There isn’t anything like a strong combo of craft beer and good music. Each on their own is great, but together they create a synergistic near-chemical reaction: like an electrical surge that runs through every person present.
That’s the kind of energy they’re going for at Beyond the Mountain Brewing, just off Diagonal Highway near Gunbarrel. They’ve created a brewery dedicated to music and devoted to brewing beer that reflects the playful, bright and unexpected aspects of improvised music.
Which is apparent as soon as you walk in: a small stage and PA system is set up off to the left of the bar; framed concert, artist and festival posters adorn the walls; and the bar top itself is completely covered in old concert tickets: Phish, String Cheese Incident, Phil Lesh, Bob Dylan, Primus, Yonder Mountain String Band and more.
“About 80-percent of those are from that guy right there, one of the owners,” said the bartender, when he noticed me staring at the tickets on the bar. He pointed to a guy in a black and white photograph behind him. “Charles. He goes to a lot of live music.”
Photos courtesy of Beyond the Mountain Brewing
The bartender’s name was Peter. I told him I’d never been in before and asked what their most recently released beer was.
“Well, if you try Unleash the Fury you’ll be the first person to taste it.”
Sold.
“Let’s unleash the fury.” I told him.
He poured the beer and I took my seat, at a long table beside the bar, facing the door, looking out at the mountains beyond, and watching as customers slowly trickled in.
Unleash the Fury is an imperial red ale, and at 8.5-percent, it packs a punch. They used Red X malt and homogenized the beer with nugget, simco and Amarillo hops. It’s got a dark amber color and a robust, malty flavor. It’s not a beer for guzzling, but not so boozy you can’t quaff it, either. This is the perfect beer for the fall and early winter seasons. Just dark and malty enough to warm you up, and just hoppy enough to maintain a bitter element.
While I drank that, I took a look at the Beyond the Mountain’s upcoming events. And man do they have a lot going on. Throughout the month they feature live jazz, folk and bluegrass shows and every Wednesday the brewery hosts an open pick night, where people can come and jam bluegrass with other musicians to the tune of Beyond the Mountain’s musically inspired beer.
This is clearly a brewery built and operated by music lovers for music lovers, I realized, looking over the schedule.
Photos courtesy of Beyond the Mountain Brewing
When I was finished with Unleash the Fury, I returned to Peter for a recommendation on round two.
“I really like the St. Alphonso as a follow-up to that beer you just had,” he said.
Say no more, I told him. He nodded and poured.
St. Alphonso is a traditional Belgian dubbel, with a not-so-traditional, almost tropical tasting twist. Brewed with candied sugar and honey, it’s very smooth and sweet off the front. Then, the kicker: a blast of malt and banana, that reverberates through the rest of the flavor profile like a ringing gong. It was sweet, but malty also; it was fruity, but subtly so. I liked it a lot. And, Peter was right — it made for a great follow-up to Unleash the Fury.
If you’ve never been to Beyond the Mountain, it’s absolutely worth checking out. Saturdays they host live music, Wednesdays are open pick night, and Thursdays you can sometimes catch a show, too. But no matter what day of the week you stop by, and no matter what kind of music you might walk into, you’ll always find a selection of really unique and well-crafted beers on tap.
And, when there’s live music going on, that electric energy borne from craft beer and good tunes is alive and thriving.
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