Regional Recap and New Beer!

When the days start to shorten and the mornings become a little more crisp, breweries start releasing some delicious beers, and not all of them have pumpkin in the recipe. As we get ever closer to pumpkin ale season, I wanted to touch on a few beers and events that aren't centered around the famous orange squash.

Paradox Beer Company

I'll start out with our friends up the canyon at Paradox. With all the road closures and flooding, they have quietly been bottling and packaging up a storm! As of this week, they have three new oak aged beers that are currently only available at their tap room with more coming in the near future! 

Photo courtesy of Paradox Beer Company

Jeffrey Airman from Paradox gave me some insight into these new releases:

Non Fatal Souls Project: Rum Barrel Hell for Stout 

This is the third installment of the Non Fatal Souls project, and after aging for 6 months in Jamaican rum oak barrels, this stout has robust roasted notes that smooth out a balanced finish with lingering rum flavors. 8% ABV

Dunk Your Face Project: Dubbel Dub 

Dubbel Dub is a dark strong ale aged in oak red wine barrels. Brewed with Belgian specialty malts and an Abbey yeast, this beer is generously hopped with New Zealand grown Motueka hops. It has a beautiful balance of dark toasted malts and fruity hops. 7.9% ABV 

Bandeau Artiste Trip Project: Red Red Rye 

A red strong ale aged in oak red wine barrels, Red Red Rye is brewed with Rye, Pale, Crystal and Aromatic malts, and hopped with El Dorado. This is a lively beer, nice and hoppy with rye spice and rich malt flavor. 9% ABV

Word is that stores will start receiving their shipments at the end of the month, so if you want to get a head start and start hoarding, take the quick trip up Highway 24! If you are one of those who still haven't been up to their tasting room, then this becomes the perfect reasoning for a maiden voyage.

Pikes Peak Brewing Company

Traveling to another part of our region, as you drive north on I-25, it's hard to pass up a stop at PPBC. This past week, they hosted the Monument Beer Week, showcasing multitudes of world beer styles, culminating with their Oktoberfest celebration.

Barrel-aged beers paired with Chocolate

On Wednesday, they hosted a barrel-aged tasting night pairing three of their barrel aged beers with locally made chocolates.

The super-special barrel-aged beers available were: 

Rum Barrel aged Porter paired with a Banana Nut Truffle (Coming soon to stores!)

Templeton Rye Barrel aged Incline Imperial IPA paired with Toffee 

Whiskey Barrel aged Stout paired with an exquisite Earl Grey Truffle. 

Keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks, as Pikes Peak will release the rum barrel aged porter in bottles. All these beers were all extremely drinkable and perfect for a cool autumn evening.

Also on Wednesday, Pikes Peak released Local 5 Pale Ale which has made its way quickly into stores just in time for this weekends gathering of firefighters from around the nation. The Tucson Fire Pipes & Drums group came up early and treated all of the attendees to traditional and contemporary bagpipe.

"This Pale Ale is brewed with and for the Colorado Springs Professional Firefighters Association IAFF Local 5... as a way to honor all who serve"

Love their can art!

Brewed with only Mosaic hops, this beer has a wonderful citrus taste that really balances nicely with the malts. Look for 4-packs of these cans in local area stores, and if you see a firefighter during your daily routine, stop and thank them for their service!

Tucson Fire Pipes & Drums

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