Brewery Feature: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

We are lucky enough to have great friends who enjoy trying new craft beer on the regular just like us. One of our friends, Adam (you’ve seen his name on a post or two) had to travel to Denver, Colorado for work. Bummer, right? We of course suggested that he find some new beers to bring home for all of us to try.While Adam was in Denver he stopped at Crooked Stave with his coworker, Ryan. He had one of their beers at a NYC speakeasy and found out it was from Denver, so he told Adam they had to go, knowing his love of craft beer. In the three days they were in Denver, they ended up going there twice; once with a big group of coworkers, and once by themselves. The first night everyone ended up getting a few samples, but Adam and Ryan ended up trying a pour from every handle. They went back the next night and drank full pours of their favorite sours. Adam then proceeded to spend all of his money on beer to bring home to graciously share with us.

About the Brewey
Crooked Stave’s website appears to be under construction but from their distributing website: “Crooked Stave uses traditional brewing methods to pay homage to the old-world styles that result in flavor profiles of extraordinary complexity. Each Crooked Stave beer is fermented with the wild yeast Brettanomyces, which lends a dry, earthy character, affectionately known as “funk.” Nearly all Crooked Stave beers are conditioned in barrels or oak foeders, (basically upright [and in this case giant] barrels used as fermentation vessels) with a house mixed sour culture, rendering beers with balanced acidity and smooth vinous notes.”

They primarily brew Artisan Saisons, 100% Brettanomyces fermented beers, Barrel-aged Sours and American Wild Ales and seasonal specialty release beers. Basically they brew our favorite types of beer.

The Beers
Our favorite beer was the Mama Bear’s Sour Cherry Pie.  It’s an American Wild Ale. It is a delicious Burgundy sour ale aged in oak barrels with Colorado montmorency cherries.  We did some research and these are the same cherries used to make commercial tart cherry juice.  The juice also supposedly supports a deeper night’s sleep. *THE MORE YOU KNOW.*

Our second favorite beer was the Nightmare on Brett. A Wild Ale aged In Leopold Bros Whiskey Barrels With Raspberry. This was a delicious sour ale aged in oak barrels with fresh raspberries added. It was light and effervescent, had a pleasant raspberry taste with a middle-of-the-road tartness.

Theme/Pairing
Most of our beer tastings, no matter how big or small, include some sort of theme. This theme was Bill Murray. We watched Ghostbusters and Stripes. We also had a cheese and cracker board with duck prosciutto and lardo from Saucisson, our favorite Lady Butchers. Pro Tip: cheese goes with beer. Doesn’t matter what beer or what cheese. Cheese + Beer = deliciousness.  The meat products (lardo isn’t really a meat, it’s cured fatback) went amazingly well with the sour beers!  The duck prosciutto went especially well with the cherry/berry based sours, while the lardo’s rich, chewy, porky amazingness was perfectly cleansed from the palate by the tart, acidic beers.  We’ll definitely be seeking out more lardo for the next sour tasting!