Favorite Colorado Lagers!

...pending 10,000 word essay from @Domingo...

I'm on the edge of my seat!

 

I'm an absolute junkie for classic German styles, and Zwei and Prost do it right. Wibby's helles is great. Jessup Farm Barrel House has a helles on right now called Helles in Wonderland that is textbook. Just all fantastic stuff.

For non-German, Roaring Fork Slaughterhouse and Finkel and Garf American Lagers are great.

A little avant garde, but Caution's Lao Wang is a fun, tasty beer, especially with food.

 

Ha! I'll keep this to a minimum for now. Gotta keep the thread going for more than a page
Zwei probably holds the German crown for the moment. At least until Bierstadt opens. Gotta love those former Potts guys.
After a year or two of sucking, it seems like Prost has rebounded in a major way.
Even though they aren't always common (or even released at all), the Coors incubators kill it. That includes the Sandlot, AC Golden, and Blue Moon. Seriously, they're phenomenal and as good as any on these shores.
Dry Dock's helles and pils are still good after all these years. They're canning shitloads of Docktoberfest this year, so that's gonna be the bomb.
Nothing wrong with good 'ol Polestar Pilsner from Left Hand. Lost Highway pils is also good.
After years of focusing on German styles, it seems like FCB isn't really going that route anymore. They used to be pretty good.
The Yak & Yeti has a few German lagers. Their bock and doppelbock are both faves of mine, but they're cold-weather seasonals only.
The B&B has a good Czech pils, maibock, and a few seasonal lagers that are always worth getting.
Copper Kettle Helles ranges from nearly Munich-level to totally mediocre. If they ever got that recipe straightened out, that could be a big deal.
I also like Lao Wang lager. It's a killer food beer. Plus, Danny & Betty rock.

Even though it isn't just CO - the Rhein Haus carries a borderline unmatched German lager selection.

 

Upslope's Craft Lager is nice and easily found. We're selling a crap ton of Prost Pils, although I have not had it since that one eye guy left
I'll agree on the Sandlot stuff, as long as it's brewed there and not shipped in from whoknowswhere.
Blue Paddle really isn't bad, although they went with a table tennis paddle over the oar thing.
Odell's double pilsner was nice, but think that went down Dodo alley.

 

Snagged one of the last 4 packs of Finkel & Garf's Mai Bock yesterday at the brewery. I was told it went super quick on draft which I missed unfortunately. Damn tasty for a summer evening lager. All day sessionable go to lager lately has been that Wibby Helles

 

Also, taproom only at Avery is a delicious dry hopped, unfiltered Joe's Pils they are dubbing Zwickel Joe's. Get it while it lasts!

 

Tap Hunter is showing Zwickel Joe's at the Highlands Ranch Parry's Pizza. They had a big Avery tap takeover last weekend and still have a bunch of Avery beers on tap.

 

Love the Upslope.

Also, the Grimm Brothers offerings are very agreeable to me.

 

My clear number 1 is Polestar. I love that beer, it never lets me down *cough* Prost!* cough*. I probably like Grimm's Pilsner #2, although it's hard to find. On tap, I really like Gravity's lagers. They make some killer AAL's; I really like the Cerveza they have now. It is delicious.

 

Copper Kettle helles was hitting the spot last weekend, blue paddle is a fine pils, and I can't get enough of Prost brewing's Maibock. the hops make all that pils malt interesting, and the crisp finish keeps bringing a person back for more. I hope their marzen is on point this year.

 

I really like some of Gravity's lagers, but they seem to change them up too often. Can't go wrong with Prost Maibock and the Left Hand Oktoberfest is still the best in the state IMO.

 

I came here to say Prost Maibock! Really impressed by that one, probably the best domestic version of the style I've had.

In addition:
Steamworks Steam Engine Lager: Widely available, great price, and a notably better California Common than even Anchor Steam. I lived in the Bay Area for 12 years where that stuff practically came out of the tap; I'd choose the Steamworks 11 times out of 10.

Fearless Youth by Grimm. So perfect for the summer, but I've found myself drinking this one pretty consistently since I discovered it in February. These guys do a great job with German styles in general and seem to really fly under the radar.

 

Don't Mock My Bock was on just two weeks ago at Bull and Bush. Domingo mentioned it but not specifically by name and I have to agree that it was tasting superb. Keep an eye out for that one - it's really "crisp" and hides the alcohol well, with a great mouthfeel.

 

There is no way F&G American Lager can hold a torch to Upslope Craft Lager.

 

North Boulder Liquor still has some F&G Maibock if anyone is interested.

 

So, I actually don't care for most "American" or unclassified lagers. It's unrelated to where they're made, but just the ones that carry that label. They usually taste like a pale ale with noble hops and a clipped finish. 2-row typically doesn't cut it when you're looking for body. Most have more sulphur than I'd like as though they could use a little more time, too. I don't hate them or anything, but they aren't my faves. I'd probably choose one of those when I'm feeling like a pale ale rather than a pils, hell, or export. Different strokes of course.

Grimm Brothers has popped up a few times. Their stuff's pretty fantastic, IMO. Fearless Youth in cans is so crushable. It's criminal how few dunkels are brewed in or are shipped to the US. I like schwarzbiers, but dunkel > schwarz almost every time for me. For that matter, Tmave Pivo is another one I'd like to see more of, too.
Beyond Polestar, pretty much all of Left Hand's German beers are legit. At one time they partnered with an excellent German-brewery, Tabernash. That's where most of them originated.

 

Ro Guenzel, who was Left Hand's Head Brewer for a very long time, used to brew at Kaltenberg Castle Royal Bavarian Brewhousenin Vail. They were making very traditional German lagers there. I believe that is where Polestar came from.
Left Hand did acquire Tabernash and were making the Weiss beer, that was Eric Warner's recipe.

Ro is now Brewing Manager at Great Divide. Maybe some lagers might be in GD's future.

 

It's actually a black lager, but I sure do love 1554.
Okay, upon further research it would be more accurate to call it an ale? But I am not sure at what temperature it ferments at.
Polestar Pilsner is one of my favorites, although I can't say I buy much of it. I prefer Upslope Craft Lager to Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils. Would love to see a place like Jack's Abbey open up in Colorado.