Colorado Trip: Homecoming

Not wanting to show up at my sister’s home empty handed, my first stop after leaving Denver International Airport was a local grocery outlet where I picked up a six pack of Boulder Brewing Single Track Ale and a six pack of Tommyknocker Jack Whacker Wheat Ale, which seems reason enough to start off with a discussion of some beers from Tommyknocker Brewing based in Idaho Springs, Colorado. I spent a few years of my childhood growing up in Idaho Springs, so there’s naturally a soft spot in my heart for anything from there – including Tommyknocker beers, I guess.

I’m not a proponent of gimmicky names, slogans or mascots in the world of brewing. Theme beers are also somewhat annoying to me and Tommyknocker fits into that whole genre of theme beers, with each brew sporting a name that is based on a long-running theme. In the case of Tommy Knocker, it’s a mining theme that is perfectly apt for Colorado and Idaho Springs in particular but I find the cartoon characters and clever names a bit obnoxious in fairly short order. (For example, Tommyknocker’s stable includes beers with names like Pick Axe Pale Ale, Ornery Amber, Butt Head Bock and of course Jack Whacker Wheat Ale. Ughhh. Please.) But in the end, while I may not be a fan of their marketing technique, Tommy Knocker’s beers do measure up for the most part.

I sampled the six-pack of Jack Whacker shortly after settling in at my sister and brother-in-law’s house. My field notes from the sampling describe a surprisingly roasted smell from a golden colored pour with a thick head. The beer poured cloudy and had a strong lemon/citrus flavor with a surprisingly thick mouth feel. Reminded me somewhat of Hoegaarden, though I prefer Jack Whacker to Hoegaarden. (Hoegaarden tastes like sausage.) Jack Whacker is definitely a summer beer and would sit pretty far down on my list of “go-to” summer brews if I actually lived in an area that carried Tommyknocker products.

Later in my visit, I made a point to drive up the canyon into Clear Creek County to visit my childhood stomping ground; always a dicey proposition. In the summer, or fall, with weather that’s cooperative, I tend to get homesick for that area and I have to remind myself that for a good portion of the year, it’s colder than a well digger’s elbow. Add to this the narrow mountain valleys that block the sun for a good part of the day when the winter sun is low and we’re talking cold country.

When I was growing up in Idaho Springs during the late 1960s and early 1970s, the building that now houses the Tommyknocker brewery and pub, was the Placer Inn, which was home to a bowling alley where my mom bowled on a league team that was sponsored by my dad’s Texaco gas station. All this to say that, while I no longer live in Idaho Springs, it’s still very much a part of who I was and who I am.

To see a brewpub in the old Placer Inn is a bittersweet thing. I have a vague memory of the look and sound of the place when I was growing up and to visit there now brings on a bit of the nostalgia, but even as I begin to pine for that bygone time almost 50 years ago, I rejoice in the notion that it’s become a doggone beer brewery for heaven’s sake! Just another reason to wish I was a local and could knock back a pint of fresh beer every afternoon.

Here’s what the Placer Inn looked like about 20 years before I was born (it remained little changed during the 1960s and into the 1970s).

After a tour around town I popped in for a glass of beer before heading back to Denver. There isn’t likely anything inside the Tommyknocker brewpub that even remotely harkens back to its bowling alley days, but the business of brewing is clearly underway, even if the pinsetters have long been forgotten. Taking a spot at the bar I asked if they had anything in the way of a stout and the tap tender pointed out both a stout and a porter on the menu. I opted for the Black Power Stout and watched as it was drawn from the tap right before my eyes. Beautiful.

Black Powder Stout presents a luscious coffee black with a creamy brown head that looks a bit like ice cream. There’s definitely coffee and chocolate in the smell and in the taste. It’s a very good stout, rating high on my list. Pity that it’s only available on draft and by the keg.

Not wanting to leave without a second sample to document, I asked for a sample sized glass of their Ornery Amber and found it to be not quite as hoppy as I expected with a slight alcohol bite. This amber has a bread or grainy finish and while it isn’t as good as the stout in my opinion, I liked it better than the Jack Whacker.

I chatted briefly with a local perched on a neighboring stool – wistfully admitting that I used to live in Idaho Springs, but still sounding and looking like a tourist. As if to confirm the notion, I left with a Tommyknocker t-shirt and can cozy. Who says you can’t go back? How else will you buy souvenirs?

Here's a shot of the Tommyknocker trophy case (so to speak):

Here’s what some other folks had to say about Tommyknocker beers:

Here’s a nifty post about Tommyknocker that appeared on The Beer Hunter. (Talk about nostalgia. This post dates back to 1999. Nice.)

Beer Advocate gives Tommyknocker high marks in general and rates their Black Powder Stout especially high.

Here's a picture of my Black Powder Stout being drawn at the tap (sweet):

Here’s an older post by my buddy over at Lagerheads. He noted a lightness in the alcohol content when he sampled the Jack Whacker and I note that the six pack I tried was less than 3.2% abw, so as usual he’s right on.

Chipper Dave at Fermentedly Challenged sampled the Jack Whacker more recently and seemed to like it.

Stop by the Tommyknocker website.

Cheers to the folks at Tommyknocker and the local pub folk who made even a displaced native feel at home, if just for the time it takes to knock back a glass of stout.