denver brewhoo
05-28-2004, 06:26 PM
Ok, when I moved to Denver in 1979 this was a cheesy faux english pub/fern bar, where we picked up hoochie mamas on Saturday night whilst swilling Coors Light and brought 'em back on Sunday morning for Bloody Marys garnished with foot-long celery stalks, and Eggs Benedict featuring, I swear, petroleum-based Hollandaise, kissing them goodbye in the parking lot and hoping never to see them again, or at least until next Saturday, if you know the kind of place I'm talking about....
So even though I knew it was now a brewpub, I demurred, thinking that they were likely just cashing in on the fad. I tasted the Man Beer at the 2003 GABF and wasn't all that impressed, maybe because the visual of the orange-jumpsuited crew and the rowdies they were attracting distracted me, but...
Last night I gave it a try and discovered they have 3 casks on the hand-pull. I did not know that, and had thought the closest cask conditioned beer to chez denver brewhoo was downtown at the Falling Rock. The three available were their famous Man Beer, an IPA; The Tower ESB; and something called simply "American Pale Ale".
The Tower is an orangey copper-amber in color, opaque in the dim light which so flatters the aging denver brewhoo, (as it did the hoochie mamas of yesteryear) which poured with about 3/4 of an inch of creamy off white head, which settled down to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch but didn't dissipate all the way like my homebrewed ESB does, down to a thin film. How do they do that?
The mouth feel is velvety; the aroma is pleasantly estery, the hops citrusy so that the combined effect is part nectarine, part apple, part tangerine...I associate this with Kent Goldings or Fuggles in the hop department combined with like a WLP 013 english ale yeast but what do i know/ would definitely call this
"English" in conception and execution though. This doesn't get all up in your grille with bitterness and hoppiness in the American way; and the malts are sweet, caramelly, and bready in that order. Balance very nice. This was served at cellar temperature and was truly a bitchin' pint. (You hardly ever hear Michael Jackson use that adjective, more's the pity).
The "American Pale Ale" was a more burnished copper-amber, very clear in comparison to The Tower, pouring a whiter fluffy head which again showed some staying power--carapils, maybe, responsible for this in both beers? More upfront bitterness, though not assaultive; less fruity in aroma, perhaps a little more citrussy and a hoppier feel than the ESB, though I wouldn't use the word "grapefruit"--still tangerines and apples though not overpoweringly. Guessing a sort of neutral yeast like WL001--not very estery to me. Again well balanced, sweet malt notes and some caramel. This was another subtle beer IMHO, something sorely lacking these days on this side of the pond. I'll be having a few more of these, for sure. These guys are NOT fad followers; these are some well crafted beers. denver brewhoo highly recommends this joint if you are ever in southeast Denver. Extremely convenient to the hotels of South Colorado Boulevard for you business travelers.
Saving the Man Beer for next time; kicking self for taking so long to get into this bar, less than two miles from my house, less than a mile from my office.
So even though I knew it was now a brewpub, I demurred, thinking that they were likely just cashing in on the fad. I tasted the Man Beer at the 2003 GABF and wasn't all that impressed, maybe because the visual of the orange-jumpsuited crew and the rowdies they were attracting distracted me, but...
Last night I gave it a try and discovered they have 3 casks on the hand-pull. I did not know that, and had thought the closest cask conditioned beer to chez denver brewhoo was downtown at the Falling Rock. The three available were their famous Man Beer, an IPA; The Tower ESB; and something called simply "American Pale Ale".
The Tower is an orangey copper-amber in color, opaque in the dim light which so flatters the aging denver brewhoo, (as it did the hoochie mamas of yesteryear) which poured with about 3/4 of an inch of creamy off white head, which settled down to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch but didn't dissipate all the way like my homebrewed ESB does, down to a thin film. How do they do that?
The mouth feel is velvety; the aroma is pleasantly estery, the hops citrusy so that the combined effect is part nectarine, part apple, part tangerine...I associate this with Kent Goldings or Fuggles in the hop department combined with like a WLP 013 english ale yeast but what do i know/ would definitely call this
"English" in conception and execution though. This doesn't get all up in your grille with bitterness and hoppiness in the American way; and the malts are sweet, caramelly, and bready in that order. Balance very nice. This was served at cellar temperature and was truly a bitchin' pint. (You hardly ever hear Michael Jackson use that adjective, more's the pity).
The "American Pale Ale" was a more burnished copper-amber, very clear in comparison to The Tower, pouring a whiter fluffy head which again showed some staying power--carapils, maybe, responsible for this in both beers? More upfront bitterness, though not assaultive; less fruity in aroma, perhaps a little more citrussy and a hoppier feel than the ESB, though I wouldn't use the word "grapefruit"--still tangerines and apples though not overpoweringly. Guessing a sort of neutral yeast like WL001--not very estery to me. Again well balanced, sweet malt notes and some caramel. This was another subtle beer IMHO, something sorely lacking these days on this side of the pond. I'll be having a few more of these, for sure. These guys are NOT fad followers; these are some well crafted beers. denver brewhoo highly recommends this joint if you are ever in southeast Denver. Extremely convenient to the hotels of South Colorado Boulevard for you business travelers.
Saving the Man Beer for next time; kicking self for taking so long to get into this bar, less than two miles from my house, less than a mile from my office.