Crabtree Brewing's Orton Imperial Stout has a great story, particularly if you're a homebrewer itching to get his or her beer produced commercially. (I bought a bar so I could do that, but that's another story, told at mind-numbing length earlier, on this here blog...)
See, every year there's a pro-am competition at the Great American Beer Festival, where a professional brewer from a licensed brewery or brewpub partners with a homebrewer to make a one-off batch of whatever strikes their fancy. As we understand it, Crabtree ran a contest to find their partner, and a Russian Imperial Stout created by a couple of brewing brothers named Orton carried the day. And therefore, Crabtree's GABF pro-am entry is called Orton Imperial Stout, and they made enough that the public gets some too.
Because The Uptown Brothers have a fondness for anything brother related, and because it is a damn fine beer, we ordered a keg about a month and a half ago. But the brewery had some trouble getting the carbonation right, so we were given another Crabtree offering, the Meat Locker smoked porter. Which we liked, and which sold out pretty quick, but it wasn't what we ordered. So being the cool folks that they are, when the Orton Imperial Stout became available, Crabtree knocked 10% off the price, for the inconvenience. Being the cool folks that we try to be, we are passing that savings on to you. So this 11% ABV malt monster is a mere $6.50 for a 12 oz pour.
So come in and try it. A chewy, full-bodied Russian Imperial Stout, this bear features strong flavors of roasted coffee, toffee, molasses, and dark bitter chocolate. Just the thing for a cold winter night, or in this weird Denver "winter", a 65 degree December 13 like we had today.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Lukcy Basartd has ARRIVED!
Stone's wonderful strong ale, Lukcy Basartd, is now pouring at Uptown Brothers. At 9.2% ABV, this beer is a blend of the original Arrogant Bastard, Oaked Bastard, and Double Bastard. We're serving this one-off in a 12 oz glass for $7, which works out to about $9 a pint, which is a bargain...so hurry down and get a couple, before it's gone.
Next up will be Left Hand's annual "Fade To Black"; but this year it's a smoked Baltic Porter. Unlike most (all? all major?)brewers, Left Hand has smoked this malt in-house, and they're pretty proud of that fact. Should be on in the next day or so, by Friday for sure...
Speaking of Friday, our "house band"...well, "house duo" anyway, Robbie Wicks & Taylor Biskup, will be playing Friday night; you don't want to miss them. Around 9 to around 1.
Next up will be Left Hand's annual "Fade To Black"; but this year it's a smoked Baltic Porter. Unlike most (all? all major?)brewers, Left Hand has smoked this malt in-house, and they're pretty proud of that fact. Should be on in the next day or so, by Friday for sure...
Speaking of Friday, our "house band"...well, "house duo" anyway, Robbie Wicks & Taylor Biskup, will be playing Friday night; you don't want to miss them. Around 9 to around 1.
Monday, November 29, 2010
some cool new beers & watch for new menu
We have some pretty cool new stuff in. First, three classic Colorado seasonals: Bristol Winter Warlock, Avery Old Jubilation, and Odell Isolation. Next, we just tapped a half barrel of Avery The Czar, a HUGE Russian Imperial Stout at 11.03%. Lost in the Thanksgiving shuffle was our first keg of New Belgium's wonderful Flanders Red Ale, "La Folie", which we are serving in the breweries specially designed .47 liter (a US Pint) snifter.
We also got our hands on two sixth barrel kegs of Sierra Nevada's "Grand Cru", a combination of Bigfoot, Celebration, and their flagship Pale Ale. There's still some Port Old Viscosity and Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout,but we're on our last keg of these two plus Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti, so hurry in.
Also almost gone is our last 1/6 barrel of Lost Abbey Devotion.
We'll have Anchor's Our Special Ale (commonly referred to as "the Anchor Christmas Beer") tomorrow; a malfunctioning coupler kept it off line tonight. And we're well into our second keg of Sierra Nevada's wonderful seasonal, Celebration, a classic California IPA.
Our friends at The Bull & Bush Tavern sent us over a keg of their award winning IPA, "Man Beer", and it's pouring as I write. So, Cap Hill-ites don't have to go all the way down to Glendale to satisfy their Man Beer jones, at least for a week or two while we've got it on.
We'll be dropping a new menu with daily under $6 lunch specials, right around the first of the month. We're also dropping the burger size from 1/2 pound to 6 ounces (bigger than the 1/3 lb of some of our local burger competition, 1/3 lb being 5.33 oz...) so we can give you a great priced but still very big burger, for lunch or smaller dinner appetites. We'll still have a half pounder available for the big appetites and high metabolism types... and we're also reducing prices on lots of things that AREN'T getting smaller, and adding some fun new stuff. Check it out.
We also got our hands on two sixth barrel kegs of Sierra Nevada's "Grand Cru", a combination of Bigfoot, Celebration, and their flagship Pale Ale. There's still some Port Old Viscosity and Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout,but we're on our last keg of these two plus Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti, so hurry in.
Also almost gone is our last 1/6 barrel of Lost Abbey Devotion.
We'll have Anchor's Our Special Ale (commonly referred to as "the Anchor Christmas Beer") tomorrow; a malfunctioning coupler kept it off line tonight. And we're well into our second keg of Sierra Nevada's wonderful seasonal, Celebration, a classic California IPA.
Our friends at The Bull & Bush Tavern sent us over a keg of their award winning IPA, "Man Beer", and it's pouring as I write. So, Cap Hill-ites don't have to go all the way down to Glendale to satisfy their Man Beer jones, at least for a week or two while we've got it on.
We'll be dropping a new menu with daily under $6 lunch specials, right around the first of the month. We're also dropping the burger size from 1/2 pound to 6 ounces (bigger than the 1/3 lb of some of our local burger competition, 1/3 lb being 5.33 oz...) so we can give you a great priced but still very big burger, for lunch or smaller dinner appetites. We'll still have a half pounder available for the big appetites and high metabolism types... and we're also reducing prices on lots of things that AREN'T getting smaller, and adding some fun new stuff. Check it out.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Ol' Double Bagger Redux
Lovers of big beers lamenting the quick departure of Avery Rumpkin and Port Old Viscosity, rejoice: We have a return engagement from the ODB himself, Oskar Blues Ol' Double Bagger.
Weighing in at 13.2% ABVC and over 100 IBUs of 100% Columbus hops, the Bagger has smoothed out even more since his first too-quick appearance at Uptown Brothers during GABF; this is a beer that after only two months of barrel-aging, ie when totally immature, took an honorable mention at the Toronado Barleywine Festival in San Fransisco.
That was February, this is now, and this beer is all grown up and ready to warm your evening, and just in time as snow is coming to the 6000 ft level. (We're about a block away and a few steps down from the 5280 ft marker on the west side of the Capitol, so it may miss us tonight, but it's coming soon.)
Oh and there's still plenty of Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout...
Weighing in at 13.2% ABVC and over 100 IBUs of 100% Columbus hops, the Bagger has smoothed out even more since his first too-quick appearance at Uptown Brothers during GABF; this is a beer that after only two months of barrel-aging, ie when totally immature, took an honorable mention at the Toronado Barleywine Festival in San Fransisco.
That was February, this is now, and this beer is all grown up and ready to warm your evening, and just in time as snow is coming to the 6000 ft level. (We're about a block away and a few steps down from the 5280 ft marker on the west side of the Capitol, so it may miss us tonight, but it's coming soon.)
Oh and there's still plenty of Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
New on tap: Brother Thelonius & La Noche del Diablo
just added on Halloween Sunday: La Noche del Diablofrom the Black Fox division of Bristol Brewing:
This beer is a spiced winter ale, a black saison, but from the name (The Night of The Devil) is obviously brewed for Halloween. The main things we pick up are the heat from the chiles and the cinnamon and cherries (Our brewery liaison Boon says it is aged on cherries for 2 weeks), all of which give it a little bit of that flavor we remember from the Red Hots we used to get in our grocery sacks trick-or-treating back in the day.
We're one of three retail sites in Denver with this one...
Then, moments ago, North Coast Brewing's Brother Thelonius:
North Coast’s Brother Thelonius is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, coming in at 9.4% ABV, brewed at North Coast’s Fort Bragg CA brewery, on the Mendocino coast. It pours a deep mahogany, but shows red highlights when held to the light. Aroma is raisins and cherries, perhaps a little smoke and molasses or brown sugar. Flavor is more of the same, figs, raisins, cherries, plums, and a dark caramelly maltiness. Some clove and cinnamon, some notable alcohol warmth, and funky Belgian yeastiness. Hops are there, at 32 IBU, but in a supporting role.
A great California take on a classic Belgian style, with the added benefit that a portion of all sales proceeds are donated by the brewery to the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz “whose mission is to offer the world's most promising young musicians college level training by America's jazz masters and to present public school-based jazz education programs for young people around the world. All of these programs are offered free of charge to the students and schools.” (quote from North Coast Brewing Co website).
Only bar in Denver you can try this one...
This beer is a spiced winter ale, a black saison, but from the name (The Night of The Devil) is obviously brewed for Halloween. The main things we pick up are the heat from the chiles and the cinnamon and cherries (Our brewery liaison Boon says it is aged on cherries for 2 weeks), all of which give it a little bit of that flavor we remember from the Red Hots we used to get in our grocery sacks trick-or-treating back in the day.
We're one of three retail sites in Denver with this one...
Then, moments ago, North Coast Brewing's Brother Thelonius:
North Coast’s Brother Thelonius is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, coming in at 9.4% ABV, brewed at North Coast’s Fort Bragg CA brewery, on the Mendocino coast. It pours a deep mahogany, but shows red highlights when held to the light. Aroma is raisins and cherries, perhaps a little smoke and molasses or brown sugar. Flavor is more of the same, figs, raisins, cherries, plums, and a dark caramelly maltiness. Some clove and cinnamon, some notable alcohol warmth, and funky Belgian yeastiness. Hops are there, at 32 IBU, but in a supporting role.
A great California take on a classic Belgian style, with the added benefit that a portion of all sales proceeds are donated by the brewery to the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz “whose mission is to offer the world's most promising young musicians college level training by America's jazz masters and to present public school-based jazz education programs for young people around the world. All of these programs are offered free of charge to the students and schools.” (quote from North Coast Brewing Co website).
Only bar in Denver you can try this one...
Monday, October 25, 2010
New on Draft--Cool stuff for fall
We have a few new things we think you'll like--we're crazy about them. First,(from our in-house server notes) Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10:
Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 is part of an annual series of cool beers Stone began on New Year’s Day 2001, with 01.01.01, and will continue through 12.12.12 two years from now. Our keg has a brew date of 10/7/10. This year’s version is a Belgian “Strong Golden Ale” and carries an ABV of 9.5%. Brewed with the Wyeast “Ardennes” strain of yeast, it has a restrained Belgian farmhouse earthiness, bready/biscuit maltiness, a slight touch of cantaloupe and honey, and you can taste the white wine grapes (Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer) added in secondary fermentation, as well as the chamomile flowers the beer was steeped in during aging.
Then, Port Old Viscosity:
Port Old Viscosity
is an American Double or Imperial Stout, dominated by flavors of coffee, chocolate, roasty malt, smoky oak, and maybe a little vanilla. There is some heat from the alcohol, but not as much as you might expect from this 10% ABV stout. This is a full-bodied beer, for sure, but not a heavy one, again pleasantly surprising given the high gravity. The brewery’s own notes call it “sludgy” but we disagree. Interestingly, this beer is a combination of 80% “new” beer, fermented in stainless steel, and 20% “old” beer, also fermented in stainless, but then aged at least 6 months in bourbon barrels.
Next, Port High Tide:
Port Brewing High Tide—a “fresh hop” IPA
This beer was brewed with fresh-picked, undried, unprocessed Yakima Valley hops, with Centennial fresh hops used in the whirlpool (at the end of the boil, generating flavor and aroma) and Chinook fresh hops for “dry hopping” (in the fermenter, with impact primarily on aroma, but some effect to flavor as well). It is an American IPA, coming in at about 6.5 % ABV (“alcohol by volume”). Centennial are famous for a citrus flavor, somewhere between orange and grapefruit, while Chinook tend to be perceived as a big, bitter, pine-y hop. Fresh from the harvest, these flavors are intensified.
Stay tuned; coming this week are Odell's Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bristol's Black Fox La Noche Del Diablo (a black saison, just in time for Halloween) and the classic Halloween beer, Rogue's Dead Guy maibock. And everybody's favorite late fall seasonal: Sierra Nevada Celebration.
Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 is part of an annual series of cool beers Stone began on New Year’s Day 2001, with 01.01.01, and will continue through 12.12.12 two years from now. Our keg has a brew date of 10/7/10. This year’s version is a Belgian “Strong Golden Ale” and carries an ABV of 9.5%. Brewed with the Wyeast “Ardennes” strain of yeast, it has a restrained Belgian farmhouse earthiness, bready/biscuit maltiness, a slight touch of cantaloupe and honey, and you can taste the white wine grapes (Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer) added in secondary fermentation, as well as the chamomile flowers the beer was steeped in during aging.
Then, Port Old Viscosity:
Port Old Viscosity
is an American Double or Imperial Stout, dominated by flavors of coffee, chocolate, roasty malt, smoky oak, and maybe a little vanilla. There is some heat from the alcohol, but not as much as you might expect from this 10% ABV stout. This is a full-bodied beer, for sure, but not a heavy one, again pleasantly surprising given the high gravity. The brewery’s own notes call it “sludgy” but we disagree. Interestingly, this beer is a combination of 80% “new” beer, fermented in stainless steel, and 20% “old” beer, also fermented in stainless, but then aged at least 6 months in bourbon barrels.
Next, Port High Tide:
Port Brewing High Tide—a “fresh hop” IPA
This beer was brewed with fresh-picked, undried, unprocessed Yakima Valley hops, with Centennial fresh hops used in the whirlpool (at the end of the boil, generating flavor and aroma) and Chinook fresh hops for “dry hopping” (in the fermenter, with impact primarily on aroma, but some effect to flavor as well). It is an American IPA, coming in at about 6.5 % ABV (“alcohol by volume”). Centennial are famous for a citrus flavor, somewhere between orange and grapefruit, while Chinook tend to be perceived as a big, bitter, pine-y hop. Fresh from the harvest, these flavors are intensified.
Stay tuned; coming this week are Odell's Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bristol's Black Fox La Noche Del Diablo (a black saison, just in time for Halloween) and the classic Halloween beer, Rogue's Dead Guy maibock. And everybody's favorite late fall seasonal: Sierra Nevada Celebration.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
New Whiskey Selections
We’re beefing up our whiskey choices in light of the recent cooler weather.
We’ve added a great (and reasonably priced) small batch bourbon, Evan Williams Single Barrel (2000), at $6.00.
We love Irish whiskey and only had Jameson’s and Powers’ basic blended Irish. We felt like we needed to improve on that list, and so we’ve added three new Irish whiskies: Knappogue Castle 12 yr Single Malt ($7.00), Redbreast 12 year Pot Still ($7.50), and (we are REALLY happy about this) Greenore 15 yr Single Grain Small Batch (only 5000 bottles made) at $9.00.
Come in and try these, and if there’s something you want that we don’t have yet, let us know and we’ll get it.
We’ve added a great (and reasonably priced) small batch bourbon, Evan Williams Single Barrel (2000), at $6.00.
We love Irish whiskey and only had Jameson’s and Powers’ basic blended Irish. We felt like we needed to improve on that list, and so we’ve added three new Irish whiskies: Knappogue Castle 12 yr Single Malt ($7.00), Redbreast 12 year Pot Still ($7.50), and (we are REALLY happy about this) Greenore 15 yr Single Grain Small Batch (only 5000 bottles made) at $9.00.
Come in and try these, and if there’s something you want that we don’t have yet, let us know and we’ll get it.
Today's draft list
Here's what we have on tap today:
Wheats/Wits/Hefes
1. Avery White Rascal (5.5%) $4.75
2. Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat (4.6%) $4.75
3. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier (5.4%) $6.00
Pale Lagers
4. Lagunitas Pils (5.3%) $4.75
5. Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsener (4.7%) $4.75
6. Stella Artois (5.2%) $5.50
7. Coors Light (4.2%) $3.50
Other Lagers
8. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Heller Bock (8.3%) $7.50 (12 oz)
9. Avery The Kaiser Maerzen (10.03%) $7.00 (12 oz)
10. Spaten Oktoberfestbier Ur-Marzen (5.9%) $5.50
11. Boulevard Bob’s ‘47 Octoberfest (5.8%) $4.75
12. Left Hand Oktoberfest (6.0%) $5.00
Reds/Ambers/Browns/Scottish (Malty Ales)
13. Bristol Laughing Lab Scottish-Style Ale (5.3%) $4.75
14. Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown (5.5%) $5.00
15. Rogue Dead Guy Maibock-style Ale (6.5%) $6.00
American Pale Ales
16. Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale (5.8%) $4.75
European Pale Ales
17. Sunner Kolsch (5.4%) $6.00
Porters & Stouts
18. O’Hara’s Irish Stout (4.6%) $5.50 (nitro)
19. Left Hand Milk Stout (5.3%) $5.00 (nitro)
India Pale Ale
20. Asher Green Bullet Organic IPA (7.2%) $6.00
21. Avery IPA (6.3%) $4.75
22. Bristol Compass IPA (6.7%) $4.75
23. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (7.2%) $5.00
Imperial or “Double” IPAs (IIPAs)
24. Breckenridge 471 (9.2%) $6.50 (12 oz)
25. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (9.0%) $6.50 (12 oz)
American Belgian-style Ales
26. Victory/Dogfish Head/Stone Saison du BUFF (6.8%) $6.50 (12 oz)
27. Lost Abbey Red Barn Saison (6.7%) $7.00 (12 oz)
28. Russian River Damnation Belgian Strong Golden (7.75%) $7.50 (12 oz)
29. Breckenridge Trademark Tripel (Breck Tour Rare Beer #10) $6.50 (12 oz)
30. Asher Funbarrel Kriek (7.4%) $7.00 (12 oz)
American Barleywine
31. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack and Ken’s Black Barleywine (10.2%) $7.50 (12 oz)
Cider
32. Magner’s Irish Cider (4.5%) $5.50
Wheats/Wits/Hefes
1. Avery White Rascal (5.5%) $4.75
2. Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat (4.6%) $4.75
3. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier (5.4%) $6.00
Pale Lagers
4. Lagunitas Pils (5.3%) $4.75
5. Avery Joe’s Premium American Pilsener (4.7%) $4.75
6. Stella Artois (5.2%) $5.50
7. Coors Light (4.2%) $3.50
Other Lagers
8. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Heller Bock (8.3%) $7.50 (12 oz)
9. Avery The Kaiser Maerzen (10.03%) $7.00 (12 oz)
10. Spaten Oktoberfestbier Ur-Marzen (5.9%) $5.50
11. Boulevard Bob’s ‘47 Octoberfest (5.8%) $4.75
12. Left Hand Oktoberfest (6.0%) $5.00
Reds/Ambers/Browns/Scottish (Malty Ales)
13. Bristol Laughing Lab Scottish-Style Ale (5.3%) $4.75
14. Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown (5.5%) $5.00
15. Rogue Dead Guy Maibock-style Ale (6.5%) $6.00
American Pale Ales
16. Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale (5.8%) $4.75
European Pale Ales
17. Sunner Kolsch (5.4%) $6.00
Porters & Stouts
18. O’Hara’s Irish Stout (4.6%) $5.50 (nitro)
19. Left Hand Milk Stout (5.3%) $5.00 (nitro)
India Pale Ale
20. Asher Green Bullet Organic IPA (7.2%) $6.00
21. Avery IPA (6.3%) $4.75
22. Bristol Compass IPA (6.7%) $4.75
23. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (7.2%) $5.00
Imperial or “Double” IPAs (IIPAs)
24. Breckenridge 471 (9.2%) $6.50 (12 oz)
25. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (9.0%) $6.50 (12 oz)
American Belgian-style Ales
26. Victory/Dogfish Head/Stone Saison du BUFF (6.8%) $6.50 (12 oz)
27. Lost Abbey Red Barn Saison (6.7%) $7.00 (12 oz)
28. Russian River Damnation Belgian Strong Golden (7.75%) $7.50 (12 oz)
29. Breckenridge Trademark Tripel (Breck Tour Rare Beer #10) $6.50 (12 oz)
30. Asher Funbarrel Kriek (7.4%) $7.00 (12 oz)
American Barleywine
31. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack and Ken’s Black Barleywine (10.2%) $7.50 (12 oz)
Cider
32. Magner’s Irish Cider (4.5%) $5.50
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Here's what's on tap tonight
Ok, so it's day one of GABF and if you're not at the session and interested in wondering around a little, here's what's on tap (in both senses of the phrase) tonight at Uptown Brothers Brewing Co.
First, a pretty doggone good review of the food. Yes, food, in a craft beer bar. Here's the link to Wednesday's Denver Post food section: http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_16066270
Next, tonight's events: Breckenridge Brewing Co's unofficial GABF Kickoff Party, public absolutely welcome! Meet the dedicated crazies who brew and package those fine Breckenridge beers. We'll have 471 IIPA on tap, also Trademark Tripel (beer number 10 on Breck's "Rare Beer Tour", and only available at Uptown Brothers Brewing Co) and at least a few pints from our almost-ready-to-kick keg of Lucky U IPA. And for your listening pleasure, the "cosmic country" of Colorado Goat Roper's Guild, comprised totally, or mostly, of Breckenridge brewers and cellarmen.
In our upstairs area, the cool dudes from brewcrewtv.com and their social group (read: drinking club) #BREWden are meeting and greeting and filming and drinking. Join them! Get on their twitter list. They always know where the party is.
As for what's literally on tap, I can't seem to import the menu my fat fingers labored over for an hour today, so let's just say 32 draft beers including the Breckenridge beers named above, two from Lost Abbey (Lost and Found and Red Barn, Avery IPA and White Rascal, Dogfish Head Punkin, Russian River Damnation, the Victory/Stone/Dogfish collaboration Saison Du B.U.F.F, Tommyknocker Hop Strike, Asher Greenade, Sierra Nevada Tumbler and 30th Anniversary Heller Bock; Avery The Kaiser and Ruminator; and the undisputed big dog, Oskar Blues ODB ("Ol Double Bagger")weighing in at 13.2% ABV....and 14 more, which we hope to empty so we can put on some of our reserves, including Moylander Hopsickle, Three Barrel Brewery's Penitente; and The Bruery's Autumn Maple.
Come see us!
First, a pretty doggone good review of the food. Yes, food, in a craft beer bar. Here's the link to Wednesday's Denver Post food section: http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_16066270
Next, tonight's events: Breckenridge Brewing Co's unofficial GABF Kickoff Party, public absolutely welcome! Meet the dedicated crazies who brew and package those fine Breckenridge beers. We'll have 471 IIPA on tap, also Trademark Tripel (beer number 10 on Breck's "Rare Beer Tour", and only available at Uptown Brothers Brewing Co) and at least a few pints from our almost-ready-to-kick keg of Lucky U IPA. And for your listening pleasure, the "cosmic country" of Colorado Goat Roper's Guild, comprised totally, or mostly, of Breckenridge brewers and cellarmen.
In our upstairs area, the cool dudes from brewcrewtv.com and their social group (read: drinking club) #BREWden are meeting and greeting and filming and drinking. Join them! Get on their twitter list. They always know where the party is.
As for what's literally on tap, I can't seem to import the menu my fat fingers labored over for an hour today, so let's just say 32 draft beers including the Breckenridge beers named above, two from Lost Abbey (Lost and Found and Red Barn, Avery IPA and White Rascal, Dogfish Head Punkin, Russian River Damnation, the Victory/Stone/Dogfish collaboration Saison Du B.U.F.F, Tommyknocker Hop Strike, Asher Greenade, Sierra Nevada Tumbler and 30th Anniversary Heller Bock; Avery The Kaiser and Ruminator; and the undisputed big dog, Oskar Blues ODB ("Ol Double Bagger")weighing in at 13.2% ABV....and 14 more, which we hope to empty so we can put on some of our reserves, including Moylander Hopsickle, Three Barrel Brewery's Penitente; and The Bruery's Autumn Maple.
Come see us!
Monday, August 30, 2010
"Brewery In Planning"
"Brewery In Planning" is the designation the Brewer's Association gives you when you pay for a membership and don't have an existing packaging brewery or brewpub. And a "Brewery in Planning" is how we've been classified by that wonderful organization for roughly 3 years, since I first joined, when "Uptown Brothers Brewing Co" was just a bored lawyer's daydream.
All that has been changing for awhile now, and it's fixing to change a lot more in the near future.
You see, my wife and I and a few friends have stepped off into the abyss and are in the process of making this bored lawyer's daydream a reality. Back in April we closed on the purchase of a restaurant formerly (in three different incarnations) known as "The Red Room", at 320 East Colfax Avenue, in the shadow of the State Capitol. What we bought was basically a few tables and chairs and some kitchen equipment (though the vast majority of the fixtures and equipment on site when we started belong to the landlord, as the result of the checkered history of the joint through the last three owners), and a transferable "Hotel and Restaurant" liquor license.
Which leads to an explanation, as simple as I can make it, of why something called "Uptown Brothers Brewing Co" isn't selling, and currently can't sell, its own brewed-on-the-premises beer, and why I don't think (contrary to the belief of some yelp reviewers who didn't get the benefit of the explanation, and a few of the customers to whom I have given it, apparently poorly) it is "misleading" to call the place Uptown Brothers Brewing Co.
When we found the place listed for sale, it had been listed for awhile, and the asking price had been cut in half. Without revealing any trade secrets, let's just say the price wasn't very high. If it had been free, it wouldn't have been much less expensive than it was, but as always there's a reason for that, and the reason was that the rent was (and is), shall we say, optimistic for the neighborhood. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on where one sits in this transaction) the folks paying the rent were and are solid citizens, with more than sufficient means and assets to pay the rent on an empty building for the three years remaining on the lease. This dis-incentivized (to get all ECON 101, here) the landlord from offering any rent reduction; why should he, given that he knows he can collect.
So a rent abatement during the anticipated 6 month period for application for, and granting of, a new Federal and State brewpub license...wasn't going to happen. And while the sellers were motivated, and did ultimately (out of their own pocket) provide us with a couple months of free rent and a substantial ongoing rent subsidy (they're paying more in rent subsidy, over the next three years, than we paid them for the place, by a substantial margin), nevertheless we had to have the place generating some income, and right away.
The ONLY way to do this was to transfer the existing license ("Hotel and Restaurant") over to us. Unlike a NEW application for a brewpub license, there is a mechanism whereby during the pendency of a Transfer Application, the transferee (that's us) can operate the place under a Temporary License, good for 120 days, or until the Permanent License is granted. Then with the permanent "Hotel and Restaurant" license in hand, we could then file for a Brewpub license, and continue to operate under the "Hotel and Restaurant" license while we waited for a yes or no answer on the brewpub application.
Thus--continuous revenue stream.
We set the closing date for April 16 and made the issuance of the Temporary License a condition of the closing, and damned if we didn't get it done. We actually entered and started on the painting portion of the remodel (The Red Room is now affectionately known to those of us who painted it as the "Not-Quite-As-Red-As-It-Used-To Be Room") a few weeks before the closing. But there was a lot more to be done to what we thought was a "turn-key" room than we thought. (To any babes in the woods out there, considering embarking on your restaurant dream: If you retain nothing else from this blog entry, retain this: there is no such thing as a "turn-key restaurant." No such thing.)
Our Temporary License was good until August 13, but we thought that surely it would issue within 60 days, by mid-June; that had been my experience as a liquor licensing attorney in the past. Then I'd just file the brewpub app, probably get it OK'ed within another 90 days, while simultaneously navigating the Federal waters. (There's a little "Catch-22" thing here we'll talk about later--each governing body requires you to have the other's approval before they'll grant you THEIR approval--but it is, to continue the metaphor, navigable.)
What I didn't count on was the avalanche of paper that was burying both the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses (oh yeah, it's not just the state and the feds--state liquor licenses are handed out by the state, but in conjunction with and upon the review and approval by, the local licensing authority, in my case the City and County of Denver.) and the state's Department of Revenue, from the brand new medical marijuana industry which was also under each agency's respective jurisdiction.
This is where most people complain about government inefficiency and bureaucracy, but you won't hear any of that from me. What I mostly was, was amazed--amazed that a staff depleted by budgetary limitations in the current economic climate could cheerfully (for the most part) do the work they had been doing Before Medical Marijuana (not just liquor licenses, but taxicabs and beauty parlors and hot dog carts and pinball machines and all the gazillion other things that have always required city licenses), in the zoo-like atmosphere that prevailed as thousands of people filed for MMJ clinic licenses.
So I didn't actually get my permanent Hotel and Restaurant License until the first week of August. And the crush of other business responsibilities has kept me from filling out the necessary forms to start the brewpub application process, but that's all over now. The Time Has Come, you might say. We'll be filing this week, and I'll post our progress in this blog. And once we're up and brewing, this will be the "brewer's blog" that keeps anybody interested (we hope it will be a few folks, anyway) up to date as to what we're brewing, what's on tap, and when new brews are coming on line.
Let's see, I guess I still haven't explained why I don't think it's misleading to operate under the name "Uptown Brothers Brewing Co" while we're only selling other folks' beer so far. I guess it's a matter of a) intent and b) reasonable expectations. If I didn't think I was going to be doing it, and (relatively) soon, I would have done what the Mountain Sun/Southern Sun folks did a mile or so further east. They opened their place as "Vine Street Pub", not "Something Sun Brewpub". But I think they knew that they were going to have a long haul, changing zoning or getting a variance to do something in their space that wasn't a "Use By Right." I already have a zoning OK for my spot--I don't have to get the city council to amend the zoning ordinance, or go through the laborious and by-no-means-certain process of trying to get a variance. I do have to have a public hearing on whether the needs of the neighborhood and the reasonable desires of the inhabitants requires the issuance of the brewpub license, but this is not the same sort of hurdle, more of a popularity contest which we hope to win by being good neighbors and running a clean shop under our existing license. (And there is no other brewpub license within what I imagine, with some experience, will be the "designated neighborhood."). So I think it can be reasonably anticipated that I will be licensed to brew my own beer, if I pursue it.
So the question is, will I pursue it? And the answer is, brewing my own beer is the ONLY reason I am in the restaurant business. I had ZERO desire to run a restaurant, outside of that restaurant providing me the only realistic opportunity available to me, a 56 year old homebrewing attorney with no commercial brewing experience, to brew my beer on a commercial basis.
So that said, it seemed dumb to call the place something else (Uptown Brothers Craft Brew Neighborhood Sports Bar?) and then replace all the signage and trade name paraphernalia, when the license is granted and we start brewing.
(By the way, changing out The Red Room signage was a) expensive and b) fraught with its own regulatory drama and delay that, neophytes that we were, we did not imagine. And I once represented the largest neon sign manufacturer in the Rocky Mountain west. Let's just say we spent the first SEVEN WEEKS we were open, with a vinyl "OPEN" banner draped over The Red Room's neon signage." Now there's marketing know-how you just can't buy.)
So we thought, and we still think, that once we are brewing our own beer this whole issue will evaporate, and until we are, we can just explain it to all who ask. It is our most frequently asked question though, and we can hardly wait until somebody says, "So what beers of your own are on tap?" and the answer is, "Those six tap handles over there, see, they're right here on the beer menu!"
All that has been changing for awhile now, and it's fixing to change a lot more in the near future.
You see, my wife and I and a few friends have stepped off into the abyss and are in the process of making this bored lawyer's daydream a reality. Back in April we closed on the purchase of a restaurant formerly (in three different incarnations) known as "The Red Room", at 320 East Colfax Avenue, in the shadow of the State Capitol. What we bought was basically a few tables and chairs and some kitchen equipment (though the vast majority of the fixtures and equipment on site when we started belong to the landlord, as the result of the checkered history of the joint through the last three owners), and a transferable "Hotel and Restaurant" liquor license.
Which leads to an explanation, as simple as I can make it, of why something called "Uptown Brothers Brewing Co" isn't selling, and currently can't sell, its own brewed-on-the-premises beer, and why I don't think (contrary to the belief of some yelp reviewers who didn't get the benefit of the explanation, and a few of the customers to whom I have given it, apparently poorly) it is "misleading" to call the place Uptown Brothers Brewing Co.
When we found the place listed for sale, it had been listed for awhile, and the asking price had been cut in half. Without revealing any trade secrets, let's just say the price wasn't very high. If it had been free, it wouldn't have been much less expensive than it was, but as always there's a reason for that, and the reason was that the rent was (and is), shall we say, optimistic for the neighborhood. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on where one sits in this transaction) the folks paying the rent were and are solid citizens, with more than sufficient means and assets to pay the rent on an empty building for the three years remaining on the lease. This dis-incentivized (to get all ECON 101, here) the landlord from offering any rent reduction; why should he, given that he knows he can collect.
So a rent abatement during the anticipated 6 month period for application for, and granting of, a new Federal and State brewpub license...wasn't going to happen. And while the sellers were motivated, and did ultimately (out of their own pocket) provide us with a couple months of free rent and a substantial ongoing rent subsidy (they're paying more in rent subsidy, over the next three years, than we paid them for the place, by a substantial margin), nevertheless we had to have the place generating some income, and right away.
The ONLY way to do this was to transfer the existing license ("Hotel and Restaurant") over to us. Unlike a NEW application for a brewpub license, there is a mechanism whereby during the pendency of a Transfer Application, the transferee (that's us) can operate the place under a Temporary License, good for 120 days, or until the Permanent License is granted. Then with the permanent "Hotel and Restaurant" license in hand, we could then file for a Brewpub license, and continue to operate under the "Hotel and Restaurant" license while we waited for a yes or no answer on the brewpub application.
Thus--continuous revenue stream.
We set the closing date for April 16 and made the issuance of the Temporary License a condition of the closing, and damned if we didn't get it done. We actually entered and started on the painting portion of the remodel (The Red Room is now affectionately known to those of us who painted it as the "Not-Quite-As-Red-As-It-Used-To Be Room") a few weeks before the closing. But there was a lot more to be done to what we thought was a "turn-key" room than we thought. (To any babes in the woods out there, considering embarking on your restaurant dream: If you retain nothing else from this blog entry, retain this: there is no such thing as a "turn-key restaurant." No such thing.)
Our Temporary License was good until August 13, but we thought that surely it would issue within 60 days, by mid-June; that had been my experience as a liquor licensing attorney in the past. Then I'd just file the brewpub app, probably get it OK'ed within another 90 days, while simultaneously navigating the Federal waters. (There's a little "Catch-22" thing here we'll talk about later--each governing body requires you to have the other's approval before they'll grant you THEIR approval--but it is, to continue the metaphor, navigable.)
What I didn't count on was the avalanche of paper that was burying both the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses (oh yeah, it's not just the state and the feds--state liquor licenses are handed out by the state, but in conjunction with and upon the review and approval by, the local licensing authority, in my case the City and County of Denver.) and the state's Department of Revenue, from the brand new medical marijuana industry which was also under each agency's respective jurisdiction.
This is where most people complain about government inefficiency and bureaucracy, but you won't hear any of that from me. What I mostly was, was amazed--amazed that a staff depleted by budgetary limitations in the current economic climate could cheerfully (for the most part) do the work they had been doing Before Medical Marijuana (not just liquor licenses, but taxicabs and beauty parlors and hot dog carts and pinball machines and all the gazillion other things that have always required city licenses), in the zoo-like atmosphere that prevailed as thousands of people filed for MMJ clinic licenses.
So I didn't actually get my permanent Hotel and Restaurant License until the first week of August. And the crush of other business responsibilities has kept me from filling out the necessary forms to start the brewpub application process, but that's all over now. The Time Has Come, you might say. We'll be filing this week, and I'll post our progress in this blog. And once we're up and brewing, this will be the "brewer's blog" that keeps anybody interested (we hope it will be a few folks, anyway) up to date as to what we're brewing, what's on tap, and when new brews are coming on line.
Let's see, I guess I still haven't explained why I don't think it's misleading to operate under the name "Uptown Brothers Brewing Co" while we're only selling other folks' beer so far. I guess it's a matter of a) intent and b) reasonable expectations. If I didn't think I was going to be doing it, and (relatively) soon, I would have done what the Mountain Sun/Southern Sun folks did a mile or so further east. They opened their place as "Vine Street Pub", not "Something Sun Brewpub". But I think they knew that they were going to have a long haul, changing zoning or getting a variance to do something in their space that wasn't a "Use By Right." I already have a zoning OK for my spot--I don't have to get the city council to amend the zoning ordinance, or go through the laborious and by-no-means-certain process of trying to get a variance. I do have to have a public hearing on whether the needs of the neighborhood and the reasonable desires of the inhabitants requires the issuance of the brewpub license, but this is not the same sort of hurdle, more of a popularity contest which we hope to win by being good neighbors and running a clean shop under our existing license. (And there is no other brewpub license within what I imagine, with some experience, will be the "designated neighborhood."). So I think it can be reasonably anticipated that I will be licensed to brew my own beer, if I pursue it.
So the question is, will I pursue it? And the answer is, brewing my own beer is the ONLY reason I am in the restaurant business. I had ZERO desire to run a restaurant, outside of that restaurant providing me the only realistic opportunity available to me, a 56 year old homebrewing attorney with no commercial brewing experience, to brew my beer on a commercial basis.
So that said, it seemed dumb to call the place something else (Uptown Brothers Craft Brew Neighborhood Sports Bar?) and then replace all the signage and trade name paraphernalia, when the license is granted and we start brewing.
(By the way, changing out The Red Room signage was a) expensive and b) fraught with its own regulatory drama and delay that, neophytes that we were, we did not imagine. And I once represented the largest neon sign manufacturer in the Rocky Mountain west. Let's just say we spent the first SEVEN WEEKS we were open, with a vinyl "OPEN" banner draped over The Red Room's neon signage." Now there's marketing know-how you just can't buy.)
So we thought, and we still think, that once we are brewing our own beer this whole issue will evaporate, and until we are, we can just explain it to all who ask. It is our most frequently asked question though, and we can hardly wait until somebody says, "So what beers of your own are on tap?" and the answer is, "Those six tap handles over there, see, they're right here on the beer menu!"
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