J is for JoyRide Brewing Company

You may remember that as I was composing the list of Denver breweries that I had not visited, it struck me that most of the letters of the alphabet were covered by the beginning letters of the brewery names.

It has been awhile since I've done one, but I decided to work through the alphabet visiting breweries.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

Next up was B ... B is for Baere Brewing Company More breweries for C; D; E; F; G; H; And the last one was I is for IronWorks Brewery and Pub.

Yes, it has been a long time since I've done one.

But, on a snowy late-April Saturday, my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) dragged our kids to another one ....

J is for JoyRide Brewing Company

Joyride's brewing is in tiny little Edgewater, Colorado, which is just West of Sloan's Lake.

2501 Sheridan Blvd - Edgewater, CO 80214

The taproom is pretty nice and new looking and of decent size. Like most of these little Denver-area breweries, it is pretty family (including dog) friendly with a collection of board games. It is a nice place to lounge around for both the beer-drinking and non-beer drinker.

We read "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader" cards to each other while the adults drank their beers. The kids also played a card game or two on their own.

It was fun.

There were more 4-legged "children" than two-legged. This place is very dog-friendly.

The beer itself was good.

As per usual, the Beer Model and I shared a flight of all JoyRide's beers.

Here is what we had:

• Ice Cutter Kölsch -- The token "gateway" beer. Light with nice noble hop flavor and a crisp, dry finish.
• Emerald Irish Stout -- Beautiful, low alcohol, Irish Stout on Nitro. Lots of coffee and chocolate but still very smooth.
• Starfire Schwarzbier -- Apparently a collaboration with Heretic Brewing from California. Perfect example of the style.
• MurphaLou Saison --  A tasty Saison with Sauignon Blanc Grapes. After the flight, this was the beer I got a pint of. 
• Cougar Pale Ale -- "West coast inspired with a touch of English character". Nice and hoppy while not overdoing it. This was the beer that the Beer Model had a pint of. We also took home a growler filled with Cougar. 
• Antelope Amber --  Pretty standard American Amber nice blend of malts and hops.
• Edgewater IPA -- "A west coast style IPA that bursts out of the glass". Typical American hop flavor and aroma without being too bitter. Delicious.
• Bear Paw Oatmeal Milk Stout --  My least favorite of the flight, but still pretty good. If you like Mike Stouts, you will like this.
• Joyride Double IPA -- 9.0% ABV | 100+ IBU. Lots of American hops. If you are a hop-head who doesn't mind the higher alcohol, this one is for you.

All the beers were great examples of the styles, and the menu descriptions did a great job describing them. This is a place that you can simply pick what you like and order it.

Check out their "Our Beers" page for more detail.

The brewery doesn't have a food menu, but I saw burgers and fries being run over from a neighboring restaurant, so I assume there is a partnership there. We brought our own food in, but if I go there again, I will try a burger. Sorry I didn't get the name of the restaurant.

So, if you are in the Sloan Lake area and want some beer, drop in. This is honestly one of my new favorites. I see myself stopping in again.

Now, I need to come up with a "K" brewery. As I write this, the only "K" brewery I know of in the Denver area is Kokopelli Beer Company in Westminster. That is a little farther than I would "local" for me, so I'm not sure when I'll make it up there.

And who knows ... maybe one of you know a brewery closer that starts with "K". Let me know in the comments section.

As always ... keep an eye on Sheppy's Blog: A to Z ...

That way you can see all the breweries I come up with. Hopefully it won't be so long before the next one.