I recently had the opportunity to visit FoCo, and one of my main activities during my three-day stay was drinking beer. Chastise me all you want, but I'm no lush. Fort Collins has a population only slightly larger than that of Gainesville, but it hosts an astounding five craft breweries. Each has an impressive selection of both standards and seasonals, but only Fort Collins Brewery distributes to Gainesville (as far as I know). I spent a whole day biking from brewery to brewery; for considerably less expense, you can have a taste without leaving the city limits.
Beer: "Z"
Brewery: Fort Collins Brewery (Fort Collins, Colo.)
Style: Rauchbier
Rauchbier is a German-style beer brewed using barley that has been smoked over an open fire. The resulting beer has all the caramel notes and rich color of a roasted beer (Killian's in macro brew terms), but it also has a distinctive smoky smell and flavor. That's right: beer infused with a generous helping of beef jerky.
From the tap, I found the smokiness to be startling, if not slightly overpowering. From the bottle, however, it is fairly diminished, yet still pleasantly existent. The aforementioned caramel is both detectable and delectable, and the beer is very well constructed overall.
At the very least, "Z" brings a lot of taste to the table, and it's a taste that you won't find in any beer brewed under the authority of Large American Beer Company. Forgo the case of swill this weekend and indulge your 21-years-or-older self and compatriots with a six-pack of "Z." Your taste buds (as well as your kidneys) will thank you.
"Z" is available at Ward's Supermarket, 515 NW 23rd Ave.
