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.
