New Year's Eve - Part 1

D and I headed out west to Idaho Springs to have lunch at the Tommyknocker Brewery. I love Tommyknocker. Sitting right next to the brew tanks, smelling the hops and consuming the most awesome pesto and mozzarella buffalo burger ever was the best way to start ringing in the new year. TK had some special beers on tap; Spleen Cleaver and an oak aged Butt Head. We ordered a Spleen Cleaver to start with while we contemplated our lunch choices.

Pardon the cell phone pic. I forgot to grab the camera on the way out of the house. Luckily, someone (not me) has a spiffy phone with a decent camera built in. The Spleen Cleaver arrived and boy was I shocked! When you pick a beer solely based on the name written on a whiteboard, you never know what you're gonna get. It was dark. Really dark. Can't-see-through-it dark. A Scottish ale if I've ever seen one. I was in love after the first sip. Slightly smoky, with a touch of caramel-y goodness and a hint of coffee on the finish. It complimented my lunch like a true Scottish gentleman- leaving me full and satisfied. Definitely a 9.10001 out of 10.

After we digested for a bit, D and I picked another brew off of the whiteboard. Oak-aged Butt Head Bock was next on our agenda. I was a taken back a bit when the Butt Head came out in 10 oz glasses, which just screams "tasty beer!! drink me!!". Trust me, I was there. I heard it.

Again, the cell phone saves the day. This was beautiful: full of oak undertones, highly carbonated, slightly citrus-y and briming of hops. The doppelbock was full of flavor and alcohol, 8.1% to be exact. It's probably a good thing that they don't sever this as a full pint or we would have had to walk it off. Absolutely delicious, I would give it an 8.9 out of 10.

We decided to grab some growlers. You know, those 64 oz jugs? We filled one with Spleen Cleaver and one with regular Butt Head. We went for a little walk anyways once we left the brewery because I was full.

Stay tuned for part deux of the New Year's Eve festivities!