Rocky Mountain High Pt.1- Vail, notes from the Rogue

Buffalo and Red Mountains, Silverthorne, CO  6/26

   Got stoked on the Colorado Rockies for vacation this year. Some serious altitude in them thar parts fur sure. Brought along plenty of Gatorade to offset.  Headed up to Denver with my Girl and her kids. Spent time in the foothills on the Aunt and Uncle's Mustang ranch, that's right, four of 'em. Much needed relax time. The area is ideal for mountain biking, rafting, hiking. We even hunted down the occasional skate park.  An outdoor paradise full of history...and being a history geek I can find it in the most remote towns. Lots of pics. Enough to make a couple of posts out of this AND include several beer judgements. After all, the Denver area is known as the Napa Valley of craft beer.

Vail- altitude 8500 ft., 6/25

The Edge -
Dediated to Vail skiers in the Olympic  Games

Jake with a railslide at the Vail ramps.

   You can feel the mojo of the Rockies everywhere.  There is so much energy you need something to balance it, so in addition to the Gatorade, a perfectly fitting Colorado beer is Boulder Beer's Mojo Risin' Double IPA.  At 10.5% ABV and 100+ IBUs this one'll put yo mojo on it's ass quick!  You could smell the hops when this one started. Poured a cloudy bronze with an off-tan one and a half finger head and thick lacing.  A strong honey-booze flavor that did not overwhelm (on the first one anyways) and the double the dry hop brew gave it a piney citrus bite at the finish. I like hops, I like IPAs, and I loved this one double.  I gave it an A!

"You can never buy beer. You just rent it."
-Archie Bunker