Brewery Tour

Only 28 miles away but in an entirely different world.

I drove from Denver to Boulder for the USC game Friday night.  Nearing my destination, I came over a ridge and suddenly I could see all of Boulder below me in its shimmering glory.  The entire mood of the world changed when I came into that view.  I had struggled through maddening traffic in the ugly sprawl of apartment buildings and big box stores in Denver.  Now, the traffic fell away, the setting sun reflected off the newly fallen snows on the Rockies rising above, and the urban sprawl shifted to fields and pastures.  The trees were mostly bare with occasional late autumn leaves, even adorned with a falcons sitting on their branches.    

I checked into the hotel, a seedy motel just off the interstate.  It was one of those places that is really cheap but tries to look classy by adding fake, plastic stained glass and wood paneling that is crumbling and dating from the mid-60's.  I quickly put my stuff away and got on the bike path to the campus.  I wasn't here for the hotel; I had come for something much more important: beer. . . er . . . uh . . . I mean football!

I walked through campus to the stadium with a couple of other alums.  The campus is beautiful; a meandering collection of sandstone colored buildings around serene, well-kept quads.  It must be absolutely amazing in the Springtime- the occasional brooks would be filled with snowmelt, wildflowers would mingle among the evergreens, and the occasional afternoon thunderstorm would dance along the towering Rocky Mountains above the town.   At the time we visited, Boulder was just recovering from its first winter storm of the season; puddles and mud everywhere, partially melted snow, and the brown leaves were mostly shaken from the trees.  But it was easy to see the beauty lying within.

One striking feature of Boulder and the Colorado University (CU) culture is their sometimes obsessive dedication to environmentalism.  It took a little getting used to, but the many steps them have taken towards sustainability is big part of why Boulder is consistently rated at the top of most livable city and most healthy city indexes.   We walked on a bike path towards the stadium because it happened to run directly from the hotel to our destination.   But as slack-jawed tourists gazing at the campus and the tailgating scene, we forgot that these paths are efficient thoroughfares to encourage bike riding for commuters.  The local bikers were obviously inconvenienced by me consistently forgetting where I was and having to jump out of their way as they plied their road.  I thank them for being very cool about it and not yelling at me.  The campus architects tried to account for dumb people like me and designated lanes for bikes and for pedestrians. (PICTURE)  I almost got run over twice taking the picture, because I was standing in the bike lane part.  < puts fingers in the shape of an L to his forehead > 

The Buffaloes made great hosts; very welcoming.  I would put them on par with Arkansas and Notre Dame as some of the friendliest schools to visiting teams.  (not quite the level of Nebraska, of course.  Nothing can ever match Husker Hospitality!).  This is a good thing, because I was expecting to be sitting in the CU alumni section.

That's because I had made this trip without having a ticket for the game.

Allow me to explain for a minute my approach to the art of scalping a ticket.  I have gotten into some amazing games without a ticket ahead of time.  My greatest coup had to be the 1997 USC-Notre Dame game.  I passed on the $200 offers from the pros on the street and eventually landed a $40 deal from a Domer fan heading into the stadium.  It turned out to be a field pass!  It's fairly easy to get into any non-championship game when one is alone.  Its also not too hard for pairs.  Any more than that and you can't expect to sit together.  Each stadium has an area where the scalpers tend to gather.  It is never adjacent to the stadium gates, and you can expect it to be relatively free of police presence.  It is best to seek out the common approach to the stadium from the major street, not the alleys and quads used by students.  Don’t buy from students.  At CU, I walked along a driveway from the largest parking lot to the stadium.  Hold your hand with fingers indicating the number of tickets you wish to purchase- above your head is best.  If you have tickets to sell, hold the tickets in the same way.  You will be approached with offers.  A few certainties here: the salesman will always say, "these are great seats" (they wont be).  They will always start high and will be ready to haggle.  Don’t take the first offer.  Most importantly, know what the market value of the scalped tickets are before you go to the game.  Check StubHub.com and see what the prices are (yes, you could just buy them from Stub Hub, but where's the fun in that?).  In this case, the value was not great because CU was doing so poorly; I estimated $60 would be a reasonable value to pay.  Also, the price will go down the closer to kickoff (see Notre Dame field passes above).  On Friday, I got lucky and found a seller at my pre-established price almost immediately (after the first deal fell through, see rule above).  I never expect scalped tickets to be any good, but I karma was shining on me again; they turned out to be 35 yard line, halfway up.  Very cool.

I entered the stadium early, eager to see CU's famous mascot Ralphie the buffalo   It's a shame the game was at night, because the view of the mountains surrounding the town must be amazing during the day.  The Buffs are happy to embrace their mountain home; they proudly display the altitude of Folsom field on the scoreboard (5360 ft).  I suppose it is a not-so-subtle reminder to the visiting team that they will feel more winded sooner and serves to intimidate them into keeping the high altitude in mind. 

I found my seats, coincidentally situated next to a couple from Iowa!  They are from Davenport but their daughter attends CU.  We swapped Iowa winter stories and smiled amusingly while Southern Californians shivered and huddled in the 40 degree weather (really, folks- it was dry and no wind.  Hardly a winter night by any means!  These Trojans need to pack on some extra fat like we Iowans do to get through the cold!).  The folks from Colorado, used to enjoying cocoa on the slopes of their many ski resorts, enjoyed frequent visits to stands from the hot cocoa vendors.  These guys were awesome- they carried trays of dozens of cups of cocoa along with a can of whipped cream ready to top off each purchase with a fresh dollop of milky goodness. 

Next up was the much anticipated run of Ralphie the Buffalo.  As a Trojan, it’s hard to admit that there could be a better live mascot than Traveler, the elegant and spirited white Arabian horse that celebrates every USC touchdown with a march down the sidelines to “Conquest”.  But having a half-ton buffalo lead your team onto the field chained to 5 sprinting underclassmen is a very dramatic sight.  On this night, she (yes, Ralphie is a girl buffalo, a boy buffalo would be just too big) got so excited she broke free of her handlers and made the last half of her run unaided, scattering cowboy-hat-clad boys across the field.  She knew the routine well and headed straight into her waiting trailer; she was obviously content to put on her show, get the crowd fired up, and head for home.  She didn’t need any wranglers trying to cramp her style!  The reaction from the crowd was unanimous- we loved it!  I can best describe the feeling as watching an ancient Roman gladiatorial game and rooting for the lion!

The game was effectively over in the 2nd quarter.  I give the Buffs plenty of credit for trying, but their defensive backs are horribly undersized.  Matt Barkley lit up the scoreboard by throwing to Robert Wood and Marquise Lee all night long; the Buffs didn’t have an answer for their speed or height.  By the end of the game, Barkley had set a new school record with 6 TD passes in a game.  Don’t look now, but Barkley has more yards and TD’s than Andrew Luck and he is close to passing the #2 QB in the nation, Kellen Moore (Case Keenum of Houston is #1).

As the game winded down, I grew increasingly thirsty.  I headed out on a quest for a fine handcrafted beer made with local Rocky Mountain Spring water (no, not Coors).  Enter “Brewery” and “Boulder” into Google maps and you get no less than 9 entries in the general downtown area. My plan was to try a flight at each, which soon proved to be an impossible task.  But a selective sample was reasonable.  I started with Walnut Brewery, an orderly, well appointed pub with lots of room.  Their Irish Red was good but overall unexciting,  Their Nut Brown was fairly standard.  I learned later that Walnut was recently purchased and is now operated by Gordon-Bierch.  Like you might expect from a commercial chain operation, the service was efficient and the décor inviting, but the beers lacked that dramatic, homey, individualized taste I was seeking.

Next up was BJ’s Brew House.  This was exactly what I had in mind.  I sat at the end of the long bar, set up in front of a dozen small beer tanks, and asked for a flight of their beer choices.  The bartender was friendly and knowledgable, and quickly served me a flight of 10 flavors complete with tasting notes.  The piranha red and the seasonal Pumpkin were both out of this world.  Delicious, smooth, unique.  A real joy to drink.  By the end of the flight, I was starting to get a little winded- the altitude was getting to me (or I had just drank 40 oz of beer in a few minutes, I not sure which).  Knowing that I was nearing the end of my rope, I resigned myself to one last stop.  With so many left on my list I asked the bartender for a recommendation.  He directed me to the Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery. 

The Mountain Sun is a quaint, tiny, corner bar and restaurant that obviously believes in three things: progressive, pro-environmental politics, indulgent takes on organic dishes, and independent unique home brewed beer.  This place was very hippy.  It is also very popular- packed solid at 12:30 am.  I tried the XXX Pale Ale, promising an extra dose of hops and barley.  I got all that an more- it was the kind of ale you eat with a fork.  Impressive and overwhelming.  Here’s the rest of their beer menu: http://www.mountainsunpub.com/beer_menu.pdf . 

The last stop on my beer tour was Illegal Pete’s, a local institution serving the best burritos available at 1 am.  I needed some sustenance to soak up the yeast and barley churning in my stomach.  I inhaled the carnitas burrito is a few swallows.  Food always tastes better when you’re hungry.  And tired.  And drunk. 

The hotel is on the south edge of the campus.  The stadium is in the north end of the campus and downtown is a few blocks to the northwest of the stadium.  So I was a long way from my bed; a challenge normally solved with a simple cab ride.  But the friendly lady on the other end of my call to Yellow Cab enlightened me that there was at least an hour wait for a ride.  Ouch.  Against my better judgment (and really, who would actually have good judgment after an evening of football and three brewpubs), I walked back to the hotel.  I am actually glad I did.  The weather was tolerable, the campus was worth another look, and the stadium gates were wide open, allowing me another stroll through the stands.  I hardly noticed the time and found my hotel soon enough, collapsing into a deep, dreamless sleep to begin the recovery. 

I know this: Boulder makes for a great road trip and I can’t wait to come back.  CU has set the bar high for Utah, whose campus I look forward to visiting in the 2012 season.  Colorado is now officially on the list of schools that is OK for Sophie to attend for college.  CU is a welcome addition to the Pac-12, not just because we need the wins!  The Buffs have a dedicated fan base, a tremendous mascot, and a gorgeous campus, not to mention being in one of the friendliest and most beautiful towns in America.

Fight On,

Hans