All JP's Fault...

[cruiser4life]

So I ran into JP sometime back in the spring and while solving life's problems over some adult beverages he got me to put down my domestic light beer to give one of his fancy, pricey microbrews a try.

Well, things haven't been the same since. Unless no other suitable option exists, said domestic light beer has been kicked to the curb and a new way to spend money and time has been born.

After spending some months drinking JP's recommended label and developing quite an affinity for their brews, I decided I had to take a trip to mecca of sorts and pay homage to the fine folks who came up with such goodness (and here's one of the best parts IMO) in a can.

I didn't really have any expectations as to what mecca would look like. I had been to their web site and learned enough to know a little bit about their operations but what I saw surprised me...

Mecca:

 

[cruiser4life]

So mecca being crammed into a strip mall was certainly a surprise. Inside the place was pretty cool however. Kind of a split level design with all kinds of folks walking around drinking the goodness.

I bought some brew, a few souvenirs and checked the place out. Looked like some great live music passes through and the food looked tasty as well. They had stickers all of kinds everywhere and I was surprised to see a few from the ski resorts I went to a few years ago in South America. Too bad I didn't have some UC stickers with me...

Still perplexed by the location / operation I asked some kid who was working there what the story was. It seems OB has had nutty growth in the past couple of years and they just acquired a very large facility at the next, larger town down the road to expand brewing operations and keep up with exploding demand.

What I saw when I settled my bill and waited for my to go order to get filled was probably the biggest surprise of the whole trip to mecca, I must say.

Sitting at the cash register in the brewery:

 

[cruiser4life]

We did a bunch of other cool stuff on the trip and luckily I had a full supply of OB goodness to take everywhere I went.

Here's the website if you want to check it out. Be warned, it is habit forming it's so tasty:

Oskar Blues: Home (Restaurant & Brewery - Lyons, Colorado)

One of the highlights was a high country hike we took to a remote, alpine lake near the tree line. We were in search of the rare greenback cutthroat trout. While we found plenty of trout, one of the coolest moments was when a cow elk appeared out of nowhere and fed on the forest floor for about 30 minutes while we fished and enjoyed the scenery and solitude.

 

[CruisinTiger]

You lucky bastid!!

 

[steenh]

Two of my passions... beer and mountains.

Looks like a great trip!

 

[informationjunky]

WOW....thanks for depressing me!

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

I knew I liked OB for a reason............ they know great beer and obviously endorse the best college football team in the ultraverse!!!! Me and OB it is like a match made in heaven

Thanks for the pics Andy they made my day

and damn that pic makes me want to get back to Colorado ASAP; I love the south but the beauty out there is unparalled

 

[IndianDoc]

Western Beauth

Beautiful and a good brew, ah makes the low country seem a little depressing at the moment.

Great trip thanks for sharing.

 

[Carp]

Good story, better scenery, and best Colorado... Tag... EVER! Gonna have to try that beer sometime if I can find it.

 

[Southeast Overland]

Great story and awesome pics. I want to go out west sooo bad. The is going to Wyoming for almost a week without me... ... guess I'll get some good Cruiser and time in then.

 

[boombapslappy]

The website listed Frugal MacDoogal as one of their distributors.

 

[Trollhole]

MMM wheelin, and camping. All the while he will be wearing a fake silk dress and a square hat along with thousands of others just like him.

 

[Carp]

This thread has got me thinking about , never a bad thing....
If no one else likes this idea, J-bo, sign me up for one of those OB beers...

 

[clemson55]

Welcome to the Dark Side Andy, I can bring you some good stuff down from VA to the WF game if you want, stuff you can't get down there.

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

if you guys are going to try the OB brew make sure you get the Gordons it is the best IMOP

 

[cruiser4life]

I knew I liked OB for a reason............ they know great beer and obviously endorse the best college football team in the ultraverse!!!! Me and OB it is like a match made in heaven

Thanks for the pics Andy they made my day

and damn that pic makes me want to get back to Colorado ASAP; I love the south but the beauty out there is unparalled

Ha, ha. I knew you'd get a kick out that. A few people were looking at me weird for taking a picture of the plate and I think one of them mumbled that I must be a big Tigers fan.

BTW, I've never seen so many Nebraska hats, shirts, stickers, etc. in my life as that part of Colorado had. It's like they annexed it. Even in town there are souvenir shops dedicated to nothing but Nebraska garb, this being 30 minutes from Colorado State and under an hour to the University of Colorado.

It killed me seeing all that red and remembering being in W-S last season and watching Wake lay down against them and basically give the game away.

If you ever need a sidekick to go out and check out mecca for some Gordon and (and with a little training before hand) Longs Peak, let me know.

 

[cruiser4life]

The website listed Frugal MacDoogal as one of their distributors. I'll stop by and get some for OMT.

Yep, they do indeed carry some OB brews. Good place to pick it up and avoid NC tax and get an additional discount if you pay cash.

As JP mentioned, Gordon is the best and they have plenty of it in stock. I make a weekly trip these days.

I can get Old Chub and Dale's Pale Ale and my local grocery store but Gordon is always the one that's a little harder to find.

 

[CruisinTiger]

This thread has got me thinking about , never a bad thing....
If no one else likes this idea, J-bo, sign me up for one of those OB beers...

Hey Carp hate to rain on the parade but alcohol is not allowed at OMT....the rangers are very strict there...they like to come hang out in the camp and they can go thru coolers.

 

[cruiser4life]

Welcome to the Dark Side Andy, I can bring you some good stuff down from VA to the WF game if you want, stuff you can't get down there.

Sounds good, bring it on!

I drank a bunch of microbrews in college and did some brewing myself but kind of got away from it. The OB stuff is WAY better than any of the stuff I used to drink.

Though I will say that a current close second for me right now are the IPAs from Dogfish Head, specifically the 90 minute and 120 minute offerings. Mmmmm, hops...

 

[Trollhole]

Hey Carp hate to rain on the parade but alcohol is not allowed at OMT....the rangers are very strict there...they like to come hang out in the camp and they can go thru coolers.