The summer put me on a hard cider kick (my favorite being our neighbors Bold Rock, more on that later!) so haven't been checking out the craft brews as much lately...oh, and we had a child so I've been busy! But, she is 7 months old now, and we toured in Colorado this week, so it was high time to try some craft beer. My hubby is from a little town called Palmer Lake, CO and the next closest town is Monument, CO. From what I could tell in the past, Monument was a cozy, mellow community with it's own history but perhaps mostly a bedroom community for Colorado Springs and Denver. I like to frequent the local bead store when we are in the area, and we noticed this time around that there are new businesses popping up - wine bar, new restaurants, and a new brewery called Pike's Peak Brewing Company. The brewery sparked our interest, so we went in and tried some beer.
After a couple of tastes (our hostess was also the brewer - check out the Pink Boots Society - and she was very generous in giving us free samples), I ordered the "America the Pale" Ale, Travis ordered the "Kissing Camels Berliner Weiss" and his dad ordered the "Summit House Stout". I was really impressed with the fullness in flavor to all three. My APA was very bright and fresh with a long finish. The hoppy-ness edged towards an IPA, but just what an APA is supposed to be! I really enjoyed it. I won't comment on Travis's sour beer, because it isn't my cup of tea, but the stout was delicious. Very smooth and light for a stout with a caramel finish. It had an undercurrent of roasted-ness which was pleasant. Full bodied and very drinkable.
We will definitely return in the future. They even have a nice big "Barrel Room" where they host live bands, so you never know if we might just have to play there on our Brewery Tour.... :)