Return to Colorado part 2 – Longmont breweries

In this series of articles covering our return visit to Colorado, following Boulder we moved on to our second destination to the North-East which was the city of Longmont. Here we visited two breweries that are well known throughout the US Craft Beer scene namely Oskar Blues Brewing and Left Hand Brewing.

Oskar Blues Brewing

This brewery has three locations in the city of Longmont, Colorado:

• Oskar Blues Brewery & Tasty Weasel Tap Room
• Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids
• Oskar Blues CHUBurger

We visited the Tasty Weasel Tap Room which is connected to the main brewery. Here we enjoyed two samplers, number 1 included the following Tap Room specials:

• Firkin Honey Rose Mama’s – 5.3%, 35 IBU’s
• Pink Boots Pale Ale (CO2 fizz & clean)
• Osktoberfest (malty & clean)*
• Icey Pale Ale – collaboration with Icelantic Skis (too aggressive bitterness from use of Nelson hops)
• G’Knight Imperial Red on Nitro – 8.7%, 60 IBU’s (hop bitterness smoothed out by nitro)
• Habenero  Deviant – 8.0%, 60 IBU’s (serious chilli bite)
• 2011 10/50 Vintage Ten Fidy – 10.5%, 98 IBU’s

Sampler #2 included the following from Oskar Blues’ Year Round range of beers (except for Ten Fidy which is a Seasonal):

• Mama’s Little Yella Pils – 5.3%, 35 IBU’s
• Dale’s Pale Ale – 6.5%, 65 IBU’s (balance of malt & hops)
• G’Knight Imperial Red – 8.7%, 60 IBU’s
• Deviant Dales IPA – 8.0%, 60 IBU’s
• Old Chub Scotch Ale on CO2- 8.0%, 32 IBU’s*
• Old Chub Scotch Ale on Nitro – 8.0%, 32 IBU’s (nitro helps mouthfeel but at expense of removing flavor)
• Ten Fidy Imperial Stout – 10.5%, 98 IBU’s*

* denotes our favorites from the above samplers.

After our samplers we went on a brewery tour which was very informative and impressive. This included seeing the Mash Tun, Boil Kettle, Fermenters, Oak Barrels, Grain store, Yeast transporter (for taking yeast from one conical fermenter and re-pitching it into another), depalletizer (for removing bottles layer-by-layer from a pallet), keg & can storage area, and finally the canning line which was running at the time – see here for some videos.

On our way out of town at the end of our stay in Longmont we passed the CHUburger location and parked outside was the Oskar Blues Bonewagon which is adorned with images of their canned beers at the rear. The Bonewagon is a food truck which they refer to as their “Barnstormin’ Smokateria on Wheels”. It certainly is eye-catching!

Left Hand Brewing

Next we headed over to Left Hand Brewing where coincidently there was a festive evening under-way which involved regulars bringing along children’s toys and receiving a complimentary pint of their choice. Santa Claus was also present to meet the children though we suspect some parents were just as happy to meet Santa. 😉 The tap room was very busy as you might expect and here we indulged in three samplers.

Sampler #1:

• Oktoberfest – 6.6%, 24 IBU’s (light in color, slightly thin)
• Dunkel Weiss – 5.0%*
• Ambidextrous #5 Sticke Altbier – 7.5% (malty – Sticke means Secret in German)

  

• Widdershins English-Style Barley Wine – 10.7%, 65 IBU’s

Sampler #2:

• Polestar Pilsner – 5.5%, 33 IBU’s (clean but not too bitter)
• Sawtooth Ale (ESB) – 5.3%, 27 IBU’s
• Black Jack Porter (English) – 6.8%, 35 IBU’s*
• Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout – 10.2%, 45 IBU’s

Sampler #3:

• Motherlode Scottish Ale (light color & some caramel)

  

• Pro Am Schwartzbier (some roast & bitter flavor, bit thin – not the Copper Ale as shown in photo)
• Safety Round #2 Copper Ale – 6.5% (bit hoppy)
• Milk Stout on Nitro – 6.0%, 25 IBU’s (smooth, well balanced between bitter & sweet)*

* denotes our favorites in the above samplers.

What Next?

In our next article we will cover our onward trip to the City of Fort Collins to the North of Longmont.

If you would like to discuss, or have any questions on, this article then please use the Comments section below? We would also like to hear your opinions on the beers and breweries mentioned above?