Strange Brewing Company, Denver

Strange Brewing Company, visited on 2/18/12  (http://www.strangebrewingco.com/)

Saturday was a decidedly Denver-day-drinking experience, and only after we spent two hours at Hops and Pie in the Highlands were we ready to hit a brewery. Our stop at Hops and Pie was planned, but we weren't aware until the night before the H&P was having a 'grand opening' to celebrate the expansion...and the celebration happened to include the tapping of some 12-14 Dogfish Head beers. Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE DFH. They are far and away my favorite brewery on the east coast. There's almost nothing that comes close until you cross the Mississippi. Our group of 7 ALL enjoyed DFH beers on tap, with Bitches Brew, Chickory Stout, Hellhound, Pangea, Midas Touch, Fort, Raison D'etre and 120 Minute ALL being enjoyed in luscious pints or snifters (except Fort...which was sampled...and loved by me). I indulged in the latter two beers, having only tried Raison on draft once or twice when I lived back in NoVA and having NEVER had 120 on draft. I was actually pleasantly surprised when they came out with 120 poured in a 10 ounce pint glass...I fully expected an 8-ounce pour in a snifter. YUM. 120 Minute is easily my greatest beer indulgence.

Following our stop at H&P, we headed to Strange Brewing, kind of hidden in a non-descript commercial stretch of older shops near Mile High Station. Strange was pretty busy for a Saturday afternoon, but I'm assuming that was kind of normal. It was easy to try some other beers when you go in a group...everyone can still order a pint and everyone can give it a taste or two. Below are my tasting notes for beers I enjoyed at Strange:

Gingerbread Man - 6.5abv; 30ibus; I believe, if I can recall, that this is a brown ale, at least in style; the color was dark brown; a full inch head was found here; smells nice and spicy; there are subtle hints of nutmeg on the nose too; this tastes real gingerbready, which I love; very good, not overly sweet beer; moderate sweetness overall; very easy to drink; really good balance of taste and complexity; NICE!

Cherry Bomb Stout - 5.2abv; 46ibus; dark; very small head; no to little lacing; lightly bitter on the nose; good cherry flavor; tastes like a very light stout; sessionable; good beer with a touch of sweet cherry flavor and not overly heavy.

Cherry Kriek - 4.7abv; 15ibus; light in color; moderate to little lacing; almost red 'lager' in color; very sweet, tastes A LOT like cherry pie, and sold as such; good beer, but might be a little hard on the belly over time; probably something to enjoy after a meal; almost lambic-y without the heavy sweet.

IPAphany IPA - 7.0abv; 66ibus; light in color, almost a medium amber; minimal lacing; good hop odor, light though...likely a reflection of the moderate ibu number; good simple IPA in flavor; nothing overly complex, but well-balanced; drinkable in doses. I enjoyed this after all the sweetness I drank here.

Strange is pretty small and tight, with two rooms serving as tasting rooms with picnic tables in one; there was a food vendor on-site that was 'attached' to the open-ended picnic table room; we tried some of their 'beer balls' which were basically baked dough with sausage and something else undiscernible in it...not bad, and good to soak up some booze with. Overall, Strange had a mellow vibe with some good experimental but accessible beers. Once again, we'll be back!