New brews on the block and the lucky 13
by Chris Aaland
Since Carver’s first started crafting its own ales in 1988, Durango has built a well-deserved reputation as a beer town. Two years later, Durango Brewing – with roots that date back to 1886 – followed suit. In 1995, Ska opened its doors, with Steamworks following a year later. Then in 2013, Erik & Lainie Maxson launched BREW Pub & Kitchen. And now there’s a sixth.
Animas Brewing Co., located at 1560 E. 2nd Ave., is the labor of love of Scott Bickert, longtime brewmaster at DBC. I dropped by Sunday morning – their second day of business – to share a couple of pints with little brother, Billy. We worked our way through the initial five offerings: Riverside Kolsch, Boxcar Red, Fisherman’s Brown (Billy’s favorite), Hogs Back Black (my personal preference) and Class VI IPA. Each was distinctive and excellent. We also woofed down a couple of to-go orders of Keg Rolls: high-end brew pub egg rolls. One batch was stuffed with bacon mac & cheese; the other with beer-battered chicken tenders. Signature pasties, sandwiches, burgers, greens and appetizers also dot the menu.
Bickert’s location – a block from the three-way intersection of East 3rd Ave., Florida Road and 15th Street and right next to the gazebo in Rotary Park – allows him to pay homage to the waterways and rail lines that run through town. The décor is river runner-inspired: lots of kayaks, paddles and the like adorn the walls. It’s a perfect mid-town stop for a cold one when biking or jogging down the River Trail.
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Durango’s newest brewmaster, Scott Bickert, raises a glass in this photo stolen directly from his Facebook page. |
Not to be outdone, Michael and Amy McCardell are ready to bottle their first batch of Soiled Doves Vodka at Durango Craft Spirits, the town’s first true craft distillery since Prohibition. Located in the back half of the old Peterson Office Supply building at 11th and Main, the grain-to-glass distillery will initially bottle vodka, with gin, rye whiskey and bourbon to follow. Like Bickert, the McCardells chose local history for their motif, and the tasting room will serve nothing but their own signature cocktails. The gift shop opened a few months ago while renovation was being completed in the tasting room and distillery. It’s now fully operational, with a soft opening anticipated for today or Friday.
On the winter solstice, Ska released its latest seasonal stout: Hibernal Vinifera Stout. Ska head brewer and resident Viking, Thomas Larsen, said that, while the other three season’s stouts can almost qualify as dessert beers, the Vinifera is a standout. “The Malbec grapes and roasted malts make it hearty enough to hold up to Colorado’s plunging cold winter temperatures,” he said.
Steamworks’ Firkin Friday for January – Peppermint Stout – was released early this year at Purgy’s the day after Christmas. But the actual brewery itself holds a second tapping at 3 p.m. Friday. At 6.4 ABV and based in the award-winning Backside Stout and peppermint bark, it’s seasonal candy for adults.
The Sheridan Arts Foundation and Telluride Ski Resort present the Chris Robinson Brotherhood at 9 p.m. Friday at the Telluride Conference Center in Mountain Village. Robinson is best known, of course, as the voice of the Black Crowes … a band that revolutionized rock & roll back around 1990 by embracing the classic sounds of early ’70s rockers like the Faces and the Stones. For about a three-year stretch at the start of their career, the Crowes were damned near my favorite band. Robinson’s solo band, the Brotherhood, recently released “Phosphorescent Harvest,” which joyfully harkens back to his best work on early Black Crowes records. It’s a mix of psychedelia, rock, electric folk, blues and even hints of R&B.
If you missed Brothers Keeper with John Popper & Jono Manson on New Year’s Eve at the ACT, you can catch them at the Sheridan Opera House in Telluride at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
This week’s Top Shelf features a baker’s dozen of my favorite albums of 2014. If Lynch can overshoot his 10-album limit, damn it, so can I:
1. Maggie Björklund, “Shaken.” Her sophomore effort took me by storm. Spooky and stunning stuff from the Danish steel guitarist who rubs elbows with Jack White. It became my Album of the Year before I finished listening to the first track.
2. “Dave Alvin and Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy.” The Brothers Alvin reunited for their first full album together since the original Blasters’ swan song in 1985. It’s folk-blues at its finest.
3. Luke Winslow-King, “Everlasting Arms.” Alt-country soaked in New Orleans influences. Keep your eyes on Winslow-King, who may become his generation’s David Bromberg.
4. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, “Give the People What They Want.” Jones kicked cancer’s ass and delivered one of the greatest albums of a stellar career.
5. Cory Branan, “The No-Hit Wonder.” Branan is cut from the same mold as Todd Snider and Hayes Carll: Funny, sad, self-deprecating and, most of all, a singer-songwriter who knows a good hook when he hears one.
6. The Motet, self-titled. The Boulder-based group has reinvented itself from percussion-driven jam band to nu jazz interpreters to full-on ’70s funk dance party.
7. Rodney Crowell, “Tarpaper Sky.” The Houston Kid can rightfully take his place alongside Guy, Townes and Robert Earl as a top Texas troubadour of the past 40 years.
8. Dr. John, “Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch.” The Night Tripper and several guests pay homage to the jazzy gumbo that Louis Armstrong crafted in the Crescent City.
9. Drive-By Truckers, “English Oceans.” The first true return-to-form since Jason Isbell left the band. Chock full of plenty of Cooley.
10. Johnny Winter, “Step Back.” A fitting farewell for the blues guitar hero, featuring collaborations with the guitar slingers he inspired.
11. Hot Rize, “When I’m Free.” Tim, Pete, Nick and relative newcomer Bryan Sutton are back in full force with their first studio record in 24 years. These guys are the deans of Colorado bluegrass and haven’t lost a step.
12. Lucinda Williams, “Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone.” A double LP that features some of Lucinda’s most rockin’ and well-crafted material in over a decade.
13. Sturgill Simpson, “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music.” NPR’s darling-of-the-year, Simpson’s strange, ambient, alt-country rocker is as good as it gets.
Mr. Bartender, please don’t be so slow? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.