Month: September 2010
Rocky Mountain High, part 2….taking time to smell the flowers
September 30, 2010
The Saturday departure date of my recent trip to Denver allowed me to sneak in a little garden time amid all the beer, breweries and Great American Beer festival. Part one of this trip report focused on all that, this part is all about the Denver Botanic Garden.
I’ve followed (and purchased) the books by Lauren Springer for some time – beginning with The Undaunted Garden. (And find it fitting that she married another one of my favorite garden authors, Scott Ogden, and together have a company called Plant Driven Design). The interest in Lauren’s writing introduced me to the Denver Botanic Garden, which has held a spot on my must visit list for far too long.
Really far too long. What a delightful and inspiring garden. The current special exhibit is an installation of Henry Moore sculptures placed throughout the space. (Click on any of these images to bring them up in a larger format)
Shortly after entering the garden, I was wow-ed by the long double perennial/mixed border allee. Just stunned.
I could have spent hours in just this area, which made even more special by the sound of music flowing from the private event (looked and sounded like an Indian wedding) in the formal garden just past this area.
This wasn’t the only spot within the gardens set up for a private event. The South African Plaza was set with chairs, and had signs warning it would be closed later in the day. Tho’ it was the containers that caught my eye here.
Rocky Mountain High or I’m only here for the beer………
September 28, 2010
Until now, Denver has only been a place I’ve passed through between airport and ski slope. While I’m pretty sure I visited the actual city as a child, I haven’t had an opportunity to explore the area as an adult. Recently returned from a work related trip out there which among other things included brewery tours and time at the Great American Beer Festival (yes, I do love my job).
First stop was the town of Golden, home of the Coors Brewery, the world’s largest brewing facility. Located just west of Denver along the foothills of the mountains, Golden has a charming little downtown with shops, cafes, and farmer’s market. The Colorado School of Mines is located in Golden – was a bit surprised by the size of the campus.
I was taken with the biking culture evident here – and around the area. In a visit to a recently relocated colleague’s home on Lookout Mountain, I was impressed by the number (dozens, really, several dozen) of road cyclists we passed – climbing up the mountain. Also noticed a couple of large groups of mountain bikers on off-road trails along the way. This was a Wednesday night – these were not just casual weekend riders. This interest was reflected in a number of bike shops in town, numerous bike racks along the streets, and at least one manufacturer, Yeti, based there. An old poster in a storefront caught my eye – looks like my kinda event!
Our group had a behind the scenes tour of the Coors brewery.
One thing I wasn’t aware of was that they malt their own barley here. I’ve visited several other breweries, but have never seen the malting process (first soaking, then basically sprouting, and finally baking the barley in a kiln to the desired toast).
Blue Moon lover that I am, I had a smile when our guide pointed out the cart of ingredients in the Brew House….the orange zest and coriander for the Blue Moon recipe. He said you don’t always see them brewing Blue Moon here…must have been doing it special in honor of my visit! 😉 Tasting the beer fresh from the tanks was also kinda cool.
The scenery all around the brewery and Golden was stunning. Though I apparently was too distracted by the beer, to get many landscape pictures.
All that touring works up an appetite, and The Buckhorn Exchange not only provided a tasty, filling lunch, but plenty of local charm. Originally opening in 1893, it holds Colorado state liquor license number 1. The original owner rode with Sitting Bull, learned to scout with Buffalo Bill Cody, and hunted with Teddy Roosevelt. Based on the decor, it appears he was an *avid* hunter, indeed.
Having toured the world’s largest brewery complex, it was time to visit a much smaller brewery – The Sandlot at Coors Field. Blue Moon originated here 15 years ago (did you know I love Blue Moon?) The GABF Brewers and Judges reception was taking place, allowing us full access to the facility (did I mention I love my job?)
And I thought tasting Coors Banquet fresh from the tanks was special…how about hanging in the basement of The Sandlot with the brewer tapping the tanks for us to enjoy. A pint from a batch of Blue Moon, a pint of their limited edition Oktoberfest style….. Unfortunately, Chardonnay Blonde, a gold medal winner at this year’s GABF wasn’t on tap, so to speak.
Of course, the highlight of the trip was the Great American Beer Festival. Attended two sessions, Thursday and Friday night. Enjoyed Thursday night the best. Seemed a bit more civil, folks actually there to taste the beer. Friday night was more like folks there to drink the beer. Thousands of varieties, hundred of brewers. 1oz samples. Which go down easy. Really easy. And are often higher alcohol content than what the average beer drinker is used to consuming. Let’s just say you see folks who didn’t take this factor into consideration. But for the most part, it’s a relaxed, casual gathering of beer lovers. My kinda event.
The silent disco was a scream. And if you dropped your tasting cup, the crowd gave you a scream. Every style of beer imaginable was represented – some really great ones, some really odd ones, a few average run of the mill ones, and some, well, not so great. But the majority a treat to try.
I was somewhat fascinated by this looooong line of folks. What beer were they waiting to try???? Hmm, let me follow the line to the front…Oh, food, the American Cheese Society. Got it. And if you didn’t know that beer went great with food, you might want to read my post on it.
Did make it to one other spot on Saturday morning before flying home. One of the botanic gardens I’ve always wanted to visit. Took hundreds of pictures there (none of you are surprised, right?). Will cover that in a future post. We’ll leave this one focused on the beer. Speaking of which, all this writing has made me a tad thirsty. Anyone want to join me for a Blue Moon?
Time to try something new, a bit of mountain biking………
September 25, 2010
In one of the many biking forums I pop into from time to time, I discovered there would be a Women’s MTB Skill Clinic at the Fall Color Festival. TrekWomen’s Demo team was doing the clinic (and providing some great demo bikes) while the festival itself is hosted by the South Kettles chapter of WORBA (Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association). The Fall Color Festival is a mountain bike event held annually at the John Muir trails in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest of southeastern WI. The festival consists of several races of varying length, a children’s ride, and of course, the women’s skill clinic. Oh, yeah, and a beer garden…….. How could I resist?
I’d emailed the Trek Fit for Women team the day before to ask about a demo bike for the clinic. Lindsay Bradley of Trek emailed me back that she’d hold a Trek Fuel EX 8 WSD ( a sweet, sweet full suspension model) for me. Because I sent my height and weight, she even had the proper size bike selected and had pre-set the hydraulics. All that was left to do was swap out to SPD pedals.
Wasn’t really sure what to expect with the clinic. After all, I’ve only been biking for a bit over a year, and with the exception of a few loops around the Hoyt trails in Wauwatosa, WI (a project by Metro Mountain Bikers, the Milwaukee chapter of WORBA), I’d never been mountain biking. I was worried that my lack of experience would hold back the rest of the group. And that I’d be the oldest by far. Didn’t need to worry about either. Of the 9 or 10 women in the group, I’d guess 5 were in their 40’s or older. There was a variety of levels of experience in the group with other beginners like me. I, though, was the only beginner wearing click in shoes. And on that note, let’s just say while I would never ride without them, I have done myself no favors with my road bike habit of clipping out well in advance of stops. That is not an effective habit for mountain biking, and I desperately need to develop more of a second nature of clicking out quickly (more on that in a bit)!
We began the clinic in the brand new skills section of the John Muir trails. Lindsay was our instructor. Here she made sure everyone understood how to shift, how to brake (gotta work on that single finger thing), explained about momentum over obstacles, standing and riding with pedals level, always looking 30 or so feet ahead and a variety of other tips.
We made several laps around the skills course. Signs entering the area explained this is a work in progress – to date three wooden skill obstacles are built. Lindsay augmented the course with a small log for us to ride over, and a section of 2 4×4’s laid parallel about 8-10″ apart. It was this narrow obstacle that gave me the most trouble. Lindsey reminded me to look ahead, not down. Mentally I really struggle with keeping the bike on a narrow path. The look ahead hint makes a huge improvement. Did have my first fall in this area – solely due to having to stop quickly as someone balked at an obstacle and not getting unclipped. Scared the other women, bruised my ego a tad bit, but jumped right back on.
Once we were comfortable here, it was time to ride a trail. We were somewhat limited to where we could ride because the races were still running. Had a bit of confusion at the beginning, accidentally ending up on the race course where several riders flew by our group. Found the brown trail. Formerly known as the red trail, this is a great beginner trail. A couple of gentle rock gardens, some fast downhill sections (remember I’m a beginner), a punchy uphill section. Took a bad line in the sharp turn leading to the uphill section, rear wheel caught a big root as I turned and spun out from under me. Once again, didn’t get a foot out fast enough to catch myself. Fall two. Did I mention I need to work on un-clipping fast?
After the ride, we went back to the skills area, where Lindsay demonstrated how to change a flat tire, and patiently answered all of our questions. Questions which ranged from bike repair and maintenance, full suspension versus hard tail, 26 vs 29, best group rides, bike clothing and gear.
As to the festival itself….very nicely run. Bikes and bikers everywhere. Riders of all ages and sizes.
Beer and food. Highly recommend going if you are in the area – it’s the annual fundraiser for the trails, and a darned good time.
Unfortunately, I was in the clinic during the main races so don’t have any pictures from those. However, was fun to see the kids taking over the course in the afternoon.
Even with that fall (ok, 2, but who’s counting), really loved the day. Mountain biking brings an entirely different aspect into riding. On the road, there’s a rhythm to riding that becomes almost hypnotic, mindless; while mountain biking requires a constant connection with the bike. Getting off your saddle, shifting weight forward and back, holding pedals in a position to not hit rocks or roots, finding lines. All provide a challenge, a change. Still love the road bike, but can tell I will do more of this style of riding. Having the opprotunity of learning this within a group of women was a bonus, a huge bonus. (Thanks, Trek!!) And they even gave us gifts, and not to mention let us ride some great bikes.
Beer and Food, who knew………….
September 20, 2010
Actually, a lot of people know that beer is a great accompaniment to food. And not just the standard burgers, wings and ribs. The carbonation (cleanses your palate), lower alcohol level (no hot finish) and acidity of beer often makes it a better beverage with most foods than other alcohol choices (yes, wine, I’m looking at you). As 10th and Blake Trade Brewer, Ryan Johnson stated, “Beer is better with food than wine could ever hope to be…. Pairing food with wine is like hunting with a rifle and scope – you better be dead-on accurate or you go hungry. Pairing food with beer is like hunting with a shotgun – even if you miss perfection, it will still delight if you follow the basic rules.”
Over the years, I’ve been to countless wine & food dinners – even “hosted” or moderated a few. And, yes, I’ve had the occasional perfect pairing, but believe me, I’ve also had my share of misses. However, the wine industry has done a much better job of marketing and romancing the paring of food and wine. Beer lovers and brewers are beginning to understand and promote the same. In the last month, I’ve been fortunate to enjoy two such beer and food dinners. Both upscale with chefs fully engaged in both cooking with the beers and creating excellent matches of beer to food – across all courses of the meal.
The first was a four course meal. Appetizer, salad, entree and dessert. Created by the Executive Chef at the Grand Traverse Resort in Grand Traverse Michigan. Excuse the photo quality – at both dinners I only had my phone, which let’s just say lacks in photo quality.
Appetizer course: Meyer Lemon Encrusted Sea Sea Scallops with a pepper caper pipperade finished with a Peroni drizzle, accompanied by Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Peroni Nastro Azzurro is an Italian import Pilsner with a refreshing and dry taste, a crisp lager.
Salad Course (this was wow, I love Blue Moon, and didn’t realize how great it is with salads.) Heart of Romaine salad with toasted walnut crisp, orange supreme and Walnut Belgian white vinaigrette. Blue Moon Belgian White is a medium bodied, unfiltered Belgian-style wheat ale spiced with fresh coriander and orange peel.
3rd course – 5 Onion Strip Steak with classic Amber cipolini, grilled scallion mash, amber beer battered vidalia, shallot demi and asparagus braised with leeks. Leinenkugel’s Classic Amber was the paired beer. Leine’s Amber is a Vienna style lager brewed with a blend of three malts to provide a bright copper hue and intense malty aroma – four types of hops give it a floral and spicy aroma.
Finishing off the meal was Berry Weiss Bread Pudding with a raspberry white chocolate anglaise accompanied by Leinenkugel’s Berry Weiss. This fruit wheat beer is flavored with Wisconsin loganberries, elderberries, and blackberries this tasty fruit beer was a Bronze Medal Winner at the 2004 Great American Beer Festival, and a Gold Medal at the 2007 GABF.
A couple of weeks later, I was back in Michigan. This time Grand Rapids, where I attended the dinner for the Meijers Charity Classic (affiliated with the LPGA). This beer and food dinner was hosted by 5th generation brewing legend Jake Leinenkugel. Dinner was created by the Executive Chef for the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids (one of my very favorite hotels, BTW). Three courses this time, all featuring Leine’s beers.
First course: Crispy Kurobota Pork Belly, salted caramel, candied kumquat, arugula accompanied by Leinenkugel Honey Weiss. Honey Weiss is an American Wheat Lager with a delicately sweet, malty flavor with a nice balanced hint of bitterness and a teasing taste of pure Wisconsin honey.
Main course was a filet of beef. with olive oil whipped potatoes, spiced pears, peppered spinach and a sage glace. The beer was Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest, their fall seasonal beer (in your stores now, but hurry!). Oktoberfest is a traditional German beer brewed with Pale, Caramel and Munich malts, and a blend of cluster, Tettnang, Hallertau and Perle hops. This medium bodied beer has caramel malt flavors balanced with spicy hop overtones. Great with steak – and the sweetness of the pears and the pepper of the spinach. Yum.
Leine Berry Weiss once again was paired with the dessert. Double chocolate panna cotta, genoise, raspberry anglaise with hazelnut. And wow, the Berry with this chocolate, oh my. The stuff of dreams.
