You might usually find me doing beer reviews on my semi-weekly streaming show A-Round for the Weekend. I’ve featured beers from local breweries around the Capital District region of upstate New York. This time, though, I was charged by my superiors at Belly Up Sports to review beer. Curiosity struck, I was in, and Mike sent me two cans of Broncos Country by Breckenridge Brewery. But, before I dive into the review, let’s take you to the brewery. (Not literally but maybe someday…)
About Breckenridge Brewery
Back in 1990, the brewery was founded on Main Street in Breckenridge, CO at the height of the craft brewing revolution. It took only two years for the brewery to outgrow its initial location and they opened a second location in downtown Denver. In 1992, the second location opened and by 1996, the brewery opened another location on Kalamath Street. After outgrowing Kalamath Street, brewery president Todd Usry and his team searched for a new location for the brewery. The brewery opened their most recent location in 2015 on a 12-acre farm in Littleton that features a 100-barrel brewhouse, tasting room, and restaurant called The Farm House. In 2016, the brewery was acquired by Anheuser-Busch’s The High End, which enabled the company to distribute outside of Colorado.
Now, About that Beer…
I’ve had Breckenridge’s Vanilla Porter before. It’s one of the only beers that I can get from the brewery in the Capital District area. It’s a delicious brew, but now I had the chance to try something new. Enter Breckenridge Brewery Broncos Country Hoppy Pale Ale. The beer is part of Breckenridge’s Specialty Singles series and is only available in Colorado. According to the website, the beer is brewed with locally sourced malts and High Wire hops from the North Fork Valley.
How Does it Taste?
The beer pours light and the color is bright. The nose features hoppy notes and upon the first sip, there’s a little bit of bite. The beer drinks smooth and has a clean finish. Here’s the most surprising part: even though it’s a hoppy pale ale, it’s not bitter. I paired my beer with empanadas that I made for dinner. The spice from the beef and red sauce matched well with the clean taste of Broncos Country.
Thanks for reading my review because I really enjoyed this beer. Admittedly, it felt weird for me as a New York Jets fan to drink this beer because, after last week’s loss to the Broncos, it was like drinking my own tears. But if you’re in the Denver area and you’re a Broncos fan looking for a dependable beer to cheer your boys on Sundays, this is it.
Leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter: @WhoIsRyanMcC. In addition to my streaming show (which airs most Fridays at 6:30 pm EST), don’t forget to check out my podcast No Credentials Required. Make sure you listen and share on social media with the hashtag #BellyUpBreckBrew!
