Western trip-day 1

OK--to start with, this is my first attempt at a blog so please bear with me!

Since the readers of these posts likely only care about beer, I will try not to bore you about non-beer matters...but... we started our trip with about 3 hours of sleep. Got into Colo Springs on time. Met Dick aka Pooh at the airport. He escorted us to Phantom Canyon Brewery where we began our brew odyssey.

First round: I had 2 Moons Ale which was really good. Priscilla had Zebulon Peated Porter which was (well, she never met a porter she did not like). My second beer was their flagship brew, Railyard Ale--a good middle of the road ale--not a Gaelic, but good nonetheless. Priscilla had a Continuim Ale, which despite being a Belgian (you guys know that is not my favorite style), was a good thing because it supported the local arts.
Phantom Canyon had a lot of ambience including 10 pool tables on the second floor. Before saying goodbye to Pooh, we had to give his two dogs Trio and Ginger some TLC.

We drove to Denver--4 accidents in less than an hour. What was that all about? the 75 MPH speed limit? Checked in to the hotel, took a one hour nap and walked the downtown before stopping at Wynkoop--I think the first microbrew in CO. Priscilla had Cowtown Milk
Stout--a semi-sweet sessionable dark beer that she pronounced as good. She was not alone as we sat in front of the tap and saw many pours.
Now for my choice--listen up Pooh--the Obamanator--a maibock style lager. It may be the most interesting beer I will taste on the trip. The Germans make this style every spring and name it with something that ends in -ator. Of course, I thought it was a very progressive brew...

Final comments on Wynkoop--owned by the same company that owns Phantom Canyon. Twice a month, a horse-drawn wagon loaded with their brews delivers to local establishments--just like a brewery in England we visited with Meagan and Marlowe in 2009.
Also--it was begun by John Hickelooper, former mayor and now governor. Also, according to Pooh, a LIBERAL. that makes sense since he helped turn a bad part of town around by taking a risk in opening the business. Liberals do that, you know...

Time to close for the day. Today was the microbrew tour--way too much info for me to relay tonight. Sorry, Marlowe--you have to wait for the Juicy details.