but we have jello shots.
It was the beginning of a pretty busy day, but I took it at a slow, vacation pace. After walking around Whittier and City Park, I got picked up by Dan, a pediatric cardiologist, who would host me for the next few nights and the beginning of the nursing conference.
City park is part golf course, part zoo, and also contains the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
After exploring the bus and light rail schedules to get from Dan’s to the Colorado Convention Center, I was able to successfully navigate to pick up my conference materials.
My day got much more exciting and super fun when Lillian and her friends picked me up to check out Falling Rock Tap House. Lillian is a Denver-based beer and food writer with whom I have enjoyed communicating via blog and email for several months. This was our first time getting together in person, though, but it is safe to say we knew it would be a success. We drove to Falling Rock, located near Coors Field, during a Colorado Rockies game, and the whole neighborhood was buzzing.
Falling Rock has a very, very good selection of tap beer with a special focus on local beer. Lillian helped me pick Denver beer that I wouldn’t be drinking elsewhere.
First was the Dry Dock Apricot. This is a fruit beer for those a bit phobic about fruit in beer. It has one of the most incredible aromas of any fruit beer I have ever smelled, and certainly the most authentically apricot. It’s orange haziness is lovely. The most appealing thing after the aroma is the fact that this beer is not overly sweet or too wheaty (those of you who are dubious about wheat beers know what I mean). It is no wonder this brew has won GABF gold.
According to their award announcement, “The Upslope Dunkelweizen was brewed by Upslope Head Brewer Dany Pages, and was based upon a recipe by former Upslope brewer, Yazan Karadsheh.”
This was another tasty selection, but in my opinion the Apricot set the bar just out of reach of this one.
Just when I thought my intro to Denver drinking was over, Lillian, Krista, and Mike invited me over to help with a leftover Odell keg and more Mexican food.
It was a glorious evening that ended with homemade ice cream pie (made with Rogue Chocolate Stout) and a bus ride back to Stapleton.