Council Brewing Company - San Diego, CA

Our final brewery visit after Societe in San Diego..since the rest of our trip consisted of delicious bottles, growlers, and Toronado visits...was to Council Brewing. This place is newer and upcoming. Industrial park location. It was pretty empty and I tried a sampler...shocker.

One or two of the IPAs weren't bad, but none of the beers blew me away except the bourbon barrel aged stout.

It is only minutes from Societe Brewing so it is worth a visit if you're in the area. Check them out...http://councilbrew.com/

Alpine/Alesmith Brewing Company - San Diego, CA

We finally arrived in San Diego on Day 6 and started off with Alpine. I already reviewed them. But this time around got to try O'Briens. It was good, but the standout as always was Nelson. Duet and Pure Hoppiness were good.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/alpine-brewery-alpine-ca.html

Next stop was my first visit to Alesmith. I only did a few quick samples here but I almost fell over when I tried the Double Coffee Speedway Stout. It was phenomenal. One of the best stouts I have ever had. The brewery is in a plaza.  Plenty of seating and it was even Speedway weekend and still wasn't too crowded. http://alesmith.com/

Bosque Brewing - Albuquerque, NM

Right next to our hotel was Bosque Brewing. Very nice place located in a plaza. I got a small salad and a sampler. The staff was really nice and attentive.

They are known for their Scotch Ale and I will say I agree with the hype. I am not a fan of the style but it was really good. The others were all good but nothing noteworthy.

Not too much to say here, very nice place, good beer, great people, worth taking the short trek here or get your hotel like we did and just walk there!http://www.bosquebrewing.com/

Marble Brewing - Albuquerque, NM

Our second stop in Albuquerque was Marble Brewing. I heard a lot about them, so I figured we had to stop. It isn't in too much of a busy area and the building itself was nothing special. By this time it is later into Tuesday afternoon and the place was packed.

We grabbed a table and of course I went with a sampler. I went with the Amber, IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Imperial Red, Pumpkin Noir and the Stout.  Sadly...nothing blew me away. The Pumpkin Noir was real tasty, the IPA wasn't bad but the rest fell flat with me. I was surprised after hearing such praise..I just much preferred La Cumbre personally.

But if you're in the area it's only minutes from La Cumbre and no reason not to check it out!
http://www.marblebrewery.com/

La Cumbre Brewing Company - Albuquerque, NM

After our horrific Day 4 on the trip, Day 5 was a great way to get things started because we started at La Cumbre. Once again, like Toppling Goliath, this place was just a small building with tables and a bar nothing fancy. Kind of crowded for a Tuesday afternoon.

I got the sampler and we took a seat at a table. The stand out here is Project Dank...what an incredible beer. Elevated IPA is also a very well balanced, easy drinkable IPA that I enjoyed very much. Lazy Sunday Session IPA wasn't anything too special. And the stout was very flavorful I liked it a lot.
They didn't sell much merchandise, but they DO sell freshly bottled and canned beers of a handful of their brews.

If you like beer and you're in Albuquerque this is a no brainer..it's most likely why you're in Albuquerque. So kick back and enjoy some great brews at La Cumbre...http://www.lacumbrebrewing.com/#bottom

Phantom Canyon Brewing - Colorado Springs, CO

So after spending over 2 hours to drive a 35 minute drive in quite possibly one of, if not these scariest drives I ever have been in we arrived at Phantom Canyon. The walk to the door was like walking on an ice rink. We were all tired and beaten down and angry. This place didn't stand a chance even if it was amazing.
We got the IPA..it was okay. I got the chicken with mashed potatoes..it lacked any flavor and was not worth the price tag.

Not much else to say here. The others didn't love their food either but the place was gorgeous inside. Lots of TVs and tables and I can see why it is a popular place to be in the area. But for us, it was a big miss. http://www.phantomcanyon.com/

Jagged Mountain Brewery - Denver, CO

Our last stop in Denver was Jagged Mountain. Maybe it was the super icy sidewalks, or the blistering cold, or the blowing snow, or a combo of all 3 but this place was horrific.  The service was great...bartender was very nice. The scenery was nice, very well laid out.

The beer was horrendously bad. I literally puked one of them back up in my mouth. I left all 4 samples there half full. I hate to say such bad things, but I don't know how someone can make such horrible beer...hopefully they get better cause they did seem like nice people. http://www.jaggedmountainbrewery.com/