Day 2

OK--I am still a day behind so bear with me...
We partook in the Denver Microbrew tour. Tour guide was Steve who took a shot at educating all of us on the different types of beer, 4 steps in tasting, etc. plus a little history of Denver. Passed around samples of barley, roasted barley, and hops. He did a fine job. There were 18 of us in all, including 2 from Durham and 2 from Rock Hill SC.

First stop--Breckenridge near Coor Field. Although they don't brew there, they do brew at another location in Denver. First was Agave Wheat which we thought was a very good wheat beer. Second was Vanilla Porter. As predicted, Priscilla liked it a little more than I did but it was drinkable to me. The final tasting was their Lucky You IPA which we had not had before. It was a good IPA--hoppy but not over the top. I may add we had a hophead on the tour so he was looking for a bigger IPA.

Second stop--Falling Rock Tap House--not a brewery but more than 100 beers! First was Avery White Rascal. Those of you who know me would predict I would not drink this one but I found it quite drinkable! Second was Odell's 90 Shilling--a very good middle of the road ale. Finally was the hophead's dream--Odell's Mercenary Double IPA. The gals from Rock Hill were not ready for it...

Third stop--Wynkoop. First was their B3K Schwarzbier which drew good reviews from everyone. Second was their St. Charles ESB which was OK but not as good as the Schwarzbier.

Last stop was Rock Bottom which has several different locations across the country but each location as their own brewmaster who has latitude in what they produce. It was also close to our hotel, which was a good thing after sampling 10 brews. First was their Tigers Blood IPA--another good one from my standpoint. Second was their Red Ale which was just OK. Several of us hung around afterwards and ended up having their Schwarzbier--Ok but not great.

OK--so by this time we decided we needed something to eat. We stopped at a small pizza place close to the hotel. People were there but we were told they were closed for a private party. Then decided to co-opt me because they were celebrating Father's Day. They forced me to down a shot of Crown Royale to be sociable...then I got out of there. We ended up at the hotel ordering pizza and of course had to try another one--Odell's wheat beer--a good one to end the day/night on.

So--to recap--we tried 12 different brews plus of course my shot of Crown Royale. The next day will be spent drying out...until late afternoon. Maybe tomorrow I can catch up when we get to Jackson WY!