GatewayRedbirds.com

I'm going to rap about brewpubs from time to time here. Feel free to add yours.

Right now I am polishing off my second pint at 75th Street Brewery in KC.

Beer: Irish stout was good. A pretty close Guinness clone. IPA is OK. A bit harsh with the hops. Wanted to get it from the cask but they broke the handle earlier this evening.

Food: Had the beef brisket sammich. It was chewy. That's not good. Shame because the sauce was pretty good. Should have just drank and then headed to Gates for BBQ.

Atmosphere: Pretty typical brewpub crowd in the bar area--guys with beards and old ratty beer t-shirts. Restaurant side has families and couples. Brewing area is in glass section splitting sides of the establishment.

Random rant: They don't have logo pint glasses. I collect these. What self-respecting brewpub doesn't have any?

Random rave: They have an old Griesedieck Brothers sign in here.

Cool idea for a thread. When I used to cover the West coast I never went on a trip without a game plan for where the great beer spots were. Seattle, San Fran., Denver (in fact, all of Colorado) were like heaven for a beer lover. I'll pull together some of my "notes" when I get the chance. I don't drink nearly as much as I should now but I've been getting in more of the mood lately. I can't believe Christmas passed without testing any of the seasonal ales. I promise I'll make up for it this year. And I agree. The place has to have it's own glasses.

Flat Branch in Columbia is outstanding. Always an interesting selection of beers on tap. They're very good at barleywines too.
Food is very reasonably priced and is very, very good. Katy Trail Pale is excellent and they make a wonderful rye lager in the summer.

I have two favorites in Colorado.
Phantom Canyon in Colorado Springs. They have the best IPA I have yet to encounter and some wicked barleywines.

Walnut Street in Boulder. The Devils Thumb Stout is wonderful, but may be a bit much for those who have never ventured beyond the products emanating from the Broadway and Pestalozzi area in St. Louis.

I give good marks to Trailhead's Missouri Brown.

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"Give me the errors of enthusiasm!"
--Casey Stengel

Next time you guys are in Boulder, check out this place.

Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery

I should say places, because the original Mountain Sun is on Pearl St, there is a Southern Sun in South Boulder, and now they're opening one in Denver too. I like dark beers, so I favor the Isadore Java Porter, Belgian Dip Chocolate Stout and Cleveland Brown Ale, but haven't had a bad beer there yet.

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"I love to play this game of baseball - I love putting on this uniform."

Just finished a pitcher of Bud Light at Applebee's.

Beer: Bud Light is one of the best examples of a pale lager available in the US. Superior drinkability. Delicious.
Food: Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl. Delicious.
Atmosphere: A lot of the stuff on the walls was from local schools, and the customers were locals too. They really are a part of the neighborhood. Unless you're in the corner with the Irish stuff on the wall, then you feel like you're in an authentic Irish Pub.
Random rant: Pitcher beer gives me a headache.
Random rave: The waitstaff was always smiling. No one judges you at Applebee's.

What about the flair?

Also, I doubt your sincerity as it's 10:15 in the Central Time Zone.

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Ugh. I have to go to Applebee's for lunch with some clients.

Our local Applebee's went under. That building is now home to Tao Asian Fusion & Sushi. A considerable improvement.

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"I love to play this game of baseball - I love putting on this uniform."

hey Rad - any good pubs (not necessarily brewing their own) with grub in Estes Park?

I've have a suspicion your answer will be Smokin Daves

Roger, I haven't been to Smokin' Daves. Just down the road is the Estes Park Brewery and that's pretty good. There's also a good place on the way up from Boulder - Oskar Blues Cajun Grill & Brewery in Lyons.

I love BBQ, I don't know how I've missed Smokin' Daves all these years. I'll have to rectify that.

And yes, Popeye, both Estes Park and Oskar Blues have logo pint glasses.

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"I love to play this game of baseball - I love putting on this uniform."