Post slope suds...in Tucson

Copper City Ale (4.9% ABV)
Old Bisbee Brewing Company
Bisbee, Arizona

Yes, you read the title correctly.  Post slope suds...in Tucson.  Tucson Arizona.  If you read this blog enough, you'll probably assume (correctly) that the slope I am referring to is a ski slope. 

So yes, I basically said skiing in Tucson.

Mt. Lemmon is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains, located in the Coronado National Forest approximately 45 minutes north of Tucson. The elevation at the top is 9,157 feet above sea-level - compared to the average elevation of Tucson which is 2,600 feet.  The mountain receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually!

After a fun and interesting day skiing Mt. Lemmon in Tucson we hit up 1702, "Tucson's Beer and Pizza Mecca," for some beers and a snack.

I went for the Copper City Ale from Old Bisbee Brewing Company and it turned out to be a very easy drinking (almost session-style) beer that leaned a bit to the hoppy side of hoppy.  I ended up giving it to The Husband to finish because I wanted to try about 9 of the other beers they had on tap.

Next up was The Perfect Crime, a black saison.  I ordered this because I had never seen a black saison before and I needed to taste it for myself.  As with most saisons, it needed 5 minutes or so to warm up but it was deliciously creamy like a dark beer and hearty like a saison.  A very interesting, and well executed, pairing.  Would definitely order another one if I ever see it again and might even be crazy enough to try something like this on my own.

The Perfect Crime (6.8% ABV)
Black Smoked Saison
A EvilTwin Brewing, Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Stone Brewing Company collaboration

Score: 4.75 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system for 1702.   

Recommendations: check out 1702 and as many of the 49 beers they have on tap on any given day.  Don't be afraid to ask for samples and taste test as many as you want before committing.

Kid-free in the Old Pueblo

So it's been a while.  I know.  The blog and I had a small identity crisis which isn't really over but at least it's no longer such a road block for me.  I know this all sounds strange but I was so torn on what direction to go with the blog that it literally prevented me from doing anything related to this (except I managed to continue to seek out, find and drink new beers).

Alright, so I'm going to play catch-up and post some oldies in no particular order.  Notes about the beer itself may be shorter and more vague because I don't always take good notes and have lost some over the past few months.

I'll start with a random find...

Dragoon Brewing Company in Tucson, Arizona.  On a spontaneous kid-free weekend trip to Tucson, the Husband and I found this (again, what would I do without Google Maps at my fingertips 24/7) and stopped in to check it out before we headed to our hotel.  Great choice.

The Stronghold Session was on cask that evening and served up perfectly.  The Biere del Bac was much boozier than I expected (I seem to recall it being ~9% ABV) but still exceptionally good.

Left: Stronghold Session Ale (on cask) - 4.8% ABV
Right: Biere del Bac
Dragoon Brewing Company
Tucson, Arizona

Score: 4.75 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system.   
 

Recommendations: next time you are driving on I-10 through the Tucson area, hop off the interstate and check out the Dragoon Brewing Company, if you aren't scared of Tucson or aren't one of the Phoenix snobs that claims to hate Tucson.  If you are one of those people, then please just stay on I-10 and know that it's your loss because their beer is delicious.

http://www.dragoonbrewing.com/

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

Nipple Mountain and Holy Mole

Nipple Mountain Nip (left) and Holy Mole
Pagosa Brewing Company
Pagosa Springs, Colorado

In an attempt to taste test ALL their beers, I spent another day at the brewery for lunch.  But this time was better because my sister accompanied me.

According to the brewer, "Nip is our richest and most full-bodied beer to date. An American Barleywine, it's aged for months. The luscious velvety texture is balanced with a huge amount of classic America hops, which includes dry hopping for a heady hop aroma. At 10.5% ABV it's meant to be slow-sipping, but is also dangerously drinkable & smooth."  I'm normally not much of a barleywine fan - but I didn't realize this was a barleywine until after I already had a glass in front of me.  I must admit - it was quite delicious.  It was smooth and it was heavy but not syrupy.  It was heavy but light.

The Holy Mole is a Mayan influenced brown ale.  Ale is brewed with real chocolate, red chilies and special spices.  This was not my beer so I only had a few sips of it.  It was full of flavor, that's for sure.  I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but it was good.  Not great, but good.  I would certainly give it another try.