Ear to the ground

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I had half a Xanax before I came.”

-A Durango sextegenarian moments before her first run through Smelter


Goodbye to Banquet Beer

The beverage that made Colorado famous has decided to take a hike. In a controversial move, the Coors Brewing Co. is moving its headquarters out of the Centennial State. By the middle of next year, the brewery that has been producing Banquet Beer for more than a century will call Chicago home.

German immigrants Adolph Coors and Jacob Schueler established the brewery in 1873 on the Front Range in Golden. Seven years later, Coors bought out Schueler, renamed “The Golden Brewery” and Coors beer was born. The pale lager was said to get its flavor from the waters of Clear Creek, and for decades, Coors was a regional product that had a cult following outside the West. In the 1960s and 1970s, visitors to Colorado often returned home with a case of Banquet Beer. Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski was known for loading the team plane with Coors after playing Western stadiums. In 1977, the film, “Smokey and the Bandit” put Golden on the map by centering on an illegal shipment of the beer from Texas to Georgia.

On June 30 of this year, Coors survived an anti-trust investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and successfully merged with Miller brewing. Last week, MillerCoors announced that it will be leaving Golden, and that its new corporate headquarters will be located in Chicago. According to company spokeswoman Julian Green, the decision “reflects the need for balance between the legacy companies as we seek to create the best beer company in America.”

As a consolation, the Coors brewery in Golden will continue to operate and get a $100 million capital infusion. The upgrade could be good news for those who never developed a taste for that fabled “Clear Creek flavor.”


“The perfect tube”

The season of the blow-up alligator has officially returned to the Animas. For those looking to tube the river in high style, Northwest River Supplies has unveiled the Cadillac of late-season rivercraft. Say goodbye to the big black blow-up and pesky Shraeder valve in the backside, NRS “Wild River Tubes” are now on the market.

Made from world-class NRS hypalon, the tubes come complete with handles and a drink holder. For those who like to run the low-water gnar, the tube “features two chambers providing an extra margin of safety.” NRS offers a version with a mesh floor for $85 and a true donut for $80.

But beware. The Idaho company’s catalog also contains a disclaimer, calling the Wild River Tube “the perfect tube for floating calm waters.”

 

 

 

In this week's issue...

January 25, 2024
Bagging it

State plastic bag ban is in full effect, but enforcement varies

January 26, 2024
Paper chase

The Sneer is back – and no we’re not talking about Billy Idol’s comeback tour.

January 11, 2024
High and dry

New state climate report projects continued warming, declining streamflows