I know, I'm really bad at posting these in any kind of timely manner.  Here's what's up:  we are doing our first canning run of Summertime Ale on Monday.  Look for it in stores next week.  And Ruebens in Boulder will be offering Summertime Ale on tap next week.  We have two new beers we're releasing shortly - a hoppy American Amber (South Ridge Amber) and a wonderful roasted chili beer (Solano) - which will be on tap at The Kitchen Upstairs very soon.

Cheers!

Tom

It's been a long time since I last made an entry.  My apologies.  We have had some trying times in the brewery over the last few months, but things are back on track now and I'm excited about the future.  In the upcoming weeks and montsh we'll be releasing several new beers, along with our traditional offerings.  The first, hopefully, will be available next week.  Last week we brewed a lambic that will age in a Cabernet Sauvignon barrel for 12 to 18 months.  Check back in late 2013 or early 2014 to see what we do with that!  This week we'll be brewing an all brett beer.  The test batches for it were received quite favorably.  It is a very refreshing beer, great for the hot days soon to come.  I promise I'll post more often as we move along.  Biggest news is probably that we'll soon be canning Summertime Ale (16 oz 4 packs).  Watch for it in mid April.  The Kitchen [Next Door] has the last of this year's Black Saddle on tap - Doc's Porter up next.  More later!  Enjoy the weather (and the great beer Colorado has to offer).

Tom

It has recently come to my attention that some of you may have purchased bottles of Black Saddle that had a foaming problem.  In researching this, I have found that all of the bottles in question have come from the 8/10/11 batch of Black Saddle.  I pulled the remaining bottles from that batch and, in checking them myself, found two bottles that foamed - one slightly and the other considerably.  The rest were fine.  As you know, we bottle condition the Black Saddle.  I believe that what happened is that, when we primed this batch, the primer did not get dispersed well enough and thus, some bottles got an overdose of priming sugar and, in time, became over carbonated.  We check every batch before it leaves the brewery and did not find anything wrong with this batch. However, because there is live yeast in the bottles, the bottle conditioning process can continue after it leaves the brewery.  This is usually a good thing because the live yeast can help protect and preserve the beer.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused any of you that purchased a bottle from this batch and will replace any bottle that you return to me or to the store from which you purchased it. Simply return the bottle to me or to the store.  

It is my greatest desire to produce only good beer.  Every brewery makes mistakes.  Usually they are discovered prior to release to the public.  Sometimes not.  Either way, you deserve the best from Crystal Springs and I am truly sorry this happened.

Tom

  Howdy,

Tom

We'd like to warmly congratulate Will and Coral on opening Cured.  Cured is a small shop focused on preserving a personal connection to food. They offer a hand picked selection of cheeses, cured meats, table wines, and other unique grocery items, all carefully chosen to help enliven an every day meal.  And guess what?   They are the newest location to carry Crystal Springs Beers!  Read more about them at: http://www.curedboulder.com/.  We met Will and Coral soon after they planned this new venture and couldn't be more excited.  These two are great people and we wish them the greatest success.  Check them out at 1825 Pearl Street.  

We also have gotten our new system installed and are working hard to get all the bells and whistles tuned up.  It has been a long wait, but we're excited to get it going.  We'll soon be increasing our production, and be able to get out some of the other beers we've wanted to produce but haven't been able to make because we've been so busy just keeping up with current demand.  Thanks to all of you for your patience as we've made this transition.

Cheers, Tom

A good friend of mine, David Wheeler (world class Shakuhachi flute player) is working to get clean water to the Japanese earthquake victims.  He lined up at-cost water from Eldorado Springs, at-cost shipping to the west coast, and FREE transpacific shipping to Northeast Japan.  To raise money to make this happen he is doing a benefit:  "Sawagi!  RAising a Ruckus for Japan" on April 26 at 5:30 (details at http://www.naropa.edu/japanbenefit.  David's trying to raise $100,000 to send 20 containers (300,000 liter bottles to Japan.  Listen to some great music and support a wonderful cause!

I hope this finds you all excited for spring, happy and enjoying great beer.  It's certainly an exciting time for beer lovers.     I realize it has been awhile since I've given you an update.  Frankly, we've been so busy just keeping up that I haven't had time to do anything else.  We recently added another fermenter - putting us at maximum capacity for our current brewing equipment.  As you know, we're upscaling in June, which will, at least, triple our current capacity.  We just need to get from now until June (>:   As many of you have heard, Alfalfa's is coming back to town and will officially open on Earth Day.  For us, the exciting news is that they will be opening a new liquor store within their new store at Broadway and Arapahoe and will be carrying our beers.  We'll soon be delivering Doc's Porter and Summertime Ale to them.  They have a great vision for their store and we're very excited to be a part of it.     This summer we will be offering tastings by appointment.  We're not in a position to have a regular tasting room, but we will be able to offer tastings on occasion.  These will be offered on an "as we can do it" basis and will be limited in the number of people we can accept.  We'll pair our beers with some excellent food - we'll be partnering with a new shop opening this spring that will be offering wonderful cheeses and cured meats.  You'll get the opportunity to not only taste our year around offerings, but also get a chance to try some beers that we are developing or that will be only offered at the brewery.  Watch our web site for further details.     In addition to Alfalfa's, please continue to support those stores and restaurants that currently offer our products:  The Kitchen, Pizzeria Locale, Liquor Mart, North Boulder Liquor, Boulder Wine Merchant and Bottles in Boulder and Mondo Vino in Denver.  

 As always, thank you so much for your patronage, your support and your kind words.  

Tom    

It's been too long since I last posted an entry.  Lots of things have happened.  Pizzeria Locale (Frasca's new adventure) has selected our Summertime Ale as the only beer they offer on tap.  Try it with their wonderful Neapolitan style pizza.  We're close to putting out our latest beer, a Belgian Wit - Tic Wit.  It should come out mid to late April (we won't release it until it is ready).  And we've re-released our Summertime Ale.  We plan to add it to our year around selection of beers.  Thanks to you, demand has become such that we need to expand.  We've ordered new equipment, which will arrive in June and triple our capacity.  Right now we're brewing as much as we can.  Please be patient with us as we adjust.  If you find your favorite store or restaurant is out of our beers, be assured they will have more soon.  Thank you all so much!

Cheers,

Tom

This week we are releasing a new beer, Stagecoach 1899.  It will only be available at The Kitchen Cafe in Boulder, Colorado and will be offered on tap this weekend.  Thereafter, it will be available in bottles and occasionally on tap. 

Stagecoach 1899 was created for The Kitchen Cafe in Boulder, Colorado.  We wanted to create something that would compliment the wonderful and eclectic style of this café, and reflect the ever-changing variety of Colorado’s seasons.  This beer is eminently drinkable, yet offers subtle complexities.  Take a moment to appreciate its aroma, savor its flavor, sample its essence. We like to think of it as a Colorado style – ever-changing, always intriguing, and never boring.  

I hope you will enjoy this new offering.  Happy Holidays!

Tom

As many of you know, we lost some valuable brewing time during the Dome fire and are still trying to catch up.  Recently, we also have had some difficulty with the temperature control in our bottle conditioning area.  We thought we would be able to deliver Doc's Porter and our last batch of Black Saddle this week, but the beer is not ready.  We have corrected the problem and should be able to deliver next week.  After next week we do not anticipate any more delays with Doc's Porter.  This will be the last offering of Black Saddle until next year though.

Speaking of Black Saddle, many of you have asked about aging this beer.  Usually darker beers and those with higher alcohol content , such as Black Saddle, age quite well.  Personally, I think Black Saddle ages best at cellar temperatures (50 - 60 degrees F).  Most importantly is that the beer is not exposed to extreme temperature changes and that it is not disturbed.  A cool, dark cellar with a relatively constant temperature is best.  We release Black Saddle when it is about a month old as there are many who love the "raw" character of a relatively young Imperial Stout (my good friend Beau loves the intensity of the alcohol, hops and roasted malt flavors in such a beer).  Black Saddle will begin to round out and mellow begining at about three months.  At a year those strong flavors mentioned above will meld together and the beer will develop some vinous qualities (sherry like flavors).  I would love to hear comments from those of you who decide to age this beer.  

Please accept my apologies for yet another delay in the delivery of our beers, but I would rather delay than put out a beer that does not meet our standards. 

All my best,

Tom

I hope this finds you well and happy.  With Thanksgiving almost upon us, I want to give my thanks to all of you who have supported us in this endeavor.  I hope you have and continue to enjoy our beers and all the wonderful beers offered by the excellent breweries in Colorado.  What a great state we live in!

I'd also like to welcome our newest retailer - The Boulder Wine Merchant at 2690 Broadway in Boulder.  The Boulder Wine Merchant has always been reknown for their excellent selection of wine and beer.  We are truly excited that they will now be offering the beers of Crystal Springs Brewing Company. 

As many of you know, we were once again evacuated - this time for the Dome fire.  It came way too close for comfort.  It also impacted our brewing schedule and, because of that, we find ourselves short of Doc's Porter.  While it is still available at most of our retailers, they may run out in the next week.  We won't be able to resupply them until the week of December 5th.  Please accept our apologies.  We're doing our best to get caught up. 

Check back soon for information on our newest release and our premier at another restaurant in Boulder.  Coming soon!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Tom

I hope this finds you well and happy.  The weather is changing and, if you're like me, you are looking for beers to match the time of year.  Lots of breweries are coming out with their winter offerings and there are some great ones out there.  Be sure to check them out, especially the local ones brewed right here on the Front Range.  

We are one of the newest and smallest breweries in Colorado, but we're no exception when it comes to having a desire to offer something special for those cold winter evenings.  Our newest release is a Russian Imperial Stout, although we prefer to think of it as a Ukranian Imperial Stout - who says Russia has to have the monopoly on these big, bold stouts!  We weren't allowed to use the name Ukranian on our labels, but please know that the inspiration for this beer came from there.  The Ukraine is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south.  Ukranian people need a beer that can stand up to those cold winter nights!  Black Saddle, dark, thick, complex, and roasty, with hints of dark fruit and chocolate fills the bill (9.5% ABV, 87 IBUs).  We are releasing it November 13, 2010 so look for it at your favorite store:  Bottles, Liquor Mart and North Boulder Liquor in Boulder and Mondo Vino in Denver.  Each bottle is hand dated and numbered.  Our first year's release will be just under 500 bottles.  Black Saddle is bottle conditioned and should age quite nicely.

As always, we appreciate your support and hope you enjoy our beers.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Cheers,

Tom
 

On November 13, 2010 we will release our next offering - Black Saddle Stout.

Black Saddle Stout is an imperial stout brewed in the Russian Imperial Stout style but with a Ukrainian bent - dark, thick, complex, and roasty, with hints of dark fruit and chocolate. This is a beer for those special occasions when you wish to savor a beer - to warm you on a cold winter evening, pair with a great cigar or share with friends on a cool evening by a fire pit.  Bottle conditioned, 9.4% ABV, 86 IBUs. Serve at 57-61F in a snifter.  

We will be releasing less than 500 22 oz. bottles, each hand dated and numbered.  Black Saddle will be available in select liquor stores and restaurants on November 13, 2010.

 

We are in the process of developing a new beer - a new style that we think you'll like.  It will be available on tap any day at The Kitchen Cafe in Boulder if you would like to sample it.  We'd love your opinion on it.  

Cheers,
Tom

Please come to Goozmo's 3rd Annual Open House!  We are one of the sponsors and will be serving tasters of our Doc's Porter.  We'll also have a couple other offerings.  Let us know you've read this blog and we'll give you tasters of those as well.   You can register at:  http://goozmo.eventbrite.com