With so much going on in Loveland Colorado for Valentine’s Day – the Fire & Ice Festival, volleyball tournament and beer, it was hard to pick what to do first. Okay so I was there for the tournament but Mo Beer travels and fortunately enough, the Wifelady was with me to enjoy the festival for Valentine’s Day.
The Fire & Ice Festival was filled with fireworks, ice sculptures and music. Honestly, if you have never attended this event, you’ve missed out. The streets were full of people moving from shop to shop with popcorn in the air. A couple of fire trucks with my flag waving in the wind…something about those colors in the sunlight remind me of a pint of freshly poured Belgian style golden strong ale with just a touch of condensation forming on glass. Ice sculptures of hearts, Broncos and even Olaf carved from blocks of ice, illuminated by lights. Music was playing on every street from speakers or live performers… I’m sorry, getting a little carried away. This is a beer blog so maybe we should get to the subject at hand. There are seven breweries in Loveland well six that were open while I was there. Three of the six were on my list for the year: The Big Thompson Brewery, Grimm Brothers Brewhouse and The Loveland Aleworks. The Big Thompson Brewery is located at 114 East 15th Street Loveland, CO 80538 – nice little spot. It opened Sept 15th of 2015 from the ashes of the Skate Castle (with a few roller skates scattered about as decorations). James was my tapster, who was well versed in Big Thompson history and their many favors of libation. The 13th of February was the release date for a fairly limited ale…I had to try it.
Grimm Brothers Brewhouse was a hidden away at 623 Denver Ave Loveland, Colorado 80537 but well worth the search after having the Champion of Charlemagne 6.3% ABV almost a year ago. Little did I know, I was in store for a wonderful night (beer…and more). There was a Valentine’s dinner being hosted in the barrel room, a little Germany couple serving up brats and this was the release week for the Bleeding Heart 2016 (S’mores) 6% ABV 30 IBU. Need I say more…don’t answer because you know there is more. I talked with everyone and was amazed at the passion that the staff had. The knowledge of their beer was exceptional from the past, present and future. Although the mad brewers are truly creative, they hop in a magnum way and its big.
Loveland Aleworks (118 West 4th Street, Loveland, Colorado 80537) was the last stop for the weekend since it was in the heart of the Fire and Ice festival. I loved the atmosphere – a few quotes/messages on the wall, clean and open. A few patrons getting their pictures taken with Valentine’s garb and families enjoying a board game. A little neighborhood brewery with big taste. Looking through the plate glass into the brewery – a message stood out on a cart that read “brew what you want” which brought a smile to my face. Also on the glass was a promotion to the holiday collaboration between Loveland Aleworks and Crow Hop Brewing Company – For the Love of Chocolate Porter 7.1% ABV, to be blunt, cupid shot me in the butt with that one.
Needless to say, I was loving Loveland. It was a special weekend that I would recommend to anyone. My next visit to Loveland, if I can wait that long, will be in September of 2016 so I can attend the Loveland Oktoberfest (Date TBT). From what I hear, it’s just as much fun! Cheers!
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Mo Beer
I'm a craft beer lover...that's getting closer to becoming a beer snob. You get to venture with me thru this blog to breweries across the US - Thanks for reading! |