Last week over at the blog Fermentedly Challenged, Dave alerted his readers to the opening of the new Boulder Beer Taphouse in the main terminal at Denver International Airport. Coincidentally this week I had a trip to Denver scheduled so I planned on lunch at DIA before my flight home.The new taphouse is located in the former location of the Samuel Adams pub, just outside the TSA screening area. The taphouse has a bar, a few tables and a small food preparation area. In addition to the house beers, Boulder Taphouse serves a selection of macro-beers and harder spirits. It was disheartening to see several patrons sucking on bottles of Michelob Ultra while sitting in front of the Boulder Beer taps. A selection of sandwiches and salads are also available.
I opted for a Hazed & Infused Dry Hopped Ale, and a smoked ham sandwich on sourdough bread. The beer pours a slightly cloudy copper-orange with an aroma that's predominately citrus hops. The flavor is all hops with a lasting bitter finish. A bready malt attempts to hold everything together but still the hops dominate. The ham sandwich was standard fare, although tasty and it did hit the spot.
The quick beer made the trip through TSA mildly bearable. Once I made it to my gate, United announced that my flight was delayed by 2 hours*. I only wish that the Boulder Beer Taphouse was on the gate side of security! However, I did spot a pub in the terminal serving Boulder Pass Time Pale Ale. How apropos.
* Once we finally boarded the plane we were delayed another 3 hours!
You gotta love air travel... Did all of the Sam Adams airport pubs go out of business? They had one in Hartford, about the only half way OK place to grab a beer at Bradley Airport, but it closed down years ago...
ReplyDeleteI would think local micro brews would do well in airports, things with a local flavor (literally and figuratively) seem to be popular in airports.
That would be a great idea for a chain business. Airport pubs that only serve local/regional brews. Each location would be different and localized...
Now I just need a few $million in capital to get the idea going, want to invest?
Denver seems to be the airport I get delayed in more often than not. Fortunately there are a number of bars serving local beers. If their TSA line wasn't so horrendous I'd spend more time on the pre-screening side.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about the Sam Adams pubs.
Sorry to hear you got delayed but glad you got a chance to visit the new taphouse. My business hasn't sent me on a trip for almost a year now. Hopefully next trip out I can stop by here and actually check it out for myself. But ya, it would have been better located near an actual gate. It would have made the waiting more bearable.
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