So it's mid-August here in Colorado and the weather has taken a decidedly wintry turn. The months of June and July encompassed record heat and record lack of rain.
Well, that's all changed. We've had substantial, measurable rainfall for something like 12 days in a row now. It's been hovering below 60 degrees for the better part of the last two days. It even snowed on top of Pikes Peak today! In the middle of August! It feels like winter... and that means only one thing: Stout and Porter weather!
Yes, I'm a seasonal beer drinker. Warm weather is all about the hefes, wheats and other "lighter" brews. But the second it's cold enough to crack out thick, heavy jackets then it's time to crack open thick, heavy beers as well.
Last night I had a porter from Dundee Brewing Company that was very tasty. Living my whole life on the left side of the United States Dundee is new to me. I first had one of their Honey Brown's a few weeks ago on a trip to California and absolutely loved it. Thankfully they're selling their brews (in 12-pack craft cases, 2 of all 6 different beers) at my local store here in Colorado.
The Honey Brown is great. The Porter is sumptuous. The Pale Bock is very sessionable. The Pale Ale is OK, and the IPA is too hoppy for my taste (but Fran liked it). Being a hefe and wheat guy I was looking forward to downing their Wheat Beer. Sadly, it wasn't my favorite... not sure I'd actually want to drink it again. But my Hefe loving brother thought it was very good.After doing some research I found out that although Dundee may be new to me, it's been around a while. Dundee is part of High Falls Brewing Company, which was founded way back in 1878 as the Genesee Brewing Company. Genesee I know... their Cream Ale is really good. High Falls is based in Rochester, New York, and apparently one of the largest (7th to be exact) and oldest continually operating breweries in the U.S. Back in May they refreshed their image with all know logos, branding and publicity push. That's probably why I've never heard of them until now.
Gotta love finding some tasty new beers and learning a little bit of "beerstory" (beer history) as well! Now if Summer would just roll back in for a few more months...
Until next time... Zivjeli!
UPDATE (4:02 PM): Just got back from a beer run and picked up: Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Samuel Smith's Winter Ale, Left Hand Milk Stout and Young's Double Chocolate Stout. OH YA!
