rendez-vous at vine street
By Wednesday I had moved to stay with a new host, Jennings, in Denver Tech Center, a 40 minute light rail ride from the convention center.
Before I departed I left Dan a Bent Paddle ESB and Indeed Let it Ride IPA. In exchange I took a Ska Brewing ESB that we had enjoyed on the patio the previous night.
Wednesday night involved an evening at the Denver Zoo and Museum of Nature and Science. Everyone from the conference was invited to explore at their own pace, and although many of the animals were already sleeping, it was a relaxing and fun way to soak in the city. I recommend making a day of these two places, which are both in City Park, the next time you visit Denver.
waiting for the light rail to the zoo!
Beer selection at the museum was better than at the zoo, where they only had Fat Tire. At the museum I tried a Great Divide Denver Pale Ale. I enjoyed the British element and was somewhat reminded of a Summit EPA.
Thursday marked the end of the conference, and we didn’t get out of the building until we endured a second tornado warning and hail storm! By the time I took the bus to lunch the sun was out again. I ventured to Vine Street Brew Pub, a place that had been mentioned to me by at least six people.
I sipped my way through a few tasting pours at Vine Street, and was impressed overall. The tap selection was extroardinarily large and fairly diverse. Staff were noticeably helpful, but more than that, they were interested in feedback and beer discussion.
Beer successes include the Colorado Kind Pale Ale, with mild hop aroma and definite grapefruit and resin notes. The taste was more on the grassy and earthy side, so I found it to be a very nice display of many different hop components.
The Super Kind Barleywine was another great choice. It classically represented the interplay of a high amount of malt and a high amount of hops simultaneously. The aroma was a mix of molasses, caramel and herbal hop notes. It was appropriately viscous and alcoholic.
Along with the Colorado Kind, the most successful beer of the bunch was the Number One Belgian Trippel. The aroma contains far more clove than banana, but the taste displays one of the most distinct bubble gum flavors I can ever remember tasting – not off-putting but present. The complexity, well-attenuated nature, and lack of alcoholic heat make this beer very well-executed. It is in no way boring.
Vine Street is seriously worth a visit. The staff are educated and friendly and the patio is gorgeously sunny and quaint. When the rain began we all ducked inside and enjoyed a few more sips of our favorites and chatted with our server. Vine Street is in a walkable area, not far from Uptown and near City Park. Stop by on your way to the zoo!
Vine Street has four locations, all with different names. They can be found here.
Next time read along as Haven and I get caught in a hailstorm at the perfect neighborhood pub. Not a bad place to be held up…