J is for Jagged Mountain Brewery

If you read I is for [The] Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project, and are at all familiar with the Denver Brewery scene, chances are decent that you probably guessed what my "J" brewery was.

As I mentioned in the blog post, a couple of Saturdays ago, I took a bike ride downtown where I had a couple of beers before hitting The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project taproom on my way back.

In case you're wondering why I hit "J" before stopping by "I" ... I mis-calculated how long it would take me to ride 15 miles.

When I was passing where to turn off the bike path for The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project taproom, I figured out that I would get there before opening time.

So, I kept going.

Even so ... I ended up at "J" just a few minutes after opening time.

J is for Jagged Mountain Brewery

It was a fantastic bike ride. The weather was sunny but cool. There wasn't too much wind. There were not tons of others on the bike path. I almost didn't want to stop.

But I did.

Jagged Mountain is a great location in downtown Denver. Just a couple blocks from Coors Field on the corner of 20th and Lawrence. I've passed it numerous times. Amazingly, I've never stopped in before.

I got there just a few minutes after it opened and there was already quite a few customers in the tap room. By the time I left, it was fairly busy.

I had two flights while here.

• Four Pass Pilsner ... I love a well-made German Pilsner and this one certainly qualified. I think this was my favorite beer here. Nice and crisp with firm bitterness and great German hop flavor. 
• Sawatch IPA ... Great tropical hop aroma. I would prefer the malt a bit drier, but this is a great beer none the less.
• Snowmelt ... A great Helles Bock (Maibock). I don't usually see this style at this time of year, and it was a pleasant surprise that I could have one here.
• Good Bugs Hazy IPA ... Ugly looking but delicious. Collaboration with Odd 13 Brewing and 4 Noses Brewing! Brewed and dry hopped with Amarillo, Centennial, and Citra hops. Each brewery picked a different yeast. Jagged Mountain used Fruit Sacch, which is a yeast I am unfamiliar with.

• Honeydew Melon Patch ... Not quite as ugly looking as the Good Bugs, but still hazy. They really did a great job getting the honeydew melon flavor in this beer. 
• Sticky Icky ... Fresh hop IPA. Nice beer, although I think it was probably much better a few weeks ago. The hops tasted like they are close to the end of their prime.
• Five Years Strong ... A Belgium "Quintuple". Anniversary beer that lives up to its name. 15% ABV. Had a little of that boozy flavor that I usually don't like, but it worked in this beer. I would not drink much of this, but the taster was great.
• Rum BA Dopplebock ... "Only" 9 or 10% ABV. It didn't taste nearly as boozy as I thought it would from the name. Really nice malty beer. Dangerous, so it was lucky I only had the taster size of this one.

As I was on my bike, I took advantage of their Hydration Station a few times. I don't know if you can tell in the photo below, but the tap for the water had a Budweiser handle on it. That made me smile.

The water was very good. Much better than Bud.

And so ... after those two flights, I got on my bike for the next brewery. Denver has done a lot of work over the past couple years building nice bike lanes. I was thankful for that.

So, there you have it. My "J" brewery. At this point, I don't have a good "K" brewery. Please let me know if you have suggestions.

And ... keep an eye on this series by bookmarking Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

Go Bears!