OTT: Prom Night at the Brewery

COLORADO MOUNTAIN BREWERY
600 S. 21st St & 1110 Interquest Pkwy
www.CMBrew.com
719-434-5750 & 719-466-8240
Hours: Open 11am everyday
Food Prices: $7.95-$27
Beer Prices: $5, 16oz; $7.5, 25oz; $8, flight
What you need to know: Go for the beer; return for the food.--

CMBrewery is located in what used to be an engine house, complete with a locomotive turntable

The long table seemed to shudder under the gaggle of tux and gown clad teenagers as they clamored for selfies and a taste of any one of the dozen appetizers being set upon the already quaking table. There was a lengthy beer menu, it was a brewery after all, but they never glanced at it—they were underage. High-schoolers celebrating prom night at a brewery? Did they know something we didn’t?

Come for the beer, stay for the food. This is what a recent Saturday night at Colorado Mountain Brewery taught us. Dozens of black-tie dawned and sequin studded students can’t be wrong. It’s the food. It’s pub-style but amped up with roasted duck meat, and tempura-esque beer batter. It’s no mere mixed nuts and pretzel sticks, but, rather, pub-fare that’s been glamorized with drizzled sauces like chipotle cream and blueberry BBQ (even if the blueberries proved a challenge to taste).

Three appetizers ($9.95, each) where sampled for their uniqueness and/or the recommendation of the waitstaff. (Never hesitate to employ a good waitstaff’s knowledge; they dine in the kitchen frequently enough to know.)

Bison poppers were a server’s personal favorite, and, with an amber-ale breading, flash-fried to an ethereal level of crispness. Blending jalapeño heat with cream cheese, and then a marking of pungent chipotle sauce, the final product was highly inviting.

Poutine, the Canadian national dish, has found its way a far south as Florida, so to see it in a Colorado brewery ought not be a tremendous surprise—but perhaps a welcome one. Especially when the execution is pleasantly done with generous amounts of tender bits of duck, somewhat clumpy cheese curds and a glossy gravy that brings it all together.

Venison Eggrolls were a mashup of Asian and Tex-Mex, with, of course, the luxurious addition of deer, all cloaked with a crisp and buttery wrapping. Alternate your double-dips between blueberry BBQ and sweet chili sauces.

Often, such verbosity of tastes and textures would forego harmony for the achievement of a cacophonous clash. Almost miraculously, the Brewery avoids such a culinary faux pas. Every crunchy, sweet, savory, salty, spicy, greasy bite was a delight. It never built up to an overpowering overload that taxed the senses. Rather, these beer accompanying appetizers boasted reason enough to bring one’s prom date to an alcohol-free visit to the brewery.

For those of the legal drinking age, the brews themselves may be of interest--though somewhat mediocre by current standards. The six flagship drafts range from a beginner-friendly, Czech style blond (5.1% a.b.v.), to a robust stout with roasty coffee notes (7.9%), by way of a hops-forward IPA (7.6%). Exemplary standout was the “Unibräu” hefeweizen (5.6%), which mimicked the unfiltered Bavarian style markedly well with round body and aroma of ripe bananas.

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