What about the beer?
The Global Fat Bike Summit is as much about sitting in a conference room talking about land use and planning to help all fat-bikers gain more access to the trails we all want to ride as it is about gathering in one place to enjoy the company of other like-minded individuals. To that end, there were several opportunities to engage in fat-bike conversations/networking whether at Haydens Post at Snow King, at the after seminar party at Hub Bicycles, The Saturday Night Pub Crawl or dinner out on the town, beer was a significant portion of the equation. Let’s check out what was on tap for Sven!
When I got to in on Thursday night Grand Teton Brewing had a Tap Takeover going on at the Hayden’s Post restaurant inside Snow King’s Lodge and I was happy to find that there was Sheep Eater Scotch Ale on tap. Sheep Eater was retired from the lineup a while back but they must have squirreled away a keg or two and/or have reintroduced it. It was just what the doctor ordered. With a Beer Advocate rating of 90 and a 7.5% ABV, Sheep Eater is sweet and malty with a smoky flavor. I wish I could have had more!
http://www.grandtetonbrewing.com
After the seminar and land manager demo was over on Friday I headed to Hub Bicycles to check out local bike purveyor in one Aaron Grutzmacher’s shop and to sample some of Upslope Brewing’s brews. I decided on the Brown Ale and took it straight from the can. The Brown Ale is malty with the expected coffee and chocolate overtones. It clocks in a 6.7% ABV and has garnered a Very Good 88 over at Beer Advocate.
http://upslopebrewing.com
After the Hub party it was back to Snow King and a couple of Grand Teton Sweetgrass American Pale Ales to finish the night off. I actually started with an Ale 208 but moved on to the Sweetgrass for a bit more body and I was in a hoppy mood. The 208 is a 6%er and scores a Good 84 at BA.
http://www.grandtetonbrewing.com
I popped in to Hayden’s Post for a bit of Lunch on Saturday during the expo and John-Mark was changing out the dead keg of Sweetgrass to put Snake River Brewing’s Pako’s EYE-P-A in the mix and it seemed appropriate for my Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup lunch. Just one though, the afternoon activities beckoned! Medium hoppy and very aromatic, it was a good one! No wonder, it has a 91 over at Beer Advocate and sports a ABV of 6.8%. If you need to know your IBUs how does 60+ strike you?
http://www.snakeriverbrewing.com
Saturday night was the Fat Bike Pub Crawl that Hub Bicycles sponsored although Aaron’s duties on Saturday fell to providing a TON of raffle prizes and not the beer. For that we first went to Snake River Brewing. I was hanging out with Fixie Dave and we were in a Stout sorta mood so Zonker got the call. This stout has been around since 1994 and it is no wonder. Really good example of a stout. The caramelization cones through the roasty punch and I REALLY us this one. So much that I had a second when Black Sheep James Bleakely his bromance buddy, Chris and I sat down to a quick bite to eat. Both of them also had Zonker. It is good to be in great company. Unsurprisingly, the 6%ABV Zonker scores an Outstanding 93 at BA. I concur!
http://www.snakeriverbrewing.com
After that first stop at Snake River it was on to The Local and, still in a Stout mood, Dave and I hooked up with what I believe was the Roadhouse/Odell collaboration Russian Imperial Stout. The Local was MOBBED and getting the bartender’s attention was challenging so I just enjoyed the brew. You’d see me toasting with a glass in this photo but I took the picture!
http://www.roadhousebrewery.com/odell-brewing-co-collaboration-brew/
My final brew of the trip was a New Belgium 1554 Black Lager at DIA while snacking at The Hub during the layover on my flight home. As the name implies, this is a Dark Beer. Opaque and slightly chocolaty. New Belgium’s description of the beer yields the word “quaffable”. I agree.
http://www.newbelgium.com
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