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/

Great Divide Brewing/Biker Jims - Denver, CO

Finally headed into downtown Denver and of course I just had to stop at Great Divide. I will say this was the biggest let down of the trip. The brewery is small first off..which I understand it's downtown but maybe expand? Next thing is the only beers on tap are the same beers I get in Buffalo. When I went to Troegs and Victory and other big name places they had at least 2-3 sometimes 5-6 taproom exclusive beers. I was full from lunch, the other breweries and the Yeti was going down rough.

Neither of us finished our beers and we were on our way. I'm not hating on Great Divide I enjoy the Yetis and other beers they make but the overall experience was underwhelming and I would never go out of my way to visit there again since I get all those beers down the street from me. But check them out for yourself...http://greatdivide.com/

Now before I move onto another brewery I had to throw this in here. Before Great Divide we stopped for lunch around the corner at Biker Jim's Hot Dogs.

Just look at the menu below to see how outrageous these hot dogs are! But I must say I loved Alaskan Reindeer it was so flavorful and get it whatever way they recommend. You have to try this place...http://bikerjimsdogs.com/

Crooked Stave - Denver, CO

Weather started picking up, but we made our next stop at Crooked Stave Brewing. This was an interesting experience. The brewery is located in a giant building that consists of restuarants, grocery and beer store among other things. It is a beautiful facility that is very neat and clean looking and very modern.

The brewery is tucked away further in the back corner. There was one other customer there so we had plenty of time to look things over and ask questions. I can't even tell you what I drank from them since I tried a few samples, but this place is a MUST see if you are into sour beers.http://www.crookedstave.com/

Station 26 Brewing - Denver, CO

Not too far from Comrade is Station 26 Brewing. I usually am weary of places I don't know much about this place delivered! The brewery was really nice inside, obviously an old fire station. Lots of seating and great service.

I got a sampler. Red IPA, Double IPA, IPA, and Milk Stout. These were ALL fantastic. Typically with a brewery I know nothing about, at least 50% of my sampler sucks. These were all great. This place knows how to make an IPA and all 3 of us agreed it was hands down the best Red IPA we have ever had.

We didn't stay long sadly since the winter weather was picking up and we wanted to get a move on. But if you are in Denver be sure to go here and to Comrade..they are within minutes from each other. Check out their site for more info..http://www.station26brewing.co/

Comrade Brewing - Denver, CO

After Avery we headed south towards Denver to a great newer brewery called Comrade. It is located in a plaza. The guys who work here are great! We stayed for a bit and tried quite a few.

The two big standouts here are Super Power IPA and Superdamp Wet Hop IPA. The Superdamp was incredible...we voted it as top 3 beers of the entire trip (along with TG Zeelander and Lagunitas Born Yesterday).

Plenty of space, great place for happy hour or just a weekend beer. They showed us around a little bit and were very helpful with questions.

Trying some stout straight from the source.

Long story short...if you are in the Denver area..this is a MUST stop. It is not right in downtown Denver but it is close enough. Check them out...http://www.comradebrewing.com/

Avery Brewing - Boulder, CO

Day 4 of our trip kicked off in Boulder, CO at Avery Brewing. The location is tucked down a long stretch of business areas. Although as of this writing, they are closing and opening a new giant location so my views on the location won't matter much. But it was a decent size place...glad to see they've expanded though. The popularity of this brewery just didn't the size.

They don't do a sampler tray but do allow you to order sample sizes of any beer you want. Being 3 months ago I honestly forgot exactly what I ordered for samples, but the duganA IPA and regular IPA were underwhelming to me. The pump[KY]n was fantastic! Crazy bourbon mixed with pumpkin spice.

I wasn't overly impressed with the beer given the populairty of the brewery. I know they make killer bourbon aged beers and a lot of people do love the IPAs. I wouldn't go running back, but they will do just fine, people love this brewery! So check them out for yourself...http://averybrewing.com/?verified=true

Toppling Goliath - Decorah, IA

After New Glarus was our next stop I was most excited about...Toppling Goliath! I have had plenty of their brews through trades, and knew this was good stuff. I won't lie I was surprised by the size of the place...very small for the love it gets. But hey it was Sunday, the football game was and the place was dead..PERFECT.

I got a sampler with Psuedo Sue, Zeelander, Golden Nugget, and Rover Truck. Damn this place makes good IPAs. Zeelander is one of the finest examples of the Nelson hop.

I can't say much else here about this place...they are making some of the best beers in the country. They sell bottles and growler...I got some PSuedo Sue bottles and Golden Nugget, also a snifter glass and some posters. Service was great.

I love this place, wish they were in my neighborhood. Check them out..http://www.tgbrews.com/site/