Menu for the Beer Bacon Breakfast

Okay all you lovelies, Front Range BBQ has just finalized the menu for our Beer Bacon Breakfast on October 9th and boy does it look mouth-wateringly killer. Instead of 5 courses we decided to overdo things with an additional sixth course and a welcome drink. We'll have a few more beers than we originally planned too - eight beers per person. Yes, I said eight beers...for breakfast...for bacon. Wait till you see the lineup (don't sneak a look, read this first!)

There are still some seats left but not a lot so you better reserve yours now. Let's recap It's $50, December 9, and starts at 10am. That's now 6 courses and eight beers. Call FRBBQ at 719.632.2596

The format of the breakfast is going to be a little different than normal, we'll explain everything when we get there and how the beer and food pairing will work. So now, I present to you the list of beers and the list of bacon infused goodness.

The Beers

• Welcome Beer Cocktail - Your choice of Twisted Pine Billy's Chilies used in a Bloody Bacon Beer OR Bristol Brewing 2010 Barlywine used in a Bacon Beermosa. 
• Elevation Prostator Smoked Doppelbock 
• Oskar Blues Oak Aged Ten Fidy Imperial Stout 
• Crabtree Berliner Weisse (Intermission Beer) 
• Avery Out of Sight Coffee-Infused Stout 
• New Belgium Super IPA 
• Odell The Meddler Oud Bruin 
• Russian River Pliny the Elder

The Food 

• Chipotle-Bacon-Jelly filled Donut
• Fruit Braised Pork Belly over Cheddar Bacon Drop Biscuits topped with a Bacon Hollandaise Sauce
• Sweet Potato Ham Hash with Bacon Cheese Grits & Poached Egg
• Pancake Sandwich filled with Canadian Bacon, Egg, Beer Cheese Sauce, topped with a Beer Syrup
• Ground Bacon & Chorizo Scotch Egg Burrito with Queso Fresco & Green Chili Pico de Gallo
• Bacon S'mores with Beer Ice Cream

If you didn't realize this yet, the Beer Bacon Breakfast (original post is here) is one part of the Focus on the Beer Anniversary Party Weekend. The first event is the Dec 08, the night before, and is a rare and limited beer tapping at Trinity Brewing curated by us bloggers. You'll certainly want to go to both, they're meant to go together. You don't have to RSVP for the 8th but you DO for the breakfast.

Beer Bacon Breakfast
Sun. Dec 09 / 10am / $50
Front Range BBQ / 2330 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs
RSVP Only: 719.632.2596

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Two Events for the Focus on the Beer Anniversary Weekend!

Yes, we do indeed have two events for our blog's Anniversary Party. Our Anniversary Weekend promises to be one that will go down in the history books. The first is on Saturday Dec. 08th at Trinity and we are bringing fifteen hard to get beers to Colorado Springs. The next morning we're throwing our Beer Bacon Breakfast, the ultimate hangover meal. We've been working with Front Range BBQ to make this one extra special for you. Here are some extra details in case you missed it last week:

Focus on the Beer's Second Anniversary Party
Sat. Dec. 08 / 5-11pm / Pay Per Beer
Trinity Brewing / 1466 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs
Facebook Event

Beer Bacon Breakfast
Sun. Dec. 09 / 10am / $50
Front Range BBQ / 2330 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs
You MUST RSVP - 719.632.2596
Facebook Event

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Some thoughts About Phantom Canyon's Winston Smith's Barleywine.

Phantom Canyon Brewery released their barrel-aged barleywine called Winston Smith’s yesterday. I was there, I drank a few glasses and walked out with my maximum allottment of four bottles. I noticed quite a few people do the same thing over the two hours I sat at the bar. This marks the third annual release of this beer. The first two years were aged in Stranahan’s whiskey barrels and this year’s batch saw Templeton Rye whiskey barrels.

Phantom has it on tap so you can sample it, allowing you to save your bottles for another time. Perhaps even cellar one or two. This beer has proven it does well over time pushing the barrel flavors forward and melding the beer with them.

This barleywine is a deep brown blending towards a deep ruby on the edges when held to the light. There is a wonderful aroma blending spiciness, vanilla, light toffee, and gentle oak. The first sip pushes the whiskey forward but not in a hot/boozy way, more like a spicy warmth possibly from the rye barrel contribution. Gentle flavors come through that you would expect, like vanilla and caramel sweetness, but the best part of the drink to me was the aftertaste. It left a sweet coffee/toffee flavor which let you enjoy your last sip for a while after.

I was able to drink a couple of 2011’s batch and a 2012 at Trinity a couple days before, at a special tapping they had. Sitting down with Isaac and tasting these two batches side by side sparked a conversation/debate about the best beer in Colorado Springs. Here’s my opinion (This is Scott, I was told to make sure you know this is my opinion):

“Phantom Canyon’s Winston Smith’s barrel-aged barleywine has been proven by scientists to be the greatest beer in or in the vicinity of the City of Colorado Springs, CO.”

I really enjoyed this year’s version and I like the changing of the barrels. I will say that I liked the Stranahan barrel-aged version slightly better, but only slightly. We talked to the brewer and he mentioned the choice for next year’s barrel is still undecided. Phantom had 190 or so bottles for sale, plus a few kegs to keep it on tap hopefully for a little while. If there are any left, it would be a good idea to try to get down there and snag yourself a bottle or four.

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Beer Photo of the Week #22

Photos of the Week by Daniel Flanders. A visit to The Bruery in Placentia, California.

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Craft Beer Events Around Thanksgiving in Colorado Springs

There's a few things happening around the area related to craft beer so if you think you may want to get away from family for an hour, or bring them with you and show off your local beer scene...we've got you covered. Here's what we've found so far:

A Belgian Kind of Night at the Blue Star

Last week, The Blue Star hosted a Belgian inspired beer dinner pairing delicious food courses with Belgian style beers from Funkwerks in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs' own Bristol Brewing Company.

The first course was a classic Belgian dish of mussels and frites. The mussels lay in a beautiful broth with apple tarragon compound butter and caramelized shallots all paired with the delicious Funkwerks Saison. If you haven't had a chance to try this saison, go out and buy it now. It is the perfect example of what a classic Saison should taste like, and we have it given it our own accolades Amazing spice and citrus character that has a nice dry finish.

Focus On The Beer is Two Years Old...Time to Party!

Focus on the Beer's Second Anniversary Party
Sat. Dec. 08 / 5-11pm / Pay Per Beer
Trinity Brewing / 1466 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs
Facebook Event

It's hard to believe that we started Focus on the Beer two years ago now, the time flies with lightning speed. When I look back I see we've made nearly 500 blog posts, which feels like a big amount. In the last year we've organized nearly one event per month, we've interviewed brewers from around Colorado, we've kept you all posted on the beer happenings around town and we've documented those things with wonderful photos, and we've sought to keep our readers informed and educated on all things craft beer. I suppose it has been a good amount of work, but it's fun, and now it's time to party with you all!

For our second anniversary party we have asked some breweries that we've made friends with to provide special offerings that are hard to come by in Colorado Springs. We've got a killer lineup and we're excited to share that with you. Come have a good time, say hi, and throw a big 'Cheers' up with us on Dec. 08!

Special Tapping (Updated):
This will be updated in the next couple weeks
Avery - Lilikoi Kepolo
Backcountry - SaiZin - Zinfandel Barrel Aged Imperial Saison
Crooked Stave - L'Brett d'Or
Deschutes - Sage Fight IPA (made for BMBW in Oregon!)
Elevation - 8 Second Kölsch
Funkwerks - Deceit
Great Divide - 2011, 2012 Oak Yeti
Green Flash - Treasure Chest
New Belgium - Beers Made By Walking - Lavendar, Plum Bock
Odell - Spent Grain Chocolate Milk Stout
Oskar Blues - Chardonnay Barrel Aged Mamas Little Yella Pils
Paradox - Oaked Cherry Hell for Stout
Strange - Eldorado Bel-Gin Dark
Trinity - Saison du Tomme
Wynkoop - Barleywine


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Beer Photo of the Week #21

Photos of the Week by Daniel Flanders. Corked bottles aging in a cellar.

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Beer Bacon Breakfast...BOOM!

If you have been paying attention you know that we've been planning a Beer Bacon Breakfast as part of our blog's Second Anniversary Weekend Party. Well, we are very very very happy to say that you can now make your reservations. This will be the ultimate hangover meal. After filling yourself completely the previous night with specialty beer at our Anniversary Party at Trinity you can just sit down and work off that headache with five courses of bacon-laced grub from Front Range BBQ.

We have worked with FRBBQ closely to pair some fantastic rare beers with each course. The menu is not finalized but there are whispers of a bacon-maple donut and we will be sure to reveal the menu in all of it's glory as soon as it's ready. But, by then I imagine all the seats will be reserved, we expect this to fill up very quickly so please call in and reserve your spot now. $50, plus tax and tip. You'll also have to sign a waiver in case your arteries clog while you're there. No joke! The beers we have confirmed so far are: Oskar Blues Whiskey Aged Ten Fidy, Elevation Prostrator Smoked Dopplebock, Avery Out of Sight Coffee Infused Stout, and Crabtree Berliner Weisse. We'll still have a few more beers as well. Call to RSVP at 719.632.2596.


***Update***

The Beers

• Welcome Beer Cocktail - Your choice of Twisted Pine Billy's Chilies used in a Bloody Bacon Beer OR Bristol Brewing 2010 Barlywine used in a Bacon Beermosa. 
• Elevation Prostator Smoked Doppelbock 
• Oskar Blues Oak Aged Ten Fidy Imperial Stout 
• Crabtree Berliner Weisse (Intermission Beer) 
• Avery Out of Sight Coffee-Infused Stout 
• New Belgium Super IPA 
• Odell The Meddler Oud Bruin 
• Russian River Pliny the Elder

The Food 

• Chipotle-Bacon-Jelly filled Donut
• Fruit Braised Pork Belly over Cheddar Bacon Drop Biscuits topped with a Bacon Hollandaise Sauce
• Sweet Potato Ham Hash with Bacon Cheese Grits & Poached Egg
• Pancake Sandwich filled with Canadian Bacon, Egg, Beer Cheese Sauce, topped with a Beer Syrup
• Ground Bacon & Chorizo Scotch Egg Burrito with Queso Fresco & Green Chili Pico de Gallo
• Bacon S'mores with Beer Ice Cream

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Stay up to date with Focus on the Beer. You can receive email updates and join us on our Facebook page.

Belgian Beer Brunch at Front Range BBQ

Sunday mornings just got a lot more interesting when Brian Fortinberry, owner of Front Range BBQ, decided to have beer brunches on select dates. We're helping plan a beer, bacon, breakfast on Dec. 09 and we can confirm that beer for breakfast is great. So, I had the pleasure of attending the most recent brunch, a Belgian beer themed brunch consisting of 5 entrees paired with one or two Belgians beers.

Beer and Food Pairing at Chef N Brew

About a week ago I was at Wynkoop pouring beer and I struck up conversation with a guy named Mike who had a lot of the same interests as me - geography, plants, the outdoors. I soon realized that he's the person responsible for the Chef N Brew festival in Denver this week, a festival pushing the territory of beer and food pairing, so I thought that I would point it out to you all and encourage you all to go because this looks like one of the coolest events in a while.

Cellarmanship: An Introduction to the Joys of Cellaring Beer

The mainstream tells you beer needs to be consumed as fresh as possible. Hops degrade leading to astringency and lackluster aromas. Oxygen has more of a chance to attack a beer, providing cardboard-like off flavors. UV harms the beer by reducing good hop bitterness and creating similar compounds found in a skunk’s aroma. Temperature fluctuations can cause chemicals to accelerate at different rates leading to all sorts of off-flavors including vinegar, butter, and bandaids. It could be infected making it undrinkable in short time. So it would seem that time is against you and your beer.

All the things listed above make it seem like storing beer for an extended amount of time would always be bad. So why are certain aged beers sought after, collected, and held in such high regard? Why are there verticals, why are there best AFTER dates, and why are there nerds stocking up on beer like it will help them survive the zombie apocalypse?

Beer Photo of the Week #20

Photos of the Week by Daniel Flanders. Large wooden beer foeders, climbing wall, and reflection.

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Regional Beer Happenings in the next week

There's a few really fantastic looking beer events in the region over the next week or so. We thought we should get this information out to you in advance so you know what's going, some of the events require an RSVP. Check it out!

Saturday Nov. 10
Paradox Firkin Party at Swirl Wine Bar / 6-8pm
Paradox Firkin Party tomorrow Saturday the 10th at Swirl Wine Bar! Meet the brewer, get complimentary samples of their new series of brews and $7.5 for pints. 717 Manitou Avenue #102, Manitou Springs.

Sunday Nov. 11
Belgian Beer Brunch at Front Range BBQ / 10am
RSVP at 719.632.2596
An awesome looking Belgian Beer Brunch at Front Range BBQ. This five course meal comes with eight beers. We've detailed all the information here. Space is limited and almost all gone, so call quick. 719.632.2596.

Respect the Hops! When Beer is Fresh...

There's a wonderful IPA out there called Blind Pig. The beer is made by Russian River Brewing, the same brewery that makes the infamous Pliny the Elder. A number of people believe that Blind Pig is a better beer, especially if they tend to favor floral and citrusy hops over the piney ones. I used to drink them on a regular basis when I lived on the west coast but haven't had either of them since I moved to Colorado. Really, both beers are fantastic IPAs and both could easily make anyone's Top 5 if they like hoppy beers. When bottled, both beer labels shout and proclaim that these beers are to be drank fresh "Consume Blind Pig Fresh, Or Not At All. Respect Hops." These beers are not to be aged. But how fresh is fresh? Does it really matter that much? I've always had these questions in the back of my mind and well, unfortunately, the other day I truly found out that it does matter...

Belgian Beer Brunch, yes please!

Do I even have to tell you that the Belgian Beer Brunch is going to be incredible? Front Range BBQ is pulling out the stops and will be serving quite an exquisite five-course breakfast-time feast this weekend (Sunday) featuring seven wonderful beers. Have you ever drank beer this early in the morning? On special occasions I have, and it's a lovely couple hours. In fact I've been to a FRBBQ beer brunch and it was truly a great time. The same way I imagine that a mimosa or a bloody mary are the perfect remedies for those hazy mornings after long nights of fun a beer brunch is perfect for a day where you'd just like to chill out, be convivial, and enjoy the crisp air. I can't recommend this event enough.