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Podcast Episode 339: Ashleigh Carter, Jeff Bagby, and Ryan Brooks Dissect Mexican Lager and More

The Twelve Best Beers We Drank in 2023

Bierstadt Lagerhaus
Helles

Many types of lager have really taken off in our state, but for some reason, helles has lagged a bit. Some point to the difficulty in brewing the style, but that hasn't stopped breweries across the country from brewing new (to them) styles before. Colorado has no shortage of region-specific styles, either. It remains a mystery to me.

The lack of top-shelf examples makes me appreciate the helles at Bierstadt even more, as have my trips to Munich, Germany, where you ask for a beer and receive a helles. Bierstadt's holds up to the homeland varieties, and I even prefer it to many of the German ones — it's a little less round and has a touch more spritzy carbonation. Bierstadt manages to thread the fine needle of crafting a supremely dry beer that still comes off as malty. It's versatile — great for drinking all day or perfect for the first of a variety of beers, plus it's wonderful with just about every type of food. The fact that it's always immensely fresh doesn't hurt, either; I've never had a bad pour of this beer over the years.

For all those reasons, and despite loving Slow Pour Pils, and the German pilsner style above all else, I find myself consuming helles more than any other beer at Bierstadt.

TBD

MORE GREAT STUFF

All It Took Was a Pandemic to Get Bierstadt to Package Beer

The owners of Bierstadt Lagerhaus aren’t known for compromising. They make traditional German-style lagers in a traditional way, and they have always taken a hard line against packaging them in cans or bottles. 

“We believe very strongly in drinking draft beer. It is a better experience than a packaged beer, especially considering the kind of beer we make — delicate and nuanced,” says co-owner and brewer Ashleigh Carter. But on April 11, Bierstadt will pour about 25 barrels each of two classics — Slow Pour Pils and Helles — into four-packs of sixteen-ounce cans. 
All it took was a global pandemic to get them to do it.

Best Colorado Beer: The Favorite Beers and Breweries in 2019

A year ago, Bierstadt Lagerhaus finished as a finalist in two different categories, so it’s no surprise to see it rise to the top in 2019. The brewery in Denver’s River North neighborhood makes German lagers in the Reinheitsgebot purity law tradition in an 87-year-old copper brew kettle. And the brewery’s Slow Pour Pils is one of the best beers in the state but too often overlooked by the hordes who want the latest, craziest IPA or stout on the market.

The predicted trend toward lagers and pilsners from our 2018 survey sure proved true, but few — if any — could match the stylistic perfection that pours from Bierstadt taps.

It’s Oktoberfest Season. You Know What That Means…

We have officially released our Oktoberfest Marzen as of September 21st! I may be biased, but our Oktoberfest is my favorite of all of our seasonal releases! For more great fall beers, here is a great article from Mark Thieson of Coronado Brewing Co.

What makes a perfect fall beer? Is it a malty and refreshing, highly drinkable Märzen? How about a rich brown ale? Maybe, if you’re like us, you like to climb out of the summery IPA pool and dive headfirst into the world of darker stouts and porters. If you’re still enjoying the last warm evenings by sitting around a roaring fire, you might want to up the smoke ante and grab for a seasonally appropriate smoked beer. That is… if you think you’re up for it.

A Proper Helles: Toeing the Line between Bland and Sublime

It stands as an island in a sea of beer choice: helles as the Promised Land. But order one at any of the breweries throughout the United States that have it on offer, and you’re likely to find wildly different results. Here’s how to do it right.

Before the modern rise in popularity of pilsners, helles were often the beer of choice in Germany, especially in Munich. The name of the beer comes from the German word hell, which rather than fire and brimstone, is translated into pale, bright, or light. 

There’s a tendency I’ve seen by other brewers to push the hops, kick up the malt for residual sweetness, but restraint is important here. 
Simplicity isn’t a bad thing.

Patience for a Pint: The Art and Science of the Slow Pour

“The slow pour is nothing new to beer, but a recent rise in popularity, thanks to those craft breweries that have put it center stage, has engendered a renewed interest in this well-topped pour. In American craft beer today, when a slow pour is mentioned, those who have been there will call to mind Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver. 

The brewery’s commitment to lagers is well known and documented, and their Slow Pour Pils is popular both because of the commitment the drinker must make to waiting a few minutes between an order and the first sip and because it’s just so darn tasty. The tip, regulars will tell you, is to order the next round when the current one hits the table.”

– John Holl, Craft Beer and Brewing

Things Colorado Craft Beer Lovers Should Do

The state of Colorado has over 200 breweries, the city of Denver alone has over 70 craft breweries, but when was the last time you tried something different? We get it, you have your favorite brewery, they always have that one special beer on tap calling your name but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore.

In honor of Colorado Craft Beer week which happens every March we put together a list of can’t miss beer, breweries and beer events that every beer drinker should check off their beer bucket list. It doesn’t matter if you are a certified beer nerd or just sipping your first few craft brews there is something for everyone. You can get started next week when Colorado Craft Beer week is in full swing. 

The best part of the list? There are so many options located centrally in Denver but you can also use it to create a fun spring, summer or fall road trip throughout the state.

A Comprehensive List of the Women Leading the Front Range Culinary Scene

If you want to support female-led food and beverage businesses in Colorado, this is a good place to start.

From running restaurant kitchens to brewing Coloradans’ favorite craft beers, women are leading in all facets of the Front Range’s exciting dining scene—and driving its success. In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, we hope this list will make it easy for you to find and support female-owned and -operated establishments from Aurora to Boulder and beyond.

Craft Beer & Brewing: The Future of Lagers

One of the great challenges brewers will have to tackle in the coming years is how will they honor tradition with lagers and pilsners while also forging new paths forward, as they’ve done with styles such as India pale ale.

Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver, Colorado, has, in a very short time, established itself as a go-to for traditional lager enthusiasts. The brewers, Ashleigh Carter and Bill Eye, don’t mince words when it comes to their craft, and they are uncompromising on everything from process to how their beers are served. They are rooted in the tradition of styles and don’t think progress for progress’ sake is necessary.

Profiles in Brew: Ashleigh Carter of Bierstadt Lagerhaus

“Slow Pour Pils is an accumulation of everything we do and have learned and experienced in our beer drinking,” says Ashleigh Carter, Bierstadt’s co-founder and head brewer. “We’ve always been fascinated with German pils, and I think it’s one of the most perfect things on the planet.”

But perfection takes time. Slow Pour Pils is brewed slow (roughly 30 hours), lagered longer (more than most would have the patience for) and comes out of the tap slow and steady — about three to five minutes per pour.

Good Beer Hunting: Flat is the New Up

“Everybody in Denver makes crazy stuff, but at the end of the day, people just want to drink Pale Lager and get drunk with their friends.”

Hip factor and patios are two parts of the puzzle when it comes to surviving a quickly maturing market like Denver, but at least one brewery, in particular, has defied the temptation to be The Next Big Thing. Bierstadt Lagerhaus opened at the very end of 2015 and was one of the most recommended brewery stops among everyone I spoke to during my visit.

10 Best Brewpubs- Bierstadt Lagerhaus Denver, CO

With new breweries pandering to gimmicks galore — pastry-stouts studded with quirky ingredients like cocoa nibs and donuts, and milkshake IPAs swirled with mango puree and milk sugar — Bierstadt Lagerhaus stands firmly rooted as a reminder of tradition. 

Using only the four ingredients required by German law — water, malt, hops and yeast — brewing duo Bill Eye and Ashleigh Carter opened their RiNo centered, Denver, Colorado brewpub in August 2016 after resuscitating an 84-year-old brew kettle from Germany. 

From the perfectly pitched, clean crispness of a Pilsner to the purified perfection of a lightly malty Helles and the garnet hued Dunkel, Eye and Carter have kept things simple and clean — like a good lager. 

Colorado Beer of the Year

For the second straight year, the crisp, clear, and delicious Slow Pour Pils from Bierstadt Lagerhaus wins Colorado beer of the year. It’s quite a feat for a brewery that opened less than two years ago, but the care and attention — 30 hours to brew this one — that brewmasters Bill Eye and Ashleigh Carter put into the beer are evident.

“Favorite beers are often those that stand out for being huge or over the top. But for me, favorite means the beer I keep going back to drink,” says Jeff Nickel at AC Golden Brewing, who counts Bierstadt’s Helles as another of his top picks.

Colorado Brewers’ Favorite Breweries

“For a Denverite, it is a blessing and an honor to have access to a brewery that is so respectful to tradition and attentive to detail. The knowledge, skill and the dedication of Bill and Ashleigh to their craft shines through every single one of their perfectly crafted brews. They will experience tremendous growth, if they want to, because on top of having a killer product they are planning very meticulously so to always assure unparalleled products in any of the venues where they will be found.

If you think of Bierstadt you would think tradition, authenticity, and innovation. I mean, they brew on an actual German kettle from 1932.”

The Lager Only Brewery

Ashleigh and Bill at Bierstadt Lagerhaus hold their principles at the center of their lagers and their brewery. And as a result, Bierstadt is a fine specimen to show you and it’s a thorough lesson on how to do things right.

“I order a Slow Pour Pils. After a while, it comes back with foam shooting just outside the glass like a cumulous cloud. The beer was named the best of 2017 by The Denver Post and I understand after taking the first sip. I don’t know if I have ever had agreeable, crisp, and full-flavored pilsner.”

Drink RiNo: Keeping Booze Business Local

Music festivals aren’t typically known for their beer selections.

More often than not, they feel like a best-of-the-worst-type scenario, a lot of overpriced but otherwise underwhelming suds.

The new Velorama music festival and Colorado Classic bike race this August will be different.

Drink RiNo, a newly formed trade association of 15 independently owned breweries, cideries, wineries and distilleries based in the River North Art District, will be the exclusive beer, wine and cider provider for both events, and among the all-local lineup…