Colorado Trip: A Visit To Del Norte Brewing

While there are a number of things that stand out in my mind after 10 days or so in Colorado and Virginia, including time spent with family and time spent with some cool older gentlemen from the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps, I can say without hesitation that the beer highlight of the trip was paying a visit to Del Norte Brewing in Denver, Colorado.

For me at least Del Norte is really a nod in two directions because I live in between the place where Del Norte beer is crafted and the place that Del Norte beer is attempting to honor with their Mexican style brews.

As I prepared for my visit to Denver I scanned the map over at the Beer Mapping Project, hoping to find a suitable brewpub or brewery near my sister’s house on the west side of Denver. Only one beer venue fell within a 10-mile radius of my base of operations: Del Norte Brewing. I visited their website and dropped them an email, stating that I’d be interested in paying them a visit. I received a kind response, indicating that, while they don’t have a taproom or retail space, I’d be more than welcome to drop by the brewery for a tour and chat. The message indicated that they expected to be bottling during my visit. Thrilled, I printed the email, along with the phone numbers that were provided and packed them in my luggage.

If you don’t believe that beer folk are good folk then I’d suggest you spend a few minutes chatting with Jack Sosebee, whose Del Norte Brewing Company business card reads “Owner/Brewer.” I’d add “Beer Ambassador” to that job title, too. I called him at about 9:00 on a Sunday morning and by 10:30 I was walking into a nondescript warehouse space in a mixed use light industrial/residential area not too far from the University of Denver. Within minutes of my arrival I had a sample of Del Norte’s beer in my hand as we strolled through the compact brewing facility.

From the very start our talk was conversational, light and friendly; just two beer fans chewing the fat. No doubt my interest in beer lies more in the product than in the process, but when you’ve got someone who’s as enthusiastic about his work as Jack Sosebee seems to be, well, it’s all a package that seems to fit. (There’s a Madison Avenue jingle in there somewhere, I know it.) Jack and his business partner Joseph Fox are striving to bring back the traditional Mexican style of beer that has largely disappeared from the United States market in the last decade. I asked Jack if this exodus might be due to the rise of the locally brewed craft beer market in the U.S. and he allowed as that might be one reason while graciously admitting he’d never really thought of it in those terms. Jack pointed out that beer traveling north from Mexico typically arrives damaged, having languished on one loading dock or another for days and weeks before hitting shelves in the States. Faced with consistently poor quality imported brews, American beer drinkers may simply have turned away from those traditional Mexican style beers. Whatever the reason for the void, Del Norte Brewing seems perfectly willing to fill the niche.

I asked Jack what sets Mexican style beer apart from beers that we’re traditionally familiar with here in the U.S. If I may condense his answer into a single word, that word would be “corn.” (You won’t find this on the Wikipedia page for Beer in Mexico.) Corn is a decidedly American addition to the brewing process, making its appearance on the brewing scene in the late 1860s. Back then brewers learned that, although it was more expensive than all-malt Bavarian brewing, using corn or rice produced a lager with an attractive yellow color and favorable characteristics in body and head. The folks at Del Norte revisit this philosophy and succeed in producing beers that satisfy both the eye and the palate.

Orale, Del Norte’s Mexican style lager pours a nice golden color (bet it’s the corn) with a white head and there’s a sweet smell to it. The taste hints of grain (the corn again, I’d bet) with a mildly dry finish. It strikes me as more hoppy than, say a Budweiser and more carbonated than your run-of-the mill beers with a very slight alcohol bite to it.

Manana is Del Norte’s Mexican style amber lager and to me it smells faintly of banana bread, pouring an attractive dark tea color with a straw colored head. There’s the taste of bread in there with a hint of roasted grain and the mouth feel is heavier than the Orale.

Both Orale and Manana are terrific session beers and no doubt they would compliment a plate of enchiladas or carne asada. Of the two, I prefer Manana but that’s no doubt a reflection of my general preference for darker beers in general.

Jack is a font of Mexican-style beer knowledge and that passion translates into an unusual collecting hobby. While discussing their label design – oval, two label front and back – Jack confessed to having amassed a collection of some 900 Mexican beer labels. To me it’s proof that we should all decide what we love and work at that as much and for as long as we are able.

If our conversation was moving along smoothly, the same can’t be said for the labeling machine on the day of my visit. On the phone Jack mentioned that the line was acting up (“glitchy” was the word he used, I think) and when I arrived at the shop, nothing had changed. Indeed, as it turned out, the day’s bottling work was cancelled, with the Del Norte crew (five or so by my count) vowing to get with the manufacturer of the bottling equipment to see if a solution could be found so that bottling might resume later in the week. Through all this, Jack had a smile on his face, chatting amiably with me about Del Norte beer, craft beer, Colorado beer, Mexican beer and the vagaries of trying to make a go of it in a crowded craft beer market.

There are plans for seasonal beers in the future and Jack anticipates they’ll outgrow their current warehouse manufacturing setup sooner rather than later – even if the square footage continues to be sufficient, the capacity of their brewing equipment will need to increase to keep up with what they hope will be continued growing demand. There are plans to expand distribution outside of Colorado as well and one can only wish them all the best luck. Certainly they have the public relations skills they need, because I couldn’t have felt more welcome during my visit. If you’re in Colorado, I encourage you to visit the Del Norte Brewing website to find out where their beers are available. If you live elsewhere, as I do, then I can only suggest that you remain patient, all the while hoping that some day soon you’ll see Orale and Manana on tap, or in a retail outlet near you.

The Del Norte Brewing Crew

Mike Maynard, Sales & Distribution, Joseph Fox, Owner/Brewer, Jack Sosebee, Owner/Brewer

Update:
I dropped Jack an email and hit him with a couple of follow up questions before posting this story. Jack reports that the day after my visit, they contacted the manufacturer of the bottling machinery and got the glitch worked out. Seems the manufacturer had mis-wired one of the machines components. Joe worked the necessary fix and the Del Norte line was up and bottling the next weekend.

When asked where he thinks Del Norte Brewing will be in 5 years, Jack said he thinks they’ll be in a new facility, with a greater brewing capacity, distributing their beer not only throughout Colorado but also around the Southwest (west Texas to southern California, specifically). Jack thinks Del Norte will still be producing their flagship beers Orale and Manana, a couple of seasonal beers, and other beers that reflect the variety of beers available throughout Mexico. Jack finished his answer to this question by predicting they’ll still be having fun, and who’s going to argue with a prediction like that?

Finally, when asked about the Great American Beer Festival taking place in Denver this week, Jack said that yes, Del Norte Brewing would be there, “hoping a lot of people have a chance to enjoy our beer with us.”
That’s my hope too.

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.

Back at home and settling in...

I’ve returned from about 10 days traveling in Colorado and the Virginia/Washington, DC area and I’m working up some posts recounting my trip. Bear with me.

I sampled a few new beers, had a terrific visit to a small craft brewery in Denver, found an outstanding liquor store, visited a mysterious wild hop vine from my youth and tracked down a few historic Rocky Mountain drinking establishments. Among the beers sampled: stuff from Boulder Brewing, Del Norte Brewing, Dogfish Head Brewing, O’Dell’s Brewing, Saranac Brewing, Tommyknocker Brewing, and Yuengling Brewing.

I’ll have a few pictures to post and some rambling thoughts on a lot of what I saw. Please check back in a day or so!

Traveling Sabbatical

I won’t be posting for the next ten days or so. I’m heading to Colorado, then to Virginia. Though the ultimate purpose of my trip is unrelated to beer, I hope to visit some brewpubs, breweries and the like and perhaps relate tales of my travels when I return home near the end of the month.

I’ve got some definite notions of what I’d like to see and what beers I’d like to try while I’m gone, but given the vagaries of travel, weather, the economy and so forth, who knows what I’ll actually accomplish. I may wind up with my feet propped on a coffee table with some over the counter store bought beers, but rest assured, I’ll seek out the new and unusual – not so much for your reading pleasure as for my drinking pleasure! Remember, this is a beer diary after all!

In the meantime, I hope you’ll visit the folks whose blogs are listed here and check in later for an update from me.
God Bless You.

Packaging Oddity

At the risk of dredging up memories best forgotten, I’ll relate something odd that happened as I contemplated an empty Samuel Adams Irish Red bottle. (I do this a lot lately, meticulously pouring over beer bottles, labels and six-pack cartons. Makes for interesting reading and once in awhile I stumble on some interesting nugget of information…or something worth blogging about.)

As I turned the bottle around to peruse the label I noticed an ever-so-slight imperfection in what would likely be called the shoulder of the bottle – where the side of the bottle slopes up to meet the neck of the bottle. A divot or minor indentation caught the light and was even more noticeable to the touch. I immediately remembered Internet talk of a voluntary bottle recall that Sam Adams conducted earlier this year.

Here’s a piece about the recall posted at Boston.Com.

Click here to see a clarification from the folks at Harpoon Brewery.

I’m sure that a ding in the side of a bottle needn’t gin up the same level of concern as bits of glass in the bottle, but this certainly has me wondering about the bottling and packaging industry. I suppose I’ll save this slightly misshapen bottle; maybe it’ll bring a fortune on eBay. (I’m thinking not.)

I think the most important lesson to take away from the whole "glass chips in the bottle" episode is the fact that the Boston Brewing people were way out front on the whole issue; they announced the voluntary recall before any public concern was raised and in the end, the problem really wasn't a problem at least for consumers. No doubt it cost Boston Brewing and their bottle supplier time and money but the short term cost was worth it when you consider the potential long-term impact this might have had on their product image. If anything, the beer drinking public should feel more confident in their belief that Boston Brewing puts out a safe, quality product.

And what of the Irish Red that was in the bottle?

Irish Red was malty smelling and slightly sweet smelling in the glass. While the taste is sweet, I didn’t detect the caramel taste advertised on the neck label. Taste becomes more malty as the beer warms in the glass. There is a very slight alcohol bite in the finish that isn’t unpleasant. Samuel Adams Irish Red is definitely better than the last bottle of Killian’s Red I tried.

How about another from Boston Brewing?

Samuel Adams Black Lager has become something of a staple for me. I’ve even had folks tell me that they’ve used it to make beer floats. (Brenda at Brenda's Beer Art told me about the Black Lager floats and I’ve put it on my list of beer floats to try.) I last sampled Black Lager back in late July when Johnny Southside brought some over for us to enjoy the day we started our batch of Mr. Beer Red Ale.

Black Lager pours a dark coffee color as you’d expect. The head characteristic varies dramatically depending on how you pour it, but it looks great if poured well. It has a distinct coffee taste but not as much alcohol bite as you’d expect in a beer this black. I’ve been a long time Black Lager drinker (when I can find it) and I’ll continue to do so.

Anybody interested in an empty Irish Red bottle with a slight Salvidor Dali look to it?

New Belgium 1554 Beer Bread

Giving new meaning to the term "liquid bread."

Recently, my daughter brought home Cooking With Beer, a beer recipe book that she’d found on sale at the local chain bookstore (Barnes & Waldorf, Noblebooks, I forget which one). I pride myself on knowing my way around the kitchen a little bit, though I’m no gourmet chef. I like to think that my strongest cooking attribute is my work on the grill, but I gamely browsed through the recipe book and immediately lit on what looked like a nice, simple bread recipe that used beer as a principle ingredient. (Duh.)

I picked up a single bottle of New Belgium Brewing’s 1554 to use in the recipe and I must admit, I’m reasonably pleased with the outcome, though I’d probably tweak the process a bit in the future.

Here’s the recipe for Texas Beer Bread as it is listed in Cooking With Beer:
3 Cups self-rising flour
1/4/cup sugar
1 Twelve-ounce can of beer, room temperature
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, sugar and beer mixing until blended well.
Spoon into a 9x3 inch loaf pan
To give bread a glaze, combine egg and 1 tablespoon water and brush the mixture on the top of the loaf
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush top with melted butter.


The results using the 1554 were entirely satisfactory with one exception. In the future I believe I will refrain from brushing melted butter on the loaf after removing it from the oven. Additionally, I think that, depending upon the type of beer I use, I may up the sugar slightly to make a sweeter bread. (For example, I’m tempted to use a chocolate stout, add a tad more sugar than the recipe calls for, throw in just a very small amount of chocolate chips and perhaps walnuts and raisins for a holiday bread. What do you think?)

In any event, my 1554 Texas Beer Bread was gone in about three days and I’ll be baking another loaf once the temperature here cools off a bit. For now, it’s back to the grill!

You can purchase Sheryn R. Jones’ Cooking With Beer over at Beer Books. By the way, Beer Books is an awesome site, just to browse around for anything beer-related. Have a look!

Birthday Sink Toss and Not So Peachy

I celebrated a birthday last week. I popped open a “vintage” beer in honor of the occasion. I drank a little less than half the contents, then unceremoniously poured the remaining beer down the sink. C’mon Dogfish Head, get your act together!

I purchased a single bottle of Dogfish Head Brewing’s Raison d’ Extra several months ago – for an ungodly sum that I will not divulge here. I’ve coddled and babied that bottle all this time, waiting for the right opportunity and figured the occasion of my birthday ought to be as good a time as any. The bottling date on this thing was September 2006 and despite the fact that I wasn’t wild about their 90 Minute IPA, I hoped for the best.

“Raison Ejecta”

This stuff has a fruity, malty smell in the bottle and an alcohol bite even in the aroma. It pours a dark red color that’s appealing to the eye but the weak head is a disappointment. The taste is completely liquor or wine like and tingles in your mouth like mouthwash or perhaps like alka-seltzer tablets. Maybe a single 12-ounce bottle could be split (along with the price) between 3 or four drinkers for slow sipping. Given that I did not have anyone with me who was willing to help me, I poured a good deal of this down the sink.

“Peachy Cabron!”

A few days later, keeping an open mind, I purchased a single bottle of Dogfish Head’s Festina Peche, a self-described “malt beverage brewed with peach concentrate.” All I can say is that it’s better than the Raison d’Extra, which is to say I didn’t pour it down the sink. Surprisingly, this one has only a slight fruit smell in the bottle and pours with no head and no beading. Looks like fruit juice in the glass and the notes in my beer notebook include “weird,” and “tastes like watered down juice.”

Maybe I’m just not hip or "off-centered," but frankly, I’m beginning to think that quirky advertisements are about all that Dogfish Head has to offer. I’ve sampled three beers produced by Dogfish Head (90 Minute Imperial IPA, Raison D’Extra and Festina Peche). I’ve also sampled one beer that I brewed at home using the Mr. Beer home brewing kit. So far Dogfish Head, I like what I brew better than what you brew.