Favorite Colorado Lagers!

Bierstadt's current vibe confuses me a little, but I think their setup is a product of their original vision. It was originally going to be Bierstadt, C-Squared Cider, the Rackhouse, and (I think) they had a winery or distillery planning to move in, too. The brewery is the only part of that vision still there, so they have a ton of free space. That's why it's basically an event center downstairs. People flock to those events so I'd say that's making lemonade when life gives you lemons.

The upstairs is just kinda sparse. I guess it might have a postmodern Berlin industrial vibe, but that's not the German vibe people are usually thinking of. Also, every time I've been in Turner Classic Movies has been playing on their TV's, which is straight up weird. I'd rather have Prost's exaggerated bierhall theme, personally.

Still, Bierstadt's beers are elite, though. For all the Wild Provisions or Cohesion talk, Bierstadt's Czech lagers have been better than either of them. I've never done a taste test, but I'd venture than their helles and dunkel are probably better than several in Munich. At the very least they're comparable. I'm glad they have cans available. I typically snag cans from Grapevine or pre-order a big box for on-site pickup while parking illegally. My hope is that some other tenants will fill in the extra space and they can eventually do something that makes the upstairs look/feel as good as the beer they're serving.

 

Right on. Tmave' 13 may have been the best beer I had on our trip that way.

 

I was there in January and they asked for it. My friend had to have his wife text a photo of his card to get in. No idea if they do anymore.

 

They didn't a week ago.

 

Latest batch of tmave 13 is on point. I picked up bonk lager from Outer Range. Man, I'm not so sure what to think about it. There's a fruitiness to it that I just didn't enjoy. Herbal, floral, and malts. Maybe a hint of Sulphur, that's what I want in a lager. I'm not sure if it's some american hops or if there are some esters in there from the fermentation process, but it's not what I expected. Usually OR is true to style.

 

I finally got a chance to stop into the Prost location off C470 over the weekend. It's quite the place! Just driving by, I had no idea it was as large as is it. Especially when you factor in there are 2 patios. The food and atmosphere are highlights. Their flammkuchen and currywurst taste like the real stuff. The beers are good, although I will say that the lagers are all a little on the hoppy side for what they're supposed to be. Absolutely good, but hoppy. Apparently Avery is making their beers now. Go figure, right? Anyway, I absolutely recommend the place. The beers won't make you think you're in Germany necessarily (like Bierstadt's will), but the food and atmosphere might.

 

That's interesting. Wait, so is Prost no longer brewing any of their beer? I know we've talked about his before, but I don't remember. Didn't they use the Red Truck facility in Fort Collins for a while? Does Avery do a lot of contract brewing?

 

I don't believe they've brewed their own beer for a while. They gave up on that system (the beers were all over the place anyway) and started contracting things out a few years ago. I think they bounced around a couple times, including to Red Truck. I don't really know any more than that, except that they're using Avery now.

After Bill and Ashleigh left their beers were some of the most inconsistent I've ever experienced. We're talking absolutely atrocious off flavors, but occasionally good stuff as well. They went through a pile of different brewers, too. I used to go to Wisconsin a lot and Prost's packaged stuff was oddly everywhere there. The folks I worked with said the Prost beers on their shelves were inconsistent as hell, too. I think that's right around when they discovered that their brand is probably more important than where it's brewed.

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/posts/7281566/

Avery did contract brew Founders beers, but they're under the same Mahou San Miguel Group. Probably just wanting to utilize the excess brewing capacity that is available.

 

Wish we'd have gone to that one.

 

I'm guessing the brewhouse they shipped over from Franconia is just collecting dust at the downtown location?

 

https://www.denverpost.com/2022/06/29/prost-brewing-expansion-northglenn-marketplace/
Sounds like it's been removed a while ago and will be relocated to the new facility

 

I hope that whenever they go back to brewing that they put out a consistent product. I can deal with something that isn't quite brewed to style vs. a buttery/sour mess half the time.

 

I picked up a sixer of Prost Pilsner yesterday, and it is solid. I would have gotten Slo Pour if it was on the shelf, but Prost is still good.

 

The
9 Degree Lenny collaboration is pretty darn nice.

 

I finally made it back up to Ft. Collins for the first time in several years. Seems like pils is the name of the game up there right now. I think every single place we went to had at least one! Most were solid to good, but Zwei Pils (the normal one that they call a "Bavarian-style Pilsner") is still the best one around. In fact, it's probably my favorite pils in the state and one of the best ones in the country. I could literally just spend a full day there and only drink that one item.

 

Comrade taps their German-style pilsner today

 

Love the name, "Quick Fill Pilz." I've still never encountered a long pour pilsner in Germany. I'm sure it's a thing, but it's not exactly standard procedure.