, despite the addition of the oats to the process. It has hints of chocolate and a nuttiness in flavor. Unlike Guinness (a nitrogen beer), GCB’s Oatmeal Stout is carbonated, giving it a crispness not normally associated with stouts. I’m definitely a stout girl, and this beer complemented the gorgeous autumn afternoon perfectly!
Not only does Golden City Brewery have amazing beers, it possesses a quirkiness that is utterly endearing. The brewery was started in the Brewmaster’s machine shop behind his house. The house itself is a quaint, brick, historical building. The old carriage house is now the tasting room. And their backyard is the Biergarten. It’s warm, welcoming, and low key with picnic tables underneath the shady trees and dog friendly. And as the sun set over the Rockies, I couldn’t help but think to myself, “this is the life!”
No comments:
Post a Comment