Storm Peak Expands
Storm Peak Brewery is going up, just like the bubbles in its handcrafted beer. The brewery is adding a new rooftop seating area, doubling its tap room size, and opening a new tasting room on the mountain at 2500 Village Drive (at the former Brau Haus). Co-owner Wyatt Patterson says the new rooftop digs will offer great sunsets while increasing sitting space, and that they hope to open it on warmer days this ski season. “And it’ll be awesome in the summertime,” he says. “The mountain tasting room should be a great space also — perfect for after a day of skiing or riding.”
Rumor Takes Over Smokehouse
If the patterns and colorways they concoct for homes around town are any indication, get prepared for some pretty fancy-pants coffee and specialty drinks at Steamboat’s newest coffee shop. Yes, the rumors are true. After a fire gutted the Steamboat Smokehouse building in 2019, where, yes, Larry the Camel used to make his well-humped rounds, Rumor Design has moved in, replacing its barbecue with baristas. Run by partners and interior design divas Lindsey Jamison and Valerie Stafford, its new in-house r/d Home Café features such coffee drinks as espresso, Italian cream soda, lattes and, yes, macchiatos, as well as hot, iced and blended specialty drinks and interior designspeak “wine and bubbles.” Boozey fave: Bourbon cream latte, with a contemporary aesthetic finish. And yes, there’s a daily Happy Hour from 3-5 p.m., featuring $2 off “wine and bubbles.”
New Booze from Steamboat Whiskey Co.
Steamboat Whiskey Co. is releasing a few new products this winter, including its long-awaited Alpine Nectar Honey Eau De Vie, made from 100 percent Yampa Valley honey from Hayden’s Outlaw Apiary (only available at the tasting room). Bottled at 90 proof, the 2018 harvested honey was fermented with champagne yeast, double distilled, and mellowed for three years in stainless vats. Also new: its Warrior Hrenovuha (pronounced “Ren-ova” for you liquor Luddites), a spicy, creamy and ultra-smooth horseradish vodka made from potato vodka and fresh horseradish root. Winning a gold medal at 2021’s New York World Spirits Competition, it’s bottled at 91 proof and available at liquor stores and bars, as well as in its Bloody Czarina, a Bloody Mary fit for royalty. Also look for a new pay-from-your-table operating system; and its new Tiki-Speakeasy in its adjacent, original space, with a tropical lounge feel, small plates and craft tiki drinks.
Sidebar: Storm Peak/Steamboat Whiskey Collab
Drumroll, please: Behold the new Storm Peak Single Malt Colorado Whiskey, a collaboration between Storm Peak and Steamboat Whiskey Co. Head distiller Corbin Korsgard used Storm Peak’s Maestro IPA without the hops, taking it from grain through both the beer and distillation state. “The mash bill consists of flaked wheat, Munich and caramel malts, providing a sticky base which we double-distilled in our traditional pot stills and aged in 10-gallon barrels for one year,” he says. The new 93-proof whiskey with a toasted heart oak finish comes in 375-ml bottles — with a lower price point for taking it home.
Tasting Notes:
If you think its Storm Peak Single Malt Colorado Whiskey name is a mouthful, try to assess the following flavor profiles:
Nose: Bubblegum, citrus grove, melon, freshly sliced apple.
Palate: Malted barley, caramel Frappuccino, subtle strawberries and cream.
Finish: Tongue warming, toasted heart oak, hazelnut.
Kicking the Can at Mountain Tap
Mountain Tap Brewery has a can-do attitude — even with the recent can shortage plaguing the industry. “Can shortage? What shortage? We’ve been hoarding cans for years,” says co-founder Rich Tucciarone. While he says the can shortage is real for all brewers, requiring long lead times, they’ve managed to get creative. “We’ve secured additional off-site storage and carry more inventory of empty cans, lids and carriers,” he says. “Fortunately, we’re small and only selling a limited amount of cans locally so we can react quickly to changing supply dynamics — it’s a lot different from large breweries shipping daily truckloads all over.”
This winter look for sixers of its Passionate Pedal and Locals’ Lager, with whimsical, colorful artwork, as to-go suds both onsite and at Central Park Liquor. “They’re almost as much fun to look at as they are to drink,” says Tucciarone.
Steamboat’s Newest Bar Could Be…At the Ice Rink!
Yep, you heard that right. Steamboat’s newest bar (and concession stand) could well be at the good ol’ Howelsen Ice Arena, thanks to the city’s renovation of the entry area, which adds locker rooms, bathrooms, a youth room and, yes, a soon-to-be-determined concession area above the existing lobby on the building’s first level. Our vote: Com’on, make it a bar, so maybe, just maybe, they can come up with some concoctions using shaved ice from the Zamboni?
Sidebar: Our Drink Suggestions
Penalty Porter and Pale Ale
Shin & Tonic
Slapshots
Crosscheck Cosmopolitan
Boarding Bourbon
Double Major Daiquiri
High Stick Stout
Town’s Best Brew Chalkboard
If there were such a thing, you’ have to chalk this one up to The Barley downtown, whose chalkboard behind the bar lists all 31 beer and eight wine taps on hand on any given day. “We love it,” says owner Justin Keys. “Our menu literally changes daily since we only buy one of every keg, so the chalkboard is ever-changing.” He adds that they have fun changing the chalk’s colors for different times of year, and that practiced patrons might ID some of the sudsy penmanship. “All of our handwriting starts to look the same after a while,” he says. “We love the chalkboard so much that we even revised our logo because of it. Look at The Barley logo and you’ll notice that it’s basically just our name written in block with a chisel tip chalk marker.” Hint: Visit thebarleycolorado.com to read it without the smudges.
Town’s Oldest Liquor Store
Like your wine aged? Then you’ll also like South Side Liquors, town’s oldest continually owned liquor store and license. Owner Ted Tk originally founded his booze, wine and beer emporium as Sundance Liquors in Sundance Plaza in 1987 around the corner from Safeway. Then he moved it south, and has now been running it for 34 whopping years. He’s seen a lot change during that time — including the start of booze behemoth Central Park Liquors — but throughout it all he’s stuck to the basics of a good selection of beer, wine and spirits and prices appealing to ski bums and second home owners.
