Le Petite Saison by Twisted Pine: a new session beer for summer

by Jonathan Kosakow for Examiner.com


The Twisted Pine Brewing Company sits in a part of town without too much foot traffic. Located at 3201 Walnut, a quick turn from 30th Street, the brewery and Ale House are just a bit off the beaten path – but not too far. And that style is distinctively Twisted Pine.

In the fifteen years since its opening, Twisted Pine has strived to make their beer just a little bit different, though they still manage to attract a healthy sized crowd by staying true to form. Starting with a simple recipe and adding an ingredient or two to spice things up, they satisfy both the regulars and the more adventurous types.

Available in 22 oz. bottles as of June 1, Le Petite Saison is a solid example of the simplicity that Twisted Pine has perfected. Though the Belgian saison style of beer has more recently become a great collaboration of yeast and spices, often showcasing faint notes of fruitiness, it was traditionally a beer for farmers to relax with after a long day, something simple yet satisfying.

Le Petite Saison lives up to its pastoral tradition. Light in color and cloudy because it is unfiltered, it takes the majority of its flavor from the yeast, a bread-like taste and texture. As it warms, a subtle hint of apricot and pear is also present. It finishes with a touch of hops, but not one so strong that the bitterness is overpowering, as many find is true with hoppier ales.
Though a majority of people will say that summer is a time for a lighter beer like Corona or Bud Light, Le Petite Saison will serve the same purpose of refreshment while also providing a distinct and satisfying flavor.

Like a good brewery should, Twisted Pine continues to evolve every day. In a time when most small companies are scaling back their operations, this brewery is only looking forward. Having just received their food license, the Ale House has plans to put together a thoughtful menu by early July, and with their 15th Anniversary party just a couple of weeks later, it looks to be a good summer at Twisted Pine.

Beer in Boulder. Part 1: breweries

by Jonathan Kosakow for Examiner.com

Aside from the countless hiking trails, bike rides, coffee shops, restaurants and overall beauty of the culture, one of the many things that makes Boulder, CO such a great place to live is the fresh, local beer. And, while walking into your favorite restaurant or bar may be the easiest way to get a sampling of what the town has to offer, some people prefer to go straight to the source.

There are a number of breweries in town who serve all of their beers on tap, and others that like to offer a little nosh on the side. Here's a comprehensive (and alphabetical) list for those of you want just a little bit more freshness in your mug:

Avery Brewing is open for food and drinks 7 days a week from noon until 10pm. Tours are free every day at 4pm Monday thru Friday and 2pm on weekends, and there is live music every Thursday and Sunday. Tap Room located at 5757 Arapahoe Ave, Boulder.

Boulder Beer Company was Colorado's first microbrewery. The Wilderness Pub offers dining hours Monday thru Friday from 11am until 9pm, with free tours at 2pm as well. Check their calendar for events like live music and beer festivals. 2880 Wilderness Place, Boulder.

Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery has two locations in Boulder and one in Denver. The Mountain Sun and Southern Sun in Boulder both brew their own beer, while the Vine Street Pub in Denver is currently working on that very project (not to be completed for some time, according to an employee of the Pub). All three provide a diverse menu and live music weekly, just check the calendar. Mountain Sun is located at 1535 Pearl Street, Boulder; Southern Sun is at 627 South Broadway, Boulder; and Vine Street Pub is at 1700 Vine Street (corner of 17th Ave), Denver.

The Boulder Draft House and Colorado Brewing Company, formerly Redfish Brewing Company, is open daily at 11am for food and drinks. Check their events calendar for live music and happy hours, including a weekly "Reggae Wednesday." 2027 13th Street (between Spruce and Pearl), Boulder.

Though it's not exactly beer, The Redstone Meadery specializes in Mead, also known as honey wine, that is brewed in a form very similar to beer (but you'd better talk to the brewmaster about that one). You can visit the Meadery for tours weekdays at 1pm and 3pm and Saturdays at 12:30. Or, if a tour's not your thing, just visit the tasting room Monday thru Saturday starting at noon. 4700 Pearl Street, Boulder.

Walnut Street's Walnut Brewery features food, beer, and weekly trivia every Thursday night. Tours of the small microbrewery within the restaurant can be arranged by appointment. 1123 Walnut Street (between 11th Street and Broadway, one block south of Pearl Street), Boulder.

Twisted Pine Brewery specializes in 100% natural, unpasteurized brewing. Their experimental style lends itself to many full-flavored beers, available to drink in the Tap Room or in your living room. And, they've got the MLB package for all your baseball viewing needs. 3201 Walnut Street, Boulder.

Oskar Blues Brewery – Lyons, CO

By Jonathan Kosakow

A few miles outside of Boulder, Colorado is a small town called Lyons. In Lyons, among other things including a couple of biker bars, elk jerky for sale, and a small river, is a hometown brewpub with a far reach. Oskar Blues Brewery boasts such nationally distributed beers as the Old Chub Imperial IPA, Gordon Ale, Mama’s Little Yella Pils, and their flagship beer, Dale’s Pale Ale. All of these beers, when not on tap, are sold in cans. So, you can enjoy an ice cold Dale’s on the golf course, at the turn, while tail-gaiting, or anywhere else that doesn’t allow glass containers (a school library, for example).

Inside the bar/restaurant/arcade (yes, arcade, read on for details later…), you can expect to be pleasantly surprised by even more beers generally not available to the outside world. The “One Nut” Brown Ale, for instance, is a perfect example of the delicate balance that brown ales often lack: it has all the nutty flavor you’d expect, but is not too overpowering and goes down smoothly with a clean finish. (Interesting side note: the beer may or may not have been named in honor of Lance Armstrong).

There is much more to say about Oskar Blues Brewery. They boast a regular schedule of live music and a wealthy selection of both bar food and, for the classier crowd, ginger salmon. There is a bar downstairs with pool tables and televisions. Oh, and the arcade – just in case your seven-year-old has had one too many home made root beers – has Tron, Ms. Pacman, and a somewhat impressive selection of pinball machines. The bathrooms also don’t smell bad. But I’d go just for the beer.

The Session #40 Session Beer

Session beer. It’s relative. It’s as relative to Americans as
Thanksgiving, which in historical fact, had little to do with the
spirit of camaraderie and togetherness that Americans now associate
with the holiday. At our Thanksgiving table we have a bevy of
nap-inducing deliciousness: candied sweet potatoes, salty stewed
artichokes and creamed corn and while very few at the party are brave
enough to touch it, we keep a Jello mold ring of cranberry sauce
because that’s what Grandpa Jim loved and we all loved Grandpa Jim.

For many, session beer is simply beer that is highly drinkable.
Certainly “drinkability” and low alcohol content are all part of the
cultural understanding of what makes a session beer. However, for me,
a session beer is a beer that is more defined by the occasion than the
style. There are countless occasions that call for a session beer.

My session beer is a beer that calls for no particular fuss. It’s good
to go—right out of the bottle (or can). Sure, it may have desired
glassware, a tulip or a snifter, but often I’ve found the best
“sessions” were not one predicated on which beer was drank.

To me, “sessions” are all-encompassing conversations which start with
beers but end with opinions; on politics, culture or the nature of
good and evil. Session beer is beer that knows its role. You can drink
it warm, as sometimes sessions will drag on late into the evening. In
these conversations debate is so intense that everything else in the
world, save your conviction, becomes unimportant.

One of the earliest “sessions” I can remember occurred while I was 18.
It was my great aunt’s 90th birthday so up to Ft. Kent, ME, a town
bordering Canada, my family of New Yorker’s went. Once we arrived at
our cousin’s house, Rob, my cousin who was 16 at the time, informed me
that aunt Precilla was the only one in his immediate family who voted
for George W. Bush. When we got to Aunt Precilla’s cabin my extended
family was drinking Coors Light, Bud Light and Shipyard IPA. I had
never seen a brown bottle with such an artistic label. I saw my older
cousins drinking it and nobody objected to me having a few.

After several hours of political diatribes and philosophies bantered
about, folks were tired out. 90-year-old Aunt Precilla gave each one
of her children a big hug and all was well despite the evening’s chaos
of conversation. During the lull, I came to find out from my Uncle
Phil that our distant relatives were actually rum runners in the
illegal alcohol trade. One relative in particular went beyond the
simple racket of running booze in trucks across the border into New
England and became the captain of a “contact boat”, the small ships
that took liquor from the big boat, floating outside U.S.
jurisdiction, and brought the Canadian whiskey into Maine. Throughout
the course of the history lesson I had a few Shipyards.

Then a few more and then a few more.

A few turned into too many and too many was then followed by a few
champagne toasts and long story short I was VERY dehydrated the next
day. But in the midst of my first monster “session” I came to love
Shipyard IPA for its then-odd smelling and strange tasting flavor. I
think part of the mystery, beyond the fact that I had yet to try an
English-style American IPA at that point in time, was the fact that
the beer actually tasted different at different points in one bottle.
When first pulled, freezing-cold, from the cooler it had an unfamiliar
fruity flavor. Being completely unfamiliar with fuggles at the time, I
suspected the picture on the bottle was of a Maine blueberry bush
without blueberries. The single-hopped brew at a mere 50 IBUs made me
cringe! I’ve since had barley wines weighing over 100 IBUs. But yet I
was certain that somewhere in the brewing process blueberries were
added. As it got warmer, the fruitiness dissipated. The beer tasted
more bitter and fuller.

This fuggle-only beer initially demanded attention. Throughout the
course of the evening the beer got out of the way and discussions took
over. Discussions of politics and great grand-cousins; booze smugglers
of some local acclaim.