Favorite Colorado Lagers!

I am a big fan of Bierstadt's beers, but I don't like anything else about them. Their taproom does not have much of an identity, nor does it promote any sense of community. Every time I've been there it's either dead or it's a full blown, drunken frat party. They may have great bartenders, but I have not personally experienced great service. Never a conversation, much less anyone who seems passionate about the beer. When I purchased a Tmave, the person behind the bar didn't know the abv.

To make matters worse, since I've given up drinking at the taproom, even purchasing crowlers is a crapshoot. Sometimes they are out, because they only pre-fill. On multiple occasions I have gone in to an empty crowler fridge and been told "someone will be in later today to fill some." Also, they have a new crowler with a twist top that inconsistently keeps the beer fresh.

I'm resigned to just buying their beer on tap at places I like drinking at.

 

I totally agree, 100%. I actively avoid going there at this point, despite loving the beer. Just glad that I can get a Slow Pour Pils every time I see a film at the Alamo Drafthouse near Sloan's Lake.

 

Yeah, I have mixed feelings about the Bierstadt taproom. Beyond it being a hassle for me to reach, it just doesn't feel like the kind of place I like to hang out for long periods of time. Prost has/had that in spades, but Bierstadt is just kinda sterile and dead. The TV's showing old movies and the people tying one on by themselves doesn't help. Either that or when they're having an event it's absolutely bonkers. There isn't much in-between. On the food front, I had really high hopes for the "reborn" Rackhouse, but it was in name only. They only retained one signature dish from the old spot. The rest of the menu just never really appealed to me. It wasn't sure if it wanted to be German or what and the prices were steep. It's one reason you'd only see people drinking and snacking most of the time. Recently they seem to have dropped the Rackhouse name and are now serving a variety of schnitzels. They're dirt cheap, too. Hopefully that will infuse a little life into their kitchen. I had one a couple weeks ago and left impressed and full. It was only like $10, too.
I'm hopeful that with the new winery moving in and the move away from the weird new Rackhouse that they'll find the right atmosphere. The beer is probably my favorite in the whole state and I love being able to get it elsewhere, but I kinda wish I liked going there more. When I think about my favorite places to visit in Germany, the atmosphere probably plays a bigger role than the beer most of the time.

 

I picked up a sixer of Wibby's schwartzbier yesterday, and really like it.

 

Interesting that they have one. I still feel their normal dunkel is pretty similar to a schwarzbier. If you've had both - how would you compare them?

 

I've only had one of the schwartzbier's, but I like it better than the dunkel, I think. My favorite local dunkels are Prost's and Tivoli's.

 

Slightly off-topic for this thread, but does anybody know if Birrifico Italiano’s Tipopils is available in the Denver area. I read this article about it: https://www.craftbeer.com/craft-bee...ed-an-american-crop-of-italian-style-pilsners and recently picked up a 4 pack of Cerebral's Italian pilsner, so I thought it would be interesting to try.

Dry-hopping a pilsner is really interesting to me, so I'd like to try more examples of the style. Any recs?

 

I believe cans of Tipopils landed about this time a year ago, but not that many places carried them because they were super expensive. I am not 100% sure if there has been another shipment, but it was distributed by Elite via B. United.

Firestone Walker Pivo Pils is inspired by Tipopils. Oxbow has sent a couple different Italian-style Pilsners here. Modern Times has done a few dry-hopped versions of Ice, but I don't think they made it here.

For local, I don't think there's much in packs? Upslope has one on draft right now.

 

Mr. B's downtown got a shipment of Tipo Pils at the end of February. May want to call for availability first.

 

Never seen bottles/cans of Tipopils, but it has been on tap at a few different places lately. Definitely Bull & Bush, Finn's Manor, and Euclid. I think I may have even seen it at Old Chicago (or some place similar), too.
It's tasty stuff and has a little bit of a citrus zing that isn't present in the pilsners brewed northeast of them. In general, I think people are starting to realize that Italian beer is/was better than people give it credit for. Not just Tipo and their lambic blends, but even the big name stuff isn't bad. I think they get a bad rep thanks to most people trying old bottles of Peroni. Kinda like most people are first exposed to German beer via lightstruck/old bottles of Beck's.

 

Bierstadt cans are pretty awesome.

 

Starless age is divine while smoking some chicken quarters.

 

Putting up the bat signal for some maibock. Anyone seen any in the wild yet this year?

 

Cannonball has an Italian style pils on tap, Tenacious P, and it’s great. Have not had Tipopils, so can’t make a comparison.

 

HB dropped but I haven’t seen any others.
I had transformative from dry dock. I enjoyed the experimental nature of the beer, but the lime flavors from the hops were out of control. Rare miss for me.

 

Gotta love the "Italian style pils" moniker. There is only one Italian beer (maybe 2 now) that people are copying when using that naming convention. There are probably 100 or more Italian pilsners that have more in common with Bud than Tipo. There are also dozens if not hundreds of American beers that are attempting to taste like Tipo now. I get that it's just a name, but this is getting ridiculous.

 

I was wondering what the heck Italian pilsner meant. Did they use semolina for the grain?

 

It's just so odd and it isn't a knock on Tipo or the people wanting to make a beer like it. It's just kind of absurd to latch onto Tipo being Italian when it's basically one of a kind there. It's like calling a Milkshake IPA a "Pennsylvania IPA."

 

I think the only IPL I've ever had that I legitimately enjoyed came from AC Golden. It was part of that series of bombers with the wheat bock and the original Olathe corn lager. Others have been passable (like the Jack's Abby stuff), but I think that's the only one I'd ever have two of.

I feel the same way about heavily hopped beers with boatloads of esters and phenols, too. There are a couple strong examples, but I don't think there's any wonder why the Germans and Belgians didn't do this all along. More hops doesn't work with everything.