Pub Crawlin’

The Brew Kettle is home of The Ringnecked Brewing Company, as well as a B.O.P. (Brew on Premises) and a beer bar.  It’s a simple location - concrete and steel, chalkboard beer list and patio that appears to be chairs pulled into a parking lot, but the surface does not describe the atmosphere inside or among the personnel / clientele relationships.

This place started out as a brewery and BOP, and expanded when they realized people wanted to eat before, during and/or after they were brewing, so a family-friendly beer bar emerged.  24 different beers were on tap, rotating as we sat there, and to my delight, sample platters are available (I’m NOT a sampler kind of girl, but sometimes you can’t have a pint of everything!

We each tried a sampler - D had the five Ringnecked items, and I had five supplied brews.  There were plenty of locals (lunch-time and afternoon visitors, staff visiting after hours and ladies celebrating a birthday) and it looked like they had a nice menu (we just shared a stick of Mike’s Fresh Smokies.)  Speaking of “smokies”, the place was completely non-smoking!

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca - at 5% ABV and 20 IBU, this Belgian wit was a Belgian “Blah”.  It looked nice, and did have a little spiciness to it, but it was mostly tasteless except for the sourness.  It was easy drinking, so I had no trouble finishing the 5 oz glass.

D’s Ringnecked selections were:

Hefeweisen

Poor Richards Ale – an old English on nitro

4 C’s Pale Ale (made with Centennial, Chinook, Cascade and
Columbus hops)

Olde 21 (a double IPA made with 11 additions of Simoc hops; 21 lbs. of hops total)

Porter (made with smoked malt)

Brouweu van Honsenbrouck St. Louis Framboise was such a nicely done gueze lambic that I drank it all before realizing I didn’t even offer D any!  I really enjoyed the fresh raspberry flavor!  This measured in at 4.75 ABV and 10 IBU (it sells at 250 ml for $6.75, and for the lambic lover, it is worth every penny!)

Breckenridge Avalanche Amber (5.4% ABV and 18 IBU) giveColorado beers a bad name.  This one was way too malty, and for two people who strongly believe you should never leave a beer unfinished, this one was left to sit after three sips.

Founder’s Red Rye Ale (6.4% ABV and 68 IBU) was every bit as good as I’ve experience in a bottle.  Basically, this is a red IPA (compared to Rouge Integrity IPA which is made with
Amarillo hops and measures in at 6.2 ABV and 70 IBU), and I find it absolutely full of flavor and extremely enjoyable.

Boulder Mojo IPA was also a good choice; it was 6.8%ABV and 65 IBU.

For the family, they have made-on-site Cherry Cola and Rootbeer.  We also met the brewer, Vince Falcone, and the owner, Chris McCann. Maybe Ii;; write more, maybe I won’t…gotta’ keep traveling!