Skoro Doma

Having arrived in Denver on a Saturday afternoon, clearly these posts are not in any particular chronological order, I got myself unpacked at my hotel and headed off in search of good beer. The word "search" is doing quite some heavy lifting there, as I knew exactly my plan of attack. Thus it was that I found myself at Bierstadt, perusing the food menu whilst nursing a pint of their helles - personal heresy, the helles is infinitely better than the Pilsner, so I didn't bother with that. Having just ordered a pint of dunkel, I noticed a message on my phone. Mike Stein of Lost Lagers was on his way to Cohesion Brewing and would I like to meet him there? Well, d'uh. Cohesion was my plan for after Bierstadt anyway, and I figured I would forego the health benefits of food, and get my backside over there asap.

Last time I was at Cohesion was back in 2022, and I wrote a post where I described the place as "perfection". So, obviously, I was excited to be getting back there on this trip, and not just for the beer, which we'll come to in a bit. 

A very major part of my excitement was the thought of sitting in the hospoda style nook, just to the right hand side of the bar. When I was there in 2022, I described it thusly:

"it reminded me of many a Czech boozer I have frequented...maybe it was the wooded paneled wainscoting, sure still a bit clean in its newness, but I insisted our group abandon our table so I could create some hospoda nostalgia for myself".

Four years of wear and tear have knocked that shiny new sheen off that area, and now if anything it is even more welcoming, and so having dragged (not really) Mike from an outside trestle table, I got in my first beer of several...their desítka, that's a 10° lager for the non-Czech speakers among us.

If ever there is a specific type of Czech style pale lager that I will always gravitate to, it is the desítka, even though in Czechia the 12° has recently overtaken 10° lagers as the most regularly drunk. Cohesion 10° - got to love that they don't bother coming up with daft names for their core beers - is a wonderful example of such beers. I hate the concept of "style" when it comes to Czech lager, as while it is true that most desítky are pale, they don't have to be, there are polotmavé and tmavé desítky in the world. Back to this particular desítka, it is freaking lovely, freaking, freaking lovely. It reminded me very much of the Hostomice Fabián 10°, a fantastic balance of lightly honeyed malt and the lemon kiss of Saaz - perfect. If I was sat with only this beer on tap in a backstreet hospoda, I'd not be in any rush to move on.

Moving on up though, we went to the 12°. What heavenly nectar is this? Seriously people, here's a beer that stands up to the very best of Czech lagers. To my mind it sits comfortably between Břevnovský Benedict and Únětický Pivovar's great 12°. This beer puts completely to bed the daft notion that doing a triple decoction mash is pointless, the depth of malt flavour is outstanding. The bitterness is assertive without being wildly bracing, making for fantastic drinking. If it's not obvious yet, I was enjoying myself.

Enjoying myself so much that I blanked on taking a picture of the polotmavý, or even take any notes, though I do recall it being rather delish. Naturally I went through the colour gears and had půllitr of Lípa, their tmavé next, and guess what, I didn't take a picture of that either on this trip, nor notes, but it was again an excellent beer, almost like a thick slab of toast with generous amounts of Nutella slathered all over it, and then dunked in Turecká káva - and while that may translate as "Turkish coffee" don't go expecting anything like actual Turkish coffee if you order this in Czechia.

Being thoroughly saturated in glorious pivo, I headed back to my hotel and the vain hope of finding something more substantive than the liquid bread I had gorged upon. I knew that I would be coming back before returning to Virginia, and so after my session at Hogshead a few days later, I made my way over for a couple of farewell beers. This time I remembered to take a picture of Lípa.

I still wasn't taking notes, I was sitting in the hospoda nook knowing that this is likely the closest I will get to a Czech vibe for quite some time - unless work sends me to Europe again in the near future, when I will do my usual and take a few days to get to Prague.

Cohesion are one of a very short list of breweries that absolutely get Czech beer, and the attendant culture around it - do I wish they had a selection of pub snacks to mop up the beer, absolutely, but that is a quibble. All of the beers I had in my pair of visits on this trip would more than stand up, and even stand out, in Czechia itself, and all with no gimmicks, no pretension, just good quality beer in a brewery that is clearly committed to doing things the way Czechs do them. Do not be surprised if they are mentioned often in my annual review of the year come December.

Oh, and I love their beer mats. I was heartbroken when I got home to discover I had left these three in my hotel room...

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. It 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 be. 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.

TRVE and Golden

I've been home from Colorado for almost a week now. The twins have turned five, developed attitudes, ahem I mean "personalities", and I haven't found the requisite few minutes to mention the other breweries I visited while at the foot of the Rockies. If you are here looking for my thoughts on Bierstadt, with a side note about Reverence, and Cohesion, you have come to the wrong post.

The day after our colleague gathering at Cohesion, it was planned that the team I am part of would have our quarterly planning meeting at TRVE Brewing (pronounced "true" I am informed) before heading out to Golden for the company retreat that formed the second half of my week. On looking up the brewery on Google Maps, the entry claimed that they opened at 3pm, which was problematic as our meeting was scheduled to start at midday. My original plan had been to Uber over there with a colleague, but things transpired that I just fancied walking the mile and a half, with my backpack slung over my shoulders as I had to also check out of my hotel. By the time I made it there, and discovered to my delight that Google was wrong and the brewery's website was right that they open at 11am on Wednesdays, I needed a beer...

Now, I am sure there are some who must wonder why I am constantly drinking pale lagers of some provenance, rather than the latest, hypest, hazy IPA that looks like sheep phlegm topped with shaving foam. They are just my sweet spot, and they tell you how good a brewer actually is as you can't hide flaws, so if a brewery has some form of pilsner, helles, Dortmunder, or just plain old pale lager on tap, that will invariably be choice one. In the case of TRVE, it was an excellent indicator, clean, crisp, beautifully bitter, "Cold" is their kellerpils and it was simply lovely. Also delicious was Xtra Good, a collaboration with Austin's fantastic Live Oak Brewing. Xtra Good is a light lager made with corn grits, and really highlighted that light lager need not be flaccid and boring, it was superb. The highlight though was "Bloodaxe" a "Nordic Farmhouse Ale" made with orange peel and grains of paradise, dropping a fairly hefty 7% abv into your bloodstream. Not something I would usually go for, but so good were the kellerpils and light lager, I figured I'd give it a bash and it was well worth it.

Unrelated to the beer, TRVE tout themselves as a "metal" brewery meaning the soundtrack to our team meeting was a eclectic mix of speed and death metal - I loved it. With the meeting wrapped up, it was time to head out to Golden for the first in-person company retreat since pre-March 2019.

We were staying at a place called The Eddy Taproom and Hotel, which had a few own label beers available in their bar, the pale ale being a respectable American pale ale which hit all the right C-hop notes. In terms of breweries though we only went to one while we where there, on our way to dinner on the Thursday night...Golden City Brewing.

Golden City Brewing is located in a mostly residential part of Golden - imagine trying to do that in NIMBY-centric Virginia! - and it being a Thursday night was very quiet. With just an hour to go before they shut for the night we ordered, at Jerry's instigation, a round of The Geologist, a 9% abv doppelbock that frankly has no right to be such easy drinking, and very appropriate given we work in geoscience publishing. I was being sensible though, and pacing myself in line with the rest of the group rather than pouring it down my neck and getting another.

I loved that in the middle of a residential area was a brewery with a fairly expansive beer garden to complement its bar area. It actually reminded me in terms of the vibe of Bar Chýše in the Čimice district of Prague. So taken was I with Golden City that I returned the following night, with just a single colleague as most of the company had flown home. This time I had their imperial milk stout, Eyes Wide Shut, and nursed that for the half hour or so we were there.

The contrast to the Thursday was stark. The place was heaving, as in genuinely busy and buzzing. The food truck on the road seemed to be doing a roaring trade, and something that was evident from the wide age range present was that this is clearly a community hangout spot. Kids, parents, single adults, grandparents all happily mingling and having a good time in their local, it was heartwarming to know such places can exist in the heart of an American residential area. Feeling drained from the constant go of conferencing and company retreat, I finished my beer and retired to my room at The Eddy, a cracking little hotel by the way, ready to fly home to Virginia and my wee family.

Cohesion Brewing...dokonalost

I first heard about Cohesion Brewing through an Instagram post, which showed an attempted pronunciation guide for several Czech beer words which I described at the time as "iffy". One of the founders of the brewery, Eric Larkin, reached out to me to see if I could give some pointers, which I was more than happy to do. My conversation with Eric so impressed me that I knew if I ever got to Denver then Cohesion would be an absolute must visit brewery. I absolutely visited last night, though unfortunately Eric was unable to be there, hopefully next time.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am over in Denver for work and yesterday several of my colleagues, including Jerry Fagerberg, arrived in town for our company retreat in the next few days. We bundled into an Uber and made our way to the brewery, which is in an industrial area, past many over workshops and businesses, that actually reminded of getting to Caboose Brewing in Vienna on a previous company night out.

Walking through the door my heart leapt for joy at the site of horizontal lagering tanks, and a chalkboard list of beers where everything included the °P, mostly 10 and 12, as well the Czech style designation, including diacritics! We weren't expecting to see the name of one of Jerry's local breweries from Minnesota though, Utepils have done a collaboration 10° pale lager with Cohesion, of which more later.

I actually wish I had taken a picture of the bar itself, as it was a delightful setup, with a pale green tile bar back, a pair of beer towers which housed the 6 Lukr taps, gleaming brass, an unexpected British beer engine, and all manner of Czech paraphernalia - nice to see you again Private Švejk. We started with the Cohesion 10° pale lager.

Look at that lovely cap of frothy wet foam...and what a gorgeous beer this is, as good a desítka as I have had in many a moon. Had I been served this in a pub in Prague, I would be a very happy camper. Much in the same spirit as Bierstadt, tradition is an honored thing at Cohesion, they decoction mash for example, which is always a good sign to me with lager breweries - yes, you can make good lagers with infusion mashing, but decoction just adds things to the beer that no amount of carapils can. Four mouthfuls and I was ready for a second beer...so I popped things up a degree or 2 and went for the Ovce 12°.

Again a wonderful beer, I was back to not bothering with notes, I was just enjoying really good examples of some of my favourite types of beer. Absolutely dripping with Saaz, this is a beer that would delight any fan of noble hops, I was delighted. Eventually we moved on to the Utepils collaboration, again a 10° beer, a bit paler than Cohesion's own desítka, and noticeably bitter, with a long lingering dry finish, another absolute banger of a beer.

By this point I had noticed a corner of the taproom that was set up in such a way that it reminded me of many a Czech boozer I have frequented, places like u Slovanské lipy or Hostomická nelévárna...maybe it was the wooden paneled wainscoting, sure still a bit clean in its newness, but I insisted our group abandon our table so I could create some hospoda nostalgia for myself.

By this point I had settled on another collaboration beer as my go to, Herald 12° brewed in conjunction with Brewery Novalis in New York and using Saaz hops grown in New York state as well as Premiant hops. Another delightful brew that would more than pass muster in Czechia. With closing time approaching and swag having been bought, new brewery hats for the twins, the barman brought us over taster glasses poured in the mlíko manner, and it was actually the first time I had ever tried beer in this way - yeah I know, boring me for sticking to a regular pour. I don't recall which beer he brought over, but that foam was sweet and malty, and delicious. I am not sure I will ever become a devotee of mlíko but it was fun to try it.

I am sure plenty of others have waxed lyrical about Cohesion, and so I can only add to that chorus, what a fantastic brewery and taproom it is. Every beer we had was on point, the venue itself was a delight, and that little hospoda corner just capped the night to perfection. I also loved the fact that not a single beer was over 4.8%, and in the case of the 10° lagers, Cohesion's own was 3.9% and the Utepils collab 4.1%.

When it comes to Czech beer, it is easy to get snared into 14° and high dark lagers, but the 10° has been the go to beer for generations, it is the beer you drink in the hospoda with your mates, you maybe have 5 or 6 in a night and get up for work the next day none the worse for it, Czech beer culture is ultimately a drinking culture, and Cohesion seem to get that.

What a fantastic place and if you are ever in Denver and only want to visit one brewery, make sure it is Cohesion.

Of the Cupolas of Bierstadt

I am currently in Denver for work, having arrived on Sunday evening and staying here for a week before heading home to Virginia in time for the twins 5th birthday.

Even though I admitted recently to being an abysmal beer tourist, in the sense that I very rarely plan travel around breweries to visit, when I travel for work I do my research and pick out some places that I want to try. Given that Colorado is known for its lager brewing, I had plenty of options, but I knew straight off the bat that Sunday night would be Bierstadt.

In the week before I flew out social media was full of pictures of Bierstadt's legendary Slow Pour Pils beer as it seemed that everyone and his mate that attended the Great American Beer Festival had made a beeline there.

I was pretty wiped out by the time I got to Bierstadt on Sunday, and my palate may not have been in the best of shape, having had a couple of airport porters, a brown ale, and when I got to Denver a couple of excellent Mexican lagers from Reverence Brewing. If you are ever in Denver you should go there, it's a fantastic place that feels like a community bar that happens to have damned good beer.

Having grabbed a seat at the upstairs bar, I ordered the obligatory Slow Pour Pils, and a Helles to drink while I was waiting...

The thing that hit me most about both beers was just how insanely clear they are, almost in a fuck you juxtaposition to the hazy IPA world. I wasn't taking notes, preferring to just mess around with my camera in the very cool art deco/industrial fusion surroundings. Knowing that I had some spare time on the Monday, I decided that I would head back once work was done for the day, and also so I could think a bit more about the Slow Pour Pils, as Evan Rail had asked for my thoughts on Instagram.

With work commitments out of the way, at least until a late dinner, I headed back over to do some more considered evaluations, and also make sure I had a palate more up to the task at hand - as in I remembered to drink plenty of water. Again I went to the upstairs bar, and ordered myself a pils, pulled out my phone and shock, horror, I took notes about a beer I was drinking in a bar! So here we go...

• Sight - pale gold, huge rocky white head (duh), crystal clear
• Smell - crackers, crushed water biscuits, very subtle floral hop aroma
• Taste - classic pilsner malt graininess, almost flinty mineral note, grassy hops with a hint of wildflower
• Sweet - 2/5
• Bitter - 1.5/5

Advertised as a Northern German pilsner, I was expecting more bitterness upfront, maybe the slow pour kicks some of it out of the beer? The mouthfeel was softer than I expected, which makes the beer feel sweeter. I realise the slow pour part of things is the star here, but I was left wondering how it would taste hladinka style in a mug, especially unfiltered - can't remember where I read it is filtered, but I am sure I did. It is though a thoroughly delicious beer, if I didn't have plans for another couple of breweries...I'd likely be back.

I didn't take notes about the helles, I just sat and enjoyed a lovely iteration of one of my favourite styles, I did though make sure to try the first märzen of the trip, and it was likewise excellent, though poured from a can as they were done with draft, and it scored a very respectable 32/40 in my points system, which places it currently joint third, along with the likes of Port City and Olde Mecklenberg.

The thing I had hoped to do while I was at Bierstadt was to get a peek at their brewhouse...and I wasn't really paying attention as I walked to the bar when I noticed a copper dome. The brewhouse is right there for all the see, and what a thing of beauty it is.

From what I understand the brewhouse was originally housed in the local brewery in Ammerndorf, a small village just outside Nürnberg, and was built in 1932. Bierstadt shipped it to Colorado and essentially rebuilt it exactly as it had been in Bavaria. To my mind, this kind of thing is what makes a "craft" brewing business truly artisanal. I may have geeked out looking at those glorious copper domes.

I am not sure when I will ever make it back to Denver, but whenever I am here I know I will go to Bierstadt, not just to enjoy the triple decocted beers, though the Pils is double decocted, but to look at that rescued brewhouse and be glad it is still churning out great lagers.