So I Own a Brewery

It’s been a hot minute now, hasn’t it? Let’s play catch-up with way too many pictures!
Frosty in the MountainsTurns out I’m part owner of this wonderful brewery, Snowbank Brewing! Paperwork was signed, wallets were put under duress and now I’m a proud partner with some of my favorite people in the world at what has become my first home, seeing as I’m here at least 60 hours a week.
Cranknstein ReleaseWe’ve come a long way since our very first tapping at the (sadly now defunct) Cranknstein. On August 22nd, we officially turned one year old!
RainbowIt’s been a long year, yet it seems like we just opened yesterday. Since becoming an owner, I’ve also come to realize that sometimes balance is required in life, no matter how much I love being at the brewery all the time.
DSC_1181I’ve recently become an active member of Gociety – a website dedicated to adventure meet-ups.
DSC_1187Every Wednesday morning for the past month and a half, this group has been ascending Horsetooth Rock in order to catch a glimpse of the first rays of sunlight streaming over the horizon.
DSC_1189Hot coffee is brewed via JetBoil and all ten to twenty of us chow down on homemade breakfast burritos, take ridiculous GoPro pictures and then descend the mountain in order to get to work on time.
GocietyI love these people.
IMG_7987I tend to rep my brewery quite a bit…IMG_8039I also sometimes force other brewery owners to join. This is Matt from Odell Brewing, now a co-owner of that brewery!
ReppingOf course all of my Gociety friends are now Snowbank addicts lovers.
DSC_1221These sunrises will never get old.
IMG_7793I took an actual full weekend off and headed up to Trestle in Winter Park with some awesome/insane biker guys for some downhill mountain biking. Almost faceplanted, but didn’t! They ended up heading down the black diamond trails while I stuck with going fast on the greens. I’m cool like that.
IMG_7730I’ve also been running early in the mornings. For some crazy reason, I’ve come to ENJOY running! WHO AM I?
IMG_7823I even bought shoes to match my hair to convince myself to run more. Or the shoes were just really comfortable. Definitely one of the two…
IMG_8060
I took off for a week and head up to one of my favorite spots in the world – Jackson, Wyoming. And yes, I check this every single flight I take, Final Destination style.DSC_1281The first day was a six mile hike followed by cliff jumping into glacier water.
DSC_1366This wonderful little vocal one was along for the trip. It was wonderful to have a large chunk of the extended family together for the first time in years!
DSC_1385I already miss this view.
IMG_8098The second day my pops and I went downhill mountain biking in Teton Village. I started the day off with a Golden Moose, a caffeinated beverage that I last had six years ago when I was in Wyoming last.
IMG_8099Lift ride up to the top!
IMG_8102Helmet on, ready to go!
IMG_8113My pops had an unfortunate incident where he biffed right in front of me. I slammed my knee into my frame attempting not to run over his face. Besides a cracked helmet and a couple of possibly cracked ribs, he’s fine! He even rode the rest of the trail down before succumbing to his injuries and heading to the store for some pain killers.
IMG_8122The next day I hiked up to the top of Rendezvous – 7.4 miles with a 4,000 foot elevation gain. Came across a new addition and sat on the swing enjoying the view.
IMG_8140Two and a half hours later I reached the top. A French man was walking down and asked why I’d walked up from the village instead of taking the tram up. My response? “If you hike to the top, the tram down is free!”
IMG_8163I hike because I’m cheap. And it was wonderful to escape from humans for two hours and hear nothing except for my wheezing lungs and the sound of the wind.
IMG_3567I celebrated the victory of the climb at Snake River Brewing with the parental unit.
IMG_8182And met up with a Colorado buddy, Ben, the next day as he was passing through the state on a long road trip.
IMG_8222Our final evening was spent halfway up the mountain with a glass of red wine, tempura summer vegetables and a relaxing sunset. Bliss.
IMG_0675I came back to the real world with a refreshed view on life, making a promise to myself to get out into the neat nature that surrounds me here in Colorado. Louie, my favorite regular with an awesome underbite, agreed with me.
DSC_1448My friend Kylie and I hiked up to Isabelle Glacier on my next day off.
DSC_1517The lovely Joule Bug joined us. This Instagram star is a trooper.
DSC_1473We heated up some French press coffee and shivered as we gazed over the crystal clear blue water.
DSC_1461The temperature at the end of that six mile hike was about 35 degrees, and there was absolutely not another human around.
DSC_1495We cradled the piping hot coffee cups in our hands, sipping greedily for the few seconds we could before the coffee also turned icy.
DSC_1523IMG_8382After a few hours of brutal freeze, we decided to hike back down and grab some hydration.
IMG_8381We hit the Tasty Weasel for a brew and then headed back into civilization.
DSC_1568Snowbank Brewing’s one year anniversary came about! We’ve bottled our first beer ever, Tripel Corkscrew, named after the snowboarding trick, the Backside Triple Cork 1440, made famous by Mark McMorris in 2013. This beer is a fruity Belgian Tripel with hints of peppery spice on the nose, a medium body full of citrus flavor with a touch of oak and a dry, lingering spicy finish. 8.5% ABV, 30 IBU. Conditioned on Blue Skies Winery Chardonnay French Oak.
Anniversary GalsWe were absolutely slammed the entire anniversary weekend and had an amazing time with our regulars/newbies and amazing friends. And beer, of course.
IMG_8471I came ridiculously close to adopting this perfect, blissfuly happy dog, but he found a full family so he wouldn’t have to have a single mama like myself. I attempted not to tear up as the new family took Nugget away. Yes, I renamed him after a hop, and the gracious new family agreed to keep Nugget as his official name.
Screen Shot 2015-08-25 at 2.56.02 PMAnd then this. I was cleaning up after the celebrations and just happened to drop a heavy metal table on my foot. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone…
DSC_1575And just like that, my running and hiking days were delayed for four weeks. Nothing is broken, it’s just a “crush injury and massive contusion”. I get to wear this beautiful boot for four weeks until the bone bruise is finally healed. I also get to soak my foot in a bucket of ice water four times a day for twenty minutes each time. Brutal.
DSC_1574Which means I have extra time to study for the new Advanced Cicerone test!
IMG_8534Said studying will take place in my new favorite coffee shop, Bindle Coffee. It hurts me to post this since I want to keep this gem all to myself, but they deserve all of the customers they can get with their fantastic coffee and housemade almond milk. I may have spent four hours there yesterday morning…
BeaniesSo I’ve missed a few months, but I feel like the most important information has been covered! I hike, I travel, I drink coffee, I own a brewery, I break myself, I study beer.

Also, I’ve missed writing and living such an adventurous life. T-minus four weeks until the boot comes off and I’m back on top of that mountain!

6 Comments

Filed under Daily Life

6 Responses to So I Own a Brewery

  1. Lise

    What a life…. So how does someone in California get a bottle of your fine beer?

  2. Your adventures look so incredibly fun!! Congrats on becoming a partner at your brewery. 🙂

  3. Firm believer in that if you do what you love… you never work a day in your life… that being said, I am constantly exhausted from working too hard.

  4. Obviously I’m in love with all your running and hiking! I’m sorry I can’t be there to run in colorful shoes with you…! And congrats on the brewery!

  5. HUGE congratulations on becoming a part owner – I am really excited for you! I haven’t had time to get up to FoCo recently but trust me, coming to see you is definitely on my list when I do!

    Any chance you guys are going to be at either the Boulder Valley or Lafayette beer festivals this weekend? I’m only going to Boulder Valley since they’re on the same day, but let me know if you end up down in my neck of the woods 🙂

  6. Your adventures look very nice. Congrats on the brewery!