Sometimes, friends, it just hits me. I wake up in the morning, and after a strong cup of Kona, after a solid breakfast made up of a bowl of oatmeal and maybe half a bagel, I say to myself, “I could really use a hoppy beer right about now.” Perhaps this is indicative of a much larger problem in my life, but that’s beside the point. Sometimes, friends, I know that on that day, I will want to get the hoppiest, bitterest, and most floral barley water I can possibly find. You know the stuff; the kind that would make a child swear off drinking forever, if dad ever let them have a sip.... Read More

Waking up to the sound of rain is a sobering reminder for the people of Boulder county. In a way, it brings us all back to those days in September of 2013, when we never thought we’d see the sun again. Some of us were lucky. Me? I was lucky. I live on the second floor, and even though people were saying, “It’s seen better days,” about my condo all the way back in the 70s, it didn’t get too much damage, a leaky overhang aside. Some of our neighbors, however, weren’t so lucky. It’s an interesting mindset for a town. Places like Portland or Seattle, cities... Read More

Late April is always a fascinating time in Boulder, because you have two holidays that many of us truly enjoy. First up, always on the 20th of every year, is the hallowed “420”, which, to many (CU’s Administration, for example), is just a major headache. To those who actually have a reason behind celebrating 420, and aren’t just smoking their friend’s glass to seem counterculture, 420 is an important symbol for national legalization and recognition of every person in prison for the “crime” of possession of cannabis. I guess you can tell which side of... Read More

I remember the day in high school, all those years ago, when my German teacher, Frau Sussak, expressed to me the virtues of learning German. Like any student who somehow gets caught up in Deutsch, rather than a perhaps more functional language like Spanish, I started to question whether learning German was actually worth my time, being in, you know, America. Around my junior year, I decided to express these concerns to my teacher, a kindly woman who had been in the industry of teaching kids western Europe’s most distinctive (and perhaps, most made fun of) language for some thirty years.... Read More

I am a sucker for springtime in Colorado. Aside from the random and inevitable snow that will blanket the Flatirons every once in awhile, springtime in Boulder is simply majestic. People will emerge from their Netflix and delivery pizza hibernation, flip on a pair of Ray-Bans, don a stylized tank top, and will then explore the great eateries (and drinkeries!) that this city has to offer. The Pearl Street Mall, in all its glory, becomes once again a destination for Coloradans from all over, eager to take in the joviality of buskers, ice cream, and sunshine. Now, head a few minutes east of the Mall... Read More

Living in Colorado, one has to acclimate oneself to the ever-present kitsch of the “old west” aesthetic. Whether you’re being referred to as “pardner” every fifteen seconds, or donning a mining helmet while frontier folk sing Little House on the Prairie to you, sometimes you just have to throw your hands up, tighten your britches, and say “yee-haw.” Frankly, exposing friends from out of town to this frontier pride, specifically friends from the east coast (where anything west of Pennsylvania is still controlled by roving posses of bank-robbing bandits,... Read More

Think about the biggest brewery you have ever been to. For many Coloradans, that answer is pretty easy: just take Highway 93 from Boulder to Golden. Yeah, you know who I’m talking about. The Coors Brewery in Golden, Colorado has a brewing capacity of some 13 million barrels annually, which comes out to something like 410 million gallons of beer. Holy alcohol, Batman! Okay, maybe that’s a little too big to conceive. Consider, then, the largest microbrewery you’ve been to. New Belgium? Sam Adams? Avery? While still at only a fraction of the global production that MillerCoors pumps... Read More

As embarrassing as it is, I’ll just have to come out and say it. Despite being a Colorado native, and despite living in The Bubble for the better part of the last decade, for whatever reason, this winter just seems more tedious and annoying than any I can remember. Beautiful sunny days are interrupted by harrowing snowstorms, only to be followed by more sun. Yes, I realize this is par for the course in Colorado, but after the fifth alternation between Colorado’s hot and cold seasons in just this week alone, I’m ready for permanently warmer weather, Punxsutawney Phil be damned.... Read More

I realize, writing an editorial about The Mountain Sun to Boulderites is much like a movie critic extolling the cinematic genius of Dr. Zhivago. I also realize that writing a piece on The Mountain Sun’s Stout Month to Boulderites is much like a music critic venturing to the Monterey Pop Festival, and saying the music was “pretty great.” Let’s face it: The Mountain Sun is a Boulder institution. Their yearly homage to dark and malty beer, Stout Month, has become a tradition for the denizens of Boulder since the celebration began 22 years ago. So, for anyone who has yet ventured... Read More

In all honesty, it’s definitely one of the strangest places for a taproom. It’s the kind of place, the first few times you visit, you’re certain you’ve made a wrong turn. The mangled corpses of wrecked cars line your path, delving further from the street, and deeper into this strange hodgepodge of commercial buildings. Of course, the iconic capital “A” shines on one unassuming building, and it’s perhaps at that point you notice the massive fermentation vessels lining the street. Avery Brewing Company has been a Boulder institution for nearly 22 years;... Read More