Ahhh, Colorado land of good beer

I am happy to say I just returned from my home state and mecca for good beer, Colorado! Mick and I headed up for the long weekend to enjoy some quality family time and a few good beers too. Our adventures started with a hometown favorite, Colorado mountain pies (pizza) at Beau Jo's. This place takes it's pizza seriously, you order by the pound and eat the extra thick crust with a drizzle of honey....perfection!

Now it would be just fine with just great pizza but when you add great beer it is turns into the perfect experience. Your brew comes in a mason jar, just adds to the ambiance of a place that serves it's salad bar from old bathtubs. We had two great beers ther - Mick got a New Belgium Blue Paddle and I ordered a Tommy Knocker Pick Axe Pale.

Fair warning, I worked for New Belgium and therefore am a tad biased as I love this brewery!! When you pick up a bottle of Blue Paddle you see a lovely canoe scene on a lake. Little do you know that Blue is named for the paddle that an NBB coworker got smacked on the behind with for stealing sips of beer. The beer itself is a good Czech style pilsner. Very drinkable and a good fit for those that dig a traditional pilsners like Pilsner Urquell or other imports like Stella Artois.

So being a former NBBer I had to get my hands on something new (don't worry I indulged in plenty of the NBB goods while up there). Tommy Knocker brewery was located just a few doors down from Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs. I have heard about Tommy Knocker but since they don't distribute to Arizona haven't had a chance to try it...until now. The Pick Axe Pale was delicious, it had a bright hoppy flavor to it that reminded me of Anchor Liberty Ale. It was smooth and well balanced and paired perfectly with the pizza.