Making it Real

I've been on my travels west again. 

Last week I was working at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America, in Denver, where the organisation I work for was exhibiting. While I had attended the Sunday session of the Great American Beer Festival, I had given it up as not my kind of thing, decided to wander off, and find a brewery to sit in for a few hours on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Thus it was, after the saddest pint of cask brown ale I have ever had in my life, I found myself in an Uber on my way to the one brewery in Denver that I regretted not getting to on my last trip to the city, in 2022, Hogshead Brewery. I had a couple of hours before needing to be back in my hotel to take part in the ingredient draft for this year's Selvedge homebrew competition, and what better way to ponder my choices than over a pint of real ale?

Without a word of a lie, I had a feeling this was going to be my kind of place when I got to the bar (hell yeah, bar service!!), and on asking for a pint of Cook Lane, their best bitter, the barman asked "do you want a proper pint?". Now, I have to admit to having a moment of confusion, did he mean "proper" as in from the beer engine, given that they have keg offerings as well, or did he mean "proper" as in 19.2 US fluid ounces? Thankfully he clarified that he meant a proper imperial pint, and thus I found myself a table on the covered patio.

I thought I had taken a picture of the gorgeous pint of amber liquid, with the sun glinting on the copper highlights, but I can't find it - don't worry though we'll get there eventually. What I can definitely tell you is that here is a beer worthy of the name real ale, apparently modeled after Timothy Taylor Landlord, the pint may have lasted all of four mouthfuls. As has become my personal de rigeur, I wasn't taking notes, I was taking in the vibe of the place, while taking things a bit slower with my second Cook Lane. I reveled in the interplay of biscuity malt, with a touch of toffee, and lovely earthy, spicy, English hops. I could almost have been back in the South of England from earlier this year.

It seems that my inability to take pictures on this visit carried over to my second beer, though third pint, Denver Pride, which as the name is an obvious nod to, is very much in the vein of Fullers London Pride, and was likewise in tip top condition. The covered patio at Hogshead was slowly filling up with groups of people who were clearly both local and regular, they had their dogs, their kids, their board games, and there was American football on the TV, though not much attention was being paid to it really. Set in the middle of a residential area, it even felt like a proper British boozer, a place that the community relies upon as their third space. I was falling pretty much head over heels with the place, so I needed to have a pint of stout, and this time I remembered to take a picture.

Called Hogs Stout, it is about 5.4% abv, and as a dedicated lover of dark ales, it was another fantastic brew. I reminded me very much, and of course this could just be my memory playing tricks on me, of drinking Cairngorm Brewing Black Gold on cask at the Kings House Hotel in Glencoe, when Mrs V and I hiked the West Highland Way. Had there been a bottle of Balvenie Caribbean Cask on the bar back, I fear I would never have made the Selvedge ingredient draft. Hogs Stout had more of a smooth English stout character than you would expect from a Guinness, and cask stout is simply underrated in the world of nitro hipdom. More cask stout please brewers of the US!

With enough time for a final pint before heading to my hotel, and thence to the opening exhibition reception for work, I stuck with the dark, and the habit of taking pictures (shocking!) and ordered a pint of Gilpin Black Gold Porter.

I don't write anywhere near as much about porter as I drink, and brew, the stuff. There is something wonderful about a well made, complex porter, that doesn't lean too heavily in any particular malt direction. Put that magic in a cask, and you have something that no keg beer, whether on CO2 or nitro, can even hope to achieve. Magnificence is what. This is a majestic beer, rich, yet not stupefyingly sweet, roasty without being acrid, and oh so drinkable, like sweet rain after the desert. I knew I'd be back before flying home to Virginia a few days later.

After said few days of demoing software, and unexpectedly having to pack up our booth without our marketing folks' oversight, I made it back to Hogshead. The Uber taking 30 minutes in the most gloriously dreich weather imaginable. I love the Scots word dreich, as it so perfectly describes the desultory steady fine rain that soaks you through yet barely feels as though it is there. It was also the first cold day I have felt in months, with a high of just 8°C (46°F), so of course I took my first pint back out to the covered patio...

This time, as you can tell, I remembered to take a picture. I told you it is a delightful looking beer - Cook Lane at Hogshead would be a very, very regular occurrence if I lived in Denver. Again it was tasting fantastic, confirming for me that I should play around with some crystal malt in my house best bitter. Although it was cold and wet, the covered patio has heating in the roof that cascaded warmth down to the surprisingly plentiful crowd of regulars, a couple of whom I recognised from my previous visit and had nodded acknowledgement as I sat down.

As is one of the finest aspects of any drinking den across the world, though I find it happens more often in British style pubs that others, I fell into conversation with the people on the next table, a British father and son who had lived in Denver for a couple of decades. A fellow Liverpool fan, and having served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, we had a meandering conversation, as the best pub chats are wont to do. I had a pint of the stout to lubricate the discussion further, recommending it to my interlocutor, who was likewise impressed. 

This was followed by stepping up through the gears and trying Chin Wag, their 5.8% strong bitter, a style I rarely drink unless I am safely in the confines of my house - I am not much of one for heavy hitters in general. Goodness me, this is a big, chewy, malt blasted pint of gloriousness, the kind of thing to take cans of and sit next to a roaring fire, possibly allowing yourself to doze off. 

Mindful of the time, I still had another brewery to get back to and wanting to get a decent kip before flying home, I stepped into the bar itself to have a final pint, and this time I chose a last pint of Denver Pride, making sure to take a picture of course (I was being a proper beer blogger this time round, minus the note taking obvs).

I picked up a touch of a modern hops that would no doubt drive purists nuts, a little citrusy grapefruit zest kind of thing, and it just rounded off the beer to a tee. Had it been there on my first visit? Maybe, I wasn't taking notes, did I like it on my second visit, oh yes indeed! That was my final pint, but then the bartender, the same guy from my first visit, asked if I would like a half of something I hadn't tried, on the house, and as I had about 10 minutes before my Uber was going to arrive, I wasn't about to be churlish and refuse. I honestly don't recall the last time I had a half in a pub, but a glass of the English-Ish IPA (I know, I hope you are sitting down!), was soon plonked on the bar before me.

Again a great beer, in wonderful condition, and completely belying the insane idea that seems to have taken hold, that American hops don't work in cask conditioned beer. This positively sang with a blend of pine and marmelade, a wonderful end to a pair of visits that left me with much to ruminate upon.

If it's not obvious, I had a fantastic time at Hogshead both times I was there. The beer was exceptional, and not just because it is so rare to find real ale in the US in general, but to find it done this well, even in the UK can be a challenge. It wasn't though just the beer, the space is special too, imbued with the spirit of a clearly dedicated following, all drinking real ale. I don't recall seeing anyone ordering keg beer, though they do have some overlapping keg and cask brews. Everyone I spoke to about the brewery and the beer was enthusiastic, several saying they came in almost daily on their way home from work, as a proper regular visiting their local should do. The warmth flowing down from the overhead heaters on a damp, dreich, afternoon and evening was a wonderful allegory for the warmth of the welcome from staff and punters alike.

Hogshead is special, it's that simple.