On Thanksgiving Eve, I dug into the cellar to pick a few special bottles to share with friends and family at Thanksgiving dinner. A bottle of Fanboy Oak-Aged Double IPA from Elevation Beer Company was among the jewels I selected for the occasion.
Elevation Beer Company is a fairly young but already revered brewery from Colorado that does not yet distribute beer to Washington. Not long after I pulled that bottle of Fanboy from the cellar, I learned about an event welcoming Elevation Beer Company to the Seattle beer market. Call it serendipity.
The Pine Box in Seattle plans to introduce local beer fans to Elevation Beer Company this Friday. The beers go on tap at 6:00 P.M. Below I provide the event’s impressive tap lineup, which includes the aforementioned Fanboy Double IPA. Also, Friday’s tap list includes the Apis IV Quadrupel, which I opted to leave in my cellar for a while longer.
I typically don’t make announcements about out-of-state breweries entering the local beer market, but today that’s exactly what I’m doing. Chalk it up to serendipity and to the fact that Fanboy really impressed me.
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The brewery is located in the tiny town of Pochas Springs, Colorado, which is about 150 miles southwest of Denver, deep in the Rocky Mountains. Four friends who wanted to focus on barrel-aged, specialty beers founded Elevation Beer Company in 2012.
According to the company’s website, “We all had the same dream of starting a brewery that brewed the highest quality barrel aged and specialty beers we could imagine. At the same time we all dreamed of living in an area of Colorado that would allow us to sneak out of the brewhouse to catch a four-pound trout, hike a 14,000-foot peak, or slash through some of Colorado’s famous powder. In the winter of 2012 we made our dreams a reality and took the leap and started brewing.”
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http://www.elevationbeerco.com/
On tap this Friday at The Pine Box:
Firkin First Cast IPA w/ citra 6.5% ABV
Our team decided what would be better than having our first beer be our personal ‘session’ beer of choice — a hop-forward American IPA. First Cast is named for the first few moments of joy you get as you began a great day of fishing on the river, as well as after the fact that this beer was our ‘first cast’ into the fantastic Colorado beer scene.
Apis IV 10.7% ABV
Apis, the genus of the honeybee, is in homage to the hardworking honeybees of Colorado that provided the caramelized honey we use in making this fantastic beer. This beer is designed to be the perfect way to enjoy a cool Colorado summer night with friends, dreaming up your next great idea on a porch or next to a campfire much like we did. Drink big, dream big.
Fanboy 8.5% ABV
This American Oak Aged Double IPA brings forward notes of pine, tangerine, citrus and grapefruit with subtle notes of vanilla and oak. The beer pours a beautiful copper with a slightly off white head and lacing that seems to last for ever. It hits the palate with an inconceivable balance between citrus, tropical fruits, pine, oak, whiskey and vanilla and lingering bitterness. With a medium mouth feel this is a perfect beer for those cool summer nights.
Wild Flowers 7.8% ABV
With the start of summer comes wild flowers’ blooming across Colorado’s peaks and valleys. From Columbines to Golden Asters to Mexican Hats, the wild flowers of Colorado are one of the biggest attractions in the Colorado high country. This Summer Seasonal Imperial saison with its notes of clove, spice, lemon, and citrus is a perfect pairing with the floral notes wafting through the high mountain trails of Chaffee County and beyond. Enjoy this beer in a mountain meadow or next to a high mountain lake while enjoying some of the beautiful Wild Flowers of Colorado.
Arete 12.5% ABV
Arête is a blended barleywine, constructed over two separate batches (one of which was particular dry and high in ABV) that was then dry-hopped, the result being a significantly detailed American-style version with a tremendous amount of depth. This is 100% Centennial hops throughout, but it feels way more expansive than a single-hop beer should.
Pouring a deep amber-brown color, Arête offers an herbaceous, fresh-mown character, some deeper and subtle citrus notes, along with an engaging floral character. It’s a one-hop wonder, but we’d have never guessed so. There’s some dark-fruit, leathery complexity, soft brown sugar and caramel, with a soft, red-fruit alcohol note. Fine carbonation keeps things on point. Bitterness is just enough, while the interior notes of this beer build with warmth: chewy caramel, toffee, brown sugar.
Downpour 8.3% ABV
Downpour is named after the sudden thunderous downpour that hit the Elevation Team during a ‘team building’ trip of paddle boarding and beer at Chaffee County’s Cottonwood Lake. The hot day on the lake and its enlivening, bitter, cold downpour inspired us to create a Fresh Hop Imperial Red Ale with a combination of bitterness from Colorado Fresh hops and the warming of a big malt backbone.
Oil Man 11% ABV
Much like the “sweet light crude oil” from the eastern plains of Colorado- this Winter Seasonal beer pours a deep black with a tantalizing off-white head. Aromatics of sweet malt and bourbon envelope the nose like the sunset of the eastern plains. The malt profile continues through the palate from beginning to end with subtle hints of chocolate, coffee, and of course bourbon. This is a true beer for the malt and bourbon lovers alike. Aged In Breckenridge Distillery Bourbon Barrels.
