TWO MIDDLERS FROM BOULDER BEER

Before the past week I’d had two very positive experiences with beer from Colorado’s BOULDER BEER – a nice MOJO IPA we had on tap in New York (7.5/10), and an incredible HAZED & INFUSED that we, uh, had on tap in New York (9/10). So I figured it made sense to grab a couple more from their lineup and see where it took us. First one I found is called COLD HOP, and they say it is a British-style ale. Now if I had this one on tap in the Mother Country, I admit I’d be a little surprised. It dances around the tongue quite a bit, and has much more of a bittering bite than your typical UK ale. The dominant taste – which to be honest wasn’t all that dominant – was grapefruit. Not particularly exciting, but decent – something that I’d probably pass on given the chance again. 5.5/10.

As you may have read, I was in Denver over the Thanksgiving break, and managed to sneak a couple of locally-brewed bottles into my luggage to be consumed at home. I got a bottle of BOULDER BEER’s NEVER SUMMER at a store called the Colorado Liquor Mart – the store even had a rep from Boulder Beer standing in the aisle, and it was she who pointed me over to said beer. Hey, she had a nice smile (or something). This holiday/Christmas ale has a medium body and fairly light spicing – what kind, you ask? Oh you know, that “holiday” spicing so popular around this time of year. Caramel malts are the backbone of the beer, and it all sorta combines in a strange, somewhat jarring way. I wouldn’t call it pleasant, nor would I call it annoying. It just is. 6/10.

I expected more from my Coloradan friends, but it may be that I debuted my relationship with them with their two best beers, and am now getting into the rest of the lineup - the “middlers”, you might say.