Denver off the Wagon

SCIENCE:

• Style:  American Amber/Red Ale
• ABV:  5.25%
• IBU:  25
• SRM:  18
• OG:  1.052
• Hops:  Centennial, Cascade

HISTORY:

Owners Kevin and Marissa Selvy say that the beer (and thus the brewery) is named after a mountain on their family’s ranch in Central Colorado.  Said mountain is known as ‘Loco Mountain’, which pretty much anyone, regardless of their prowess in Español, could translate.  Seeing as this is their flagship beer, it makes sense that the beer carries the brewery’s name.  Fortunately, the guys at Crazy Mountain are much more creative when naming their other beers (see Horseshoes and Hand Grenades American ESB and Lawyers, Guns, & Money Barleywine).

A little bit about the beer from the can:

This delightfully floral Amber Ale displays a wonderful balance while still maintaining a profound hoppy goodness.  We load this beer with a ridiculous and obscene amount of West Coast hops that are added late in the boil resulting in a hoppy beer without any bitterness.

ENGLISH (SORT-OF):

Aroma - If the label hadn’t told me there was a “ridiculous and obscene” amount of hops in this beer, I wouldn’t have known.  The aroma is mostly of malt, bread, and earthiness.

Taste - The taste follows the aroma on this brew.  Sweet up front, lots of malt and earthy tones, followed by a slight crisp bitterness at the end.

Drinkability - I drank this beer pretty quick.  The low ABV and bitterness would make it very easy to drink a few of these without much thought.

Verdict -  I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Ambers as Alaskan Amber was the beer that led me away from the macro crap.  This is a good example of the style without being incredibly hop forward like many American Ambers are becoming (ie Tröegs Nugget Nectar and, to a lesser degree, Odell Red Ale).  With this being my first can from Crazy Mountain, I look forward to trying the rest of their beers.

ART:

About Sean Buchan

Sean is a Physical Therapist and Photographer living in (and loving) Denver, Colorado. He enjoys shooting just about anything but his true passion is capturing the craft beer culture here in Denver. If you enjoy his photographs check out Beertographer.

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