James McKew

Telluride, Colorado. The once bustling mining town turned resort destination is our next stop on a magical mystery tour of micro-breweries. Nothing says epic destination like this lush secluded valley in the heart of the San Juan Mountains. Whether your passion is biking, shopping, music or just relaxing at high altitudes, this is the perfect spot.

It’s mid-July and Katie and I are on vacation. This afternoon we’re on a mission to find that ancient tonic that has satisfied thirsty hard rock miners since the dawn of time….beer. Not any beer, but that special elixir brewed locally at the Telluride Brewing Company.
The brewery is located in an industrial strip-mall far from downtown. We park and wander in through a rolled up garage door. The brewery itself is not like any other place we’ve visited; it’s industrial, with high ceilings, a mezzanine, shiny pipes and only a thin stretch of yellow caution tape on the floor that separates the drooling gawkers (that’s me) from the guys actually turning the knobs.
“I’m smelling bleach.” I say to Katie.
“Really? Smells like yeast to me.”
An employee dressed in rubber boots and gloves is flushing out the stainless steel pipes, I can see him behind a large array of equipment as I lean over the yellow tape. I feel like I’m in the way, like I’m taking up space in the middle of the brewing operation and allowed just the briefest glimpse into the heart of the wizard’s workshop. The truth is that I am in the heart of the brewery, I could literally reach across the yellow line and push a red button on the control panel and who knows, launch one of these 3100 gallon missile cylinders into space for all I know. Wouldn’t that be a treat? Standing in Telluride, croissant in hand and watching a rocket full of beer rising from the pine trees straight for thirsty aliens on Mars.
Sorry, I digress.
Everything in the building is delightfully mechanical. I feel like I’m back in my youth, working in a machine shop- which is ok as long as I’m not expected to actually work. Outside in the narrow driveway a forklift is unloading kegs from a truck and bringing them inside. I kind of feel like I should be directing the guy where to put them; somehow making myself useful.

Did I mention there are no barstools? A clear signal that they don’t want our lazy-beer drinking butt’s to spend any more time than necessary inside their building. At the tasting bar we ask for some samples and try the award winning Face Down Brown 5.7% ABV, a dark and woodsy beer that tastes like sipping the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.  We settle on Beaver Pond Blonde 6.5% ABV. A great tasting beer, perfect for a seventy degree afternoon in a setting more like being on my ten minute afternoon break than in a major tourist destination. Katie suggests we go outside and sit in the shade of a steel vat that contains some kind of grain. I hate to sound ignorant of such things but I don’t know the first thing about brewing beer, I can’t tell hops from barley, wheat from rye or anything in between, it’s all Greek. All I know is what’s important; that it tastes good…isn’t that enough? The idea of buying a book on the subject has come up a few times.

I would kill to cross the yellow strip on the floor and wander into the mechanical operations and try for some self-education, I’m worried that they’ll take away my beer and banish me to the outside world.
We sit on a little curb and sip our 12 ounce beers from a glass. It feels weird being outside an establishment in the broad daylight with a glass container and drinking in front of people. I feel a little like a wino taking a lunch break.

Katie is the perfect companion for such outings. She is beautiful and funny and enjoys this whole thing as much as I do. She tells me that she wishes we didn’t have to drive home because she’d have another.
A group of mountain bikers huddle around the stand up bar area and chatter about who-knows-what; corporate stuff, it sounds like. The vibe is laid back and totally understated, which is Colorado in the briefest of terms.
We buy a six pack to go of Bridal Veil Rye Pale Ale to take back to the cabin for tonight.

Ratings:
The Telluride Brewing Company
Face Down Brown ***
Beaver Pond Blonde ***
Location **
Food  N/A
Cost $$ average
What we did:
Stayed with friends at Trout Lake.
Drove to Mountain Village and bought a few groceries.
Drank Beaver Pond Blonde
Purchased a glass with the brewery logo, got a free sticker.
Next time I go:
Eat lunch at the little restaurant next door; I think I can take my beer there.
Hike in the mountains, especially if the leaves are changing.
Spend a morning fly fishing in the big meadow east of the brewery.