Beer and Cheer: Jewbelation

Chanukah started on Friday, and the occasion called for a special brew, something that would go well with potato latkes and gelt. The answer was Jewbelation, the massive holiday beer from New York’s Shmaltz Brewing Company (makers of HE’BREW, the chosen beer). The gimmicky brand marketing for Shmaltz — its…

Guess where I’m drinking?

Bacon. Really, that’s all you need to know about this knockout cocktail that’s a new creation from one of Denver best cocktologists (thanks to Nancy Levine for coining that word). Shaken with Stranhan’s whiskey, bacon-infused rye and other potent poisons, its rim is is then edged with – get this…

Beer and Cheer: Ska Brewing’s Euphoria

Euphoria – This hop-happy beer in a can is a crowd pleaser, with its bitterly delicious dollop of hops delivered cold and crisp from aluminum rather than glass. Similar to the Celebration Ale in style, this beer more closely resembles a American style IPA along the lines of Dale’s Pale…

Rosa Scintillante at Ernie’s Bar & Pizza

I have fond memories of the holiday season up at 44th and Federal. The space that was then 3 Sons always featured the most over-the-top, tacky Christmas decorations in town; as a kid, I liked counting all the different decor items, especially the red bows and cherubs. The owners sold…

Beer and Cheer: Spruce Goose at Steamworks

When I first tried this beer last year, on the recommendation of a liquor-store employee, I thought I’d gotten a bottle from a batch that had been contaminated. Although it smelled like pine trees, it tasted like, well, the mold that grows on a plastic container full of spaghetti that’s…

Behind the bar at Ernie’s with Maura Schuster

After stints at LoHi SteakBar and Caldonia’s, Maura Schuster is now behind the bar at Ernie’s Bar & Pizza. The place is new, but the bar is old-school, complete with a back bar salvaged from the old Armory in Greeley. And Schuster is an old-school bartender, “not a big performance/flair…

Root for your home team at these BCS Championship game bars

The BCS Championship game is set for January 7 between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas Longhorns, but it’s never too early to get your party plans in order and identify the bars that will provide a friendly haven for your cheering pleasure. Here’s a rundown of where to…

Beer and Cheer: The Bruery’s 2 Turtle Doves

The Bruery in Orange County, California, has become one of the most recognized up-and-coming craft breweries in the country in only a couple of years, in part because of its enormous, extreme and experimental beers. And 2 Turtle Doves is no exception. Part two in The Bruery’s 12 Beers of…

Beer and Cheer: Alaskan Winter Ale

Alaskan Brewing Company offers one of the most unusual and refreshing tastes of the season with its Winter Ale, with is smooth and rich from start to finish.. Although the beer is brewed with spruce tips, it tastes more like honey and sweet melons than trees. And if trees can…

Guess where I’m drinking?

Nothing says holiday party like a tall Bloody Mary the morning after.And this one even supplies some much-needed protein and vitamins, to help you bounce back in time to enjoy all the parties ahead. Can you guess where I was drinking? Special bonus: Every Friday, anyone who gave the first…

Happy hour hunt: Squeaky Bean

Sometimes the universe puts you right where you need to be, and if you’re lucky, that place has a killer happy hour, a menu you can slowly eat your way through and a staff that makes you feel like you’ve all been kickin’ it for years. The universe told me…

Beer and Cheer: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Sierra Nevada Celebration is back with a zesty, tongue- tingling bang in 2009, bringing the full host of hops that had been missing from a couple of its previous incarnations. This is the holiday beer that should be in everyone’s fridge; it’s one that takes advantage of all the powerful…

Free beer! Get Blitzen at the Rock Bottom tonight

Donner may have been Rudolph’s dad in the 1964 TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but Blitzen will be responsible for giving you a red nose when downtown’s Rock Bottom Brewery taps its venerable holiday seasonal beer at 6 p.m. tonight. Even better: Pints are free between 6 and 6:30…

Party like a playboy at the Warwick

In December 1967, Denver’s Playboy Club opened at 1776 Grant Street. Today, the club is just a memory (one that leaves a smile on a certain generation of businessmen’s faces). The address now belongs to the Warwick Denver Hotel, which is celebrating the infamous former tenant with a special drink…

Beer and Cheer: Shiner Holiday Cheer

There are many more holiday beers on liquor store shelves this year, especially offerings from out-of-state brewers. Shiner Holiday Cheer was a nice surprise among them, not just because I hadn’t seen this beer in Colorado before, but because of its unusual pecan and spice flavors, which fill an important…

Beer and Cheer: Left Hand’s Fade to Black

The Left Hand Brewing Company made me cry this year when VP of Operations Chris Lennert announced it would no longer make its Snow Bound spiced ale, which was been one of my favorite holiday beers over the past few years. I I like beers with hints of holiday flavors…

Behind the bar with Jared Boller

You can find Jared Boller behind a number of bars — at TAG, Root Down and Corridor 44. He says he loves working with the different styles and clientele at each location and that it makes him a better bartender. It certainly makes him a winning bartender: Last month, Boller…

Wino alert: Instawine.com brings the drink to your doorstep

Well, it’s official. You never have to leave your house again. You can get your groceries delivered. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can get your dinner delivered. You can shop online, and you can have your new couch delivered. And now, thanks to Instawine.com, you can get your…

Beer and Cheer: Coors Winterfest is back!

It’s not often that a powerless little blogger can claim to have influenced a billion-dollar conglomerate like MillerCoors. After all, the big boys of beer spend ungodly sums of money on marketing teams and focus groups and executive vice presidents who are supposed to make the decisions that matter. So,…