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 tour was a ton of fun.. We got to see the vats they brewed the beer in and the brew masters quarters. John was very knowledgeable made you feel right at home when he spoke.

Got a tour of the Brewing area and a chance to talk to the Brew Master-John McClure..he has been the Brew Master at Rock Bottom Downtown for 11 years and been brewing for 17 years.

John does an incredible job putting together these brews four days a week. Rock Bottom has 18 brews on tap right now..oops! I mean 17 because the Cider brew he made disappeared so fast! ( I guess it was a little bit popular.)

Rock Bottom Downtown Denver was the 1st Rock Bottom restaurant..it was named this because it was the bottom of the Prudential building(slogan-you got a piece of the Rock) You Have Not Been To Denver Until You Have Been To ROCK BOTTOM!!

The Assistant Brew Master is Doug.. he created the New Brew called The American Dream..Crystal Malt and dry hopped..mmm, the brew was awesome!!

The Brew Masters choice was Deep Drought Stout.. it had a good coffee flavor and a smooth taste that went down good!!

Hearing about the different brews like the Saison brewed at 85 degrees and carbonated or the other brews and how they come up with the new ideas on the brews coming out.

We were quite the brew crew!

On July 23rd 2009, they are coming out with a Strawberry Blonde Ale..sounds like an awesome brew to me..count me in to check it out!!

This is the face of a happy brew dude with new microbrew logo glasses to chill in the freezer.  These glasses with the 6 pack of 22 oz bombers sell for $29.95.

Oh and…. go ahead and park in their garage… they validate parking…  No one told me!