For the Love of Beer!

The brew kettle boiled over while he was pouring us a beer not available in their bar at the time. He stopped what he was doing, while running to the hose to spray down the kettle... telling us that a boil over is not really a big deal to the outcome of the beer, but a boil over does create a big mess. "No harm, no foul" he says. I wasn't too worried. I was in awe of this man, Eric, who is the main brewer at Oskar Blues Brewery's Lyons, Colorado location. His business card actually reads "Eric, The Lyons Liquid Lord". He was clearly passionate about brewing, and he said that people often mistakenly think it a glamorous job. I told him that's quite like architecture... people often have the wrong idea about it. That can really be said about many jobs, and brewing is no exception. But I could not stop staring at all of the shiny equipment; the mash tun, the whirlpool, the kettle, the fermenters.... we were in the middle of Oskar Blue's original brew facility, surrounded by the "magic" of where beer comes from. I loved every second of it. Nothing could stop the questions from coming out of my mouth. What does that whirlpool do? How did you get into brewing? How far do you distribute? Which beer is your favorite? To which Eric answered "just regular Dale's". (The pale ale that is. There's also a Deviant Dale's which is a hopped up version of the former.) I wanted to know everything there is to know about beer at that moment.

Before exploring the Oskar Blues brew facility, we visited the bar in their restaurant. I had the sampler, and Nate drank a pint... since he was driving. The sampler really isn't a ton of beer, but it looks like it with all of those glasses of colorful beer sitting in front of you. The Deviant Dale's was probably my favorite of those I sampled.

I swear we're not alcoholics. We just really like beer. To me, beer is art in liquid form. Brewers create these concoctions for others enjoyment, all the while attempting to create the next big thing. Not everyone has to like the same beer, like a piece of art, either. There's something fun about trying new beer while trying to find your favorite beer of all time. I'm still not sure what my favorite is... that's like asking a parent which child is their favorite. Although I would not know since we have no children. Each beer seems so unique and different depending on the day or batch it came from. Keep in mind, while enjoying a glass of your favorite brew, that there was someone running around while the brew kettle boiled over at one point in time! Some one's blood, sweat, and tears goes into each beer we drink. Never forget that.