Fly in for a flight of local beer
There’s no leaving here without tasting Colorado Lager and, for a walk on the hoppier side, the summer seasonal St. Lupulin extra pale ale.
In any other city, Purpose and Odell would be enough to convince a craft beer lover they were in heaven. But this is Colorado, arguably the mother of the North American craft beer world, and we’re not done yet.
New Belgium Brewing, employee-owned and massive, offers free tours of its brewery every afternoon. The tours are equal parts storytelling, cycling and legal drinking age (21 in the United States) playground.
Early on, we’re introduced to an actual fat tire bicycle. It’s the same type founder Jeff Lebesch, as a 32-year-old, rode around the villages of Belgium before returning to Fort Collins in the early 1990s to start brewing beer in his basement.
Today, New Belgium’s Fat Tire brand of Belgian ale is brewed in both Fort Collins and Asheville, N.C., and is one of the most recognized craft beer brands in the United States.
But New Belgium doesn’t rest entirely on its leading brand. The Fort Collins brewery is home to the world’s biggest wood cellar beer production facility producing beers such as Oscar, brewed in blackberry whiskey barrels.
The taproom also features such beers as Voodoo Ranger IPA series, seven versions in total.
New Belgium is big on environmental sustainability and our tour, led by Jesse Claeys reflects that, pointing out everything from policies regarding sourcing materials to encouragement of the cycling culture and fitness. They’ve just added a great lawn perfect for cycle-in movie nights and beer yoga.
For the kid in us all, tours end with a literal slide back to the taproom level.
Of course, there’s more to nourish the soul than craft beer in Fort Collins. There is also some of the best noshing we’ve experienced in America.
A favourite was The Kitchen, a bistro in historic Old Town with a farm-to-fork menu and a motto of “community through food.”
For a hearty breakfast and a fine cup of joe, few can match Silver Grill, which is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Northern Colorado, tracing its history to 1912. No one had to twist arms to sample their muchlauded cinnamon rolls and freshsqueezed orange juice.
And wouldn’t you know it, there’s a Silver Grill cinnamon roll beer brewed in the Christmas season by Odell.
That has us smacking our lips in hopes of a return visit.