Another brewpub we tried out was Trinity Brewing Company in Colorado Springs, right down the road from the beautiful Garden of the Gods rock formations. This was a much more casual place than Phantom. They had a good selection of house brews, as well as seasonals, and a few other varieties from other breweries. And with other Colorado venues, a very nice happy hour discount. The house beers were around $3 when we went.
I first had their Flo IPA Nitro. The few nitro beers I’ve had have always been stouts, never an IPA, so I was intrigued. It was very smooth and creamy, perfectly balancing out the bitterness of the hops. Next beer I got with the Awaken Stout Nitro. “Coffee” is often used to describe stouts or porters, but usually is just a faint aftertaste. Not on this brew! This is straight up pure coffee flavor – the most I’ve ever tasted in a beer, including coffee porters. It’s a smooth drink, but you need to be in the coffee mood.
The coolest thing to me about Trinity Brewing was most of their house brews gave you a choice of carbonation. You could choose CO2, nitro, or cask. While I have had all of these types before, I’ve never seen them offered at the same time for multiple beers. I really liked having the option, as all three give the beer a slightly different taste and experience. While we do not have any brewpubs in Houston, maybe one of our breweries could try something similar. You listening?
Overall, I recommend Trinity Brewing. Their casual, friendly atmosphere paired with their house brews with choice of carbonation made for a very enjoyable experience.
