2012 Saison Fest Image Recap

Saison Fest 2012 has come and gone and we have to wait another 365 days till the next one. After living in Colorado Springs for a year and a half I have come to love Saisons and Farmhouse Ales, due in large part to Trinity Brewing and their persistence in exploring the possibilities of these beers. We've seen Saisons of all kinds, from clean, dry, and sharp to messy, playful, and complex. We've seen farmhouse ales with wild yeast, with vegetables grown in our own backyards, with saffron, with heather, without hops, with fruit, with almonds, with large amounts of tartness and many other variations. It makes perfect sense that Trinity's newest flagship beer is Saison Man, a clean and dry saison named after Jason Yester, and it also makes sense that Jason organizes the annual Saison and Farmhouse Ale Festival. This is a day where breweries all over Colorado do some experimentation and bring some very playful offerings. Many of the beers are created for this event, while others are special beers that we just can't really get this far south of Denver (yet). It's a lovely festival, I really can't emphasize it enough. This year I had just as much fun as last year and I'm looking forward to the next one, although I wish we could have it again in 30 days. I hope you enjoy our photos and our recap.

Meet the Brewer: Funkwerks

Meet the Brewer: Funkwerks
Fri. April 13th / 7pm
Another Pint / 13860 Gleneagle Dr. Colorado Springs
Pay Per Pint
Facebook Event Page

When we first started the Meet the Brewer series, Funkwerks was not distributed in Colorado Springs and they were on our priority list to get on the Meet the Brewer series. Funkwerks won our hearts at GABF in 2010, and again almost a year and a half ago at Vail Big Beer Fest. At the Saison Festival last year we said their Saison was the best straight saison at the festival, and definitely one of the best we've ever had. As it turns out, within weeks of starting the Meet the Brewer series their beer became available at a few of our shops and a few of our bars so we thought we'd give it some time before we brought down Gordon Schuck, Funkwerks' head brewer. Now that we've been able to spend some time with their beers, familiarizing ourselves a bit with this all-saison brewery, we thought that it's time to invite him to our town. This event will take place the night before the Saison Festival, so if you're not able to attend the Saison Fest, you'll definitely want to come to this. If you are going, this will give you the chance to meet Gordon in advance and to drink a few beers that won't be available at the fest (Belgian Stout, Alchemy, and White). Please join us in welcoming Gordon Schuck on April 13th.

Here is a list and description of beers we will have on hand for this special event:

Beer Thoughts: Funkwerks Aurora

Beer thoughts:
Funkwerks Aurora is perhaps Funkwerks' most striking bottle in terms of aesthetics and will turn the head of any person, giving them a 'What are you about to open' look on their face. It is a Belgian Style Ale, pouring golden orange with a beautiful long lasting lacing and head. The combination of yeasts specially highlight the fruitier flavors of the single hop, Styrian Aurora hops. The aroma is of grassiness and really juicy fruits like apricots and peaches. The taste is very similar, lots of peach, exotic fruits, some grassiness, and a hint of spice. The beer is sweet in a fruity way, not really in a malty way. The beer is beautiful, I wish we could have this regularly at our pubs.

Buddha Nuvo is Bottled and Almost Ready

Last week the collaborative and long-awaited Buddha Nuvo beer was bottled. You might remember this beer from our earlier image recap of the brew day. Check out that earlier post to see more info about how the beer was made and who contributed what in making it. The beer was originally brewed on Feburary 11th, and after initial fermentation it was stored in Oak Barrels. Numerous breweries all over Colorado have had a hand in the making of this beer, whether it was help conceptualizing it, providing equipment, ingredients, or simply lending a helping hand during production. The beer is a fundraiser for the Colorado Brewer's Guild. More information on that, where to find the beer, and a lot more pictures are below. I had a video but it's having problems. I'll post it later if I can get it to work (sorry Kjell!)

Here's the final product, dipped in wax and signed by
Jim Stinson of Rockyard and Jason Yester of Trinity

The beer is a 12% Saison, conceived initially by Jason at Trinity and added to and changed by many other brewers. Rockyard Brewing in Castle Rock provided the brewing space, fermentation space, checked in on the beer, and is handling the distribution. The malt bill of the beer consists of a complex blend Weyerman Pilsen, Vienna, Rye, and spelt for a golden color yet vinous body. Pumpkin was added in the boil for the smooth textures dancing over the palate. Several varieties of whole peppercorns were added to the boil to further reinforce the expected spiciness of this Saison. 5 distinct yeasts creating a spicy and fruity ester profile. 3 of the yeasts were provided by Troy at AC Golden. Post fermentation the batch aged on American Oak Chardonnay barrels, 6 varieties of Bretta, and the rare fruit known as Buddha's Hand. Buddha's hand was also in the boil.

A look from the top on bottling day

We had sampled the un-aged version of the beer at the Saison Fest earlier this year and it seemed quite promising. The oak barrels were provided by Chad Yakobson of Crooked Stave. Earlier in the week he and Jim Stinson mixed the beer from the barrels and prepped it for the bottles. The bottles were pre-labeled by some very appreciated folks at Rockyard.