Ro Guenzel, on left, is the brewing manager of Great Divide Brewing Co. (Courtesy of Great Divide Brewing).
As another year comes to an end, we’re once again asking leading figures on the Colorado beer scene to reflect on the past year and look ahead to next.
This, the 20th installment in our 5th annual Beer In Review installment, features Ro Guenzel, brewing manager of of Denver. Great Divide is having a great year, in the midst of opening a new facility in River North that will be a craft beer lover’s paradise — a brewery, taproom, restaurant all on the flanks of a new park. Denver’s biggest and oldest brewery is about to become a destination.
Now, on to Ro’s picks:
Favorite beer of the year: The most memorable new beer I had in 2015 was a smoked lager from Mockery Brewing. Part of it was time and place but mostly it was a damn good beer. It was a amber lager made with a couple of smoked malts and finished with Lapsang Souchong tea. It was clean, drinkable and smoky without tasting like an ashtray.
Colorado brewery of the year: This is a tough one. We have so many great breweries in Colorado. I guess I would have to say . This is their third year in a row of a strong showing at the Great American Beer Festival and they continue to be incredibly active supporting their community and charitable organizations.
New Colorado brewery of the year: We had our holiday party at Great Divide last night and their table beer was the first to kick of all the special treats. The industry needs more sessionable beers that are drinkable yet complex. One can only drink so many hop bombs before everything just tastes bitter. The brewery tasting room is comfortable and clean. Not a bad place to session.
Colorado brewery to watch in 2016: Without a doubt, Bierstadt Lagerhaus. I want PILSNER from Bill Eye. I got a sneak peek a few months ago and it is going to be incredible. It doesn’t hurt that it is close to our RiNo location either.
Most notable craft beer news or trend of 2015: As nearly every other individual has commented, mergers and acquisitions.
Craft beer trend to watch for in 2016: I hope to see a return to classic styles. There is a reason why over the course of time certain styles have maintained popularity and others have fallen out of favor. I like interesting and unique flavor additions or fermentation practices, but I always find myself returning to the comfort of classics like Pilsner, Pale Ale and Porter. I hope this is not correct but I fear impending hop shortages. Craft beers’ dramatic rise, coupled with the styles of beers being produced could create a bit of a shortage of hops. Aroma acreage is not increasing at the rate of demand from brewers. It is on us as brewers to show the need to the farmer, as well as being creative with more efficient use of hops.
Here are previous entries:
