Comrade Brewing co-owner’s top picks
To pick Colorado’s top craft beers and breweries in 2016, the Denver Post surveyed more than two dozen brewers and experts to reflect on the year in beer and look forward to 2017.
The second installment in the 6th annual Beer in Review series features David Lin, the co-owner at Comrade Brewing in southeastern Denver.
Comrade Brewing is a hop master in the Colorado
Escene, taking home numerous awards for their Superpower IPA and continuously pushing the limits on new beers. Razz Against the Machine is a combination of two beer styles that I generally don’t gravitate toward: kettle sour and fruit beer. Razz has a great balance of the tartness and the raspberry character.
ECannonball Creek had a great showing at GABF, and I always look forward to drinking their beers. I’m not over there often because it’s a trek, but I’m always impressed with their hoppy beers. for their dedication and passion for lager beers. They aren’t taking shortcuts: brewing on a copper brew house they brought over from Germany, lager tanks with a 1:1 aspect ratio and using old-world techniques, such as employing a flotation tank. The lagers there are world class. Liberati is the one I’m most looking forward to in 2017. I have met Alex (Liberati) a few times in the past, but I got to really chat with him after the Fresh Hop Festival and toured the building. I’m not familiar with Italian beers and know nothing about wine-beer hybrids. Excited to try his Italianstyle beers as well as the food.
Fresh hop beers were prolific this year. With so many new areas around the country growing hops, it has made it easier to source fresh hops locally and easier logistically to brew. hops, hops. The U.S. has surpassed Germany in hop production, and with an increase in acreage and heavy hop contracting, it has made finding proprietary varieties easier to find on the spot market at reasonable prices. An array of new hop products are on the market, such as varietal-specific hop extracts, lupulin powder (colloquially called “hop kief ”), hop oils and concentrated pellets. Lastly, the race will be on to find the next new “it” hop, as breeders and growers are releasing new yetto-be-named varieties to test in beers.