Well the folks at Great Northern Brewing company gifted us with a sample of their Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager and we felt it was only right to share it with our friends and get their impressions too.

Black Star Beer Tasting Sampler setup

We had both a can and a bottle of Black Star and chilled both of them in preparation for our event. We have these nifty tasting glasses courtesy of the Chili Pepper Brew Fest so we brought those along and set up the tasting for our beer loving friends.

Broncos and Brews Crew ready to taste the Black Star Lager

My Broncos and Brews Crew look ready don’t they? Ok, now to taste….

Ron is savoring the hops!

We decided to try the bottle first and were very surprised that the double hops was so smooth tasting. Very refreshing.

The Broncos and Brews Crew hard at work

MMMMMmmmmm

Kevin is now pouring samples from the can of Black Star

Beer lovers expect a can of beer to be of lesser quality than a bottle of beer but we were surprised with the Black Star.

Kevin Pouring the samples from the can of Black Star Lager

Every one of our tasters preferred the flavor and texture of the beer in the  can over the bottle.

Expert Beer Tasting Dudes

The bottle was a bit over carbonated for our tastes but the can was just perfect.

We recommend this fine lager for those that love hops and for those that think they don’t like hops. The way that this lager was brewed made for one of the smoothest and best tasting lagers we’ve tried in a long time.

Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager available in a bottle or can

About Black Star Beer

Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager was first brewed in Whitefish, Montana at the Great Northern Brewing Company in 1995. The beer was created by Minott Wessinger, a fifth generation brewer and great-great grandson of West Coast brewing pioneer Henry Weinhard. For more information, please visit http://blackstarbeer.com/story/the-beer/ and to take a tour of the Great Northern Brewery visit http://www.greatnorthernbrewery.com.

Black Star Beer and The Great Northern Brewery are headed to the 2011 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) for the second year in a row and this time they’re going big!

For the first time ever, Black Star and the Great Northern Brewery will be a featured brewery sponsor of GABF. They are hitching up the Black Star Airstream and hauling it all the way to Denver, CO. The Brewer’s Association has graciously given them permission to park the Airstream trailer right at their booth (Section E, Booth 18-19)! Equipped with WiFi and a digital photo booth, festival-goers can take free pictures which are then automatically emailed to them to easily share their Black Star experience with friends via Facebook, Twitter and email. You won’t be able to miss the shiny silver Airstream, the Black Star and Great Northern Brewery, right in the middle of the action – located at Section E, Booth 18-19.   Session times- http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/about/hours-schedule/

We are curious what everyone at the GABF (Great American Beer Fest) will think when they stop by the Great Northern Brewery booth. Did you like the bottle or the can better? Please let us know in our comment section below.

The Golden Toad BBQ Team at the Smoke n Brew BBQ in Parker Colorado

The Denver Brew Fest is back! Taste your favorite beers and support the Arts!

Friday, January 28, 2011 at the Mile High Station

Great Brews at a Great Place for a Great Price and a Great Cause
Proceeds benefit the Swallow Hill Music Association

The Winter Brew Fest is expanding this year with additional space outside with a heated tent.

35+ Craft Breweries serving 75+ Brews

6-7 pm VIP Session (price included General Admission)
Get first taste of great brews with this exclusive, limited admittance VIP hour
Cabot cheese sampling and a special beer pairing.
$40 advance/ $45 at the door

7-10 pm General Admission
$30 advance/$35 at the door

Get your tickets now as this fest normally sells out. Beer makes people happy.

Get your tickets and more details at www.denverbrewfest.com

Summer  SEASONAL BEER

BEER ME!

Summer Seasonals are usually light in style-so they can be consumed easily and as refreshment. Some of these delightful beers can be enticed with lemon or lime juice to add to the flavor, such as a wheat beer. Other seasonals have a rich malty or fruity flavor such as a belgium style beer. Now available at COLORADO LIQUOR are these summer seaonal beers. (pictured and descibed to the right) Please come on by and enjoy!!

BOULEVARD WHEAT
This is an unfiltered American style Wheat beer. It is a lively, refreshing ale with a naturally citrusy flavor and distinctive cloudy appearance.

FLASHBACK ANNIVERSARY ALE-An indian brown ale from Boulder Brewery, this beer is citrusy with a clean finish. The biscut and chocolate malts add dark roasted flavors.

SUMMER SHANDY
Get a taste of the freshest flavor under the sun–Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. A Shandy is a lemonade flavored beer, a Europeon favorite during the warmer months.Each batch is carefully brewed using the finest wheat, malted barley, and just a hint of honey. Then fresh lemonade and citrus flavors are added. A Summer refresher!!

SUNRYE FROM REDHOOK
Light and refreshing, this ale is brewed with six barley malts and a light rye. This ale is somewhere between a classic lager and Redhook Blonde.

Was at Lodo’s and wanted a brew that I have never tried before. I had an Alaskan Red Ale. It was an awesome brew, smooth and very flavorful! It was almost like a Fat Tire but I thought tasted better. The flavor profile was so smooth and rich that you could drink alot of them…but it was lunch time.

My wife had the Aguave Wheat from the Breckenridge Brewery. It was really good, first wheat beer I could drink without having a slice of orange or lemon. The flavor profile already had  sweet agauve tones.

I would recomend either one of these beers to anyone!! Also, we had a great bartender, her name was Marin. She was the one that recommended these 2 brews, she was very knowledgable and she didn’t even drink beer! She asked everyone at the bar their names and then would check on you by name, that is what I call personal service!!

Go there, try the brews and while you are at it, say hi to Marin and look forward to a great visit!!!

Give me some feed back on your experience and what you would recommend as your drink of choice( I might give it a shot.)

She was the same as most women that the article below  talks about. She grew up here in Colorado so Coors Light in a keg that was warm and flat at Castlewood Canyon was her introduction to beer.  Que my bitter beer face Seriously.. THAT type of beer is only loved by hormone laced 15-18 high school boys … it does NOT taste good.. also the calorie content of the heavier brews was a worry.. what lady wants a beer gut? The whole persona of women that drink beer have to be Harley Chicks..   So here is how she came to enjoy beer.

The FLIGHT method!  We just finished up a Southwestern road trip where breweries abound!  We found this great Mainstreet Restaurant/Bar where you could just tell all the locals hang out.  She knows I like flights and she suggested it right off.  So the beer comes and one of them has a slice of lemon in it.  The one beer she does like is Blue Moon on Tap with the slice of orange so I asked her to taste it as see.  She LOVED it.. WOW… a shocker.. after this tiny bit of trust was built up she started tasting more… she found she liked the porter (she read it had chocolate in it)   The whole flight idea was a hit! I think this appealed to her because it’s the same way she learned to appreciate wine other than White Zin which now neither of us even consider WINE!

Instead of ordering us both a big glass of beer, we now get a flight with all of the offerings of the bar.  This seemed to make it fun and she didn’t have to feel guilty about ordering a glass, drinking one sip, hating it and having to finish it or pawn it off on me.  The little taster glasses are just perfect for the lady in my life.  Now she even SUGGESTS going to breweries she see’s to have a beer sampler and some nacho’s. The best part is, if we each get a flight, i get to drink all the brews she doesn’t like!!!  GOD I love my wife!

I Wish My Girlfriend Liked Beer
Getting your girlfriend to like beer may be easier than you think. You may just have to think about the problem a little differently.

I wish my girlfriend liked beer

Double the Pleasure!

The last place we went was The Prescott Brewery. They had the option of each of their brews in a flight. Many different flavors and textures. They have what is called a flight of beer( this consists of up to 9-5 oz glasses of there different brews for only 1 buck per glass!). Like many places, it starts with a lighter beer and ends with a Porter.

Normally, I always have a favorite brew I pick  when I have a flight, the  Willow Wheat beer was it.  It’s the empty one up front with only the lemon peel left! Damn Good.

One thing I like about the brews there is they were all smooth, had great flavor and none of them gave me the dreaded “bitter beer face”.

The most amazing part is my wife, the non beer drinker, loved the Willow wheat beer and the Petrified Porter, so much we had to get more!

If you like beer and ever visit Prescott, AZ. Stop by the Prescott Brewery, you will not be disappointed!!