Two of Denver’s most highly acclaimed craft beverage companies, Great Divide Brewing and Pablo’s Coffee, have entered a partnership to create a new seasonal beer, an espresso-infused version of Great Divide’s Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.
Great Divide Brewing brews some of the globe’s most balanced yet assertive and flavorful beers. In 1994, Brian Dunn set up shop in an abandoned dairy-processing plant at the edge of downtown Denver and began brewing the beers that would eventually carry Great Divide to its status as one of America’s most decorated microbreweries and would help transform Denver into an international destination for beer lovers.
Espresso Oak Aged Yeti “is a beer we’ve wanted to do for a long time,†says Dunn. “Imperial stouts already tend to have undertones of coffee, so the infusion of espresso makes for a perfect complement to Oak Aged Yeti’s complex character. We’ve been playing around with the beer for a long time, trying to get the right balance of espresso to beer. Once we got it ready for commercial release, we knew we wanted to partner with a local supplier for the espresso. Pablo’s makes the best coffee in Denver, so the choice was easy.â€
Located on East Sixth Avenue in Denver’s Alamo Placita neighborhood, Pablo’s Coffee, “A Worldwide Chain of One,†has served Denver’s finest coffee since 1995, roasting all of its beans in-house and serving as an antidote to the deluge of multinational coffee chains.
Of the partnership with Great Divide, Pablo’s founder Craig Conner says, “We have very similar business models—our companies are both committed to quality over quantity, and to serving our local communities in a way that large corporations are unable to do. And just as in the beer world, most of the best, most award-winning coffee comes from small roasters like us.†The company’s small size and proximity to Great Divide allowed it to custom-roast the espresso beans at the last minute possible so that they were as fresh as possible and at just the right specifications to make them perfect for the beer. “We couldn’t be more pleased,†says Conner, “to be partnering with another great local business like ours to create something special.â€
The espresso—sourced through direct relationships with farmers in three different countries—combines with Oak Aged Yeti’s vanilla oak character, intense roasty maltiness and bold hop profile to create a truly heady experience. Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout will be available in 22-ounce bottles and on draft through mid-April.