Trashy Blonde

Perfect at the end of a great day on the slopes...

Trashy Blonde - Blonde Ale
Three Barrel Brewing Company
Del Norte, Colorado

Sledding and beer day

I'm not going to lie ... I enjoyed all these beers (except the Red Rye-deR, which I recall being thankful that Jason was there volunteering to finish it off) but can tell you nearly nothing specific about any of them. 

We were too busy sledding, eating leftover Christmas cookies, sledding, chasing kids and having fun for me (or anyone else in the group) to be bothered to study or analyze any of these delicious brews.

Salvation Belgian-Style Golden Ale
Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

Holidale - Ale Aged in Whiskey Barrels (7.4% ABV)
Bottle #425 of 480
Breckenridge Brewery
Breckenridge, Colorado

Kickin' Chicken - Bourbon Barrel Aged Barley Wine Ale
Santa Fe Brewing Company
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Red Rye-deR (6.1% ABV)
Twisted Pine Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

Some No-Li slopeside suds

Silent Treatment Pale Ale (5% ABV)
No-Li Brewhouse
Spokane, Washington

Skiing is a lot like riding a bike.  You never forget.  But that doesn't mean that your first day on the slopes each season is pretty either.  And mine never is.  Despite teaching indoor cycling 1-2 days a week and carrying around a 30lb toddler the rest of the week, my legs were BURNING after about 6 runs with my good fast-talking friend, our 2 friends from Colorado and my amazing sister.  All of whom are much much much better than I am - which often forces me to ski outside my "lollygagging down a groomed black" comfort zone.  I love them for this.

So the first day usually ends with me at the bar by 2pm.  This year was no different.

One of the best things about skiing in Colorado is the amazing beers that are available on the slopes at most all ski resorts.  PBR in a can?  No thanks.  Could you give me that beer that I've never heard of before?  Oh, and an extra cup please?

The brewing industry is quite fascinating to me.  The more I read about breweries, the more interested I become in this culture.  And the more breweries I visit - the more I fall in love with everyone in the "craft beer" industry.  They're all regular people chasing their dreams -- one pint at a time.

Anyway, at the end of the day I ended up with a bottle of "Silent Treatment" from No-Li Brewhouse.  New to me. The beer itself is nothing exceptional or different, but it is a solid "session" beer and goes down easy.  I would order this again if I ever saw it.  If I had a tap in my house (Santa -- are you reading?), I'd even go so far to say I'd buy a pony keg and keep it around for a while.  Easy drinking.  Mass pleasing.

I was curious about the brewery name though: How do you pronounce it?  What does it mean?  Surely there is a story behind a name like this...

Ahhhhh the joys of the interwebs.  It always has the answers to my questions.

Turns out, some dude...just like you (my invisible reader) and me, took a risk and chased his dream.  Northern Lights Brewing Company opened in 1993 in Spokane. They operated as Northern Lights until 2012 when they changed their name to No-Li.  After years of brewing as Northern Lights, the brewery learned that they another craft brewery on the East Coast had a claim on the name "Northern Lights."  Apparently this sort of thing happens all the time with 1,800+ craft breweries but ususally is settled over beers without attorneys.  Not this one.  The other brewery gave what is now No-Li the cold shoulder (one could say the...Silent Treatment) and the owners decided to just shorten their brewery name from Northern Lights to No-Li, as "a subtle nod to how they candidly brew their beers and run their business." 

Recommendations:  ski hard.  Chase your dreams. 

Score:  4.5 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system