Ear to the ground

“I saw one of the most beautiful mullets of all time in Denver. It was so good that the thing looked fake.”

-A local woman describing one of the highlights of a recent trip to the Front Range

Heavy beers

Durango’s suds went to the big show last weekend and returned home with big honors. Two local breweries earned medals at the Olympics of beer – the Great American Beer Festival.

The GABF – considered the most prestigious competition in the nation – was held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver on Oct. 11-13. In this the festival’s 26th year, 473 breweries from throughout the nation entered 2,793 beers in 75 categories for a shot at gold, silver and bronze medals.

Durango’s Steamworks Brewing Co. celebrated its most successful showing to date, winning Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for the Steam Engine Lager, Colorado Kölsch and What in the Helles? beers. This year marked the sixth time the GABF honored the Steam Engine Lager, Steamworks’ flagship beer.

“The Steam Engine Lager competed against 43 other breweries in the American-Style Amber Lager category,” said Kris Oyler, CEO. “And it shone again. We continue to receive reinforcement from professionals that it is among the best, if not the best amber lager in the country and perhaps the world. This is an honor for both Steamworks and Southwest Colorado – the Napa Valley of hand-crafted beer.”

Durango Brewing also took home precious medal at the GABF. The local brewer’s Durango Derail Ale, a hoppy strong ale weighing in at a hefty 8.5% ABV, took gold in the Other Strong Ale or Lager category.

According to the GABF, the 2007 competition was the most competitive on record. Only 8 percent of all beers entered earned a medal.

24 hours of Durango

Local ladies also visited a prestigious podium last weekend. The Smokin’ Hubs, a team of four Durango women mountain bikers, won the 5-person women’s class in last weekend’s 24 Hours of Moab.

In its 12-year history, the 24 Hours of Moab has become one of the top races in mountain biking. For one weekend each year, a mountain bike city pops up out of the desert, south of Moab, and more than 5,000 racers go head-to-head on the Behind the Rocks Trail for 24 hours straight.

The Smokin’ Hubs –made up of Durangoans Julie Barber, Eileen Dawson, Kate Skrainka and Lori Moore, as well Kirsten Callari, of Salt Lake City – rallied around the course 14 times in 24 hours. The five local women gained an incredible 19,040 feet in elevation on their way to first place. They also beat out several teams of professionals whose sponsorship from the likes of Cannondale, Camelbak and Clif Bar wasn’t enough to put them in front of the Durangoans.