Spring Break Cross Country Brewery Tour

This spring break, me and three of my buddies had the opportunity to travel across America for one of our friends new job.  He got a job in Arizona, and this trip doubled as a house hunting trip and the spring break of a lifetime.  During this trip we were able to stop by 5 different breweries and try over 15 different types of beer.  It included Avery Brewing Co., Mountain Toad Brewing, Breckenridge Brewery, Mother Road Brewery, and Wanderlust Brewing Co.  All of these breweries had different styles and ingredients which made each tasting unique.  Although I was not able to pinpoint each flavor (due to the vast amount to try) I was able to pick out key flavors and what I liked about each.

We arrived at Avery around 5 o'clock local time (perfect timing) which had followed about 24 hours in the car with a quick night in Kansas to regain our strength.  There, we were able to give our own self guided tour and see the operation they had there.  The smell of malt was overwhelming when entering the brewery and we amazed at how clean and well organized the operation was.  This was a second brewery opened on the outskirts of boulder to help alleviate the demand for the beer.  We made it to the tap house and had to choose between 30 different beers that were on tap.

 The first beer I tried was the Lilikoi Kepolo, a Belgian Wit beer brewed with passion fruit.  It had an incredibly refreshing flavor and included tropical flavors such as pineapple and orange.  The second beer I tried was the clockwork stout.  This was one of the better stouts I've had in my day and it had such a distinct cacao and coffee flavor.  I was very please with this and although it was a darker beer, it went great with the burger I ordered.  The third beer was the Bad Buddha which was a sour style beer.  I am not typically a sour fan, but I have been warming up to them lately.  This had a very refreshing citrus flavor that really paralleled any other citrus beer I had.  This was followed by the Bad Karma which was a Belgian pale ale that stood up well compared to the Leffe and Orval's of the beer world.  The last beer consumed was the Clio; a beer/ grape hybrid that was made using the Riesling grape (unfermented) and champagne yeast.  It was an interesting beer but not really my cup of tea since I was in the mood for beer. Overall Avery was an amazing brewery, and although it was the largest brewery we visited, it did a good job of making the experience individualized

The next brewery on the trip was Mountain Toad Brewery.  This was a very small operation with only about six beers on tap, but nonetheless were spectacular. We only had the chance to try two of the beverages and that included the White Ranch Wit and the Longevity Kombucha.  The first was a full body Belgian White that had a very smooth, unfiltered flavor.  It was rich in herbs and low in bitter (23 IBU).  I thought it would be a great beer to relax and drink on a summer day, but when I saw it was 7% ABV, I changed that opinion.  That was another reason why the Kombucha cam next.  I had never had it before than, but it is essentially a brewed tea with live yeast cultures, but <.5% ABV.  It was very refreshing, with a powerful flavor of ginger that was more of a sipping beverage.  The tap room had an amazing atmosphere, there was plenty of seating outside on the patio, and there was a food truck parked on the premise providing Indian Cuisine.  After a short drive around the town, it was back on the road.

We came to Breckenridge Brewery not too much later that day and managed to grab a seat right away.  It was more of a restaurant atmosphere for all of the ski traffic that the town receives.  Each of my friends and I were familiar with the brewery before going on the trip, and we were excited to try the local specials.  The first beer was the Thunder Stout which rivaled the Clockwork stout from Avery.  Instead of carbonating the beer, this was nitrogenated which provided a creamier texture similar to a Guinness.  The texture was so supple and the coffee flavor woke my palate up to embrace the other flavors.  I really enjoyed this beer and wish they had it back east.  The next beer was the Golden Homer.  This was and interesting Belgian Style Tripel with an unfiltered color that matched the title of the beer.  It was a heavier beer and would have gone better by itself, instead of the burgers we were eating.  The last beer was my winter go to, the vanilla porter.  It tasted similar to what I had back at home, but it had a fresher and more lively flavor. After a nice walk through the ski town, we made our way on. 

It wasn't until a few days that we made our way to Mother Road Brewing in Flagstaff, Arizona.  It was a very local, small operation and as you can see in the picture to the left, there was not much room for high brewing capacity.  But much like Mountain Toad, what they lacked in capacity, they made up in quality.  I had the misfortune of getting sick at this point in the trip and although I wasn't able to enjoy a brew, I was able to hang out in the small cozy brewhouse.  They had a very local feel to it and there was a small company party going on in one of the back rooms.  Because of this party, we only found room outside, but there was a nice fire pit filling the air with heat and smokiness.  I was disappointed in not being able to try the drinks of choice, but I was able to appreciate the art of brewing in a whole different light. 

The final, and easily the best brewery on the trip was Wanderlust Brewing Co.  From the outside, this looked like an extra warehouse on a strip of local businesses.  We got there around 7 PM and it was dark out, so the only indicator of people inside was the slight muffle of noise coming from one of the bay doors.  We entered and were immediately greeted by a four legged friend and we knew this would be a laid back atmosphere.  The brewery was full of locals who were there to drink beer and enjoy each others company.  Once we found a table, we went up to get our first beer. The first was the 928 local (after the area code) which was an incredibly refreshing saison/farmhouse style beer.  The yeast, earth and citrus flavors came out well and made a good starter beer.  The next beer was the Pan-American Stout which boasted a rich oatmeal flavor.  Similar to the other stouts we had on the trip, this was a little flatter in body, and lighter in flavor.  The final beer that we had was the Coconino Common which was a Belgian Style Rye Sour.  It was a remarkably complex beer with sour notes, smooth unfiltered texture and a lingering flavor of lemon.  It was only 4% ABV and incredible easy to session.  We ended up purchasing a growler for the road and it was empty by the end of the night.  

This trip was a spectacular exposure to western beers and new styles.  Although I only mentioned the beers that we tried at the breweries, there were many others that were spectacular.  I know I will remember this trip for the rest of my life and how I incorporated what I learned in Geography of Wine and applied it to the different beers I tried.  And despite the amount of beers we tried, we still had plenty of time for other unforgettable activities.