Breckenridge Brewery Tour & Dinner
Saturday night we got to go behind the scenes of the Breckenridge Brewery facilities at their Farmhouse in Littleton, CO and were treated to a special private beer dinner in their Barrel Room! Since being acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev December of 2015, the facilities and beer production has greatly expanded and contributed to their cool new Farmhouse "campus" as they call it.
We got a great tour from Katie who literally walked us through each step in the brewing, aging and bottling process. Yes, some of their beers are aged, including their newest Brewery Lane Series release, the Imperial Vanilla Porter. This limited series beer is aged in Rum barrels, which we later dined among, and brewed with Madagascar vanilla beans.
At the end of the tour we each got a full pour of the Irish Stout and headed down to the Barrel Room where they had set up tables for us lucky 30 to sit and dine. The first course was a Roasted Beet Flatbread paired with an amazing Barrel Aged Imperial Cherry Stout. Next we had an Agave Wheat Shrimp Ceviche served on an avocado with an Oak Aged Saison which was light but flavorful, just like the Ceviche.
The entree was a big bowl of Duck Confit atop Risotto and Brussels Sprouts with a dry hopped orange glaze. This dish was so delicious and had a wonderful caramelized taste with an orange undertone from the glaze. It was paired with their seasonal holiday beer, the Holidale wich paired the holiday flavors of cinnamon and spice perfectly with the warming dish tinged with orange flavors. The beer itself is more of an Amber Ale with savory spices reminiscent of winter.
For the fourth course we finished with an Imperial Vanilla Porter Orange Ganache Tart with a vanilla whip. This was a dense chocolate tart with a strong orange zest flavor and delicate whip and nitrogen shattered blood oranges sprinkled on top! They did the shattering in front of us which was fun to watch and added a unique taste and dining experience. This was paired with the Imperial Vanilla Porter of course which was dark and thicker like the Irish Stout.
We were so impressed with this special Barrel Aged Beer Dinner by Executive Chef Nate Gravina and GM Joe Porter, and encourage you to look out for the next time the brewery hosts one of these. And after such an excellent dinner you should definitely make it a point to get some food with your beer the next time you're there. Cheers~
Full photo gallery below. https://www.breckbrew.com/beers
Words by Tiffany Candelaria Photos by Josh Stephens
Sesh Fest Is This Saturday - Day Drinkers Unite!
When: Saturday, August 6, 2016
2:00pm - 6:00pm MDT
Where: Highlands Masonic Events Center
Price: $30
Tickets: https://nightout.com/events/sesh-fest-2016/tickets#.V6IhsfkrLcs
This year's Sesh Fest features dozens of breweries paying homage to session-style beers at the Highlands Masonic Events Center. With a new location comes plenty of food, lawn games, and music to complement Colorado craft beer! Sesh Fest invites breweries to pour beers of the lighter, more sessionable variety, which means they are all under 5% ABV — all of them designed with your day drinking pleasure in mind!
What's included with the ticket? Bottomless session beer samples, access to all the games, grass and turf to relax on, sunshine (says our meteorologist intern), and a fancy new tasting glass you can keep. Each attendee will be welcomed with a cold beer and then it's an all out sesh!
Meet The Breweries:
CAUTION: Brewing Company
TRVE Brewing Co.
Ratio Beerworks
Strange Craft Beer Company
Dad & Dude's Breweria
Call to Arms Brewing Co.
Alpine Dog Brewing Company
The Old Mine
Something Brewery
Breckenridge Brewery
Elevation Beer Company
Wonderland Brewing Company
WestFax Brewing Company
Sanitas Brewing Company
Great Divide Brewing Co
Cerebral Brewing
Mu Brewery
Fiction Beer Company
Colorado Cider Company
Upslope Brewing Company
Jagged Mountain Craft Brewery
Baere Brewing Company
FATE Brewing Company
The Brew on Broadway
Black Bottle Brewery
Storm Peak Brewing Company
Spangalang Brewery
FERMÆNTRA
The Post Brewing Company
Beryl's Beer Co.
Wit's End Brewing Company
Ska Brewing Company
Little Machine
14er Brewing Company
*Tickets at the door will increase to $35*