Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Pike's Peak Brewing - Big Flavor in a Small Town

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.... :)