Ear to the ground

“That felt great. We should do this every day.”

“Yeah but my sphincter still isn’t really working.”

– An unusual stall-to-stall conversation in one of Durango’s women’s restrooms

Firkin time

Durango’s barleyfiles have been having firkin fun for months. Now, Steamworks Firkin Fridays are coming out from under the radar.

A firkin is an old English unit of volume, typically a wooden cask equal to approximately one-quarter of a regular barrel or 41 liters. Steamworks initiated Firkin Fridays last November to introduce specialty craft beers not suited to large draft productions. Previous firkins have included Cherry Vanilla Stout and Holiday Spice. This month’s firkin is a Chocolate Belgian Dubbel, perfect for Valentine’s Day. The cask will be tapped at 3 p.m. this Fri., Feb. 4.

“The Chocolate Belgian Dubbel presents chocolate through and through,” said Spencer Roper, Steamworks assistant brewer. “A slight spicy quality is achieved from the special Belgian yeast. The beer is then sent through secondary fermentation with strawberries. Think chocolate cake with strawberry syrup – perfect for Valentine’s Day.”

Unlike most draft beers, firkin beer is unpasteurized, unfiltered and naturally carbonated.

“Serving the beer requires a special tap and it’s gravity-poured,” said Steamworks Head Brewer Ken Martin. “It’s also served at about 55 degrees – cool but not cold. Because it contains no preservatives, a firkin beer is designed to be consumed after tapping, which hasn’t been a problem since we started Firkin Fridays.”

Firkin Fridays will continue on the first Friday of the month, with the March firkin planned with St. Patrick’s Day in mind. Stout-based, the March firkin will feature flavors of Irish crème and Irish whiskey.  

Skiing on garbage

Local skiers that are tiring of “packed powder” conditions can take heart. A far worse ski experience is taking shape in Denmark.

A Danish architecture firm has unveiled its design for a biomass energy plant named Amagerforbraending. The plant will take half a million tons of garbage and convert it into heat for 140,000 households. As an added bonus, the large burner will feature an artificial ski slope on the roof. The “ski resort” will encompass approximately 100,000 square feet and include green, blue and black-diamond runs. Several lifts will run alongside the building’s massive smokestack. The stack will belch a 100-foot-wide smoke ring into the sky every time a ton of CO2 is released to give residents and skiers “a gentle reminder of the impact of consumption.”